ML20133G837

SALP Repts 50-348/96-99 & 50-364/96-99 for Period 950326- 961123

ML20133G837
Person / Time
Site:	Farley, 05000248
Issue date:	01/09/1997
From:	NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
To:
Shared Package
ML20133G830	List: ML20133G837
References
50-348-96-99, 50-364-96-99, NUDOCS 9701160183
Download: ML20133G837 (6)

See also: IR 05000348/1996099

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SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF LICENSEE PERFORMANCE REPORT

FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT  !'

! 50-348/96-99 AND 50-364/96-99

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j The SALP Board convened on December 18. 1996, to assess the nuclear

safety performance of Farley Nuclear Plant for the period March 26, 1995,

through November 23, 1996. The Board was conducted in accordance with -

i Management Directive 8.6. " Systematic Assessment of Licensee  !

Performance." Board members were J. R. Jotuison (Board Chairperson)  !

Director. Division of Reactor Projects: A. F. Gibson (former) Director.  !

Division of Reactor Safety; and H._N. Berkow. Director. Project i

Directorate II-2. Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. This assessment j

was reviewed and approved by the Regional Administrator.  ;

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II. Plant Operations

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This functional area addresses the control and execution of activities  :

directly related to operating the plant. It includes activities such as l

plant startup, plant shutdown, and response to transients. It also

includes initial and requalification training programs for licensed

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operators, i

Overall performance in the Plant Operations area remained superior. The I

early portion of the assessment period was challenged by a significant  ;

number of lant transients: automatic and manual trips along with several '

power redu tions and forced outages. These were prhi.arily caused by-

secondary plant chemistry as well as main feedwater and main turbine

control system equipment problems, and not by operator errors. The i'

latter part of the period was characterized by much more stable plant

operations with no automatic trips in 1996.  ;

Performance by licensed operators was generally excellent. Their i

knowledge and performance during plant maneuvers was superior throughout ,

the period. Particularly noteworthy was the proper implementation of l

plant operating procedures for routine startups and shutdowns. Defueling l

and refueling activities on both units were well controlled. Excellent 3

implementation of abnormal and emergency operating 3rocedures was

observed during multi le transients due to electro-lydraulic control  ;

(EHC) system and fee ater pump problems, as well as responses to '

significant secondary system steam leaks. This performance was

indicative of experienced and well trained licensed operators. The i

licensed operator requalification training was considered good; however.  !

documentation of the conduct of remedial training was weak on occasion.

Routine plant shifts were well staffed with experienced operators. j

Stable and consistent crews were maintained for a year period. In  ;

addition, during the latest refueling outage. the entire shift crew '

remained together. strengthening teamwork for the outage. O  :

overtime was well controlled. Staffing of the technical su]perator

port center I

with Operations supervisors to assure proper tagging and scledulire of

Enclosure

9701160183 970109

PDR ADOcK 05000348

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maintenance demonstrated an excellent safety focus. Improved performance

was noted with wrong unit, wrong train component operation.

Certain personnel errors related to system configuration control remained

a challenge, especially in the latter part of the period. Configuration

control was also a challenge during the last SALP period. Several

personnel errors by non-licensed system operators resulted in operability (

challenges to emergency diesel generators and transients in the letdown  ;

and volume control tank portions of the' reactor coolant system. '

Operations management was closely involved in the review of plant

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incidents and occurrence reports. Senior reactor operator (SR0) -

experience in site managerial positions remained a strength throughout

the Farley organization. This included not only SRO qualification but

also significant on-shift operating experience. , Management participation

during requalification exams improved late in the period. Control room  :

professionalism, awareness demonstrated by operators at the controls, and

a minimum of lit annunciators or control room deficiencies indicated

strong management support for. plant operations. Management decisions to

shut down Unit 1 for a short mid-cycle outage prior to the olympic games. '

and a decision to shut down Unit 2 3rior to the arrival of hurricane Opal

were considered conservative, and t1e evolutions were conducted without '

incident.

Operations self-assessments and safety committee reviews were generally i

acceptable. Root cause trending of human performance problems has

improved. Management typically supported sending shift crews to other

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facilities to benchmark good practices. During the last month of this

assessment period, plant management initiated a manager's tour program to

improve in-plant observations and self-assessments. The site audit

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program conducted by the Safety Audit and Engineering Review group was

l thorough and self-critical, and included extensive SR0 expertise as well

as other specialists when required.

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The Plant Operations area is rated Category 1.  !

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III. MAINTENANCE

l This functional area addresses activities associated with diagnostic,

predictive, preventive, and corrective maintenance of plant structures.

! systems and components: maintenance of the physical condition of the

l plant: and training of the maintenance staff. It also includes

l surveillance testing, in-service inspection and testing, instrument  !

I calibration, operability testing, post-maintenance testing, post-outage

testing, containment leak rate testing, and special testing.

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Management support and involvement were evident in the planning and i

conduct of plant maintenance activities. This involvement was

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demonstrated by the successful completion of three outages and many major

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maintenance evolutions. The pre-planning and control of work packages  !

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were considered good. Good support to Operations reduced the number of

operator work arounds and corrective maintenance backlogs.

The surveillance, in-service inspection and in-service testing programs

continued to be effectively implemented. The predictive maintenance

program was also effective. Safety-related equipment performance was

good; however. Balance of Plant (BOP) equipment problems continued to

adversely affect the overall performance of the plant, as evidenced by

numerous power reductions, transients, and trips. The majority of these

power reductions and trips were cauxd by main turbine and main feedwater

pum) EHC problems and steam generator (SG) chemistry control (sodium)

pro]lems during the first half of the period.

The SG maintenance and inspection program was a strength. Management was

effective in monitoring and maintaining the integrity of the SGs.

The corrective actions and root cause analyses of maintenance issues

continued to be generally effective. The corrective actions addressed

immediate needs and the long-term actions were appropriately based on

root cause evaluations. This was demonstrated by the resolution of the

electro-hydraulic control system problems.

Personnel errors, mostly due to a lack of attention to detail, adversely

affected some maintenance activities. Procedural issues contributed to

several maintenance and test deficiencies. Additionally, emergency

diesel generator availability was adversely impacted by several problems

associated with fuel oil leaks, service water leaks and surveillance

test failures.

The Maintenance area is rated Category 2.

IV. ENGINEERING

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This functional area addresses engineering and technical support

activities. It includes support to operations and maintenance,

management support for process improvement initiatives, modifications,

root cause analysis, corrective actions, as well as licensing activities. )

Engineering performance continued at a superior level during this period.

Previously identified strengths were maintained, and the licensee

aggressively addressed challenges to safety and operation.

Engineering support to Operations and Maintenance was effective. This

was evident in major maintenance and modification activities, aggressive

and innovative SG maintenance and repair activities, and actions related

to BOP equipment. The quality and effectiveness of major modifications

demonstrated further improvement over the previous period.

Several instances of breakdowns in communication, oversight, and quality

assurance between Farley personnel and vendors were observed with regard

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' to understanding current plant design configuration and technical

support. Continued attention to vendor control is considered a challenge i

to assure continued success.

Engineering root cause analyses and follow-up corrective actions were

.' com3rehensive and effective, especially during the latter part of the ~

SAL) period. Engineering was a major contributor to resolution of the SG  :

sodium contamination and the EHC/ Digital EHC system problems which caused ,

numerous power reductions while returning from the Unit 2 refueling

3 outage in April 1995.  :

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With the exception of vendor oversight, effective management oversight at

the site and in the corporate office continued during this SALP period. ,

Farley management has conducted several performance improvement  !

initiatives including: the Safety System Self-Assessment Program to

identify and correct design and operational deficiencies in critical ,

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safety systems: the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report Verification l

Program to assure conformance with the license: and the Single Point

Vulnerability Study to identify major contributors to trips, power i

reductions and shutdowns. Several process improvements have also been

implemented including the Engineering Projects Council and Configuration

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Control Board. i

While modification control was generally good. there were several '

instances of inadequate control of the as-built configuration, both pre- )

existing and recent, involving welds, pipe supports, bolt torque values  ;

- and other systems and components that collectively indicate the need for i

additional management focus.  ;

Licensing submittals were generally of high quality: however, some l

significant licensing action requests were not submitted in a timely

manner to fully support the requested review schedule.

The Engineering area is rated Category 1

V. PLANT SUPPORT

This functional area assesses activities related to the plant support

function, including radiological controls, radioactive effluents and

waste, plant chemistry, emergency preparedness, security, fire protection

and housekeeping.

The radiological control program provided good 3rotection of the health

and safety of facility workers and members of t1e public. The program

was effective in limiting the internal and external radiation exposures

of workers to levels well below established regulatory limits. The ALARA

program was satisfactory. Extensive steam generator work contributed

significantly to occupational radiation exposure but administrative

controls and other dose reduction initiatives were effective in reducing

dose. The effluent control program limited exposures to members of the

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public by maintaining radionuclide effluent releases, and the resultant

radiation' doses from those releases, at a small percentage of regulatory

limits. The environmental monitoring program confirmed the effectivcness

of the effluent release program. The chemistry program maintained good

3rimary coolant quality. Radioactive waste storage on site was minimal.

Resolution of procedural and equipment inadequacies and reduction of the

frequency of procedural non-compliances, noted toward the end of the

assessment period, are challenges to the radiological control program.

The emergency preparedness program was effective in maintaining site

readiness to respond to emergencies; however, weaknesses associated with

the tone alert radio system were corrected late in the period. Emergency

preparedcess training and drills were appropriate.

The licensee continued to have a strong, well-ma'naged security program.

Equipment was reliable and consistently met the requirements of the

Physical Security Plan. Security management was generally proactive in

recognizing potential weaknesses. Plant operations continued to have

good communications with the security force. Trairing and qualification

of the security force was a strength. Continued vigilance regarding

thorough searches of items entering the protected area was a challenge.

Performance in implementation of the fire protection program declined

during this SALP period. Organization and administration of the fire

protection program was good. Fire protection and prevention procedures,

including procedures for the control of ignition sources, transient

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combustibles and housekeeping, were adequate. Implementation of

procedures was satisfactory except for specific instances of inadequate

control of the fire watch program. The fire brigade training program and

performance of the fire brigade during drills and actual fires were good.

Quality assurance audits of the fire protection program were generally

thorough and corrective action for identified major problems was timely;

however, these audits did not detect poor inspection programs for fire

barriers.

Maintenance and aerformance of the fire protection systems and equipment

were marginal. iultiple failures of the diesel driven fire pumps

occurred during the first part of the SALP cycle. Performance improved

toward the end of the aeriod due to enhanced preventive maintenance and

accelerated testing. iultiple failures of the automatic sprinkler

systems occurred in early 1996. Enhanced 3reventive maintenance and

accelerated testing were im)lemented but )y the end of the SALP period,

the root cause of the sprincler system problem had not been identified.

Maintenance and inspection of Kaowool raceway fire barriers were

inadequate, resulting in fire barriers that failed to meet the required

design configuration. The facility fire protect.on program, as it

relates to equipment and fire barriers, warrants increased management

attention.

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Plant housekeeping for both units degraded significantly during Unit 1

Refueling Outage 13 and cleanup actions were very slow following

com)letion of the refueling outage. Housekeeping practices associated

wit 1 the material condition and maintenance of the radiation monitoring

systems were not fully effective. Station management has recently

initiated a management tour program, in part, to improve observation of

housekeeping and material condition.

The Plant Support area is rated Category 2.

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