ML17250A332

Comments on 800506 Presentation to NRC Commissioners Re Status of SEP & Description of Difficulty as Lack of Aggression by Licensees.Nrc Has Not Provided Guidelines. Issues W/Higher Priorities Have Arisen

ML17250A332
Person / Time
Site:	Ginna, Sterling
Issue date:	06/12/1980
From:	WHITE L D ROCHESTER GAS & ELECTRIC CORP.
To:	EISENHUT D G Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
TASK-***, TASK-RR NUDOCS 8006180537
Download: ML17250A332 (6)

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REGULATORYIIRMATIONDISTRIBUTIONSYS(RIDS)ACCESSIONNBR:8006180537DOC,DATE:80/06/12NOTARI2EDiNODOCKETFACIL:502r4r4RobettEmmetGinnaNuclea'rPlantrUnit,irRochesterG050002r4r4STN-50-r485SterlingPowerProjectNuclearrUnitiiRochester050004485AUTH'AMEAUTHORAFFILIATIONWHITErL~D,RochesterGas8ElectricCorp~RECIPNAMERECIPIENTAFFILIATIONEISENHUTiD.G.DivisionofLicensing

SUBJECT:

Commentson800506presentationtoNRCCommissionersrestatusofSEPLdescriptionofdifficultyaslackofaggressionbylicensees,NRChasnotprovidedguidelinesissuesw/higherprioritieshavearisen,DISTRIBUTIONCODE:A055SCOPIESRECEIVEDILTRiENCL~SIZEITITLE:SEPTopicsE:lPA>f'~AACd--tl.L---++'Lh,~~C-~A/37rg7z,RECIPIENTCOPIESRECIPIENTCOPIESIDCODE/NAMELTTRENCLIDCODE/NAMELTTRENCL'CTION:BCC.RNMHFJE'r-919pd~88t.oao,8.INTERNAL:A/DMATLEQUAL16HYD/GKOBR1702EGFILE0110111'11CONTSYSA13I8E08ORASSESSBR15SEPBR0QEXTERNAL:ACRSNSIC23161071LPDR03Ju,')g0lg8O03'OTALNUMBEROFCOPIESREQUIRED:LTTRk4ENCL 0Jf,',II4V1~I'tIfII,I'1\lttgg"fff'IoI"4IItlYJ'E1V~z.e1-EtEI~.~-E,4'II'4.-~I4t-4J*IIE4Ittttlt~J4IVkttIIpIt

/IXIIII//Ill////I///I/lt///////ltlIllilt(rrrrzzsr/ROCHESTERGASANDELECTRICCORPORATIONo89EASTAVENUE,ROCHESTER,N.Y.14649LEOND,WHITE,JR.VICCPRESIDENTTCLSPHONCARCACOOKTld546.2700June12,1980Mr.DarrellG.Eisenhut,DirectorDivisionofProject.ManagementOfficeofNuclearReactorRegulationU.S.NuclearRegulatoryCommissionWashington,D.C.20555

DearMr.Eisenhut:

WerecentlyreviewedthetranscriptofthepresentationyouandothersfromtheNRCStaffmadetotheCommissionersonMay6,1980regardingthestatusoftheSystematicEvaluationProgram(SEP).Weweredisappointedtonotethatyoudescribedamajorprogramdifficultyasbeing"licenseesnotaggressivelypursuingprogram."Further,wedrewtheinferencefromthepresentationthatlicenseeswerebeinguncooperativeinproviding/theproperinformationtotheStaff.Wearedisappointedfortworeasons.First,thattheNRCStaffhasnotcommunicatedtousanyspecificsregardingwhatweshouldnowbedoingthatwearenotnowdoing.Andsecond,wedonotbelieve,theStaffcharacterizationofprogramdifficultiestobefair.ThepurposeofthisletteristoprovideRochesterGasandElectricCorporation'sviewsonouraggressivenessintheSystematicEvaluationProgramandtobrieflyoutlineourviewsonprogramdifficulties.IthasbeencleartousthattheSEPistheNRCStaff'sprogram.This.preceptwasstatedinitiallyandhasbeenrestatedanumberofptxmes.ItwasmostrecentlyevidencedinaletterdatedDecember12,1979whichcategorizedtopicsintothosethattheNRCwouldaddressandthoseforwhichthelicenseewouldbeaskedtobearmajorresponsibility.Theareasthatwehavebeenaskedtoperformmajorreviewshavebeenfewinnumber.IntheDecember12letter,theStaffstatedthat.wewouldbeprovidedguidelinesforourefforts.Iackofguidelinesforsometopicsshouldnothowever,betakentomeanthatwehaveignoredtheseandothertopics.SubstantialworkhasbeenperformedinsupportofStaffsitevisitsandevaluations.Anexampleispreparationandreviewofsafeshutdowntechniques,includingdiscussioninlicensedoperatortrainingclasses,whichwascompletedpriortotheStaff'ssafeshutdownsitevisitofJune14-16,1978andhasbeencontinuedsincethattime.Thatworkhasbeenusefulinaddressingotherlicensingandoperatingconcernsandhas,webelieve,provideda5strongeroperatingcomplement.8008180631 011I8T

~E~~VROCHESTERGASANDELECTRICCORP.DATEJune12,1980ToMr.DarrellG.Eisenhut,DirectorSHEETNO.Anotherexamplewasourstudyonelectricalpenetrations,sub-mittedonApril12,1979.AlthoughinitiatedforreasonsotherthenSEP,ourSeismicUpgradeProgramisamajorinitiative.AsdescribedtoyourStaffonJuly24,1979,thisprogramwillresultinreanalysisofallmajorseismiccategoryIpipingatGinna.TheresultsofourprogramwillbeincorporatedintotheStaff'sSEPevaluationasdescribedinanNRCletterdatedApril29,1980.Programdifficultiesandtheattendant,slippageincompletiondatesisnotunexpectedtous.First,theProgrambeganwithout,clearlydefinedreviewcriteria.Whilerealisticassessments,givingcreditforalternate'methodsofsatisfyingcriteria,weretobeperformed,littleguidanceonhowtoperformtheserealisticassessmentsorwhatconstitutedanacceptablelevelof"realism"wasprovidedfortheStaffreviewers.Thisiscertainlyunder-standablesincenosuchprogramhadbeenperformedpreviously.Further,it.wasprobablydesirablenottobeoverlyprescriptivepriortobeginningtheProgrambuttoletexperiencegainedduringearlyreviewsshapethereviewtechniques'tobeusedlater.Progresshasthusbeendeliberate.Secondly,issueswithhigherprioritieshavearisenduringtheSEPwhichcouldnotbeforeseen.ThesehaveaffectedtheStaffreviewsinsomecasesandthelicenseesresourcesinothers.Althoughtheyarewellknown,itisusefultomentionseveralofthese:environmentalqualificationofelectricalequipment,IEBulletins79-02,79-04,79-14,andresponsestothelessonslearnedfromTMIarebutseveral.AthirdreasonthatweperceiveforslippageisthechangingofStaffreviewersonindividualtopics.Thesechangeshavebeenduetoreviewertransfersorpromotionsor,mostrecently,tothereorganizationwithinNRR.Afewexamplesinthisareamaybeillustrative.ControlroomhabitabilitywasapartofanSEPsitevisitonSeptember6,1978.Sincethattimetherehasbeenanadditionalsitevisitandtherehavebeentwosubsequentreviewers.Further,arelatedaspect,offsitehazards,wasassignedtoanotherreviewer.Heobtainedsubstantialinformationfromusandweunderstandthathemadeanumberofthecontactsgatheringinformation.Unfortunately,priortopreparinghisassessmenthewastransferredtoanotherNRCBranch.Itmay,therefore,benecessaryforanewreviewertoreperformthistask.AnotherexampleisTopicII-2.D,MeteorologicalMeasure-mentsProgram.InformationonthetopicwasprovidedinformallyonAugust,24,1978.InresponsetoadraftsafetyassessmentwhichwereviewedwiththeStaffonMay29,1979,weprovidedcommentsbothinformally(July5,1979)andformally(April11,1980).FurtherwehavemadenumerousattemptstodiscussthistopicwiththeStaffeitherviatelephoneorinameetingbuthavebeenunsuccessfulinourattemptstoarrangeatechnical ROCHESTERGASANDELECTRICCORP.DATEJune12,1980ToMr.DarrellG.Eisenhut,Director8SHEETNO.dialogue.InTopicIII-5.A,HighEnergyLineBreaksInsideContainment,weprovidedtheStaffwithinformationduringasitevisitinMarch1979andbysubmittalsdatedFebruary9,1979andSeptember11,1979.Sincethattime,wehavebeeninformedthattheStaffisradicallyrevisingtheanalysisguidelines,jeopardiz-ingmuchoftheprogressmadetodatebyusandotherSEPutilities.Atthistime,weareawaitingStaffresponsetooursubmittalsorStaffissuanceoftherevisedguidelines.BasedonourreviewofSEP,wedonotbelievethatthereasonsforslippageinSEPshouldbeattributedtolackoflicenseeaggressiveness.Itisapparent,however,thatthereneedstobeincreasedcommunicationsbetweentheStaffandRG&EregardingthestatusandprogressofSEP.Wewouldbepleased.todiscusstheSEPwithyouoryourStaffatyourconvenience.Verytrulyyours,p