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-98-26 March 9, 1998

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

Neil A. Sheehan (610/337-5331)

NRC PROPOSES $55,000 FINE AGAINST NORTHEAST UTILITIES

FOR VIOLATION INVOLVING SAFETY SYSTEM PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a

$55,000 fine against Northeast Utilities for failing to

adequately address a problem involving a safety system at the

Millstone nuclear power plant’s Unit 3. NU owns and operates

Millstone, located in Waterford, Conn.

All three of the reactors at Millstone will have been

shut down for two years as of March 30. NU is working to correct

problems at the units, with its most immediate goal the restart

of Unit 3.

During an inspection conducted last year, NRC inspectors

determined that despite prior opportunities to do so, NU failed

to identify the potential for air to be drawn into certain pumps

that would be needed following a loss-of-coolant accident. That

could have resulted in damage to the pumps and hindered or

removed their ability to help keep the plant’s nuclear fuel

covered with water and cooled.

NRC staff and representatives of NU discussed the

violation during a predecisional enforcement conference on

January 13.

William D. Travers, Director of the NRC’s Special

Projects Office for Millstone, pointed out in a letter to NU

regarding the enforcement action that the company assured the

agency the actual safety significance of the violation was low,

“noting your determination that the pumps would have performed

satisfactorily. This determination was based on your recent

assessment which indicated that the total volume of air was

small; the predicted void fractions (air pockets) were also small

and would occur over a short duration; and the air entrainment

would be well below void fraction acceptance criteria.”

In order for the utility to reach this conclusion, it

performed a detailed evaluation, including the use of a onequarter scale model.
2

Based on an assessment of the utility’s analysis and

testing, the NRC staff has determined that while the issue would

not adversely impact the system’s ability to function, it does

involve a nonconformance with Unit 3's licensing basis.

“This violation is of regulatory concern,” Mr. Travers

stated, “because, as you acknowledged at the conference, you

missed prior opportunities, both in the past as well as more

recently, to identify this condition.”

In addition, the plant’s Configuration Management Plan,

which was specifically designed to identify such issues, did not

do so in this case, he said.

Despite the violation, Travers said that in light of NU’s

effective corrective actions in response to the finding, the NRC

staff has decided not to expand the scope of an ongoing review of

Unit 3's conformance with its licensing and design bases.

“This determination is consistent with the process being

used by the NRC staff as described in my letter to you dated

January 30, 1998. Our ongoing reviews of Unit 3 licensing and

design bases conformance will include continued assessments to

determine if any expansion in the scope of our reviews is

warranted,” the director wrote.

NU has 30 days to pay the fine or request in writing that

all or part be withdrawn.

#