Event Notification Report for July 9, 2003








                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

                              Operations Center



                              Event Reports For

                           07/08/2003 - 07/09/2003



                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **



39975  39976  39982  39984  39985  



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|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   39975       |

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| REP ORG:  TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH           |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/03/2003|

|LICENSEE:  H&G INSPECTION                       |NOTIFICATION TIME: 17:59[EDT]|

|    CITY:  Texas City               REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        05/20/2003|

|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  TX |EVENT TIME:        14:30[CDT]|

|LICENSE#:  L02181                AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/03/2003|

|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+

|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|                                                |CHARLES MARSCHALL    R4      |

|                                                |THOMAS ESSIG         NMSS    |

+------------------------------------------------+                             |

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  HELEN WATKINS                |                             |

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  JOHN MacKINNON               |                             |

+------------------------------------------------+                             |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

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| OVEREXPOSURE                                                                 |

|                                                                              |

| Event occurred on May 20, 2003 between the hours of 0200 and 0230 hours CDT  |

| at the Amoco Refinery in Texas City, TX. Overexposure was reported to the    |

| Texas Dept. of Health on July 3, 2003.                                       |

|                                                                              |

| "A radiography source was not cranked into the fully shielded position       |

| resulting in a 6.403 R whole body exposure to a radiographer.  The           |

| radiographer was making wall thickness exposures using a 100 curie cobalt 60 |

| source with a directional collimator.  The radiographer made the last        |

| exposure for the night, then proceeded to retrieve the film and take it for  |

| development in the darkroom.  The radiographer believed the pigtail had been |

| fully retracted, however, his initial survey was not conclusive because his  |

| survey meter was not turned on.  Although the ratemeter was alarming,        |

| because of the noise level and the ear plugs, he did not initially hear      |

| ratemeter alarming.  When he did hear the faint ringing he checked the meter |

| and it was off. When the radiographer turned the meter on and resurveyed the |

| guide tubes, the needle went off-scale.  He checked his pocket dosimeter and |

| it was off scale.  The radiographer then retracted the pigtail into the      |

| fully shielded position.  The radiographers reported the event to their      |

| management by telephone, then returned to the company shop.                  |

|                                                                              |

| "The following day the personnel monitoring badge was sent for emergency     |

| processing.  The radiographer believes he was exposed for about one minute.  |

|                                                                              |

| "We will provide additional information as it is collected"                  |

|                                                                              |

| Source Production & Equipment Company.                                       |

| Source Information:                                                          |

| Model G-70 sn# C60-02                                                        |

| 101 Curies cobalt-60 on May 29, 2002 (3737GBq)                               |

|                                                                              |

| Texas Incident No:  I-8033                                                   |

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|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   39976       |

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| REP ORG:  TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH           |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/03/2003|

|LICENSEE:  SUNOCO CHEMICALS                     |NOTIFICATION TIME: 18:41[EDT]|

|    CITY:  LaPorte                  REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        06/19/2003|

|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  TX |EVENT TIME:        06:45[CDT]|

|LICENSE#:  L02778                AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/03/2003|

|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+

|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|                                                |CHARLES MARSCHALL    R4      |

|                                                |THOMAS ESSIG         NMSS    |

+------------------------------------------------+                             |

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  HELEN WATKINS                |                             |

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  JOHN MacKINNON               |                             |

+------------------------------------------------+                             |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |                             |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

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| DAMAGED TEXAS NUCLEAR MODEL 5180A LEVEL GAUGE                                |

|                                                                              |

| "An explosion and fire occurred in a distillation unit.  The operating units |

| were shut down and the fire was extinguished.  A visual inspection of a      |

| level gauge installed on a vessel located in the area showed the device was  |

| intact with no apparent physical damage except heat discoloration was        |

| visible on the device.  A preliminary survey found no readings above the     |

| regulatory limits.  However, an attempt to close the shutter was made and    |

| debris and molten materials made the closing difficult.  A wipe test was     |

| performed with no leakage found.  The device and area was barricaded to      |

| prevent unauthorized entry.                                                  |

|                                                                              |

| "Consultant Assistance:                                                      |

| A radiation technician from Alpha Process Sales inspected the device and the |

| area.  Occupancy surveys were made and showed no persons who entered the     |

| area received exposures over the allowable limits.                           |

|                                                                              |

| "Thermo-Measuretech of Round Rock, TX, an authorized company, removed the    |

| device and took possession for disposal.                                     |

|                                                                              |

| "TX Nuclear Level Gauge                                                      |

| TN model 5180A                                                               |

| source sn# B380, 500mCi [millicuries] Cs-137"                                |

|                                                                              |

| Texas Incident No: I-8032                                                    |

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|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39982       |

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| FACILITY: LASALLE                  REGION:  3  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/08/2003|

|    UNIT:  [] [2] []                 STATE:  IL |NOTIFICATION TIME: 02:52[EDT]|

|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-5,[2] GE-5                    |EVENT DATE:        07/07/2003|

+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        23:19[CDT]|

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  LARRY BLUNK                  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/08/2003|

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  GERRY WAIG                   +-----------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |CHRIS MILLER         R3      |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|ARPS 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B)  RPS ACTUATION - CRITICA|                             |

|AESF 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A)  VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUAT|                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|                                                   |                          |

|2     A/R        Y       100      Power Operation  |0        Hot Shutdown     |

|                                                   |                          |

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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

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| AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM AT LaSALLE UNIT 2 DUE TO TRIP OF THE MAIN TURBINE    |

|                                                                              |

| "At 2319 CDT on July 7, 2003 LaSalle Unit 2 Automatically scrammed due to a  |

| trip of the main turbine. The main turbine trip was caused by a main         |

| generator lockout due to a fault on the "B" phase of the main power          |

| disconnect. All rods inserted on the scram. Three safety relief valves       |

| actuated in the relief mode on the turbine trip. Both reactor recirc pumps   |

| tripped off and all three circulation water pumps tripped off. The main      |

| steam line isolation valves and main steam line drains were closed due to    |

| the loss of the circulating water pumps. Tech Spec 3.0.3 was entered due to  |

| simultaneous inoperability of A, B, and C residual heat removal pumps. "A"   |

| residual heat removal pump was declared inoperable due to use in suppression |

| pool cooling. "B" and "C" residual heat removal pumps were inoperable at the |

| beginning of the event for planned [preventive] maintenance on the essential |

| core cooling system ventilation. There were no automatic actuations of ECCS  |

| systems and no primary or secondary containment isolation system actuations. |

| There [were] no ECCS injections into the reactor vessel. There were 3        |

| subsequent auto scram signals on low reactor level due to level shrink on    |

| SRV closure in pressure control."                                            |

|                                                                              |

| Unit 2 is currently stable with reactor feedwater being provided by the      |

| condensate system and reactor heat removal using SRV steam discharge to the  |

| suppression pool. Residual heat removal pumps "A" and "B" are operating to   |

| provide suppression pool cooling. "C" residual heat removal pump has been    |

| returned to operable status. All emergency diesel generators are available.  |

|                                                                              |

| The licensee also reported that the electrical system transient resulted in  |

| the need to reduce power on LaSalle Unit 1 from 100% to ~92% to stabilize    |

| condensate booster pump suction pressure.                                    |

|                                                                              |

| The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector                         |

|                                                                              |

| * * * UPDATE ON 7/8/03 AT 1108 EDT FROM DANIEL COVEYOU TO GERRY WAIG * * *   |

|                                                                              |

| "At 0306 [CDT] on 7/8/03 there was an automatic RPS [Reactor Protection      |

| System] actuation due to reactor water level 3. At the time of the scram all |

| control rods were already fully inserted. There was no rod movement as a     |

| result of the 0306 [CDT] auto reactor scram. The low level condition was a   |

| momentary response due to level shrink upon safety relief valve closure. The |

| safety relief valves were being manually operated to control reactor         |

| pressure."                                                                   |

|                                                                              |

| The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.                        |

|                                                                              |

| Notified R3DO ( Chris Miller)                                                |

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|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39984       |

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| FACILITY: ROBINSON                 REGION:  2  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/08/2003|

|    UNIT:  [2] [] []                 STATE:  SC |NOTIFICATION TIME: 16:42[EDT]|

|   RXTYPE: [2] W-3-LP                           |EVENT DATE:        07/08/2003|

+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        10:58[EDT]|

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  CHUCK BAUCOM                 |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/08/2003|

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  ERIC THOMAS                  +-----------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |THOMAS DECKER        R2      |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|ACOM 50.72(b)(3)(xiii)   LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE|                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |

|                                                   |                          |

|                                                   |                          |

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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

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| LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY                                            |

|                                                                              |

| "At approximately 10:58 hours (EDT) on July 8, 2003, a fiber optic cable     |

| that provides service to H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant (HBRSEP), Unit  |

| No. 2, was removed from service due to highway bridge repairs on State Road  |

| 23, Old Camden Road, approximately 1.5 miles west of the plant site. This    |

| resulted in the loss of circuits supported by Bellsouth, which includes the  |

| selective signaling system for communication with the state and counties, an |

| additional phone system for internal and external communication called ESSX, |

| the NRC T1 link, and dial 9 service from the internal plant telephone        |

| system. Communications capability remained available via the on-site PBX     |

| telephone service, cellular phone service, satellite phone, and the Progress |

| Energy Voicenet system.                                                      |

|                                                                              |

| "At approximately 09:00 hours [EDT], Bellsouth personnel informed HBRSEP,    |

| Unit No. 2, personnel of the plan to temporarily remove the cable from       |

| service at approximately 11:00 hours [EDT] in support of the bridge repair   |

| work. HBRSEP, Unit No. 2, Emergency Preparedness personnel notified the      |

| control room Superintendent of Shift Operations pertaining to the impending  |

| communications outage and verified that a cellular phone and satellite phone |

| were available in the control room. The state and county emergency operation |

| centers, warning points, and back-up warning points were notified of the     |

| planned communications link outage prior to its removal from service. The    |

| fiber optic cable was placed back in service at approximately 14:51 hours    |

| [EDT] and the systems were subsequently tested satisfactorily.               |

|                                                                              |

| "This report is being made in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii),      |

| which is any event that results in a major loss of offsite communications    |

| capability. The capability to provide notification as required was           |

| maintained by use of alternate systems, specifically cellular phone,         |

| satellite phone, and the Progress Energy Voicenet system. The resident       |

| inspector has been notified."                                                |

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|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   39985       |

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| FACILITY: COMANCHE PEAK            REGION:  4  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/09/2003|

|    UNIT:  [] [2] []                 STATE:  TX |NOTIFICATION TIME: 03:05[EDT]|

|   RXTYPE: [1] W-4-LP,[2] W-4-LP                |EVENT DATE:        07/09/2003|

+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        01:09[CDT]|

| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  LES MILLER                   |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/09/2003|

|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  HOWIE CROUCH                 +-----------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |

|EMERGENCY CLASS:          NON EMERGENCY         |KRISS KENNEDY        R4      |

|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |

|ARPS 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B)  RPS ACTUATION - CRITICA|                             |

|AESF 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A)  VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUAT|                             |

|                                                |                             |

|                                                |                             |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |

+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+

|                                                   |                          |

|2     A/R        Y       99       Power Operation  |0        Hot Standby      |

|                                                   |                          |

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                                   EVENT TEXT                                   

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP DUE TO REACTOR COOLANT PUMP BREAKER OPENING WITH      |

| INITIATION OF AUXILIARY FEEDWATER SYSTEM AFTER THE TRIP                      |

|                                                                              |

| "At 0109 hrs. CDT, Unit 2 reactor tripped due to opening of RCP [Reactor     |

| Coolant Pump] 2-04 breaker resulting in "Rx >48% 1/4 loop flow low trip".    |

| Cause of the breaker opening is unknown and under investigation.  All        |

| systems responded as required.  Auxiliary Feed Water auto-start occurred due |

| to steam generator shrink, both motor driver AFW pumps and Turbine Driven    |

| AFW pump started (ESF)."                                                     |

|                                                                              |

| All rods inserted into the core during the trip.  The electrical grid is     |

| stable.  There were no power-operated or manual relief valve lifts during    |

| the transient.  The other unit was not affected by the transient.  Decay     |

| heat is being removed via steam generator blowdown and AFW.  The plant is    |

| maintaining at NOP/NOT in mode 3 until the cause of the breaker trip is      |

| known and repaired.  Pressurizer pressure control is in automatic.  There is |

| no identified primary-to-secondary leakage.                                  |

|                                                                              |

| The licensee has informed the NRC Resident Inspector.                        |

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