Morning Report for August 26, 1999

                       Headquarters Daily Report

                         AUGUST 26, 1999

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                    REPORT             NEGATIVE            NO INPUT
                    ATTACHED           INPUT RECEIVED      RECEIVED

HEADQUARTERS                           X
REGION I            X
REGION II                              X
REGION III                             X
REGION IV                              X
PRIORITY ATTENTION REQUIRED  MORNING REPORT - REGION I  AUGUST 26, 1999

Licensee/Facility:                     Notification:

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.     MR Number: 1-99-0030
Vermont Yankee 1                       Date: 08/26/99
Vernon,Vermont                         RI VIA TELECON
Dockets: 50-271
BWR/GE-4

Subject: NEW FUEL HANDLING PROBLEM

Discussion:

On August 25, 1999, operators were moving new fuel bundles
(non-irradiated) from the new fuel preparation machine to storage
locations in the spent fuel pool in preparation for the upcoming
refueling outage.  During one move, the refueling mast made contact with
the preparation machine and the mast became pinched between the refueling
bridge and preparation machine.  The problem occurred when the refueling
bridge computer, operating on automatic, permitted a move of the bundle
out of the preparation machine in a diagonal direction.  Preliminary
information suggests that operators should have manually controlled this
movement. Neither training nor procedures reflected the necessity for
this manual action.

The new fuel bundle was not damaged and an inspection of the mast found
it to be structurally sound.  The licensee determined that the bundle is
properly secured by the fuel handling equipment and does not present a
hazard to the irradiated fuel bundles in the spent fuel pool.  The
licensee has initiated several review teams to develop the recovery plan
and perform a root cause evaluation of the event.


Regional Action:

The resident inspectors are on-site and will monitor the licensee's
recovery efforts.

Contact:  Clifford Anderson          (610)337-5227
          Brian McDermott            (802)257-4319
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