ML20085N165

Advises of Status Re Fuel Problem Per 710325 Telcon.Ge Ordered to Retest All Fuel Manufactured for Util Prior to 710101 to Positively Insure No Fuel Contains Rods W/Pellets of Improper Enrichment

ML20085N165
Person / Time
Site:	Dresden
Issue date:	04/28/1971
From:	Brian Lee COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
To:	Price H US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
References
NUDOCS 8311100220
Download: ML20085N165 (2)

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Commonwealth Edison Company ONE FIRST NATIONAL PLAZA

• C H I C A G O. ILLINOIS Akross Reek eer l POST OPPICE SOE Fe7

• C H I C A G O, 8t&lNOIS 60490

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April 28, 1971

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~ W k j; U' .ll Grm-Mr. Harold Price ,

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Director of hegulation - '8 l*

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission D' Washington, D.C. 20545 dd5$

8, Dear Mr. Price 6 h On March 25, 1971 I informed Dr. Morris by telephone of a problem with the Dresden 3 fuel which had been called to our.

attention the day before. The purpose of this letter is to advise you further on the status of that problem.

General Electric, while conducting a quality control audit of its Wilmington, North Carolina fuel fabrication facility, deter

' mined that the possibility existed that certain low and medium enrichment fuel rods could contain a pellet of higher enrichment than the remainder of the pellets in the rod. Further investiga-tion by General Electric indicated that a small percentage @

10,000) of the fuel rods contain_a_ pellet of higher enrichment than that intended for a given rod. General Electric upgraded its fuel fabrication quality control such that this problem does not exist in fuel manuf actured subsequent to January 1, 1971.

Commonwealth Edison has ordered General Electric to retest all fuel manuf ac tured for Commonwealth plants prior to January 1, 1971 to positively insure that no fuel destined for Commonwealth reactors contains rods with pellets of improper enrichment. The Dresden 2 refueling is completed. No suspect fuel was used. The unit should be returned to service early in May. The program will be completed for Dresden 3 by the middle of May with the start of hot functional testing early in June. The program will be comple'ted for Quad-Cities by the middle of June at which time Unit 1 will be ready to start fuel loading. Elimination of rods with improper pellets completely eliminates this fuel problem from the Commonwealth reactors.

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Conunonwealth Edison Con iany

-.\* Hr. Harold Price - 2- April 28, 1971 s ,. _ We intend to submit a formal report t.o the Commission on the Dresden 3 program as soon as all information is available.

If you or your staff have any additional questions on this matter, we will be glad to furnish more detailed information or to make ourselves available for discussions with you. '

Very truly yours,

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Byron Lee, Jr.

Assistant to the President I

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R. F. Fraley RE: FIEL ELEngyf qrut T'FY CWTRIE Fimm

."xecutive Secretary COIt00NUEALS EDISON COBE*ANY (DRESDEN 3 AND ACRS

@IADCZrIE81) 1034 H Street 338T05 EDIBM CGEPANY (FBARDI 1)

YrltENT YAMEEE NELEAR POWER CORPORATIM

. (VEIBIOff YANEEE)

Forwarded for information are three copies of a report to the Director of Regulation as listed below:

Enclorure:

Ruel Element Quality Control Problems y dtd.4/16/71 ,

pf Lawrence D. Low '

Director bec: DR Readin6 File ,d' J' Division of Compliance sY 4/2o/71 Md1

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