Event Notification Report for June 30, 1999

                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           06/29/1999 - 06/30/1999

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

35793  35879  

!!!!!!!!! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED  !!!!!!!
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|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   35793       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: VERMONT YANKEE           REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/04/1999|
|    UNIT:  [1] [] []                 STATE:  VT |NOTIFICATION TIME: 12:35[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-4                             |EVENT DATE:        06/04/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        09:50[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MITCH McCLUSKIE              |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/29/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  FANGIE JONES                 +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |RONALD BELLAMY       R1      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|AINB 50.72(b)(2)(iii)(B) POT RHR INOP           |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
|                                                   |                          |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
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| ALTERNATE COOLING SYSTEM DECLARED INOPERABLE                                 |
|                                                                              |
| "Following a question raised by an NRC Resident Inspector at VY, an Event    |
| Report was submitted due to a lack of sufficient analysis to determine if    |
| procedural guidance was adequate for operation of the Alternate Cooling      |
| System (ACS).  VY declared the ACS inoperable at 2110 on 6/3/99 and entered  |
| a 7 day LCO [3.5.d.3] per the plant Technical Specifications.  Based on      |
| further evaluation, Operations and Engineering Personnel concluded that      |
| current VY procedures may not provide the specific information necessary to  |
| ensure that ACS Design Bases 1 & 2 above, would have been met.  Engineering  |
| and Licensing evaluations of ACS design and performance requirements         |
| continue.                                                                    |
|                                                                              |
| "VY is currently developing procedural enhancements that will ensure that    |
| the operating crews are provided with the guidance necessary to ensure that  |
| ACS would be operated in the manner necessary to achieve its safety design   |
| bases.  It is expected that the necessary procedural guidance will be        |
| developed and issued prior to the                                            |
| expiration of the cited 7 day LCO."                                          |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector and the State of Vermont.   |
|                                                                              |
| * * * RETRACTION 1635 6/29/1999 FROM BROOKS TAKEN BY STRANSKY * * *          |
|                                                                              |
| "Subsequent to [the original notification], Engineering and Licensing have   |
| determined that the design basis criteria for the subject design basis event |
| is that the plant must be maintained in Hot Shutdown condition with a pool   |
| temperature maintained with adequate margin to the boiling point. In         |
| addition, adequate procedural guidance existed to assure that the design     |
| objectives would have been satisfied. Thus the event was not reportable."    |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee will inform the NRC resident inspector of this retraction.      |
| Notified R1DO (Doerflein).                                                   |
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+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   35879       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  ABB COMBUSTION ENGINEERING           |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/29/1999|
|LICENSEE:  ABB COMBUSTION ENGINEERING           |NOTIFICATION TIME: 16:28[EDT]|
|    CITY:  WINDSOR                  REGION:  1  |EVENT DATE:        06/29/1999|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  CT |EVENT TIME:             [EDT]|
|LICENSE#:                        AGREEMENT:  N  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  06/29/1999|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |LAWRENCE DOERFLEIN   R1      |
|                                                |JAMES CREED          R3      |
+------------------------------------------------+LINDA SMITH          R4      |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  IAN RICKARD (VIA FAX)        |VERN HODGE (via fax) NRR     |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  BOB STRANSKY                 |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|CCCC 21.21               UNSPECIFIED PARAGRAPH  |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 10 CFR PART 21 REPORT DUE TO DEFECTIVE OSCILLATION POWER RANGE MONITORS      |
|                                                                              |
| The following text has been excerpted from a letter submitted via facsimile  |
| from the vendor:                                                             |
|                                                                              |
| "The defect concerns the ABB Oscillation Power Range Monitor (OPRM)          |
| delivered to Susquehanna 1 & 2, Clinton, Hope Creek, WNP-2, Perry, LaSalle 1 |
| & 2, Dresden 2 & 3 and Quad Cities 1 & 2. Specifically, the defect concerns  |
| the Slave OPRM module randomly resetting, potentially causing the OPRM trip  |
| channel to be out of service for a short period of time, typically under one |
| minute. The defect could lead to non-conservative failure of detecting and   |
| suppressing thermo-hydraulic core oscillations during this time.             |
|                                                                              |
| "None of the OPRM systems are presently being used to detect and suppress    |
| core oscillations. Installed OPRM systems are in the monitor mode with the   |
| trip contacts disabled."                                                     |
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