United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region I

475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406

Fax: 610/337-5241

Internet: dps@nrc.gov or nas@nrc.gov

I-98-32 March 23, 1998

Contact: Diane Screnci (610/337-5330) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Neil A. Sheehan (610/337-5331)

NRC PROPOSES $55,000 CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST PSE&G FOR VIOLATION

STEMMING FROM REACTOR OPERATORS’ FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES

A failure to follow safety procedures associated with

control rod movements during a reactor shutdown test has led the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to propose a $55,000 fine against

the operator of the Hope Creek nuclear power plant. Public

Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) Company operates the plant, which

is located on the Delaware River in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.

The NRC also cited, but did not fine, PSE&G for two other

violations at the facility regarding adherence to the agency’s

rule on plant maintenance.

In the case of the first violation, which was identified

by the NRC, plant operators conducted the procedure last November

12 to demonstrate the reactor could meet required shutdown safety

margins despite problems involving some of its hydraulically

operated control rods. (The control rods are made of material

that can inhibit fission and thereby regulate the level of power

production in the reactor.) The reactor was in a cold shutdown

condition at the time, with the reactor vessel head removed.

During the demonstration, which involved the full

withdrawal of 20 control rods, several of the rods became stuck.

To free them, plant operators used elevated hydraulic pressure,

which is a standard procedure. However, the pressure level was

not immediately returned to normal after each rod was freed, as

required by plant procedures. The elevated pressure created the

potential for rod withdrawal at faster-than-normal speeds.

“Although NRC inspectors informed personnel in the control

room of the departure from the stuck rod procedure, including

three licensed operators, a formerly licensed quality assurance

inspector and the reactor engineering supervisor, no action was

taken to address the control rod manipulation violation until the

inspector discussed the issue with senior plant management,” NRC

Region 1 Administrator Hubert J. Miller wrote in a letter to

PSE&G regarding the enforcement action.
2

Mr. Miller, who said the event was of “significant

regulatory concern,” also noted that prior instances at U.S.

commercial nuclear plants involving control rod manipulations

should have raised awareness about the need for appropriate

controls. Indeed, the NRC issued a $150,000 fine to Hope Creek

in October 1996 for, in part, a violation related to control rod

withdrawal.

The other two violations pertain to the NRC’s maintenance

rule, which took effect in July 1996. The Commission determined

there was a need for such a rule in order to ensure that plants

monitor the effectiveness of their maintenance work so as to

minimize the likelihood of failure of safety-significant

equipment that could initiate or adversely affect a problem or

accident that develops at the facility.

These infractions involve: 1.) a failure to include

certain systems, components and functions within the scope of the

rule; and 2.) a failure to adequately demonstrate that the

performance or condition of a number of systems, components and

functions is being effectively controlled through the performance

of preventive maintenance.

However, subsequent inspections of this program determined

that corrective actions planned by PSE&G were comprehensive and

that significant progress had been made in implementing the

improvements.

PSE&G has 30 days to pay the fine or request in writing

that all or part of the penalty be withdrawn.

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