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Morning Report for December 22, 2004

Headquarters Daily Report

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REGION II

ST. LUCIE 4.16 kV BREAKER MALFUNCTIONS

Licensee/Facility:

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO.
Saint Lucie 1, Saint Lucie 2
JENSEN BEACH, Florida
Dockets: 05000335, 05000389
[1] CE, [2] CE
License No:
Notification:

MR Number: 2-2004-0020
Date: 12/14/2004

Call / Fax from SRI

Discussion:

On December 16, 2004, a Special Inspection team was dispatched to the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant following two 4.16 kV breaker malfunctions. The first malfunction occurred on December 9 when, during a post-maintenance test of the 1A Component Cooling Water pump, the breaker did not close as expected. The second malfunction involved the 1C Component Cooling Water breaker and occurred on December 13 while operating the breaker on a test stand during a preventive maintenance activity. Both breakers were Westinghouse DHP magnetic air circuit breakers. The licensee's preliminary investigation indicates the problem involves binding of internal breaker linkage components, although the root cause has yet to be determined.

The Special Inspection was initiated because of the potential adverse generic implications associated with two safety-related breaker malfunctions and the associated risk significance. The team inspection will be conducted in two phases. The first phase is complete and included collection of applicable data, assessment of the licensee's initial corrective actions and extent of condition review, and assessment of the licensee's initial operability determination. The second phase of the inspection will include an assessment of the overall adequacy and timeliness of the licensee's response as well as the root cause analysis. It will also consider potential generic implications.

The licensee has completed testing of all safety-related breakers of this type that can reasonably be tested with the power plant in operation and no additional breaker malfunctions were identified. Testing of additional breakers is scheduled. The team has concluded that the licensee's initial operability determination sufficiently verified current operability of other breakers of this type. The second phase of the inspection is tentatively planned for early January 2005.

Accession Numbers:

Accession No Accession Date
ML043570293 12/22/2004

Contacts:

Name Office Abbrev Phone No E-Mail
MUNDAY, JOEL T R2 (404) 562-4560 JTM@nrc.gov

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