Headquarters Daily Report OCTOBER 11, 1996 *************************************************************************** REPORT NEGATIVE NO INPUT ATTACHED INPUT RECEIVED RECEIVED HEADQUARTERS û REGION I û REGION II û REGION III û REGION IV û PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED MORNING REPORT - HEADQUARTERS OCTOBER 11, 1996 MR Number: H-96-0074 NRR DAILY REPORT ITEM GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS NRC Information Notice 95-04, Supplement 1, "Excessive Cooldown and Depressurization of the Reactor Coolant System Following Loss of Offsite Power," dated October 11, 1996. The NRC is issuing this information notice supplement to alert addressees to an excessive cooldown and depressurization of the reactor coolant system and the main steam system following a loss of offsite power at Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 2. Technical contacts: M. Miller, RII (404) 331-5550 D. O'Neal, NRR (301) 415-3706 F. Burrows, NRR (301) 415-2901 _ REGION I MORNING REPORT PAGE 2 OCTOBER 11, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. MR Number: 1-96-0088 Maine Yankee 1 Date: 10/11/96 Wiscasset,Maine Dockets: 50-309 PWR/CE Subject: Action Plan and Organizational Changes Discussion: On October 9, 1996, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company, Charles Frizzle, announced the company's Action Plan. The President of Maine Yankee stated that the Action Plan was to meet the challenges raised by the NRC Independent Safety Assessment Team inspection and challenges raised by the evolving standards of the industry, and by the proper expectation of Maine's people for safe, reliable, and competitive electricity from nuclear energy. The Action Plan contains elements involving Resource Allocation, Organization Changes, Board of Directors Increased Oversight, Program Enhancements and People and Cultural Changes. The organization changes involved the separation of Licensing and Engineering (E and L) Department into a Licensing and Regulatory Compliance and Engineering departments. The current Vice president for the Engineering and Licensing department, Douglas Whittier, will remain as the Vice President of the new Engineering Department. The Company will search for an individual to fill the newly created position of Vice President of Licensing and Regulatory Compliance. Other changes involved detaching the Human Resources function from the Finance and Administration department with a manager reporting directly to the President of Maine yankee; creating a position of Senior Outage Manager; and a more formal organizational separation from Yankee Atomic Electric Company by removing the president of YAEC from the dual role of a Maine Yankee officer. Regarding licensee's actions to increase Board of Directors oversight of initiatives involved in the Action Plan, the former Director of the NRC's Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Dr. T. Murley, was appointed to the Maine Yankee Board of Directors and will also serve on the newly established Nuclear Committee of the Board. An additional management change that was unrelated to the Action Plan had been previously announced. The change was that the Plant Manager, Chris Shaw, resigned from Maine Yankee to take a position with Central Maine Power, effective the end of October. The former Plant Manager, Robert Blackmore will resume the duties of Plant Manager. Regional Action: Continue to monitor plant performance to ensure that safety focus is not affected by the organizational changes. Contact: Jimi Yerokun (207)882-7519 Richard Conte (610)337-5183 _ REGION II MORNING REPORT PAGE 3 OCTOBER 11, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: (Non Licensee - Scrap Recycler) MR Number: 2-96-0094 Herman Strauss Industries Date: 10/11/96 Wheeling,West Virginia Subject: UPDATE ON RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND IN SCRAP YARD Discussion: This is to update MR Number 2-96-0093 issued on October 9, 1996, regarding the discovery of two radiation sources at a scrap yard (PNO-II-96-068A). Representatives from the EPA and its health physics support contractor visited the scrap yard on October 10, 1996, to attempt to identify the radionuclide and activity of the sources, and to obtain information regarding the sources origin. The measured dose rate on the surface of the lead encasing the sources was 50 mrem/hr. The contractor used a portable multichannel analyzer to determine that the sources were radium. Contamination (up to 20,000 cpm) was found on the exterior surface of the lead, and in the plastic pail where the lead encased sources were stored. Contamination was not found in the areas where the sources were handled and stored when encased in the lead. The lead encased sources and plastic pail were placed in a shipping container and secured in a storage room within a remote building at the scrap yard. The sources will be shipped to a licensed contractor for further evaluation and subsequent disposal. Regional Action: The State has been kept informed of the event and follow up actions. Contact: J. HENSON (404)331-0344 _ REGION III MORNING REPORT PAGE 4 OCTOBER 11, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: MR Number: 3-96-0109 Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Date: 10/10/96 Piketon,Ohio VIA RESIDENT REPORT Dockets: 07000002 Subject: ONSITE TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT WITH UF6 CYLINDERS Discussion: On October 9, 1996, at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a flatbed trailer with five full two and one half ton cylinders in overpacks became separated from the truck towing the trailer. The truck stopped and the trailer rode up on the back of the truck hitch flattening a truck tire and leaving the flatbed in a tilted position. The facility responded with the emergency response squad and ensure the trailer was stabilized and that there was no apparent damage to the cylinders and overpacks. The trailer was shored up and the facility was evaluating the event to determine a safe recovery plan. The Senior Resident Inspector responded to the event and notified the region. The plant is under the jurisdiction of the DOE. The NRC has resident inspectors observing activities at the Portsmouth facility in preparation for the NRC assuming regulatory jurisdiction over United Stated Enrichment Corporation (USEC) activities. Regional Action: The Portsmouth resident inspectors will monitor the facility's efforts to recover and establish a root cause for the trailer separation as part of their continuing observations of plant activities. Contact: C. COX (630)829-3353 G. SHEAR (630)829-9875 _ REGION III MORNING REPORT PAGE 5 OCTOBER 11, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Commonwealth Edison Co. MR Number: 3-96-0110 Braidwood 1 2 Date: 10/11/96 Braceville,Illinois SRI PC Dockets: 50-456,50-457 PWR/W-4-LP,PWR/W-4-LP Subject: BREAKER FAILURES Discussion: At 9:30 a.m. (CDT) on October 10, 1996, the safety-related breaker for the Unit 1 1B diesel generator room ventilation fan failed to close upon demand during a surveillance run of the diesel. The diesel generator was subsequently declared inoperable. The breaker was a Westinghouse 480-volt Type DS metal case circuit breaker. The licensee is testing a spare breaker and should be able to replace the failed breaker in the next several days. The licensee determined that the spring release coil, which permits the breaker to be closed electrically, had overheated and failed. On September 24, a similar safety-related Type DS breaker for the Unit 1 1C reactor containment fan cooler had failed to close upon demand during a surveillance. The licensee determined that the breaker motor cut-off switch, which disconnects a motor when the closing springs are fully charged, had failed. Based on a review of Braidwood and industry data, the licensee believes that both failures were due to inadequate lubrication of the breaker closing mechanism. The licensee will be sending both breakers to Westinghouse for a complete disassembly and determination of the failure mechanism. Other similar safety-related breakers (approximately 20) are being tested by the licensee. The results of the testing will be used by the licensee in an operability assessment of its safety-related Type DS breakers. Regional Action: The resident inspectors and a region-based inspector are reviewing the troubleshooting activities. A telephone conference was conducted with Region III, NRR, and the licensee on October 10. A followup conference is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (CDT) on October 11, 1996. Contact: RON GARDNER (630)829-9751 _ REGION IV MORNING REPORT PAGE 6 OCTOBER 11, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Entergy Operations, Inc. MR Number: 4-96-0106 Waterford 3 Date: 10/11/96 Killona,Louisiana Resident Inspectors Dockets: 50-382 PWR/CE Subject: INCORRECT BOILING MATERIAL APPLICATON FOR MOTOR-OPERATED AND AIR-OPERATED VALVES Discussion: This report updates the Morning Report issued on this subject on October 9, 1996. Waterford 3 has completed inspection of the external fasteners of the motor-operated valves (MOV) and identified a number of discrepancies. The licensee sent the fasteners to a testing laboratory, which identified that 15 of 18 fasteners did not meet the applicable specification. The specification required the fasteners to be SAE Grade 5 or better and the fasteners tested at Grade 2. River Bend Station inspected about 20 MOVs installed in the plant and identified one MOV with discrepant fasteners. The licensee determined that the fasteners were Grade 2. Grand Gulf had previously inspected about 60 MOVs and identified one potentially questionable fastener, which was replaced. Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO) inspected a number of MOVs and identified bolts that did not appear to be Grade 5. About 20 bolts were tested and it was determined that the bolts were Grade 2. Based on reviews of documentation and visual inspection of the fasteners, the Waterford 3, River Bend, and ANO licensees have established that many of the fasteners, which did not meet the Grade 5 criteria, were supplied by the MOV manufacturer as original equipment. For each site, the licensee completed an engineering evaluation of the stresses developed during operation of the valve and concluded that the Grade 2 or better fasteners were acceptable. To date, no operability concerns have been identified. Additional reviews of the use of fasteners in other applications are ongoing at Waterford 3. Regional Action: A special inspection will be conducted, starting October 21, 1996, at the Waterford 3 site. Contact: G. Pick (817)860-8270 P. Harrell (817)860-8250 _