ML20079F289
| ML20079F289 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Grand Gulf  |
| Issue date: | 01/12/1984 |
| From: | Stewart C JACKSONIANS UNITED FOR LIVABLE ENERGY POLICIES |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8401180212 | |
| Download: ML20079F289 (20) | |
Text
.
January 12,1984
. COCI'ET,ID l
. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 'Si ,[!'17 p ? :50 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )
) '
MISSISSIPPI POWER & LIGHT ) Docket Nos. 50-416 COMPANY, et al. ) 50-417
)
(Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, )
Units 1 and 2) )
RESPONSE BY
, JACKSONIANS UNITED FOR LIVABLE ENERGY POLICIES TO ANSWERS FILED BY N. R. C. STAFF AND LICENSEE Preliminary Statement Petitioner Jacksonians United for Livable Energy Policies (" JULEP") filed a petition to intervene and request for a hearing on November 17,1983. On December 7, 1983, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff ("N.R.C.") filed a response identifying requirements that JULEP needed to meet for its petition to be accepted. JULEP filed
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an amended petition December 11,1983. Mississippi Power and Light Company
(" Licensee") filed an answer to the initial petition, requesting that it be denied. The Licensee submitted its response to the amended petition December 22,1983, requesting that the petition be denied. On January 3,1984, N.R.C.,in its response to the amended petition, recognized that JULEP had demonstrated both standing and specific aspects of Amend-
. ment 10 with sufficient partidularity and should be admitted as a party to the proceeding.
,se
9 e Argument I. JULEP has demonstrated standing based on the interest of three designated members In its amended petition, JULEP identified three members and included signed, witnessed statements by them authorizing JULEP to act on their behalf in this matter at
. issue. The response of the N.R.C. staff to the amended petition notes that ordinarily such statements should be under oath and gives JULEP leave to resubmit the statements under oath. (The revised statements are Attachments 1,2, and 3 to this Response.)
In its response to the amended petition of JULEP, the N.R.C. staff accepts JULEP's standing on the basis of the proxirrity of member Dale Wallace to the Grand Gulf facility, but finds that members Jan Hillegas and Cynthia Ann Stewart, who both reside in Jackson, live outside the geographical zone of interest. In its response to JULEP's initial petitibn, on page 10, the N.R.C. staff stated that "[i] f Mr. Lawrence does reside in Jackson, that fact,if established, would be enough to establish his geographic proximity to the plant, which is located approximately 40 miles from Jackson."
The Licensee,in response to the amended petition of JULEP, objects to the
- standing of JULEP on behalf of Dale Wallace because the amended petition does not state the " nature and extent of [Mr. Wallace's] property, financial, or other interest." As the N.R.C. staff notes in its responses to the original and amended petitions, the close proximity of a petitioner's residence to a facility is presumed sufficient to satisfy the interest require-ment of Section 2.714. The narrower interpretation of the Licensee implies that a property owner with extensive economic holdings somehow has a greater stake in safety than a tenant or small property owner, a conclusion unacceptable under the most basic political and constitutional foundations of this country. .
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II. JULEP has set forth with sufficient particularity specific aspects of the
- subject matter of an Operating License Proceeding The Licensee denies that JULEP has satisfied the aspect requirement of 10 C.F.R.
Section 2.714. It completely fails, however, to answer the safety concerns raised in the original and amended petitions.
In its response to the amended petition, the Licensee argues that "[b]ecause the subject surveillances were accomplished in testing completed as of October 12,1983 and the exceptions have expired, the petition is moot as regards allegations concerning Specifi-cation 4.0.4." JULEP member Ken Lawrence first raised grounds for opposition to Amendment 10 in a September 6,1983 phone call to Al Schwencer, Chief of Licensing Branch No. 2, Division of Licensing, Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Lawrence again raised objections in a phone call from Al Schwencer and Tom Novak to petitioner on September 23,1983. At that time, Mr. Schwencer and Mr. Novak notified Mr. Lawrence
- that the staff had approved Amendment 10 without first offering an opportunity for a 1
public hearing. They told Mr. Lawrence, however, that a hearing could easily be held while l
l the low-power testing period for Grand Gulf is in effect, and that a request for such a hearing l would not be considered moot. To now accept Licensee's argument that objections raised
- by JULEP's petitions are moot would allow N.R.C. to completely avoid its regulatory
- responsibility and Licensee to avoid regulation. The right of the public to a hearing on issues of significant concern to it would be completely ignored.
Public Interest
. The public has an itnportant right and interest in the safe operation of a nuclear
! power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a respons*ility to represent that t
public interest. Regulations establish public hearings as a means of protecting that interest.
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e 9
- The case of Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission,354 F.
2d 608 (1965) makes clear that the public is entitled to active and affirmative protection.
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In light of the inadequate resources and access to high-powered expert and legal assistance available to ordinary citizens, strict enforcement of extensive technical and procedural requirements may result in a failure to meet the obligation of affirmative protection of the public interest. As Scenic Hudson states [at 620]:
This role [of representative of the public interest] does not permit it [the federal regulatory agency] to act as an umpire blandly calling balls and strikes for adversaries appearing before it; the right of the public must receive active and affirmative protection. . . .
If safety requirements can be waived with a mere assurance from a Licensee that such waiver will not have an adverse effect on safety, and no public hearing, the interest of
- the public is not being represented, much less protected. This is particularly true with a Licensee such as the one involved in this matter. The N.R.C. has voiced concern over the inexperience of the operators of Grand Gulf (see Attachments 4 and 5). According to the N.R.C.'s own figures, the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station reported a greater number of irregu-larities than any other nuclear power plant in the country in 1982 (see Attachment 6).
A fire classified as an emergency " unusual event" occurred at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in September 1983, and the Licensee has been found negligent and heavily fined for inade-quate security (see Attachments 7 and 8). A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Critical Mass Energy Project of the N.R.C.'s 1982 Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance reports listed the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station as one of the worst-managed nuclear plants in the country (see Attachment 9). In addition, the N.R.C. is currently investigating allegations that the Licensee falsified plant training records at Grand Gulf (see Attachments 10,11, and 12). Vigilance and affirmative protection are critical for public interest'and safety.
e e
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Conclusion JULEP has demonstrated standing and presented, with particularity, specific aspects concerning Amendment 10 that should be considered in a public hearing. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission should grant the request for a hearing.
b~, M ~ b_ E Jt Cydthia Ann Stewart Chairperson, JULEP e
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Attachment 1 I, Dale Wallace, am a lifelong resident and farmer in southwestern Warren County, Mississippi, about 15 miles northeast of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station; my mailing address is Route 2, Box 186, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180. I hereby authorize Jacksonians United for Livable Energy Policies (JULEP) to act on my behalf in petitioning to intervene and requesting a hearing before the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY OF HINDS Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority for the jurisdiction aforesaid, Dale Wallace, who, being first duly sworn, states that the above is his own voluntary and truthful statement.
Witness my signature this b day of January,1984.
O 1 i
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NOTARY PUBLIC My Commission Expires: Q ) k[
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Attachmtnt 2 I, Cynthia Ann Stewart, am a resident of 950 North Street, Apartment 7, Jackson, Mississippi 39202, and the chairperson of Jacksonians United for Livable Energy Policies (JULEP). I hereby authorize JULEP to act on my behalf in petitioning to intervene and requesting a hearing before the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
c2 0 LJ STATE OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY OF HINDS Appeared before me, the undersigned authority for the jurisdiction aforesaid, Cynthia Ann Stewart, who, being duly sworn, states that the above is her own voluntary and truthful statement.
Witness my signature this 12th day of January,1984.
? r zKa+- 1 NOTARY PUB'LIC My Commission Expires: My Commission Expires Auo. 31,1988
Attachment 3 I, Jan Hillegas, am a resident and homeowner at 4117 West Capitol Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39209. I hereby authorize Jacksonians United for Livable Energy Policies (JULEP) to act on my behalf in petitioning to intervene and requesting a hearing before the United Sta e Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
h U 6 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY OF HINDS Appeared before me, the undersigned authority for the jurisdiction aforesaid, Jan Hillegas, who is known by me and who states that the above is her own voluntary and truthful statement.
Witness my signature this 12th day of January,1984.
J
,? # fk c 49 24 NOTARY PUBLIC My Commission Expires:
Attachment 4 o October 14,1983 FRIDAY I c h % Le @ c
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- 111experieiice Grand Gulf, the Waterf ord 3 nuclear plant in Louisiana, and tG dG the Shoreham nuclear plant in New Yo. k as facilities posing concerns, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
Mississippi Power & Light Co. built and operates unit 1 of the Grand Gull plant. louisiana Power & Light Co., MP&L's sister company, operates the Waterford 3 plant. MP&L and d
LP&L are subsidiaries of Middle South Utilites Inc. of New
[ h P L spokesman Jim Moore said the company has confi-dence in its operators, and said consultants and in house g training are helping raise the experience level. 'W're grow-kr rs r wruer ing our own - I guess that's the best way " he said.
The federal government is concerned about what it calls a The NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards lack of experience among operators of three U.S. nuclear last year cited Grand Gulf for the lack of experience on its Pl ants.includmg the Grand Gulf nuclear station,in final test- staff and ordered MP&L officials to find more experienced operators.
ere is an immediate concern at this particular point. Asa resultof thatcitation,theNRCgranted GrandGulf an said Dean Houston, Grand Gulf project manager for the Nu. operating license only on the condition that more exper-clear Regulatory Commission. "We have had these concerns 1 all along. It's nice to have a staff that has been out there and [ o{ ton ,
ught and that expert consul-tas really run a plant, rather than a person who has just stud-ied the plant. ,
No@oodpPdh 6pwa m the 1,250-megawatt plant.
~NitC Commissioner Victor Gilinsky, who will have to vote See Grand, page 2B on a full power license for the ;lant later this year, named Grand Gulf experience worries NRC Inexperience, from page in than a year af ter the safetv committee month, he said.
"We are confident that the staff at cited the plant. "This is o'ne of those Grand Gulf nuclear station has an ap- "We have these concerns built into propriate levelof experience, he said. problems you just don't solve over- the (plant) license right now, because night." he said. It takes a couple of we do feel that, even though we have li-
"We have augmented regular employ- yean to train a plant operator." censed operators there and they've ces with additional experienced consul-tants who will remain with the project But according to llouston, Grand gone through a lot of training. they do through full power operations and until Gulf would be unable to make thejump not have a great deal of depth." he said.
our regular employees have attained to commericial operalion because of cen es w sen W even greater levels of experience " the lack of experience of reactor opera-E#'" " " ###
- Moore also defended the plant in the tors and senior reactor operators. ## *E*"E two regular operators. License conds-fan of continued NRC concern more " " ' "
nel.now unde a. I etc e w ha"st f
ma,ny cumulative years of expenence e di i al t h 's t. n l s at the plant, but said Grand Gulf tive" experience with reactors similar doesn t have enough senior reactor op- to Grand Gulf as an adviser on each crators to operate on the five shifts shift.
, NHC policies say are needed. Other license conditions require an Grand Gulf now has 15 reactor oper- additional consultant to Norris Stam-i ators and nine senior reactor operators. pley, M P&L vic,e president in charge of The license conditions imposed last the nuclear division. and an indepen.
i year call for two scruor reactor opera. dent subcommittee of.the company's l tors on each of the five shif ts. meaning Safety Heview Group to review staff
- tha t one more senior operator is needed performance at intervals during the for minimum compliance. plant startup the lack of senior reactor operators While current operator Irvcis would is the "immediate concern." llouston be acceptabte for short term oper-said, but he added that six operators r.tions. llouston said. they would be "un-took an examination in September to desirable" in the long term because of 4 become senior operators. Hesults of Nitt' gunicimes pherning overtnne l
, those tests should be known later this u or k by operators !
Y Attachment 5
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ,
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- ...a c ssioy November 10, 1983 MEMORANDUM FOR THE COMMISSIONERS
SUBJECT:
MISSISSIPPI POWER AND LIGHT'S GRAND GULF UNIT 1 On November 7, 1983, Jim O'Reilly and members of our staffs.I visited Grand Gulf in the company of The plant is the first BWR-6 with a Mark III containment in the United States.
' I would like to share a number of observations with you:
l.
The plant has been held down for the last year and a half by two basic problems. Design deficiencies in the drywell cooling system were testing. identified during start-up gag took .from October 1982 to June 1983. Extensive modifications were req Region II issued a Confirmation of Action letterOn October 20, 1982, barred recriticality until serious deficiencies in(COA) the that surveillance corrected. procedures and Technical Specifications were in September,Licensee 1983. compliance with this COA was completed further delayed by a recentThe plant start-up program has been fire in a diesel generator room.
Not yet resolved are newly discovered problems with the documentation of operator training qualifications. It appears operators may have been improperly certified.
negion 'II and OI are currently investigating. The licensee has committed to rcqualifying, the operators.
MP&L estimates that the retraining will beif necessary, completed and ready for Region II review approximately one month after the plant
- returns to cold shutdown. Jim O'Reilly estimated th,at the Region II review would take about a month, assuming things went well.
2.
~ Grand Gulf has received two consecutive low SALP in Preoperational and Surveillance Testing.r# tings in Plant O most important areas. These are the
' started in August, has been postponed.The next SALP, which was due to be I believe the Commission should have an update on these ratings before any b licensing decision. .
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- 3. Not a single nomber of the plant cperating staff has license. MPLL has previously held a commercial Operator's hired temporary " advisors" with shift operating experience, The difficulty I as a way of plugging the experience gap.
see with this is that the advisors with experience have no direct responsibilities; and the licensed shift supervisors
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with responsibility have no experience.
The advisors are under contract to stay until the plant reaches full power. I expect they will leave after that.
Not having had to go through a rigorous licensing process for this plant, it is unclear what they know of the plant specific details, both hardware and administrative controls.
Being temporary employees, they don't have a streng incentive to master these details.
I believe that the Commission should establish minimum experience levels for each shift at Grand Gulf which would be required before full power license approval.
Specifically, there should be an experienced shift supervisor on each shift. I would give the utility the option to qualify the current advisors for this roleThe bystaff having them obtain an SRO license for Grand Gulf.
should be prepared to give license examinations to the yg ' current advisors.
- 4. ; A general observation: NRC's approval of tre advisor approach to dealing with the lack of experienced operators has resulted in the establishment of'" body shcps" for formerly licensed operators. These body shops pay much higher salaries than utilities such as MP&L and LILCO for We the operators who might be interested in changing jobs.
are in effect encouraging experienced operators to become trans'ients by creating jobs which offer them more money with less responsibility and less effort. If we insisted on some
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number of permanent experienced operators at new plants, we would put the body shops out of business, and we would free up a pool of experienced operators for utilities.
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Victor Gilinsky q
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Grandc/G{OfJulf 11;itOllEftT OURLIAN n rmtegersunwruer f-i Q operation. leads Based on "licen ee event reports" said if the hig nation tion work at G filed with the NRC. Grand Gulf report- tained, it "migt The Grand Gull nuclear station re. ed 187 incidents at the plant that were really has probl e ported a greater number of irregulari.
- Mississippi P ties than any other nuclear power plant in violation of specifications or of NRC
@ guidelines. cials said the h in the country in 1982, according to fig.
E ures from the Nuclear Hegulatory A event report must be filed when- was c.1used by t'
-8 ever " limiting conditions ** occur from strict interprci Commission,
$ An NRC official said the irregulari. h uman error, equipment f ailure, design quirements,an<
y tics were not yet a cause for alarm but errors or other causes. "The number An NHC official attributed many of than other U.S.
that they would be if they continued after the plant goes into commercial the problems to continuing construc- Grand Gulf is Grand Gulf nuclear plant leads natio)
See Grand, back page this section ports, averaging 30 a month last year, Forum, a organization in Betherda, has been reduced to 1,0 to 12 a month Md., which encourages the develop- who were supposed to activate the this y:ar. ment of nuclear power,84 U.S. reactors state's emergency notification plan of the event repor told the Mississippi Ilighway Patrol last seven violatic Grand Guff, owned by Middle South hold operating licenses and,74 of those there was nothing to worry a bout,so the w th fire detector Energy Inc., a subsidiary of the parent are in commercial operation. Grand notification didn't go any further. safety doors being ctimpanyof MP& L, is expec ted to begin Gulf has a license to operate,at low- In April,a tank that holdswater con- lations were mai oper: ting at low power this month as power and a full-power license is pend-ing before the NRC. - densed from reactor. heated steam was construction mach the first step toward full p<.wer and IIouston said none of the violations at overfilled and damaged during Grand a non-Gulf ingwarused forconstn eventualcommercialoperation. Grand Gulf in 1982 posed critical risks nuclearrunof theplant.
Meanwhile, the NRC is considering But flouston said the bulk of the last year at low p an " emergency" amendment to Grand but noted the plant wasn't operating event reports were minor violations of down again for fi whenmostof themoccurred.
Culf's operating license that would per- In the first reported irregularity, technical specifications and guideliries modification.
mit MP&L to start up the plant befort which wouldn't affect the plant's 11- llouston acknow backup current to a standby diesel gen-imtiating certain tests of safety sys. cense or its future as a power source for the nation in event tems. MP&L asked for the changes. erator was lost. Diesel generators are Mississippt and leuisiana. Gulf "a lot of visibi used to operate safety systems in the Available report figures showed that "A good bit of that is due to the mode of attention."
in 1982 the plant with the second high- event the plant loses power durmg an in which they chose to start up theBut he said the emergency, est number of event reports was the plant," Houston said, pointing to the not yet a cause for a San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern In another of the irregularities dur- low power operation which has taken "There are a lo' s.
California, which listed 170 events. ing August 1982,an emergency coolmg place over the last year. lie said it was LER's (licensee ei system triggered when it should not Grand Gulf and San Onofre were built not"a real serious reflection on the op- problems," he said.'
by the Bechtel Corp. of San Francisco. have, and plant operators could not cration of the plant " dition it on the statt shutit off for 13 minutes.
Accordmg to the Atornic Indestrial. . Ife sai(i cons,truction work in pro- lotof theproblemsg Tocompoundtheproblem. operators, gress, at the plan,t accounted "Now, for many if yoo.wcr a been in operation to
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Attachment "i "1, (,,g3 C-L State.3 Elle ([arion-Tu!
Metro
- State From Staff and Wire Reports GrandGulffiretraced to generator fuelline PORT GIBSON - Mississippi Power & Light Co. of-ficials reported Monday that a fuel line apparently caused a fire that damaged a diesel generator at the Grand Gulf nuclear power station. No damage esti-mate was available.
MP&L spokesman Jim Moore said a preliminary in-vestigation revealed the fuel oilline had pulled loose at a connector, causing fuel oil to spray a hot exhaust manifold and catch fire.
The company also reported experts were ordered to the plant to check on the fire and conditions at the pow-er station. The fire erupted Sunday afternoon during a test of the backup generators housed in a building sepa-rate from the structure housing the nuclear reactor, which had been shut down earlier for modifications, Moore said.
lie said radioactive material was not involved or threatened in the blaze. The fire was reported at 2:45 p.m. and extinguished at 3:01 p.m. The flames activat-
. cd a sprinkler system, which aided in putting out the blaze. Moore said the fire started near the rear end of one of the standoy diesel generators during a system test at "one of three diesel generators that provide ,
backup power to the plant."
l l
MP&L of.b..eia . ls .mvesugatmg
- - - ~
fire at Grand Gulf nuclear plant <
By GREGORY WEBER G==M " Suff w r""
concerning such incidents Moore said. , hf l(( M {}((V ./ t The fire was classified as an ' unusual Mississippi Power & Light Co. offi- event,' the least serious of four emer-cials are investigating the cause of a gency classifications, because it burned Q S {O {*I}OI Sunday afternoon fire at Grand Gull more than 10 minutes, Moore said. w, a ri.w rm. g nuclear station near Port Gibson, ne diesel-powered generator where Miuissippi Power & Light Co. will%
. Officla!s said the fire started near a the fire occurred ts one of three at the comply with orders by the Nuclear D*.
safety system generator about 2:45 plant used as backup sources of elec- Regulatory Commission that it pay a p.m. and burned for about 16 minutes. tricity for the plant's cooling systent 320,000 penalty imposed because of an N ne fire caused no injunes and never Moore said there were eight workers ina ttentive gua rd at the Crand Gulf Nu- c threatened the nuclear reactor or the in the area during a test. They shut clear Station. officials said. public's safety,MP&L spokesman Jim down the generator and evacuated, and flowever, a spokesman said the util-Moore said. a fire protection system started, he ty would require the security contrac d ne nuclear core of the electricity- said- . 8 generating plant is separated from the Ife sa.d i workers were working to re- tor at the nuc! ty Services Inc., car plant, Capital of Jackson, to reim-Securi V generator where the fire occurred, move dicscioilfrom the room so work- . burse MP&L , Moore said. And the nucIcar reactor, ers can assess damage. l De NRC order to pay a 320.000 fine scheduled to go on line in early 1984 The plant had been operating at less reduced by half a June 13 NRC staff was shut down,he said. than 5 percent of its capacity for tests
- N proposal that was contested by MP&L The federal Nuclear Regulatory as provided for under a federal low-
- as being exceptionally severe. E o
I Commission and state and local offt- power license, Moore said, but the plant - cials in Mississippi and Imisiana were was shut down for modifications based a i notified because of federal regulations on the test results. { e
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Group rates Grand Gulf among worst planit Group, from page l A needed improvements and that plan taie while m an emergency situation,it . Hated best in management on the was reviewed with the NRC," he said. w et!d be a station blackout, one of 27 ' Critical Mass list were the lladdam "The NRC concurred with the plan and industry. wide problems classified as Neck nuclear plant in Connecticut and ' it is being implemented." .F the Yankee Howe plant in Massachu- But Moorecautioned against placing, Moore" said unresolved he doesn't safety issues" recall Grand - by the NRC. setts. Both were given perfect manage- too much stock in the Critical Mass re- Gulf ever losing all off. site power from ment scores of 1. , port, pointing out nuclear plants which - its three different sources last yeari ' Critical Mass quoted the NRC in its have not begun full operation generally "A preliminary review of our record. . report as saying a 1 indicates "re- have more problems than plants which . indicates we never lost our feed.to-duced" attention may be called for; a 2 have been operating for several years. switch on all three (off. site) lines at the meanslevelsof attentionfromtheNRC *, "You expect to have things, when same time" he said. "You may have. , should remain the same;and a 3 means you're in a construction mode, that one o'ut - you frequently take a linc out - the NRC should begin paying more at- need improvement,"he said. ' for routine maintenance - but you tention to" weaknesses." 'r Moore said the report probably in- have the others stillin.". , - 3 Jim Moore, spokesman for MP&L, cluded Grand Gulf because the station, lie said' company officials itav'e no
@ said the company and the NRC agreed was issued a low-power operating 11- fears about the station's ability to pow ?
E on a schedule of improvements in cease last summer. "I m sort of sur. er its safety systems in the event of an
.g March, but denied there were any "in. prised they didn't notice that and pull us emergency,and pointed out any power.
o surmountable" problems with manage, out, hesaid. loss during 1982 occurred when the U ment at the plant. Another problem cited by. Critical plant was not operating.
< Mass was one known as " station black- . * -
"This (SALP) report has enabled us out" - when a nuclear plant loses its "That's not the same thing as losing it ,
to make significant improvements in when you're operating,"he said. . . , . project management atGrandGulf nu . own power, power from an outside Critical Mass points to its findings as , source and power from diesel gener-clear station," Moore said. " Safety of ators at thesame time. pr ithat nuclearpoweris"an unrelia. operation continues to be our primary Station blackout occurs w hen off-site ble, expensive, and potentially very. consideration." power and diesel power are lost simul- dangerous powersource." , ., Ile said the period covered by the taneously during an emergency, ac- The groupwas founded by Ralph Na-SALP report given to the company was cordmg to report author John Clewett , 'dar in 1974 and is affiliated with the Na-from July 1,1981,to Aug. 30,1982."The Grand Guif was one of nine nuclear dar.run Public citizen. Public Citizen is . period covered was a non-operating pe- plants in the country which lost both now headed byJoan Claybrook,former riod for the company, by and large," off-siteanddieselpowersources,atdif. National liighway Traffic Safety ,Ad-' . Moore said. - ferent times,in 1982,the report said. If ' ministration
- chiei under President .
"MP&L developed a plan to effeet it lost both power sources at the same Carter. ,
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Attachment 10 Agency says Grand By ROllEHT OttRLIAN view Committee will meet today to dis-can twerstanwnter cuss a draf t report on the plant's "oper. The problem-plagued Grand Gul!nu- ational readmess" which must te com-clear station was shut down Tuesday pleted before full-power beensing. night af ter successful completion of But a spokesman for the NRCsaid it low power testmg, but it won't be al- wouldn't consider a permit for full-lowed to be restarted until the Nuclear power reactor operation until the Itegulatory Commission is satisfied op- plant'r training program is revamped crators have been adequately trained. and operator experience levcis have
, Mississippi Power & Light Co. said it been upgraded.
shut the plant down Tuesday after :r Spokesman Joe Gilliland said the cessiully completing 44 days of testing federal agency has told the company of at low power.The testmg was complet- its latest concerns about opera tor train-ed five days ahead of schedule and went mg "within the last few days" and said "very well," company spokesman Jim the shutfown of the reactor vrould pra Moore said. vide a chance to upgrade traimng. Moore said the company's Safety Re- "GeneraI!y speaking, they'll have to CA y 9p3 Gulf must improve training have a satisfactory training program Grand Gulf for the inexperience and or- Gulf ranks sixth among 14 plants near-before they (ome up for their full li- dered MP&L to find seasoned opera. ing commercial operation in the cost of cense," Gilbland said. " Adequacy of tors. construction per kilowatt. training is just one of the things you "I know they've had a hard time get. The study,by Cambridge Energy Re-have to have up to snuff. This is the ting pmple "Gilliland said Tuesday. search Associates in Massachusetts phase you have to address that issue " lie said the latest notification on in- shows construction costs would reach The NRC has been concerned about a experience came after a routine in- $2,300 per kilowatt for the 1,250 lack of experience at Grand Gulf for spection. Inspectors *did some check. megawatts the plant willgenerate. some time. NRC Commissioner Victor ing on the qualifications for some of That places Grand Gulf behind the Gilinsky, one of five commissioners these people and they appeared to nced 819-kilowatt Shoreham plant in New w ho passes judgment on reactor licens- some beefing up in some areas. York, which will cost $3.990 per kilo-ing, identified Grand Gulf last month as "That would be one thing we would watt: the Limerick plant in Pennsylva-one ef several phrats where operater in- need to sign of f on before they could get nia, which will cost $3,000; the Wash-e7per once pwed an "imn>cdute in> a license " he said. ington Public Power Supply System cern." The progress in Grand Gulf's devel- (WPPSS), $2,900; and the Zimmer plant Last year, the NHrJs Advi. wry Ce- opment came at the same time as a in Ohio, at $2,400. mittee on Reactor Safeguards cate'd study was released showing that Grand See Grand Gulf, back page this section Grand Gulf Agency, from page I A erator training, and said the shutdown County nuclearcomp!cx. Grand Gulf has had alicense to oper. Period will give MP&L a chance lo up- Under current NitC guidelines, , gradeits training. MP&L couldn't obtain a commercial h-ate at 5 percent of its 1,250-megawatt
,It s an industry-wide problem,, cense because it is short on senior reac-ca pacity since last year.The plant is ex-pected to remain shut down for about Moore said of the personnel concerns tor operators. The NRC said last
, By taking the plant down.we can con- month, before the latest inspection.
two months while routine maintenance centrate on training. What we re trymg that Grand Gulf had nine senior reactor procedures are carried out, to do is look at improving the trammg operators and 15 operators availabic Moore said the next step is for the level- for shif t duty. At lea".t one more senior company to apply for a full-power lj. "When we're confident that we're reactor operator would have toen re-
, cense, which is expected by the end of ready and when the NRC is confident quired for commercial operatien. NitC the year. Early next year, the company tre're ready, then we'll apply Ior a full- of fscials said then.
will Friorm tests at full power, and ac- power license." At that time,the company s;ud it had cerdmg to current schedules will begin lie said the company considers the 12 senior teactor operators, but the cornmercial operation by the middle of successfut completion of low power NRC s.iid three of those had teen desig-the year. testing ahead of schedulc a " milestone" nated as trainers, and enuld not br Maoresaid the companyhasheld dis- for the $3 billion plant, the first of two counted towardh tha number of full-
- cussions with the NRC concerning op- reactors planned for the Claiborne time operatnrs refni to run the plant.
Attachment 11 MP&Laccused c-L of falsifying % training data By ROllERT 00H LIAN
*"**"5""""'" The Company blames the The Nuclear Regulatory Cemmis- . . . ,
sion is investigating allegations that
,IflCOMSIStenCICS On Mississippi Power & Light Co. falqfim! pdminiStratiVP PTOblems plant training records at the Grand Gulf nuclear station near Port Gibson. and den eS i MF3&L ever Thoseallegatiom prompte 1 the start tried (O Certify of a wholesale recertification program -
for 29 Grand Gulf operators and con. Un(]Ualified Operators. tributed to a delay in the start of com-mercial operation.MP&L and NRC of-ficials confirmed. " material false statement" was made. The delay is prolonging interest pay. A spokesman for NRC Commission-ments on pla nt construction which have er Victor Gilinsky, who visited Grand cost as much as $1 millicn a day, com. Gulf Nov. 7, said the federal official pany officials confirmed. still has " serious" concerns about expe. Jack Richard, vice president in riencelevels at the plant. charge of nuclear programsIcr MP&L. "We found thereis no one there on the said Tuesday the company knew abe at operating sta ff who has ever eperated a ,
"inconsistentics" with training records commercial reactor before," Technical last year and told the NRC of the prob. Assistant Jim Joosten said. "It's not lem in February. something we consider a normal situa.
The company blames the inconsis. tion or an acceptable situation." tencies on ad.ninistrative problems In order to certify an operator as and denies MP&L ever tried to certify . qualified, MP&L must " sign off"on the unqualified operators. employce's training. One part of the But the NRC launched an investiga. " sign off"is the completion of a "quali-tion af ter federal of ficials during an in, cation card" which ! unctions as a log of spection early this mnnth found that the employee's training. MP&L had certifie<! four reactor oper. MP&L had been certifying to the ators in rossible violation of strict NIIC NRC that operators were qualified, but ! regulations. NRC inspectors found that the " qual Joe Gilliland. public affairs officer cards" had not been completed. for the NRC in Atlanta, confirmed The lack of data may have indicated
- Tuesday that the agenev has ticgun an that MP&L simply failed to complete investigation into allega'tions that plant the cards. But it could also mean that records were falsified. lie would not MI'&L certified the employs" in spite comment further. of inadequate training. -
Ilut The Clarion Iniger has lea'rned As a roult of the investigation the that the investigation centers on an NRC immediately ordered the rom-NitC inspection of remrds used to li, p my to har four employers frorn shif t cense plant operators duty. meaning their Nit (* licenses in op. Gilliland said he could not say h iw crate the plant have been suspendnl. Another consequence was the re , long the investigation would th tin. l der NRC rules. the company could be quirement that all operator *. undergo l fined if the commission cer"% des a Sec Grard Gulf.back page this wetion 9
Attachment 11, page 2 i ii'alMI dill. an exhaustive recertification procen had with attracting quahhed personnel cess of getting a !ctter to them to that Gilbland said the NitCis about the ap- at the plant. Personnel prob! cms in elfeet " said Gilliland prove the recertification process, 1982 were the subject of an Nite cita. The consultants will come from Ar-which must be conducted before Grand kansas Power & Light Co., MI'&l/s sis-tion as well as a license restriction Gulf is granted a full power heense. Gihnsky, one of hve NitC commis- ter company, as well as from Duke luchard said MP&L designed and pro- sioners who will vote en grant Grand Power Co. m North and South Carohna posed the program, w hich had its " gen- Gull's iull power operaling license, and Irom the General Electric Co esis inthequalcardcontroversy. said the plant was among those in the AP&L operates a nuclear plant at ihchard also said the company told nation where inexperience is an "im- llussellville, while Duke is involved the NRC about trammg records prob-mediate concern." with three nuclear plants in its two lems during an inspectmn in February Gilliland said earlier this month that states. General Elwtric is the manu. They were found late in 1982,he said MP&L would have to fimsh its recerti- f acturer for the Grand Gulf reactor. Ile said the company had taken "a f ration program before the NHCcould Unlike Grand Gulf's boiling water systematic and orderly" approach to consider a full power heense for the reactor, plants operated by Duke and correcting the problems and findmg plant. MP&L said the recertification AP&Lare pressurized water reactors their sourec. will be completed in January. Richard said the company suggested
,This issue which we thought was ..This is a signihcant problem they the trammg overhaul as a means of cor-relatively low key has been escalated m have to resolve," Gilbland said this recting any Wssible problems with per-
!ocus" by the NI(C investigation. fbeh- week.l don't think anybody is trying to sonnel.
ard sad pretend that it isn't." "We thought by an aggressive, com-
, We had som^ mificulty implement- lie said the NHC is prepared to ap- prehensive, programmatic cf fort, we ing(the qual ca.d procedure)and some prove MP&l/s plan to improve opera- could eliminate any doubt in the minds misunderstanding!' he said. "But we tors by assembling a consortium of of the commissioners," he said, addmg feel they are all admimstrative in na- companies who will contribute expert recertification could "put this training ture. consultants to examme recertification record inconsistency question to twd."
Despite the documentation prob. of Grand Gulf operators. lie said consultants from Duke and Icms, company officials maintain all ..We have told MP&L that we concur AP&L have spent six to eight days in operators were "very extensively , in their program and we are in the pro- Mississippi, while G E. consultants are trained.
"There's some operatnrs who we knew were weak and they (NitC)identi-fied as being weak " luchard said.
Three had not yet received their li-censes. but quahfications of the fourth, w ho was licensed. were not questioned, here on a longer basis. he said. In addition, MP& Leontracted late in lie said that because of plant tur- 1982 with Quadrex Inc. of Tulsa,Okla., nover in the past year, company of fi- for help with securing instructors.
- cials probably will never know who was While most of the consultants who directly responsible for the traming re- will advise Grand Gulf operators have c$'ds problems. wide nuclear experience, none are li-The organization which existed at censed to operate the Mississippi plant.
the time of the problems has complete Meanwhile, Richard said Tuesday ly changed,
- he said. "I don t think that there is no connection betwwn the there s a single mdividual presently in allegations and the replacement of the training program who was here at Plant Manager Ken McCoy last week.
that time. McCoy, who has managed Grand The personnel investigation is t!'c . Gulf since 1978.has been transferrni to 1.itest m a serics of problems Mi & L has company headquarters in Jackson to servt as Richard's assistant. liewas succeededat the plant byJim
- Cross, hired earlier this year Cross had been .nssistant manager of the Tennes-see Valley 4uthority's new Sequoyah plant in Tennessee.
The switch was planned early this year and was made after Grand Gulf
- was shut down Nov. 8. Ihchard said.
- Ken has done a very commendable job in getting the plant to w here it is to-day . . and gettmg the company to w here it is today," said thchard 4
e
d Attachment 12 NRC off cials investigate s m. a..we.d P,... But the NRC launched its probe after federal of fi-Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say cials found earlier this month that MP& L had certi-they are investigating whether Mississippi Power & fied four reactor operators in possible violation of Light Co. falsified plant training records at the strict NRC regulations. Grand Gulf nuclear station near Port Gibson. Joe Gilliland, public af f airs officer for the NRC in As a result of the investigation, the NRC is requir- Atlanta, told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger T uesday that the agency has begun an investigation into alle-ing that all 29 of Grand Gulf's operators must be re-certified. Until that process is completed. NRC offi- gations that plant records were falsified. He would cials say they won't give Grand Gulf a full-power li- not comment further. cense. Gilliland said he could not say how long the inves. The delay is adding to interest payments on plant tigation would take. Under NRC rules, the company ' construction at a cast as much as $1 million a day,' could be fined if the commission coecludes a " mate-corr.pany of ficials said. rial false statement" was made. Jack Richard, vice president in charge of nuclear A spokesman for NRC Commissioner Victor Gi-programs for SU% L said Tuesday the company told lins ky, who visited Grand Gulf Nov. 7, said the feder-the NRC about " inconsistencies" with training re- al official still has " serious" concerns about experi-cords in February. ence levels at the plant. The company blames the inconsistencies on ad. "We found there is no one there on the operating ministrative problems and denies MP& L ever tried staff who has ever operated a commercial reactor to certify unqualified operators. before," Technical Assistant Jim Joosten said. "It's l November 30, 1983
- WEDNESDAY e JACKSON DAILY NEWS 7C MP&L training records not something we consider a normal situation or an said. Three had not yet received their licenses, but i acceptable situalion." qualifications of the fourth, who was licensed, were MP& L must sign an employee's training card to not questioned, he said.
certify that the worker has completed traaining. He said that because of plant turnover in the past MP&L had been certifying to the NRC that opera- year, company officials probably will never know tors were qualified, but NRC inspectors found that who was directly responsible for the training records the cards had not been completed. problems. The lack of data may indicate that MP& L simply "The organization which existtd at the time of the failed to complete the cards. But it could also mean problems has completely changed." he said. "1 don't that MP&L certified the employees in spite of inad- think there's a single individual presently in the equate training. training program who was here at that time." As a result of the investigation, the NRC immedi- The personnel investigation is the latest in a series ately ordered the company 1o har four employees of problems MP&L has had with attracting qualified from shift duty, and their NHC licenses to operate personnel at the plant. Personnel problems in 1982 the plant have been suspended. were the subject of an NRC citation as well as a li. Despite the documentation problems, company cense restriction. - of ficials maintain all operators were "very exten- Gilinsky oncof fiveNRCeommissionerswhowill sively" trainal vote on grant Grand Gulf's full power (fperating li-
"There's some operators who we knew were weak cense, said the plant war among those in the nation and they (NHC) identified as being weak," Richard where inexperience is an "immniiate concernf i -
l 1 e e
a o UNITED STATdS OF A!GRICA NUCLEAR REGULATOkY COMMISSION
. \ .:
BEFORE TIIE
- ATOMIC SAFDTY AND LICENSING'_ BOARD - -
in the Matter of , ) ,
,g gg MISSISSIPPI POWER & LIGilT 3 Docket Nos. 50-416 g,5,0-4, ,1L . ,
COMPANY, et al.' )
) 00CKEilNG & SEE BRANCH (Grand Gulf Nuclear Stationc ( )
Urlts 1 and 2) ) 4
.' ' CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE h I hereby certify that copies of " RESPONSE BY JACKSONIANS UNITED FOR LIV.
ABLE ENERGY POLICIES TO ANSWERS FILED El N. R. C. STAFF AND LICENSEE" in the above-captioned proceeding have been served on the following by deposit in the United States mail, first class, this 13+h day of January,1984: N 4 Dr. James H. Carpenter
. Troy B. Conner, Jr. ( '
Administrative Judge Robert M. Rader Conner and Wetterhahn, P.C. Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 1050 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Washington DC 20555 l Washington,DC 20555 ,
Mr. Ken Lt wrence Dr. Peter A. Morris JULEP Administrative Judge P. O. Box 3568 ** Atomic Safety & L;cen:ing Board Panel Jackson, Mississippi 39207 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington,DC 20G55 Robert B. McGehee Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway Atomic Safety & Licensing Appeal Board Panel 925 Electric Building U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
. P. O. Box 651 Washington,DC 20555 Jackson, Mississippi 39205 ?
Docketing & Service Section 1 Mississippi Power & Light Company Office of the Secretary ATTN: J. P. McGaughy,Jr. U. S. Nuclear Regulatorf Commission Assistant V8ce President, Nuclear Production Washington,DC 20555 4 P. O. Box 1640 , s Jackson, Mississippi 39205 N.R.C. Staff . Mary E. Wagner, Counsel
- lierbert Grossman, Chairman U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Administrative Judge Washington,DC 20555'
. Atomic Safety & Licensing Boa'rd Panel 3)* %
U. S. bdelear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 ~ i' .
'* b e & b,1 ed
(, ~
. Cynthia Ann Stewart *
- Chairperson,JULER g
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