Event Notification Report for May 30, 2003

RECEIPT OF CONTAMINATED MATERIAL IN EXCESSOF 10 CFR 71.87 LIMITS

"On May 30, 2003 at 1330 CDT Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) confirmed receipt of a material shipment with removable surface contamination that exceeded the limits of 10 CFR 71.87 (20.1906 d.1) of 22,000 dpm/100 square cm. The shipment, a transfer cask intended for future dry storage, had 23,496 dpm/100 square cm of non-fixed external contamination. The contamination was found upon receipt of the cask during routine receipt surveys. This shipment was a surface contaminated object (SCO), with less than type A quantity of radioactive material."

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

SECURITY GUARD POSTED WITHOUT PROPER EQUIPMENT

A plant security officer was stationed at a security post without all equipment required to properly man that post. Immediate compensatory measures were taken upon discovery. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Refer to the Headquarters Operations Officer Log for additional details.

* * * UPDATE AT 1220EDT ON 6/5/03 FROM ANDREW WISNIEWSKI TO S. SANDIN

The licensee upon further review concluded that the incident was logable and is, therefore, retracting this report. The licensee informed the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R1DO(Linville). Contact the Headquarters Operations Officer for details.

LOSS OF OFF-SITE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SIRENS AT WOLF CREEK

"At 1755 CST 5/30/2003 power was lost to the Otter Creek and Jacobs Creek Emergency Notification sirens. Lake Siren #2 has been out of service since 5/28/2003 due to lightning damage. Station procedures consider the loss of three or more Emergency Notification Sirens for greater than one hour a major loss of emergency assessment capability reportable under 50.72(b)(3)(xiii).

"At 2108 CST station monitoring equipment indicated that power had been restored to the Otter Creek and Jacobs Creek Sirens."

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector and local authorities.

LOSS OF COMMUNICATION DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF SIRENS

"At about 2200 [CDT] on 5/30/03, greater than 25% of the CPS [Clinton Power Station] notification sirens became unavailable due to a loss of AC power. Fourteen sirens are unavailable at this time [due to inclement weather], eleven constitutes 25% lost for greater than one hour."

The licensee has notified the State Police, will notify the NRC Resident Inspector and is in the process of restoring availability of the inoperable sirens.

*** UPDATE AT 0555 EDT ON 5/31/03 FROM KEN LEFFEL TO ARLON COSTA ***

Availability was restored to all sirens, except four. The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector.

PART 21 NOTIFICATION DUE TO POSSIBLE DEFECT WITH THERMO WESTRONICS SERIES 2100C RECORDERS

The following report was received via fax:

"July 21, 2003

"Subject: Thermo Westronics Model 2100C Series Recorders

"This letter is notification of a possible defect associated with Thermo Westronics Series 2100C recorders. The Series 2100C is a DIN size programmable chart recorder utilized in control room applications of Nuclear Power Plants. The recorders in question were manufactured under the Thermo Westronics 10CFR50 Appendix B Quality Program between August 2002 and January 2003.

"On or about May 30, 2003, Thermo Electron determined that a random reset anomaly could possibly occur on the Series 2100C recorder. This anomaly surfaced during the manufacture of three (3) commercial grade Series 2100 recorders. When the reset occurs, the recorder must be re-initialized to resume normal function.

"The root cause of the anomaly has been traced to a timing issue between the CPU Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and the Memory Module. A 27C256 EPROM, used as a decoder on the Memory Module, has changed manufacturers several times during the life of this product. The EPROM as produced by the original manufacturer is no longer available.

"Newer versions of this 27C256 EPROM typically function at faster speeds. The faster chip speed can cause a delay in the transition from "send" to "receive"' on the CPU Module and thereby result in the reset. This reset event is random and does not occur on every recorder.

"After engineering evaluation, Thermo Electron has incorporated a modification to the CPU PCBA to ensure compatibility with the faster EPROM on the Memory Module. This modification eliminates the timing delay and subsequent possibility of the reset. Future shipments of this CPU Module shall incorporate this modification.

"To ensure compatibility on previously installed recorders, the Memory Module shall only be offered as part of a kit that includes the newer version CPU PCBA.

"The scope of this notification includes ten (10) Series 2100C safety related recorders, all of which were thoroughly tested and did not exhibit this reset at the time of shipment. However, since it is not possible to determine the exact manufacture date of the 27C256 EPROM used on these recorders, this notification is being issued.

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"Thermo Electron shall notify listed customers and make arrangements to implement the design modification, either by rework at the Thermo Electron - Houston facility, or by providing replacement kits to the customer site. It is estimated that rework associated with the design modification should be completed within sixty (60) days, or as soon as Thermo Electron has been contacted by the identified customers."

The affected sites include Laguna Verde, Mexico, Millstone, Catawba, and McGuire.