Headquarters Daily Report AUGUST 30, 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 AUGUST 30, 1996 MR Number: H-96-0065 NRR DAILY REPORT ITEM GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS NRC Information Notice 96-50, "Problems with Levering-In Devices in Westinghouse Circuit Breakers," dated September 4, 1996. The NRC is issuing this information notice to alert addressees that some 4.16 and 6.9 kV circuit breakers may fail to close on demand because worn levering-in devices can provide a false indication that the breaker is completely engaged onto the bus and ready to close. Technical contacts: Kamalakar Naidu, NRR (301) 415-2980 David L. Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 Zelig Falevits, RIII (301) 829-9717 _ REGION II MORNING REPORT PAGE 2 AUGUST 30, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Tennessee Valley Authority MR Number: 2-96-0072 Watts Bar 1 2 Date: 08/30/96 Spring City,Tennessee Dockets: 50-390,50-391 PWR/W-4-LP,PWR/W-4-LP Subject: WATTS BAR - ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES Discussion: John Scalice, Site Vice President, announced several organizational changes at the Watts Bar facility. These new assignments are a continuing effort to rotate employees in order to enhance the development of the Watts Bar team. These new assignments are expected to last at least one fuel cycle. Effective immediately, Masoud Bajestani will become the Assistant Plant Manager, replacing Dennis Koehl, who will be assigned to the Operations Manager position after a transition period has taken place. Contact: Mark S. Lesser (404)331-0342 _ REGION II MORNING REPORT PAGE 3 AUGUST 30, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Babcock And Wilcox MR Number: 2-96-0073 Naval Nuclear Fuels Division Date: 08/26/96 Lynchburg,Virginia Licensee to Resident Inspector Dockets: 07000027 License No: SNM-42 Subject: Self-Extinguishing Flame Observed During Scrap Dissolution Discussion: On August 25, 1996, a small self-extinguishing flame was observed by an operator in a high level dissolver tray in Uranium Recovery. The flame occurred during the dissolution of scrap Sapphire uranium-beryllium oxide material. A granular type of material that had been calcined at 400 degrees Celsius was being processed for the first time. The material was being added to two trays that contained water and trace amounts of acids (nitric and hydrofluoric) used in the dissolution process. The flame appeared over a 10 second period and subsided. The operator observed that the flame never exceeded about four inches in height and self extinguished. The operator stirred the tray without the flame reforming. Gas evolution continued and tapered off after about 45 minutes. No damage to equipment or product occurred, and there were no radiological consequences. Processing of this type of Sapphire material was suspended and will remain suspended until the licensee completes its investigation. The licensee has sampled both the liquid and residues in the trays and undissolved materials. Detailed chemical analyses are planned to determine the cause of the reaction. This reaction had not been observed during dissolution studies prior to the beginning of processing Sapphire materials. Processing of other Sapphire material (uranium metal) resumed on August 29, 1996. The licensee has formed a team to investigate the incident. Regional Action: The Resident Inspector is following the licensee's actions. Contact: E. J. McAlpine (404)331-5547 _ REGION III MORNING REPORT PAGE 4 AUGUST 30, 1996 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Commonwealth Edison Co. MR Number: 3-96-0091 Dresden 2 Date: 08/30/96 Morris,Illinois BRANCE CHIEF Dockets: 50-237 BWR/GE-3 Subject: PLANT RESTART Discussion: Unit 2 was manually tripped on May 31, 1996, in response to a feedwater transient during system post-modification testing (ref. LER 237/96009-00). Short term corrective actions for the cause(s) of the May 31 feedwater transient have been implemented and long term corrective actions have been developed. Subsequent to the Unit 2 shutdown, problems in a 4kV breaker on Unit 3 resulted in a continued forced outage to perform maintenance on all safety related 4 kV breakers. All safety related 4kV breakers and associated switchgear were overhauled by General Electric on site between June and August. On August 27 plant startup commenced and at the time of this report, Unit 2 was operating in "RUN" at about 15 percent power on turbine bypass valves. The licensee plans to bring the main turbine on line and synchronize to the grid over the labor-day weekend. Regional Action: Shifty observations of startup activities have been performed by the resident staff. Direct on-site and control room monitoring and inspection of startup activities will continue throughout the weekend with both resident and region based inspectors. Contact: P. L. HILAND (630)829-9603 _