March 4, 2003

EA-03-007

Mr. William R. Kanda

Vice President - Nuclear, Perry

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company

P. O. Box 97, A210

Perry, OH 44081

SUBJECT: PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

FINAL SIGNIFICANCE DETERMINATION FOR A WHITE FINDING AND

NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-440/02-08)

Dear Mr. Kanda:

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the final results of our significance

determination of the preliminary White finding identified in the subject inspection report. The

inspection finding was assessed using the significance determination process and was

preliminarily characterized as White (i.e., a finding with low to moderate increased importance

to safety, which may require additional NRC inspections). This preliminary White finding

involved the failure of your high pressure core spray system to start during routine surveillance

testing on October 23, 2002.

In a telephone conversation with Mr. M. Ring of my staff on February 10, 2003, you indicated

that FirstEnergy did not contest the characterization of the risk significance of this finding and

you declined an opportunity to provide additional information or discuss this issue in a

regulatory conference.

After considering the information developed during the inspection, the NRC has concluded that

the inspection finding is appropriately characterized as White (i.e., an issue with low to

moderate increased importance to safety, which may require additional NRC inspections).

You have 30 calendar days from the date of this letter to appeal the staff’s determination of

significance for the identified White finding. Such appeals will be considered to have merit only

if they meet the criteria given in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0609, Supplement 3.

The NRC has also determined that the failure to follow procedure GEI-0135 for breaker

installation and inspection is a violation of Technical Specification 5.4, as cited in the enclosed

Notice of Violation (Notice). The circumstances surrounding the violation are described in detail

in the subject inspection report. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy,

NUREG-1600, the Notice of Violation is considered escalated enforcement action because it is

associated with a White finding.
W. Kanda -2-

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the

enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part, to

determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with

regulatory requirements.

Because plant performance for this issue has been determined to be in the regulatory

response band, we will use the NRC Action Matrix, to determine the most appropriate NRC

response for this event. We will notify you, by separate correspondence, of that

determination.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC’s "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its

enclosure, and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the

NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system (ADAMS), accessible from

the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your

response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so

that it can be made available to the Public without redaction. The NRC also includes significant

enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What We Do, Enforcement, then

Significant Enforcement Actions.

Sincerely,

/RA/

J. E. Dyer

Regional Administrator

Docket No. 50-440

License No. NPF-58

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

cc w/encl: B. Saunders, President - FENOC

K. Ostrowski, Director, Nuclear

 Maintenance Department

V. Higaki, Manager, Regulatory Affairs

J. Messina, Director, Nuclear

 Services Department

T. Lentz, Director, Nuclear

 Engineering Department

T. Rausch, Plant Manager, 

 Nuclear Power Plant Department

Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Ohio State Liaison Officer

R. Owen, Ohio Department of Health
DOCUMENT NAME: C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML030630742.wpd

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy

OFFICE RIII E RIII E RIII RIII E

NAME PPelke/trn MRing GGrant BClayton

DATE 02/24/03 02/24/03 02/27/03 03/04/03

OFFICE OE N RIII RIII RIII

NAME FCongel* BBerson JDyer

DATE 02/26/03 02/24/03 02/24/03

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

*via e-mail from J. Dixon-Herrity.
W. Kanda -3-

ADAMS Distribution:

AJM

DFT

DVP1

FJC

JLD

LAD

WDT

WFK

LJC

DCD

SJC1

RWB1

MCC2

SFG

HTB

GPC

JMP1

OEMAIL

RidsNrrDipmIipb

ADAMS (PARS)

SECY

OCA

OEWEB

OEMAIL

JED2

GEG

HBC

RJS2

RML2

JLL2

RJP

JAE

Enforcement Coordinators

 RI, RII, RIII, RIV

DRPIII

DRSIII

PLB1

JRK1
NOTICE OF VIOLATION

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Docket No. 50-440

Perry Nuclear Power Plant License No. NPF-58

EA-03-007

During an NRC inspection conducted October 1 through December 28, 2002, a violation of

NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and

Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the violation is listed below:

Technical Specification 5.4 requires, in part, that procedures be established,

implemented, and maintained as recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2,

Appendix A, February 1978. Regulatory Guide 1.33, Appendix A, Section 9,

“Procedures for Performing Maintenance,” recommends that maintenance activities that

affect the performance of safety-related equipment should be performed in accordance

with written procedures appropriate to the circumstances. Procedure GEI-0135,

Revision 1, March 30, 1999, “ABB Power Circuit Breakers 5 KV Types 5HK250 and

5HK350 Maintenance,” Step 15.14.3.3 requires a visual check of the cell switch normally

open contacts to verify they are in the flat horizontal position prior to breaker installation. 

The procedure allows in a note to the step, that it may be acceptable for contact bars to

not be in flat horizontal alignment provided a clear make/break of the contacts is

observed.

Contrary to the above, the licensee failed to implement procedure GEI-0135 during the

installation and inspection of the high pressure core spray pump breaker from 1994

through October 23, 2002. Specifically, the licensee did not verify that the contacts

were in the flat horizontal position prior to breaker installation or that there was a clear

make/break of the contacts. This failure to verify the alignment of the contacts resulted

in degradation of the connection over time and failure of the pump to start during

surveillance testing on October 23, 2002.

This violation is associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding.

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company is hereby

required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555 with a copy to the

Regional Administrator, Region III, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at the Perry

Nuclear Power Plant, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation

(Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-03-007"

and should include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis

for disputing the violation or severity level, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the

results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and

(4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include

previous docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required

response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order

or a Demand for Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified,

suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. 

Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.
Notice of Violation -2-

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with

the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Because your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC

Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system (ADAMS), accessible from the

NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, to the extent possible, it should

not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made

available to the public without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is

necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your

response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your

response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you must

specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in

detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will

create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by

10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial

information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please

provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working

days.

Dated this 4th day of March 2003