Information Notice No. 89-22: Questionable Certification of Fasteners
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
March 3, 1989
Information Notice No. 89-22: QUESTIONABLE CERTIFICATION OF FASTENERS
Addressees:
All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power
reactors.
Purpose:
This information notice is being provided to alert addressees to a possible
problem with the certification of fasteners (bolts, nuts, and studs) furnished
by Hardware Specialty Company, Incorporated (HSC) of Long Island City, New
York. It is expected that recipients will review the information for
applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to
avoid similar problems. However, suggestions contained in this information
notice do not constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or
written response is required.
Description of Circumstances:
During 1981 and 1982, Ebasco Services Incorporated and Louisiana Power and
Light Company issued purchase orders (POs) to HSC for fasteners for use at
the Waterford Nuclear Power Plant. Based on a review of certificates of
compliance (C of Cs) and certified material test reports (CMTRs), it was
determined that HSC purchased commercial grade fasteners from intermediary
suppliers who obtained the material from foreign and domestic suppliers and
manufacturers. HSC certified that the material met the requirements of
Section III of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code without performing
applicable verification activities or upgrade testing. Additionally, stain-
less steel fasteners may not have been properly solution annealed as evidenced
by the fact that tensile properties in test reports are high for heat treated
material and the Brinell hardness numbers exceed the maximum specified for
SA-193 B8 Class 1 material. In addition, Charpy impact tests were not
performed on fasteners greater than one inch as required by paragraphs NB-2311
and NC-2311 of ASME Section III, 1977 Edition, Summer 1979 Addenda, which were
invoked in the pertinent POs. It should be noted that the POs did not contain
test temper-atures for conducting the impact tests. This material was sold to
the Waterford site in the early 1980s. The above information was dis-covered
during an NRC inspection at HSC during the period of February 7-10, 1989.
Attachment 1 lists organizations known to have approved HSC as a supplier of
fasteners to ASME Section III or Appendix B to 10 CFR 50 requirements during
the 1980-1985 time frame. This list is not all inclusive. It is important
for licensees to note that HSC reportedly started supplying fasteners to the
nuclear industry in 1979, but has been in business since 1932.
8902270158
. IN 89-22
March 3, 1989
Page 2 of 2
The NRC inspection at HSC indicates that material supplied by HSC during 1988
met customer requirements. A list of HSC nuclear customers in 1988/1989 is
provided in Attachment 2. The documents for the material supplied between
1983 and 1987 were not reviewed in sufficient detail to conclude whether
problems exist with the material provided by HSC during this period.
Discussion:
The NRC inspections at the Waterford site and HSC have brought into question
the validity of C of Cs and CMTRs issued by HSC for the fasteners that they
supplied. Accordingly, licensees may wish to review procurements from this
vendor to ensure that appropriate bases exist for the use of HSC supplied
material. Licensees and other purchasers may wish also to review the adequacy
of audits performed on vendors and vendor approval processes in light of this
information. (See also IN No. 88-35, "Inadequate Licensee Performed Vendor
Audits").
In addition, it is important for licensees to note that Section III of the ASME
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requires that, when working with material sup-
pliers and manufacturers that are not Quality System Certificate (QSC) Holders,
the only parties permitted to survey, approve, and order Section III material
from them are QSC and N-type certificate holders.
No specific action or written response is required by this information notice.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact the technical
contact listed below or the Regional Administrator of the appropriate regional
office.
Charles E. Rossi, Director
Division of Operational Events Assessment
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact: Ray Cilimberg, NRR
(301) 492-3220
Attachments:
1. List of Organizations that Approved Hardware Specialty Company
2. List of Hardware Specialty Company Nuclear Customers in 1988/1989
3. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
. Attachment 1
IN 89-22
March 3, 1989
Page 1 of 1
LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT APPROVED HARDWARE SPECIALTY COMPANY
UTILITIES/VENDORS AUDIT APPROVAL DATE
Niagara Mohawk 1985
Maine Yankee 1985
Virginia Power Pre 9/1980
Louisiana Power and Light 1981
Ebasco 1981
Alabama Power 1981
Hayward Tyler 10/15/80
Jamesbury Valve Pre 9/1980
Ryerson Steel Pre 9/1980
Baltimore Gas and Electric 11/13/80
Texas Utilities 05/20/81
Morrison Knudson 11/10/81
Indiana and Michigan Electric Company 05/19/81
Pennsylvania Power and Light 12/15/81
American Electric Power 1981
Rockwell 1980
Continental Power (Marble Hill) 1981
. Attachment 2
IN 89-22
March 3, 1989
Page 1 of 1
LIST OF HARDWARE SPECIALTY COMPANY NUCLEAR CUSTOMERS IN 1988/1989
Arizona Power
Bechtel - Limerick
Bechtel - South Texas
Boston Edison
Carolina Power & Light
Consolidated Edison
Georgia Power
General Public Utilities
Gulf States
Long Island Lighting
New York Power Authority
Niagara Mohawk
Philadelphia Electric
Stone & Webster
Sulzer Pump
Virginia Power
Yankee Atomic
. Attachment 3
IN 89-22
March 3, 1989
Page 1 of 1
LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED
NRC INFORMATION NOTICES
_____________________________________________________________________________
Information Date of
Notice No._____Subject_______________________Issuance_______Issued to________
89-21 Changes in Performance 2/27/89 All holders of OLs
Characteristics of Molded- or CPs for nuclear
Case Circuit Breakers power reactors.
88-73, Direction-Dependent Leak 2/27/89 All holders of OLs
Supplement 1 Characteristics of Contain- or CPs for nuclear
ment Purge Valves power reactors.
89-20 Weld Failures in a Pump 2/24/89 All holders of OLs
of Byron-Jackson Design or CPs for nuclear
power reactors.
89-19 Health Physics Network 2/23/89 All holders of OLs
or CPs for nuclear
power reactors, and
the following fuel
facilities:
Nuclear Fuel
Services of Erwin,
General Atomic, UNC
Montville, B&W LRC
Lynchburg, and B&W
Lynchburg.
89-18 Criminal Prosecution of 2/22/89 All holders of OLs
Wrongdoing Committed by or CPs for nuclear
Suppliers of Nuclear power reactors.
Products or Services
89-17 Contamination and Degra- 2/22/89 All holders of OLs
dation of Safety-Related or CPs for nuclear
Battery Cells power reactors.
89-16 Excessive Voltage Drop 2/16/89 All holders of OLs
in dc Systems or CPs for nuclear
power reactors.
89-15 Second Reactor Coolant Pump 2/16/89 All holders of OLs
Shaft Failure at Crystal or CPs for nuclear
River power reactors.
__________________________________________________________________________________
OL = Operating License
CP = Construction Permit
..
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Monday, March 24, 2025
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Monday, March 24, 2025