ML19259D484

Environ Incident 50-289/74-9:on 740926,following Chlorination of Sys Cooled by Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower,Discharge Samples Showed Higher than ETS Chlorine Concentration.Caused by Improper Discharge Guidelines

ML19259D484
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	10/03/1974
From:	Arnold R METROPOLITAN EDISON CO.
To:	James O'Reilly NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
References
GQL-0372, GQL-372, NUDOCS 7910240751
Download: ML19259D484 (4)

Text

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CONTROL NO: 10 lP '1 FILE. EDTir umental File FROM: Metroplitan Edison Co. DATE OF DOC DATE REC'D LTR TWX RPT OTHER d

Rea ing,Penn. 10-3-74 10-8-74 xxxx D t' Avnn1A TU: Mr. J.P.O'Railly

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xxxxxxxx 1 50-289 DESCRIPTION: Ltr Reporting Abnormal Occurrenc (ENCLOSUR ES:

1. 74-9 on 9-26-74 regarding Excessive Free Chlorine Concentration at the Plant River Discharge which is in violation of Environmental Tech-Spec . . . . . . .

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METROPOLITAN EDISON COMPANY POST OFFICE BOX 542 READING, PENNSYLVANI A 19603 TELEPHONE 215 - 929-3601 October 3, 19714 GQL 0372 File Cy.

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Regulatory 91 4 G

Mr. J. P. O'Reilly, Director g ~*

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Dear Mr. O'Reilly:

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Operating License DPR-50

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Docket No. 50-289 In accordance with the Environmental Technical Specifications for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, we are reporting the following Environmental Incident: - g .

(1) Reporting Number: E.I. 50-289/74-9 O s (2a) Report Date: October 3, 1974 6 g (2b) Occurrence Date: September 26, 1974 p @ rl o207 % ml b **'

l; i (3) Facility : Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Uni ,g Y-q,.ljl' ghpg_ f8 (4) Identification of Incident: 'f7 V\ f Excessive Free Chlorine Concentration at the Plant River Discharge which is a violation of the Environmental Technical Specifications, paragraph 2.2.la, and constitutes exceeding a limiting condition for operation.

(5) Conditions Prior to Occurrence:

The reactor was at steady state power with major plant parameters as follows:

Power: Core: 100%

jf}g ]gj Elec.: 865 W (Gross)

RC Flow: 1.38 x 108 lb /hr RC Pressure: 2155 psig 10123

RC Temperature: 579 F PRZR Level: 240 in PRZR Temp.: 650 F (6) Description of Incident: During a periodic evolution conducted to chlorinate the systems cooled by the mechanical draf t cooling tower, the plant river discharge sample taken 10 minutes after commencement of the evclution indicated a free chlorine concentration of .10 ppm. The 30 and 50 minute grab samples both indicated a free chlorine concentration of less than .10 ppm.

In that chlorine addition had been terminated about 15 minutes af ter commencement of the evolution, it was determined that there were no additional actions which could be taken to get the reading within the specification ILnit.

(7) Designation of Apparent Cause of Incident: It is believed that the incident resulted primarily from the lack of, adequate guidelines to aid in determining how the chlorine feed rate should be varied as a function of existing conditions, such as river water transit time through the cooling systems , cooler heat load, river water temperature, pH, and organic composition.

(8) Analysis of Incident: For the following reasons it is believed that the level of free chlorine in the discharge water was not high enough and did not exist for a long enough period of tima to have caused any environmental damage or to have endangered either the health or safety of the public:

a. Chlorine addition was secured about 5 minutes af ter the collection of the 10-minute sample,

b. The 30 and 50 minute grab samples indicated free chlorine concentrations of only .07 ppm, which is well below the

.10 ppm limit.

(9) Corrective Action: Immediate corrective action involving termination of chlorine addition was not possible because chlorine addition had already been terminated by the time it was realized that the limit for free chlorine had been exceeded; however, prior to the chlorination period of 0900 the next day the chlorine feed rate was reduced from 300 to 250 lb/ day.

The Plant Operations Review Committee (PORC) t immediately af ter the incident was reported and recommended to the Station Superintendent that as a long-term corrective action he continue to have chlorine usage closely monitored to insure that chlorine levels remain below specification limits. The Station Superintendent concurred with this recommendation, and chlorine usage continues to be closely monitored.

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Additionally, consultants retained by Met-Ed will continue with a s tudy begun several months ago to investigate the chlorination program and the systems, procedures , and analytical equipment associated with it. A part of this study will be conducted under paragraph 2.2.lb of the Environmental Technical Specifications.

It should be noted that previous Environmental Incidents had reported a series of reductions in chlorination feed rate to a point where it had been decreased to less than 150 lb/ day; in this incident the addition rate was initially 300 lb/ day; and that the increase to 300 lb/ day was felt to be justified based on the set of conditions that existed just prior to the incident together with additional studies that have been done by our consultant.

(10) Failure Data:

a. Previous Failures: Although the incident under discussion is not thought to have resulted from equipment failure, similar incidents were reported on the following occasions:

El 50-289/74-2 June 5, 1974 EI 50-289/74-3 June 12, 19 74 EI 50-289/74-4 June 13, 1974 EI 50-289/74-5 June lh ,1974 EI 50-289/74 6 June 20,1974 EI 50-289/Th-7 June 26, 197h

b. Equipment Identification: Not applicable.

Sincerely,

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R. C.

y,e Arnold RCA:cas /

File: 20.1.1/7.7.3.11.1 cc: Director Directorate of Licensing U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Washington, D.C. 20545 1459 193