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any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion, or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded that is inconsistent with these Executive Orders.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 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 THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED. THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RETRACTED  !!!!!!!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