IR 05000443/1978012

Insp Repts 50-443/78-12 & 50-444/78-12 on 780726-0811.No Noncompliance Noted.Major Areas Inspected:Alleged Blasting & Other Work Being Done After CPs Suspended

ML20148C193
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	09/12/1978
From:	Devlin J, Folsom S, Rich Smith NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20148C144	List: IR 05000443/1978012 ML20148C140
References
50-443-78-12, 50-444-78-12, NUDOCS 7811010135
Download: ML20148C193 (12)

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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l

.Q ' 0FFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT l 50-443/78-12 Report N /78-12 50-443 l Docket N l l

CPPR-135 l License No. cppR-136 Group 4 Category A-2 l Licensee: Public Service Company of New Hampshire

1000 Elm Streeti '

l Manchester. New Hampshire 03105 I Facility Name: Seabrook Station. Units 1 and 2 l Investigation at: Seabrook, New Hampshire Investigation conducte July 26 - August 11, 1978 Investigators: , t hM

'R./H. Smithanvestigation dpecialist '

9 7 i da signed 9 )

e i2 xw- 9 /2.72 S. A. 761som, Reactor Inspector / date ' signed date signed s

date signed Approved by: O/J' m ,/, , /yf

[J.W. Devlin, Chief,Securityand / /'dat# signed Investigation Section Investigation Summary:

Investigation from July 26 to August 11, 1978 (Report Nos. 50-443/78-12 and 50-444/78-12)

Areas Investigated: Unannounced investigation by one regional based investigator and one regional based inspector, of complaints concerning blasting and other unauthorized work being performed after the construction permits were suspended

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on July 21, 1978. The investigation involved 114 investigative-hours by an NRC l regional based investigator and a regional based inspecto Resul ts: The noise and earth tremor which formed the basis of a complaint about blasting were observed. No information or evidence was found to indicate that any of the complaints were related to violations of regulatory requirements or l violations of the Commission Order. No apparent items of noncompliance were identifie Region I Form 143 (Rev. October 1977) E1010/ W

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS A. Complaints and Investigation Findings The following complaints were obtained by telephone calls to the Region I office and also during interviews of individuals in and around Seabrook, New Hampshire. All complainants were aware that the construction permits for Seabrook Units 1 and 2 were suspended effective 6:00 p.m. (EDT) on July 21, 197 . Complaint No. 1 That blasting was continuing on the site after July 21, 197 The NRC investigation found no information or evidence that any explosives were used on the site during the period from 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 1978 through August 5,1978, which was the end of the onsite portion of this investigatio . Complaint No. 2 That construction activities at the site had not ceased, for the following reasons:

-- Large numbers of people entering and leaving the site on all shift Tower cranes in different orientations from one day to the nex Motors roaring throughout the nigh Sounds of trucks dumping large rock Dump truck tailgates slammin Trees being cut dow A truck loaded with crushed rock entering plan The NRC investigation found that the Order of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which suspended the construction permits was being complied with and that only those actions permitted by the Order were being performe .

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8. Conclusions 1 I No items of noncompliance were identified during the in- I vestigatio l l There were no violations of the NRC Order identifie l

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III DETAILS Introduction-Pursuant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Order on June 30, 1978, the Seabrook Station Units 1 and 2 construction permits were suspended effective 6:00 p.m. (EDT) on July 21, 197 An inspection lwas conducted by a NRC Region I representative on July 21-27, 1978. The purpose of this inspection was to insure, by observation, interviews, and examination of applicable records, that the NRC Order to halt construction had been fully and correctly implemente This investigation was initiated as a result of the NRC receiving telephone complaints that blasting and construction activities had not ceased as of July 21, 197 Scope of Investigation This investigation included an examination of pertinent documents and records, interviews and contacts with individuals having signi-ficant information, and observations by the investigators while at the Seabrook Station Unit 1 and 2 sites. It also included interviews and contacts with the complainants, individual members of the public, Pease Air Force Base and the Federal Aviation Administratio The scope of this investigation was limited to those complaints relating to the suspension of the construction permit ' Persons Directly Interviewed and/or Contacted during the NRC Investigation Yankee Atomic Electric Company R. S. Faulkner, Jr., Section Leader, Field Monitoring i J. H. Herrin, Site Manager F. R. Kotowski, Manager, Educational Center P. A. Nason, Staff Engineer R. P. Pizzuti, Construction Manager J. W. Singleton, Field Quality Assurance Manager R. B. Staples, Civil Supervisor A. J. Stewart, Site Geologist I 0ffice of Inspection and Enforcement Inspection Report Numbers 50-443/78-11 and 50-444/78-1 . - - _ _ _ _ . _ _ .

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l United Engineers and Constructors R. N. Moyer, Field Superintendent Quality Assurance / Quality l Control Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory H. Ruffner, Site Manager / Test Laboratory Supervisor Morrison - Knudsen Company, In J. N. Allan, Project Manager D. Downs, Engineer J. Hendrix, Engineer J. P. Nossereau, Assistant Project Manager R. Obradovic, Project Engineer Pease Air Force Base E. L. Byrd, Disaster Preparedness Officer Federal Aviation Administration C. Hudnall, Planning and Appraisal Staff Others The complainants and other individual members of the publi D. NRC Comments and Findings Regarding the Complaints Complaint No. 1 (a) Complaint That blasting was continuing on the site after July 21, 197 (b) NRC Comments The investigators interviewed several individuals re-garding the blasting noise and/or ground tremors which they believed to be related to blasting at the Seabrook site subsequent to 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 1978. The '

following information was compiled from records maintained by the individuals and shows the approximate time of day for the reported sounds and/or ground tremors.

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6:30 AM - 1 reported sound on 8-1-78 7:10 AM - 1 reported sound on 7-29-78 8:00 AM - 2 reported sounds on 7-22-78

- 1 reported sound on 7-23-78 8:10 AM -

1 reported sound on 7-24-78 8:20 AM -

3 reported sounds on 7-20-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-21- /8

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3 reported sounds on 7-22-78

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2 reported sounds on 7-23-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-24-78

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2 reported sounds on 7-25-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-26-78

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5 reported sounds on 7-27-78

- 5 reported sounds on 7-28-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-29-78

- 3 reported sounds on 7-30-78

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6 reported sounds on 7-31-78

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1 reported sound each day during l

the period of 8-1 thru 8-10-78

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8:30 AM -

2 reported sounds on 7-22-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-25-78 l - 3 reported sounds on 7-26-78 l 9:30 AM - 1 reported sound on 7-22-78 9:50 AM -

2 reported sounds on 7-23-78

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1 reported sound on 7-24-78 l

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2 reported sounds on 7-26-78 l - 2 reported sounds on 7-27-78

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3 reported sounds on 7-29-78

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1 reported sound on 7-30-78

- 1 reported sound on 7- 31-78

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4 reported sounds on 8-4-78

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1 reported sound on 8-5-78 10:45 AM -

1 reported sound on 7- 31-78 11:20 AM -

1 reported sound on 8-1-78 12:40 AM -

1 reported sound on 7-29-78 2:15 PM -

1 reported sound on 7-29-78 2:45 PM -

1 reported sound on 7-22-78 3:00 PM -

2 reported sounds on 7-22-78

- 1 reported sound on 7-23-78

- 1 reported sound on 7-25-78 3:30 PM - 3 reported sounds on 7-29-78

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3:55 PM -

1 reported sound on 7-27-78

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1 reported sound on 7-28-78 4:30 PM -

1 reported sound on 7-22-78 5:50 PM - 1 reported sound on 8-2-78

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1 reported sound on 8-4-78 There was general agreement that the reports from 8:20 to 8:30 AM; at 9:50 AM; and, from 3:00 to 3:30 PM were louder than others and created more vibratio During a discussion at one residence, at about 9:55 on August 3,1978, the investigators and all present heard a sound and felt a tremor similar to others that those present had previously reported. An immediate telephone call to neighbors confirmed that they had heard and felt it als No other similar sounds were heard by the investigators while in the Seabrook, New Hampshire area during the period from August 2 through August 5, 197 During an inspection conducted at the Seabrook, construc-tion site, the investigators examined blasting areas, explosives magazines (all found to,be empty), photographed dump area for blasted rock from ground level and also aerial to provide a method of comparing change, inter-viewed blasting personnel, and examined blasting records and explosive material accounting records. The documenta-tion provided to the investigators indicated that the final explosive charge which was detonated prior to the suspension orders occurred on July 21,1978 at 11:48 in the Unit 1 foundation. Documentation also confirmed that all explosive materials were removed from the site on July 25, 197 This information was also confirmed by discussions with the involved individual The investigators contacted the Pease Air Force Base, Portsmouth, New Hamphsire, and were informed that no similar complaints of sounds had been received at that locatio The investigators contacted the Federal Aviation Admin-istration (FAA), Burlington, Massachusetts and were in-formed that they had received reports from citizens in the Boston North Shore Area and southern New Hampshire of sounds similar to those reported to the NR .  :

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The FAA has installed a sound monitoring device in l Cambridge and is continuing an evaluation to determine l the cause of the soun i l

(c) NRC Findings The NRC investigation found no information or evidence ;

that any explosives were used on the site during the j period from 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 1973, through August 5, !

1978, which was the end of the onsite portion of this j investigatio . Complaint No. 2 (a) Complaint i

That construction activities at the site had not ceased, for-the following reasons:

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Large numbers of people entering and leaving the site on all shift Tower cranes in different orientations from one day to the nex Motors roaring throughout the nigh Sounds of trucks dumping large rock i

-- Dump truck tailgates slammin Trees being cut dow A truck loaded with crushed rock entering plan (b) NRC Comments l An inspection l was conducted prior to initiation of this l investigation to insure that, the NRC Order to halt con-struction had been fully and correctly implemente i 10ffice-of Inspection and Enforcement Inspection Report Numbers 50-443/78-11.and 50-444/78-11..

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During this investigation, all plant areas were examined for evidence of unauthorized work being performed. Areas examined included the offshore jackup barge, onshore tunnel shaft area, reactor building excavations, cooling water pumphouse excavation, concrete and ironwork, con-crete batch plant, settling basins, storage buildings, rock dumps, maintenance and testing shops, laydown areas, office areas, and the Educational Center are The investigators observed authorized activities of an environmental nature in progress, which included ditching and seeding work on the borders of the new plant access road, planting and seeding adjacent to the Educational Center, watering-down of dusty roads and parking areas, and removal of water from some low elevations by pumpin Equipment was also observed being loaded onto trucks for removal from the sit The investigators determined that the total work force at the site on July 21, 1978 had been reduced by 62 percent as of August 2,1978. There were individuals assigned on all shifts with the majority being on day shif On August 2, 1978, supervision and office workers accounted i for 75 percent of the total work force.

l The investigators found that tower cranes did change in orientation which was a normal condition since they are free to turn in the wind when not in use. The other reported complaints were correlated with activities on site and none were found related to site activities which were not permissibl In addition to direct observation of the site, the in-vestigators took ground and aerial photographs to provide a method of comparing chang (c) NRC Findings The NRC investigation found that the Order of the Nuclear Regulatory Comission which suspended the construction permits was being complied with and that only those actions permitted by the Order were being performed.

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l E. Management Meetings j

On July 26, 1978, the investigator discussed the reason for the t investigation with Mr. J. H. Herrin, Site Manage On August 8, 1978, during a telephone discussion with Mr. Herrin, the investigator discussed the investigation findings and informed the licensee that no items of noncompliance had been identifie .

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