Event Notification Report for December 7, 1999

                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           12/06/1999 - 12/07/1999

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

36438  36489  36490  36491  

!!!!!!!!! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED  !!!!!!!
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   36438       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: GRAND GULF               REGION:  4  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 11/15/1999|
|    UNIT:  [1] [] []                 STATE:  MS |NOTIFICATION TIME: 11:32[EST]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-6                             |EVENT DATE:        11/15/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        07:30[CST]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MARTY MCADORY                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  12/06/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  FANGIE JONES                 +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |BILL JONES           R4      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|AIND 50.72(b)(2)(iii)(D) ACCIDENT MITIGATION    |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1     N          N       0        Cold Shutdown    |0        Cold Shutdown    |
|                                                   |                          |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DIVISION 1 AND 2 DIESEL GENERATORS DECLARED INOPERABLE.                      |
|                                                                              |
| Approximately 20 hours after restoring the Division 1 Diesel Generator (DG)  |
| to service and removing the Division 2 DG from service for outage work, the  |
| Division 1 Load Shedding and Sequencing (LSS) failed.  This resulted in the  |
| Division 1 DG being declared inoperable because of its inability to meet the |
| required surveillance tests.  The Division 1 DG is capable of operating and  |
| supplying the ESF bus manually.                                              |
|                                                                              |
| The Division 2 DG has test equipment installed to allow ECCS testing.  The   |
| Division 2 DG is considered functional but not operable with the test        |
| equipment installed.  The licensee is reviewing Division 2 equipment status  |
| to determine if Division 2 was fully operable, and if so, this notification  |
| will be retracted.                                                           |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee intends to notify the NRC resident inspector.                   |
|                                                                              |
| *************** UPDATE AT 2256 EST ON 12/06/99 FROM BOB CARROLL TO LEIGH     |
| TROCINE ***************                                                      |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee is retracting this notification.  The following text is a       |
| portion of a facsimile received from the licensee:                           |
|                                                                              |
| "After further investigation, we are retracting the 4-hour call-in, which    |
| was made on 11/15/99 regarding the loss of [the Division] I Load Shedding    |
| and Sequencing (LSS) power supply.  The initial evaluation conservatively    |
| considered [the Division] Il Diesel Generator (DG) [inoperable] due to the   |
| installation of test equipment in preparation for [Division] II surveillance |
| testing.  It has now been concluded, that even with the surveillance test    |
| equipment installed, [the Division] II DG was still capable of timely and    |
| correct automatic operation, [it] was [also] capable of performing its       |
| safety function for the duration required, and there was no reason to expect |
| that [the Division] II DG would not have fulfilled its safety function if    |
| the need had arisen.  We have determined that all other redundant trains     |
| needed to perform the required safety functions as discussed in NUREG-1022,  |
| Rev. 1, were operable and available.  Therefore, we conclude that loss of    |
| the [Division] I LSS power supply did not meet the notification requirements |
| of 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(iii)."                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee plans to notify the NRC resident inspector.  The NRC operations |
| officer notified the R4DO (Andrews).                                         |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   36489       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: FITZPATRICK              REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 12/06/1999|
|    UNIT:  [1] [] []                 STATE:  NY |NOTIFICATION TIME: 10:07[EST]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-4                             |EVENT DATE:        12/06/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        09:30[EST]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MARK ABRAMSKI                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  12/06/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  STEVE SANDIN                 +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |CLIFFORD ANDERSON    R1      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|AOUT 50.72(b)(1)(ii)(B)  OUTSIDE DESIGN BASIS   |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STEAM LEAK DETECTION SYSTEM DOES NOT MEET LICENSING BASIS.                   |
|                                                                              |
| "The JAF [James A. Fitzpatrick] Licensing Basis states the steam leak        |
| detection system will be able to detect a 7-gpm steam leak for areas outside |
| containment.  The basis for the 7-gpm criteria is to detect and isolate a    |
| leak before the [pipe] crack propagates to a critical point beyond which the |
| pipe is assumed to fail.  These values are established for a                 |
| (representative) 3-inch diameter pipe.                                       |
|                                                                              |
| "Preliminary engineering analysis has concluded the JAF steam leak detection |
| system cannot meet this 7-gpm criterion.  Preliminary engineering analysis   |
| was also performed using 25 gpm as a criterion.   25 gpm is a criterion      |
| established by the NSSS vendor for detecting and isolating a leak before the |
| [pipe] crack propagates to a critical point on other BWR designs and which,  |
| it is believed, can be technically applied to JAF.  The 25-gpm value is also |
| established for a (representative) 3-inch diameter pipe.                     |
|                                                                              |
| "The JAF steam leak detection system is capable of detecting the 25-gpm leak |
| in most areas.  For those areas which the system cannot detect a 25-gpm      |
| leak, the system is considered operable because in some cases, the actual    |
| pipe diameter is greater than 3 inches.  It is believed that leakage rate,   |
| crack size, and critical crack size are directly proportional.  In other     |
| cases, the combination of conservative assumptions (initial temperature      |
| condition and margin beyond instrument uncertainty) provides a basis for     |
| operability."                                                                |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee informed the NRC Resident Inspector.                            |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Other Nuclear Material                           |Event Number:   36490       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY        |NOTIFICATION DATE: 12/06/1999|
|LICENSEE:  PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY        |NOTIFICATION TIME: 16:05[EST]|
|    CITY:  UNVERSITY PARK           REGION:  1  |EVENT DATE:        11/09/1999|
|  COUNTY:  CENTRE                    STATE:  PA |EVENT TIME:             [EST]|
|LICENSE#:  37-00185-04           AGREEMENT:  N  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  12/06/1999|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |CLIFFORD ANDERSON    R1      |
|                                                |JOSEPHINE PICCONE    NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+CHARLES MILLER       IRO     |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  ERIC BOELDT                  |LEDYARD (TAD) MARSH  NRR     |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  LEIGH TROCINE                |MARVIN MENDONCA      PM      |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|BAB1 20.2201(a)(1)(i)    LOST/STOLEN LNM>1000X  |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| LOSS OR THEFT OF SIX TO EIGHT SELF-LUMINESCENT EXIT SIGNS (POTENTIALLY       |
| TRITIUM FILLED) FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY NEW KENSINGTON CAMPUS |
| IN 1997                                                                      |
|                                                                              |
| On November 9, 1999, a maintenance foreman at the Pennsylvania State         |
| University New Kensington Campus (located approximately 40 miles north of    |
| Pittsburgh) notified Nuclear Radiation Development (located in University    |
| Park, Centre County) of the disappearance of approximately six to eight      |
| self-luminescent exit signs from a New Kensington facility.  The signs were  |
| first noticed to be missing some time in 1997, and the individual who        |
| initially discovered the loss thought that students from an apartment        |
| complex may have taken them because the signs were ripped down from the      |
| walls at night or over a weekend.  This individual wanted to conduct a       |
| search of the apartments but was told to drop the issue by another           |
| individual at the New Kensington Campus.                                     |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee stated that six new signs were purchased during May of 1998,    |
| and six additional signs were recently installed.  (Only six or eight are    |
| missing, and extra signs have been installed.)  The need to notify Nuclear   |
| Radiation Development was identified when the new signs were recently        |
| installed.                                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| The missing exit signs were initially installed during new construction in   |
| July of 1989.  They were manufactured by Perm-Ex (Series P-160, Model        |
| T-4001, self-luminous type containing nuclear material).  It is currently    |
| believed that the exit signs were tritium filled.                            |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee notified the NRC region 1 office (Jim Dwyer and Sattar Lodhi)   |
| and plans to submit a 30-day written report to the regional office.  (Call   |
| the NRC operations officer for a licensee contact telephone number.)         |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   36491       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: SOUTH TEXAS              REGION:  4  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 12/06/1999|
|    UNIT:  [1] [] []                 STATE:  TX |NOTIFICATION TIME: 17:48[EST]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] W-4-LP,[2] W-4-LP                |EVENT DATE:        12/06/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        12:33[CST]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  JIM MORRIS                   |LAST UPDATE DATE:  12/06/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  LEIGH TROCINE                +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |THOMAS ANDREWS       R4      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NLTR                     LICENSEE 24 HR REPORT  |                             |
|NLCO                     TECH SPEC LCO A/S      |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|1     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 24-HOUR REPORT REGARDING A VIOLATION OF A LICENSE CONDITION - UNIT 1, TRAIN  |
| 'B,' FUEL HANDLING BUILDING VENTILATION SYSTEM INOPERABLE FOR GREATER THAN 7 |
| DAYS                                                                         |
|                                                                              |
| The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the licensee:   |
|                                                                              |
| "Carbon samples obtained from the fuel handling building exhaust air system  |
| train 'B' failed laboratory tests.  The Technical Specification Surveillance |
| Requirement 4.7.8.b.2 and 4.9.12.b.2 limit of 1% for methyl iodide           |
| penetration was exceeded.  The as-found methyl iodide penetration results    |
| were 2.91%.  This results in the train 'B' fuel handling building exhaust    |
| air system being inoperable since the time that the carbon samples were      |
| obtained on November 22, 1999, at 0930 hours [CST].  Thus, the train was     |
| inoperable for greater than 7 days, which is a violation of Technical        |
| Specification 3.7.8.  The sample results were received on December 6,        |
| 1999."                                                                       |
|                                                                              |
| "This notification is being made pursuant to Operating License NPF-76,       |
| Condition 2.G, for operation or condition prohibited by technical            |
| specifications."                                                             |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee stated that there was nothing unusual or not understood and     |
| that all systems functioned as required.  The licensee also stated that a    |
| 7-day technical specification limiting condition for operation was entered   |
| at 1233 CST today as a result of this issue.  The licensee plans to replace  |
| the charcoal.                                                                |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee notified the NRC resident inspector.                            |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+


Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021