ML20135D782
| ML20135D782 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee |
| Issue date: | 02/28/1997 |
| From: | Zwolinski J NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | Blanch P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135D785 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9703050501 | |
| Download: ML20135D782 (6) | |
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A UNITED STATES
{D0b NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 4
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Mr. Paul M. B1anch 135 Hyde Road
-West Hartford, CT. 06117 l
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Dear Mr. Blanch:
1 I as responding to your letter of January 8,1997, in which you forwarded j j- concerns raised in your E Mail of November 20,19%, regarding the Maine ,
s Yankee plant and the IRC's Independent Safety Assessment Team (ISAT) findings. l You also requested an opportunity to participate in the Commission meeting of l
, February 4,1997 regarding Maine Yankee's response to the ISAT findings. j i On January 23, 1997, the Office of the Secretary of the Commission responded ;
i to your request for participation in the Commission meeting and informed you '
{s that your comments would be addressed under separate correspondence. ;
j In reviewing your letter, we note that in your cover letter you conclude ;
- .... that the )lant has not been verified to be in compliance 'with Commission
. regulations' t1erefore the minimum safety requirements have not been I
!. satisfied." As the Commission has noted, l
} while it is true that compliance with all IRC regulations )rovides !
reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public 1ealth and i
- safety, the converse is not correct, that failure to comply with one j regulation or another is an indication of the absence of adequate !
, protection, at least in a situation where the Commission has reviewed .
l the noncompliance and found that it does not pose an " undue risk" to the !
- public health and safety. i l
Ohio Citizens'for Resoonsible Enerav. Inc.: Denial of Petition for Rulemaking, '
53 Fed. Reg. 41178 (October 20, 1988), ouotina Specific Exemptions:
- Clarification of Standards, 50 Fed. Reg. 50764 at 50768 (Dec.12,1985). In this case, the staff has determined that the overall performance of Maine i
Yankee was adequate for operation at 2440 W t, taking into consideration the-nature and scope of the problems identified by the ISAT and the immediate
, corrective actions taken by the licensee. This finding was predicated on an assessment of the licensee's conformance with the Commission's regulations, i license conditions (including technical specifications), and Orders; and the 1 ability of the licensee's programs to assure safe operation of Maine Yankee. )
- The staff's findings reflect the judgment, based on information available to '
L the staff at that time, that operation in accordance with the current license restrictions and authorizations can be conducted with reasonable assurance of i adequate protection of the public health and safety, the fundamental safety standard under the Atomic Energy Act, and that such operation would not pose an undue risk.
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l Regarding the concerns raised in the enclosure to your letter and E Mail of i November 20,.1996, the staff has responded in separate correspondence dated
! February 18, 1997. Of note are additional concerns identified recently
- regarding equipment qualification. - As you are aware, prior to the ISAT exit
! from the site and restart of the plant in the Summer of 1996, equipment oualification submergence concerns were identified. The licensee took prompt corrective action to address the staff's concerns.
! As a follow on activity the licensee committed, as part of its corrective
! actions, to perform a verification of its analysis of water level inside the 4 containment following a design basis event. The staff was informed in December 1996 that the subsequent analysis revealed a change in water level j such that 14 additional instruments could also be submerged. The licensee will address this matter prior to restart. Equipment qualification is one of i several items identified by the ISAT that will be the subject of an l enforcement conference, operi for public observation, to be conducted near the
- plar.t site on March 11, 1997.
2 As you are aware, Maine Yankee was shut down in early December upon discovery l of cable separation concerns. On December 18, 1996, the NRC issued a l Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to the licensee to provide assurance that i cable separation and logic testing issues were resolved prior to restart.
l Further inspections and licensing activities have revealed additional
- technical concerns in the electrical area. These recently identified concerns
! have been incorporated into a supplement to the CAL that was issued on January 30, 1997. The issues addressed in the CAL and its sup)lement will be the
- subiect of a public meeting between the licensee and tie staff prior to plant
- restet.
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! The NRC Cl decide prior to restart whether the licensee's corrective actions j provide reannable assurance that the plant will be operated in a manner that '
- will provide t.dequate protection of public health and safety and not pose an j j undue risk. ,
I Your concerns regarding the NRC staff's performance are being forwarded to the
- Office of the Inspector General.
I trust the above is responsive to your concerns.
f Sincerely, John . Zwolinski, Deputy Director
, Divis on of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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FILENAME - A:\GT970037 *see previous concurrence OFFICE PM:DRPE* DD:DRPE* D:DRPE* AE0D* ADPR* 1 NAME DDorman Zwolinski ,, SVarga FCongel Zimmerman DATE 2/5/97 2/5/9717E' 2/5/97 '2/7/97 2/7/97 COPY Yes/No Yes/No/O' Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No '
0FFICE D:NRR* EDO OCM NAME FMiraglia HThompson SJackson DATE 2/10/97 a/$/97 a /06/97 COPY Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No OGC*
RWeisman (no legal objection, with noted comments) 2/18/97 '
Original signed by J. Zwolinski l
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t f- Mr. P. Blanch 4 February 28, 1997
)istribution:
Met: File:(50a309 w/ original tincoming)/
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PUBLIC (w/ incoming) l SECY GT #970037 i ED0 Reading l H. Thompson l
S. Collins !
J. Blaha F. Miraglia <
A. Thadani ,
R. Zimmerman .
l B. Sheron '
T. Martin e -
W. Travers .
i K. Bohrer (GT 970037) - ,
t PDI 3 Plant (w/ incoming) x
. i S. Varga , , . i J. Zwolinski - . *1 M. Boyle (email MLB4) * * ' .
m J. Moore. 0GC -
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C. Norsworthy <
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EDO Principal Correspondence Control FROMt DUE: 01/31/97 EDO CONTROL: G970037 DOC DT: 01/08/97 Paul M.-Blanch' FINAL REPLY:
TOs Andrew ~ Bates, SECY FOR SIGNATURE OF : ** PRI **
CRC NO: 97-0048 Miraglia DESC ROUTING:
MAINE YANKEE SAFETY ISSUES Thompson Jordan Norry Blaha Ross, AEOD Miller, RI DATE: 01/17/97 ASSIGNED TO: CONTACT: '
NRR Miraglia h
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS:
REF: G960889'(AEOD)
Put EDO.and Chairman on for concurrence.
Chairman's~ Office to review response prior to dispatch.
NRR RECEIVED: JANUARY 17, 1997 NRR ACTION:
DRPE:VARGA ~ ~~
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~ ~~ rT NRR ROUTING: MIRAGLIA '/ n P.bvpiv\g.{
THADANI - +
ZIMMERMAN SHERON
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-
. CORRESPONDENCE CONTROL TICKET PAPER NUMBER: CRC-97-0048 LOGGING DATE: Jan 14 97 ACTION OFFICE: EDO/SECY AUTHOR: PAUL BLANCH AFFILIATION: CONNECTICUT ,
ADDRESSEE: ANDREW BATES LETTER DATE: Jan 8'96 FILE CODE: IDR-5 MAINE YANKEE
SUBJECT:
- COMMISSION MEETING ON MAINE YANKEE ACTION: Direct Reply DISTRIBUTION:. CHAIRMAN, COMRS, SECY, OGC SPECIAL HANDLING: SECY TO ACK !
CONSTITUENT: f NOTES: SECY WILL HANDLE COMMISSION MEETING CHAIRMAN SHOULD .
REVIEW RESPONSE' PRIOR TO DISPATCH l
'DATE DUE: -J;n 31 37 i SIGNATURE: 0. / 3!
/ f,hI DATE SIGNED:
AFFILIATION:
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