NRC Staff, Utility to Discuss Four Apparent Violations Involving DecommissioningProcedures at Haddam Neck

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
	CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: dps@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

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I-98-127

December 9, 1998

NRC STAFF, UTILITY TO DISCUSS FOUR APPARENT VIOLATIONS
INVOLVING DECOMMISSIONING PROCEDURES AT HADDAM NECK

Four apparent violations of Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements at the Haddam Neck nuclear power plant involving decommissioning work will be the subject of a meeting between plant officials and agency staff on Wednesday, December 16.

The predecisional enforcement conference, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the Public Meeting Room at the NRC Region I office in King of Prussia, will be open to the public for observation.

Located in Haddam, Conn., and owned by the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck permanently ceased operations in December 1996. During inspections conducted at the facility from July 20 through September 11, NRC inspectors identified apparent violations related to inadequate procedures for decontamination of the reactor coolant system and related activities.

The apparent violations, which were detailed in an NRC inspection report issued on October 29, are:

Failure to adequately check for leaks in the reactor coolant system before commencing chemical flushing of the piping, which contributed to leakage inside plant buildings of about 1,200 gallons of contaminated water on July 27;

Failure to adequately anticipate and address problems that affected flow equipment during the July 27 decontamination work;

Failure to ensure that resins used to clean up contaminated water would not shift locations under high flow conditions during reactor coolant system decontamination work, as occurred on August 11; and

Failure to provide procedural guidance and worker training on how to rig a 5-ton pipe trench floor block so that it could be moved, contributing to a loss of control of the block on August 2. A rigging attachment failed, causing the block to fall two inches and strike another floor block, but no workers were injured and the structural integrity of the block that was struck was not compromised.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather, the purpose is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee with an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the licensee to outline its proposed corrective action.

No decision on the apparent violations will be made at this conference. That decision will be made by NRC officials at a later time.