The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the process of rescinding or revising guidance and policies posted on this webpage in accordance with Executive Order 14151 Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and Executive Order 14168 Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. In the interim, any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion, or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded that is inconsistent with these Executive Orders.

Event Notification Report for July 13, 1999

                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           07/12/1999 - 07/13/1999

                              ** EVENT NUMBERS **

35819  35912  35913  35914  35915  

!!!!!!!!! THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED  !!!!!!!
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   35819       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: VERMONT YANKEE           REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/14/1999|
|    UNIT:  [1] [] []                 STATE:  VT |NOTIFICATION TIME: 09:00[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-4                             |EVENT DATE:        06/14/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        08:20[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MICHAEL EMPEY                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/12/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  STEVE SANDIN                 +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |JIMI YEROKUN         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                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ENGINEERING IDENTIFIED AN NSS CABLE ROUTED THROUGH BOTH A SAFETY DIVISION I  |
| & II CABLE TRAY                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| "DURING PREPARATION OF EDCR [ENGINEERING DESIGN CHANGE REQUEST] 99-402,      |
| DESIGN ENGINEERING IDENTIFIED A CABLE SEPARATION CONCERN CREATED BY EDCR     |
| 95-407.  EDCR 95-407 INSTALLED 'EGS'  QUICK DISCONNECT CONNECTIONS FOR A     |
| NUMBER OF MOVs , THE CONNECTORS ARE INSTALLED IN JUNCTION BOXES IN CLOSE     |
| PROXIMITY TO THE VALVES, FOR MOV 2-53A, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH SEPARATION  |
| DIVISION SII, THE NEW BOX IS LABELED 'B-1279SII.'  CABLE 1729G, A NNS CABLE  |
| WHICH SUPPORTS JET PUMP TOTAL FLOW LOGIC, PREVIOUSLY WAS ROUTED DIRECTLY TO  |
| V2-53.  EDCR 95-407 REROUTED C1729G THROUGH B-1279SII AND THE ASSOCIATED EGS |
| CONNECTOR.  CABLE 1729G IS ROUTED THOUGH AN 'SI' CONTAINMENT PENETRATION AND |
| THE CIRCUIT CONTINUES VIA OTHER CABLE THROUGH "SI" TRAYS TO THE CONTROL      |
| ROOM.                                                                        |
|                                                                              |
| "C1729G IS THEREFORE ROUTED IN AN 'SII' RACEWAY AND AN 'SI' RACEWAY WHICH IS |
| A VIOLATION OF VYS-027.                                                      |
|                                                                              |
| "Operability Assessment                                                      |
|                                                                              |
| "Electrical separation between redundant systems is maintained in order to   |
| provide confidence that a single failure in one division does not impact the |
| safety function of the opposite division. For this installation, credible    |
| failure of cable C1729G cannot impact the safety function of two divisions   |
| or failure within one safety division cannot propagate to the other division |
| through C1729G.                                                              |
|                                                                              |
| "Cable C1729G supplies valve position logic signals to Recirculation Pump    |
| relays located in CRP 9-38. The relays are used to generate computer inputs  |
| and alarms. The relay circuit is fused at 3 amps.                            |
|                                                                              |
| "Credible failures consisting of short circuits or open circuits can         |
| originate either in the SI raceway system, the SII raceway system or on      |
| cable C1729G which is installed between Box B-1279SII (near V2-53A) and Box  |
| B440SI (penetration X105A termination box). A failure within the division SI |
| raceway system may impact SI equipment but the failure would not propagate   |
| from the SI raceway to the SII equipment through cable C1729G without        |
| blowing the 3 amp fuse which protects the cable. In order for a failure to   |
| propagate from the SI system to the SII system a damaging signal or voltage  |
| must be impressed on C1729G within the SI system. That signal must then be   |
| carried and transferred to the SII system within box B-1279SII.              |
|                                                                              |
| "Cable C1729G consists of a 4/C #14 Rockbestos FWIII control cable insulated |
| at 600 V. It  [is] routed to box B440SI, the inboard penetration termination |
| box in a dedicated steel conduit. In the outboard box it connects to other   |
| cables which are routed in '300' series trays. These trays are dedicated to  |
| control circuits (120 V ac and 125 V dc or lower voltage). It is not         |
| credible that a failure within the 300 series SI trays would impress a       |
| signal or voltage on Cable C1729G which would cause damage to SII circuits   |
| within box B-1279SII or other equipment within the SII system. Possible      |
| voltages within the 300 series trays are 120 V ac or 125 V dc. The cable,    |
| rated at 600 V, will not break down when exposed to the maximum credible     |
| voltage. In addition the cable is protected by a 3 amp fuse which should     |
| interrupt the circuit before any short circuit current could affect adjacent |
| cable.                                                                       |
|                                                                              |
| "Similar to the above, failure within the SII system would not affect the    |
| equipment in the SI system and failure of cable C1729G within the drywell    |
| will not affect both the SI and SII system.                                  |
|                                                                              |
| "Conclusion                                                                  |
|                                                                              |
| "The SI and SII electrical distribution systems are operable even though     |
| C1729G is routed in B-1279SII and B440SI."                                   |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee informed the NRC Resident Inspector.                            |
|                                                                              |
| * * * RETRACTION 1344 7/12/1999 FROM JIM BROOKS TAKEN BY STRANSKY * * *      |
|                                                                              |
| "The VY FSAR Section 8.6.4 titled, 'Cable Installation and Separation        |
| Criteria,' states that it provides a 'summary of the VYNPS Cable Separation  |
| Criteria and cable installation criteria for redundant safety systems. . .'  |
| Conditions in conflict with the general requirements documented in section   |
| 8.6.4 or the detailed requirements contained within VY Specification 27,     |
| 'Separation Criteria for RPS, ESF and Auxiliary Support Systems-Related      |
| Electrical Equipment and Wiring' must be assessed on a case-by-case basis to |
| determine their acceptability in light of the related design bases.          |
|                                                                              |
| "As identified in the original ENS notification, the 'as-found' cabling      |
| configuration was assessed by the VY engineering organization. The VY        |
| engineering staff initial conclusion was confirmed. There was no credible    |
| ESF single failure vulnerability present due to the cited non-conformance.   |
| VY Regulatory Compliance further concluded that such a non-conformance does  |
| not constitute operation outside of the design basis of the VY plant."       |
|                                                                              |
| The NRC resident inspector has been informed of this retraction by the       |
| licensee. Notified R1DO (Trapp).                                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Power Reactor                                    |Event Number:   35912       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: LIMERICK                 REGION:  1  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/12/1999|
|    UNIT:  [] [2] []                 STATE:  PA |NOTIFICATION TIME: 05:16[EDT]|
|   RXTYPE: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4                    |EVENT DATE:        07/12/1999|
+------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME:        01:46[EDT]|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  O'MALLEY                     |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/12/1999|
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               +-----------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------+PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |JIM TRAPP            R1      |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|AESF 50.72(b)(2)(ii)     ESF ACTUATION          |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR|   INIT RX MODE  |CURR PWR|  CURR RX MODE   |
+-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
|                                                   |                          |
|2     N          Y       100      Power Operation  |100      Power Operation  |
|                                                   |                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PLANT HAD ISOLATION OF CONTAINMENT SAMPLE VALVES.                            |
|                                                                              |
| CONTAINMENT SAMPLE ISOLATION VALVES "SV-057-233", "SV-057-283" AND           |
| "SV-057-291" ISOLATED INADVERTENTLY DUE TO A BLOWN FUSE IN THE ISOLATION     |
| LOGIC.  THE FUSE WAS REPLACED AND THE ISOLATION LOGIC WAS RESET WITHIN 3     |
| HOURS 21 MINS.  AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSE OF THE BLOWN FUSE IS         |
| ONGOING.                                                                     |
|                                                                              |
| THE RESIDENT INSPECTOR WILL BE NOTIFIED.                                     |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Research Reactor                                 |Event Number:   35913       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FACILITY: UNIV OF WISCONSIN                    |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/12/1999|
|   RXTYPE: 1000 KW TRIGA (CONVERSION)           |NOTIFICATION TIME: 14:45[EDT]|
| COMMENTS:                                      |EVENT DATE:        07/12/1999|
|                                                |EVENT TIME:        09:26[CDT]|
|                                                |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/12/1999|
|    CITY:  MADISON                  REGION:  3  +-----------------------------+
|  COUNTY:  SAUK                      STATE:  WI |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|LICENSE#:  R-74                  AGREEMENT:  N  |RONALD GARDNER       R3      |
|  DOCKET:  05000156                             |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  R. J. CASHWELL               |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  BOB STRANSKY                 |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NCFR                     NON CFR REPORT REQMNT  |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SOLENOID FAILED TO RELEASE AIR PRESSURE FOLLOWING REACTOR PULSE              |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee reported that, following a pulse of the reactor, the transient  |
| control rod failed to reinsert into the core within 15 seconds, as required  |
| by the Technical Specifications.  The licensee determined that the solenoid  |
| valve for this control rod had become mechanically bound by foreign material |
| (dried grease) within the valve. The licensee has cleaned and successfully   |
| tested the solenoid valve.                                                   |
|                                                                              |
| The licensee made this report in accordance with their Technical             |
| Specifications as a "failure of a safety system component that could render  |
| the system incapable of performing the safety function."                     |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   35914       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  TN DIV of RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH        |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/12/1999|
|LICENSEE:  ALLIED TECHNOLOGY GROUP              |NOTIFICATION TIME: 15:13[EDT]|
|    CITY:  OAK RIDGE                REGION:  2  |EVENT DATE:        07/07/1999|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  TN |EVENT TIME:        15:00[EDT]|
|LICENSE#:  R-73020               AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/12/1999|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |MARK LESSER          R2      |
|                                                |DON COOL             NMSS    |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  DEBRA SHULTS                 |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  WILLIAM POERTNER             |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FIRE AT ALLIED TECHNOLOGY GROUP (ATG)                                        |
|                                                                              |
| On 7/7/99 a small fire occurred at the ATG Bear Creek Rd. facility.   Fire   |
| alarms were activated and indicated that the fire had occurred in the upper  |
| area of the main building.  The entire building was evacuated.  There was no |
| visible flame or smoke.  The event occurred while contractors were           |
| installing shielding, and the licensee believes that the cutting, grinding   |
| and welding may have contributed the necessary ignition source.   The        |
| licensee also identified that the cutting/grinding/welding violated          |
| procedure requirements in that it was performed within 30 feet of  the       |
| filter housing.  There was no evidence of building or personnel              |
| contamination.                                                               |
|                                                                              |
| Inspection of a process filter indicated that a fire had occurred on a       |
| roughing filter just prior to the HEPA.  The bank where the fire occurred is |
| a process filter, in that it vents into the main and final filter bank.  The |
| housing was cleaned and the roughing filter replaced.                        |
|                                                                              |
| The main filter bank was inspected and the intermediate filter  was torn and |
| loaded with debris.  The main bank was cleaned and the filter was replaced.  |
| This condition did not appear to be a result of the fire.                    |
|                                                                              |
| Stack samples revealed no evidence of a release above normal levels.         |
| Personnel surveys, which included nasal swipes, indicated no contamination.  |
|                                                                              |
| All work involving grinding, cutting, and welding has been stopped until the |
| contractors can be retrained.                                                |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   35915       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| REP ORG:  IDAHO NAT. ENG & ENVIRONMENTAL LAB   |NOTIFICATION DATE: 07/12/1999|
|LICENSEE:  IDAHO NAT. ENG & ENVIRONMENTAL LAB   |NOTIFICATION TIME: 23:55[EDT]|
|    CITY:                           REGION:  4  |EVENT DATE:        07/12/1999|
|  COUNTY:                            STATE:  ID |EVENT TIME:        21:33[MDT]|
|LICENSE#:                        AGREEMENT:  N  |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/13/1999|
|  DOCKET:                                       |+----------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |BLAIR SPITZBERG      R4      |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  BROWN                        |                             |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  CHAUNCEY GOULD               |                             |
+------------------------------------------------+                             |
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A                   |                             |
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             |
|NINF                     INFORMATION ONLY       |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
|                                                |                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                   EVENT TEXT                                   
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| THE IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING & ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY DECLARED AN ALERT  |
| DUE TO LOSS OF OFF SITE POWER AND A DIESEL FAILURE.                          |
|                                                                              |
| THE LABORATORY REPORTED THAT THEY HAD A LOSS OF COMMERCIAL POWER DUE TO A    |
| FIRE IN THE ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION.  THERE WAS ALSO A FAILURE OF THE DIESEL   |
| GENERATOR.  THIS CLASSIFICATION IS A DOE TYPE ALERT AND NOT A NRC TYPE       |
| ALERT.  THE LABORATORY DOES HAVE TMI FUEL ON SITE, BUT IT IS NOT AFFECTED BY |
| THIS ALERT.                                                                  |
|                                                                              |
| *** UPDATE ON 7/13/99 @ 0045 BY BROWN TO GOULD ***                           |
|                                                                              |
| THEY UPGRADED TO A DOE TYPE SITE AREA EMERGENCY DUE TO THE LOSS OF POWER     |
| WITH THE FAILURE TO START OF ONE STANDBY DIESEL GENERATOR AND THE FAILURE OF |
| ONE OPERATING STANDBY DIESEL GENERATOR.  THIS SITE AREA IS ALSO A DOE        |
| GENERATED CLASSIFICATION AND NOT A NRC GENERATED CLASSIFICATION.             |
|                                                                              |
| ****  UPDATE ON 7/13/99 @ 0356 FROM GARCIA TO GOULD  ****                    |
|                                                                              |
| OFF SITE POWER RESTORED AT 0140 AND EVENT WAS TERMINATED AT THAT TIME.       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+


Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021