NRC, Entergy Meet to Discuss Apparent Violations at Arkansas Nuclear One

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011
	CONTACT:	Breck Henderson (817) 860-8128/e-mail: bwh@nrc.gov

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RIV: 98-08

February 18, 1998

NRC, ENTERGY MEET TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATIONS AT ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a predecisional enforcement conference Friday, February 20, with officials of Entergy Operations, Inc., the operator of Arkansas Nuclear One, a nuclear power plant near Russellville, Ark. The parties will discuss three apparent violations of NRC requirements.

The conference will begin at 1 p.m. at NRC Region IV offices in Arlington, Texas. The meeting will be open to public observation; NRC officials will be available afterwards for questions.

The apparent violations were identified during inspections completed October 27-31 and November 10-14, 1997, and involve a temporary modification done while testing the pressure and vacuum relief valve on the borated water storage tank. A plastic covering was placed over the flanged fitting while the pressure and vacuum relief valve was removed for testing. No formal safety evaluation of the modification was done, proper design control measures were not initiated and the valve test procedure was approved for use only while the plant is shut down although the test was done at full power. The borated water storage tank supplies water to fill the primary coolant system during a loss- of-coolant accident.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that NRC has made a final determination that violations did occur or that enforcement action, such as a monetary fine, will be taken. The purpose is to discuss the apparent violations, their causes and safety significance, and to provide Entergy officials an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report and present corrective actions that have been taken.

No decision on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action, such as a civil penalty, will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC officials at a later time.