Headquarters Daily Report AUGUST 10, 1998 *************************************************************************** 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 10, 1998 MR Number: H-98-0121 NRR DAILY REPORT ITEM GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS Supplement 1 to Informationtion Notice 97-91, "RECENT FAILURES OF CONTROL CABLES USED ON AMERSHAM MODEL 660 POSILOCK RADIOGRAPHY SYSTEMS," will be issued on August 10, 1998. This supplemental notice is being issued to all industrial radiography licensees to alert them to the results and recommendations of a an investigation conducted by a special inspection team. The team concluded that for safe use, the control cable requires careful monitoring of its condition and proper maintenance. Contacts: Larry W. Camper, NMSS Doug A. Broaddus, NMSS 301-415-7231 301-415-5847 E-mail: lmc@nrc.gov E-mail: dab@nrc.gov John M. Pelchat, RII Deborah A. Piskura, RIII 404-562-4729 630-829-9867 E-mail: jmp2@nrc.gov E-mail: dap2@nrc.gov _ REGION I MORNING REPORT PAGE 2 AUGUST 10, 1998 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power MR Number: 1-98-0040 Company Date: 08/10/98 Haddam Neck TELEPHONE FROM SRI East Hampton,Connecticut Dockets: 05000213 License No: DPR-61 Subject: RECOMMENCEMENT OF RCS DECONTAMINATION Discussion: On August 3, 1998, NRR and Region I staff met with representatives from Connecticut Yankee Atomic Poewr Company (CYAPCo) Haddam Neck plant to discuss the licensee's assessment of recent events (i.e., 1000 gallon leak) occurring during the reactor coolant system (RCS) decontamination. NRC requested information on root cause determination, corrective actions, and readiness to proceeed safely with the next phase of the RCS decontamination. Since the August 3, 1998, meeting, CYAPCo staff has made repairs to a broken valve, (the primary source of the leak), replaced a leaking fitting and pressure indicator, and replaced a short section of pipe. On Friday, August 7, CYAPCo management provided a telephone briefing to Region I and NRR. CYAPCo management, as of Friday, was confident that all items necessary to proceed would be completed by Sunday, August 9, 1998. On Saturday, August 8, 1998, CYAPCo determined that a valve in the system was closed further than originally indicated and was the cause of the blockage in the system that led to pressure transients in the letdown system, which caused the valve to fail. The Region I Senior Resident Inspector completed his reviews on Sunday, August 9, 1998, and CYAPCo was intending to proceed with the second phase of the RCS decontamination. At 1:30 a.m., on August 10, 1998, the first of two chemical decontamination additions was made to the RCS. The second chemical addition, which causes the release of significant radioactivity to the RCS, was scheduled for later this morning. Contact: M. Roberts (610)337-5094 W. Raymond (860)267-2571 _ REGION II MORNING REPORT PAGE 3 AUGUST 10, 1998 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Duke Power Co. MR Number: 2-98-0038 Oconee 1 Date: 08/10/98 Seneca,South Carolina Dockets: 50-269 PWR/B&W-L-LP Subject: OCONEE UNIT 1 SHUTDOWN Discussion: On Saturday, August 8, 1998, at approximately 4:30 a.m., operators commenced a shutdown of Unit 1 in response to a low level alarm on the lower motor bearing oil reservoir for reactor coolant pump (RCP) motor 1B1. This low level alarm was accompanied by slowly rising temperatures on the lower motor bearing. During the shutdown, the pump was secured following reduction of power below 69%. During a reactor building (RB) entry following the shutdown, an oil leak on the RCP was not located. Another RB entry is planned for today to search for the leak. The licensee plans to repair any observed leaks prior to unit restart. During this shutdown, the licensee also intends to perform repairs to the 1A2 RCP seals which have been exhibiting elevated but acceptable seal leakoff. Additionally, the licensee plans to perform rerolls of the Unit 1 once through steam generator upper tube sheets to address previously detected tube end anomalies (TEAs) in the steam generators that were the subject of enforcement discretion approved on June 3, 1998. Regional Action: The resident inspectors monitored portions of the Unit 1 shutdown and will monitor licensee activities during this forced outage. Contact: C. OGLE (404)562-4510 _ REGION III MORNING REPORT PAGE 4 AUGUST 10, 1998 Licensee/Facility: Notification: Commonwealth Edison Co. MR Number: 3-98-0055 Dresden 2 Date: 08/07/98 Morris,Illinois E-Mail from RIO Dockets: 50-237 BWR/GE-3 Subject: POWER REDUCTION ON UNIT 2 DUE TO GENERATOR GROUNDS Discussion: Over the course of the last several weeks, Dresden Unit 2 has experienced numerous, intermittent main generator/exciter ground alarms in the main control room. The alarms have been of short duration and have cleared themselves with no operator action. The frequency of the alarm occurrence has increased to the extent that the alarms are being received every several minutes. On August 6, 1998, the licensee decreased reactor power to approximately 25 percent to facilitate the installation of temporary monitoring equipment to aid in troubleshooting of the ground location. The licensee, with General Electric assistance, is currently evaluating the data results to determine an appropriate permanent repair. The licensee currently plans on taking the main generator off-line August 7, 1998, to perform minor cleaning and refurbishment activities on the main generator and exciter. Current licensee plans involve a short duration (approximately 29 hours) generator outage and an expected return to service on August 12, 1998. The reactor will remain critical, on the bypass valves, for the duration of the generator repair and troubleshooting work. The licensee, with General Electric assistance, will evaluate the temporary data monitoring results and generator behavior following the maintenance activities to determine if further activities (potential generator rewind) are warranted. In the event it is concluded a generator rewind is necessary, the reactor may be shutdown and the short outage extended (expected duration around 40 days). Regional Action: The resident inspection staff will monitor the outage activities. Contact: M. RING (630)829-9703 _