United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region I

475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19401

Phone: 610/337-5330 Fax: 610/337-5241

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

I-97-133 October 8, 1997

Contact: Diane Screnci FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Neil A. Sheehan

NRC PROPOSES $110,000 CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST CONSOLIDATED EDISON

FOR VIOLATIONS AT INDIAN POINT 2 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN NEW YORK

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed

$110,000 in fines against Consolidated Edison Company of New York

for four violations of agency requirements at its Indian Point 2

nuclear power plant. All of the violations pertain to equipment

not being properly maintained and/or operated at the facility,

located in Buchanan, N.Y.

In addition, Consolidated Edison is being cited, but not

fined, for a fifth violation pertaining to improperly set

pressurizer safety valves.

The infractions for which the fines have been proposed

include three relating to an inoperable reactor overpressure

protection system and one for degraded performance of a safetyrelated pump.

In the case of the non-functioning system, the plant’s

overpressure protection system is used to provide pressure relief

for the reactor coolant system while at low temperatures. For

approximately two and a half days last June, the overpressure

protection system was not working and compensatory measures were

not initiated.

Because the system was inoperable and the required minimum

vent area was not provided, the plant’s technical specifications

required that water level in the pressurizer be less than or

equal to 30 percent. Despite that requirement, the level reached

as high as 80 percent. Further, Consolidated Edison did not take

action to place the plant in compliance until the NRC raised

questions about the situation. (The pressurizer, a tank

containing a mixture of steam and water, is used to regulate

reactor coolant system pressure.) A $55,000 fine has been

proposed for the related violations.

The degraded pump performance condition affected one of
two recirculation pumps between September 1995 and May 1997. The

pump involved, which would be needed to keep water flowing into

the reactor in the event of an accident, was found to have

degraded performance in 1995 and failed surveillance tests during

the 1997 refueling outage.

After these tests, an examination of pump internals

disclosed that a rubber hose was found wrapped around the

impeller. It was determined the hose most likely had been drawn

into the pump prior to or around 1989. Under certain conditions,

the pump would have been unable to perform its post-accident

safety function. A $55,000 fine has been proposed for this

violation.

The violation for which no fine has been proposed pertains

to reactor coolant system pressurizer code safety valves’ lift

setpoints that were identified as being above technical

specification limits.

NRC Region I Administrator Hubert J. Miller, in a letter

to the utility, wrote that a “common thread” among the violations

was the company’s failure to identify and correct the existing

adverse conditions despite several clear opportunities to do so.

“Furthermore,” Mr. Miller added, “these failures involved

more than one discipline, including the operations staff who did

not identify the inoperable Overpressure Protection System until

the NRC began questioning the matter in June 1997, as well as the

engineering staff and management who did not aggressively deal

with the engineer’s identification of the reduced differential

head for one of the recirculation pumps. The failure to identify

the OPS issue occurred in June 1997, subsequent to the May 1997

civil penalty, and demonstrates that concerns remain regarding

your ability to identify and correct problems.”

Last May, the NRC fined Consolidated Edison $205,000 for

seven violations at Indian Point 2. Six involved a failure to

identify and/or correct problems at the plant between June 1995

and March 1997, resulting in conditions the agency considered

“adverse to quality.” The seventh dealt with inadequate fire

protection measures.

The utility has 30 days to pay the latest fine or request

in writing that all or part of the penalty be withdrawn.

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