U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region IV

611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400

Arlington, Texas 76011-8064

RIV: 96-43 FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE

CONTACT: Breck Henderson July 2, 1996

OFFICE: 817/860-8128

PAGER: (800) 443-7243 (065477)

NRC PROPOSES TO FINE WOLF CREEK $300,000

FOR VIOLATIONS DURING JANUARY ICING EVENT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has informed Wolf

Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. that it proposes to fine the

company $300,000 for apparent violations of NRC requirements that

occurred when ice clogged the nuclear plant's cooling water

intakes January 30-31.

An augmented inspection team, which was on site February 6-

15, examined the circumstances of the event, and a special

inspection was conducted March 18-25. The special inspection

team identified 10 apparent violations.

The icing that occurred at Wolf Creek is known as "frazil

ice." This is an unusual phenomenon in which ice forms below the

surface of a body of water during extremely cold weather. Frazil

ice can be sucked into the cooling water intakes of industrial

plants such as nuclear power plants where it blocks flow by

adhering to screens designed to prevent trash from entering the

intakes.

On January 30 ice blocked the main cooling water intakes at

Wolf Creek, forcing a shutdown of the plant. Frazil ice then

clogged the essential service water intakes preventing operation

of one train of this system, which was required to cool plant

safety systems during cooldown after the reactor was shut down,

and threatened the second and only remaining train.

Based on information from the special inspection and a

predecisional enforcement conference May 10 between Wolf Creek

officials and NRC staff, the NRC has determined that violations

of regulatory requirements occurred. The NRC rates violations on

a four-level scale, with Severity Level I as the most severe.

The Wolf Creek violations are characterized as Severity Level III

and fall into three areas of concern, each of which carries a

proposed $100,000 fine:
1) The essential service water system, which serves as the

final source of cooling water for the plant, is designed so that

warm water recirculates to the system intakes to prevent ice

buildup. However, this warming flow, as designed, was

insufficient to prevent icing. NRC inspectors determined that

Wolf Creek managers missed at least four opportunities over

several years to identify and correct this design deficiency.

2) During the plant shutdown made necessary by icing at the

main circulation water intakes, Wolf Creek operators did not

follow plant procedures when aligning the essential service water

system for operation. An incorrect valve lineup resulted, which

complicated the event by preventing full warming flow from

reaching the system intakes. This incorrect valve lineup was not

corrected for about six hours despite the concern of the operator

who aligned the system.

3) During the plant cooldown the turbine-driven auxiliary

feedwater pump started as designed, but leaked non-radioactive

feedwater from the pump packing. The turbine-driven auxiliary

feedwater pump is a safety-related pump that may be required to

supply cooling water to remove decay heat from the reactor. In

this event the pump was not needed and was shut down to stop the

leaking. The packing was found to have been incorrectly

installed when changed during recent maintenance. It was

determined that the problem was caused by a failure to follow all

applicable work instructions during the packing replacement.

Wolf Creek operators also failed to correct pump packing

installation problems on the same pump during earlier maintenance

on that system.

In a letter to Wolf Creek chief executive Neil S. Carns, NRC

Regional Administrator L. Joe Callan said, ". . . each of these

violations reflect significant weaknesses in engineering,

operations, and maintenance that contributed to the frazil ice

event and complicated the recovery from that risk-significant

event that was entirely preventable."

The fines of $100,000 for Severity Level III violations

represent a doubling of the base civil penalty of $50,000.

According to Mr. Callan, this action was taken "to emphasize the

significance of the problems these violations represent, to

encourage improvement in performance, and to emphasize the need

for lasting, comprehensive corrective actions."

Wolf Creek has 30 days to respond to the NRC's Notice of

Violation. During this time it may pay the civil penalty or

protest it. If the protest is denied, the company may ask for a

hearing.

####