ML20134M507

Forwards Insp Rept 50-373/96-18 & 50-374/96-18 on 961213 & Nov.Four Apparent Violations Were Identified & Being Considered for Escalated Enforcement Action

ML20134M507
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	02/13/1997
From:	Leach M NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Subalusky W COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
Shared Package
ML20134M510	List: IR 05000373/1996018 ML20134M507 ML20134M529
References
EA-97-021, EA-97-21, NUDOCS 9702200273
Download: ML20134M507 (3)

See also: IR 05000373/1996018

Text

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February 13, 1997

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EA 97-021

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Mr. W. T. Subalusky, Jr.

Site Vice President i

LaSalle County Station l

Commonwealth Edison Company )

2601 North 21st Road l

Marseilles, IL 61341

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SUBJECT: NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-373/96018 & 50-374/96018 AND ,

NOTICE OF VIOLATION l

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Dear Mr. Subalusky- I

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On December 13,1996, the NRC completed an inspection at your LaSalle facility. The  !

enclosed report presents the results of that inspection.

During this inspection period, four apparent violations of NRC requirements were identifie1

which are being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the

" General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement i

Policy), NUREG-1600. Three of the apparent violations pertain to the failure to ensure .

through appropriate testing that the control room and auxiliary electric equipment room l

ventilation systems could perform their design function during accident conditions. We are  ;

particularly concerned with the lack of understanding of the plant's design and licensing . i

basis reflected in these apparent violations. i

The fourth apparent violation involves the failure to identify and/or correct significant

conditions adverse to quality. Specifically, your staff did not appropriately address

degradation of safety-related electrical control switches due to hydrocarbon exposure and

excessive age; did not identify the presence of foreign materialin the Unit 2 suppression I

pool, which could have caused a common-mode failure of the emergency core cooling

system, during an inspection of the pool in March 1996; and failed to implement timely

corrective actions for an inoperable breaker event in April 1995, resulting in a similar event ,

in October 1996 with two safety-related motor control center supply breakers. These

three examples are of particular concern because they represent potential common-mode

failures which could have simultaneously affected multiple safety systems. A fourth

example of the failure to implement appropriate corrective action, which involved a reactor

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core isolation cooling system rupture disk event, was discussed in NRC Inspection Report

No. 50-373/96013; 50-374/96013 transmitted to you by letter dated January 29,1997.

A Notice of Violation is presently not being issued for these inspection findings. However,

we request that you respond within 30 days of the date of this letter to the apparent

violations discussed in the enclosed inspection Report and to the apparent violation

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9702200273 970213

PDR

G ADOCK 05000373

PDR

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W. T. Subalusky -2-

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discussed in Inspection Report No. 50-373/96013;50-374/96013. Your response should

be clearly marked as a " Response to Apparent Violations in inspection Report Nos. 50-

373/96013; 50-374/96013 and 50-373/96018; 50-373/96018" and should include for

each apparent violation: (1) the reason for the apparent violation, or, if contested, the

basis for disputing the apparent violation, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and

the results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations,

and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response should be

submitted under oath or affirmation and may reference or include previous docketed i

correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. i

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We intend to review your response to the apparent violations described in the enclosed l

inspection report in conjunction with: (1) your response dated January 10,1997, to our

letter dated November 15,1996, which discussed the four apparent violations identified  !

during our Service Water System Operational Performance Inspection, (2) your response to

our letter dated January 24,1997, regarding the proposed imposition of a $650,000 civil

penalty, and (3) your response to our letter dated January 27,1997, requesting

information pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(f). Based on the results of this review, we will

contact you to discuss whether a pre-decisional enforcement conference is necessary to

enable the NRC to make an enforcement decision. You will also be given the opportunity

to request an enforcement conference at that time. Please be advised that the number and

characterization of apparent violations described in the enclosed inspection report may

change as a result of further NRC review. You will be advised by separate correspondence

of the results of our deliberations on this matter,

in addition to the apparent violations referenced above, certain other activities appeared to

be in violation of NRC requirements, as specified in the enclosed Notice of Violation

(Notico). The violation is of concern because it involves an operator's failure to comply

with procedure usage requirements while testing safety-related equipment.

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the

enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part,

to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with

regulatory requirements.

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W. T. Subalusky -3-

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In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practices," a copy of this letter,

its enclosure, and your responses will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).

Sincerely,

/s/ M. N. Leach

Melvyn N. Leach, Acting Deputy Director

Division of Reactor Safety

Docket Nos. 50-373; 50-374

License Nos. NPF-11; NPF-18

Enclosures: 1. Notice of Violation

2. Inspection Report 50-373/96018; 50-374/96018

cc w/ encl: T. J. Maiman, Senior Vice President

Nuclear Operations Division

D. A. Sager, Vice President,

Generation Support

H. W. Keiser, Chief Nuclear

Operating Officer

D. J. Ray, Station Manager

J. Burns, Regulatory Assurance

Supervisor j

l. Johnson, Acting Nuclear j

Regulatory Services Manager l

Richard Hubbard l

Nathan Schloss, Economist i

Office of the Attorney General l

State Liaison Officer )

Chairman, Illinois Commerce

Commission l

Document Control Desk-Licensing i

Distribution:

Docket File w/enci DRP w/enct

PUBLIC IE-01 w/enct Rlli PRR w/ encl

OC/LFDCB w/enci SRI LaSalle, Dresden,

CAA1 w/enci (E- mail) Quad Cities w/ encl

Project Manager, NRR w/ encl A. B. Beach, w/enci

RAC1 (E- Mail) W. L. Axelson, w/enci ,

Rlli Enf. Coordinator, w/ encl DRS (3) w/enct l

TSS w/enci J. Lieberman, OE w/encI

J. Goldberg, OGC w/enci R. Zimmerman, NRR w/enci

DOCtMENT NAME: R : \ I NSPRPTS \ POWERS \LASA\LA596018.DRP

To receive a copy of this document. Indicate in the box "C* = Copy without attach /enci *E" - Copy with attach /enci "N" =

No copy

0FFICE Rill Rll! , Rill 6 R111 [

NAME Hills /bs M Dapas Clayton h teach M/VI

DATE 2/Ih97 2//.l2 97 T/ft97 ?t)/97

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY