NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. III-03-028 April 4, 2003

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC DECIDES A PRIOR "RED" IS NOT AN "OLD DESIGN" ISSUE AND ISSUES A

PRELIMINARY "RED" FINDING FOR FEEDWATER SYSTEM PROBLEMS 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that the potential failure in the

auxiliary feedwater system at the Point Beach Nuclear Power station, which has been earlier

characterized as "red," or an issue of high importance to safety, does not meet the criteria for being

treated as an "Old Design" issue. The NRC also issued a preliminary "red" for a related problem in the

auxiliary feedwater system, associated with the potential clogging of recirculation lines. The tworeactor facility is located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and is operated by Nuclear Management

Company.

"OLD DESIGN" ISSUE

In November 2001, the utility discovered that the auxiliary feedwater water system might fail

under certain abnormal conditions. Normal plant operations were not affected by the problem, which

was initially discovered by plant personnel. 

The utility took prompt corrective actions to revise procedures and train reactor operators to

address the immediate safety concerns.

 The NRC staff previously issued a determination that the potential failure was a "red finding,"

or of high importance to safety, and issued a Notice of Violation to Nuclear Management Co. for

inadequate operating procedures for the auxiliary feedwater system and for failing to identify and

correct the problem in prior opportunities between 1997 and 2001.

NRC inspection findings are evaluated using a four-level scale of increasing safety

significance, ranging from "green" for a finding of minor significance, through "white" and "yellow" to

"red" for a finding of high safety significance. The NRC’s oversight process uses performance

indicators submitted by nuclear power plants and findings from NRC’s inspections to evaluate each

plant’s safety performance. These findings fall into seven specific areas, or "cornerstones," which are

key indicators of the safety of a plant’s operations. 
The utility agreed with the NRC’s characterization of the finding as "red," but requested that

the finding be treated as an "Old Design" issue. Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, a "red

finding" would normally lead to an extensive inspection program to broadly assess the utility’s

management of issues and its corrective actions program. If, however, the issue is determined to be

an "Old Design" issue, it would mean that the finding does not reflect current plant performance and

the agency’s inspection follow-up would be more limited, focusing on the response to the auxiliary

feedwater system problem. 

After conducting special inspections, September 2002-March 2003, NRC inspectors concluded

that this issue did not meet the four required criteria to qualify as an "Old Design" issue because the

utility failed to implement thorough and complete corrective actions. Additionally, more recent

problems in its engineering program led to a subsequent problem with partial plugging of recirculation

line openings in the auxiliary feedwater system.

The NRC issued a Notice of Violation to Nuclear Management Company for failing to

adequately correct all aspects of the initial problem with the auxiliary feedwater system.

PRELIMINARY RED FINDING

On October 29, 2002, the utility notified the NRC that the auxiliary feedwater system might

fail to function under certain abnormal conditions due to plugging of the recirculation lines by debris. 

When the pumps are operating, they require a minimum flow of water to prevent

damage to the pumps. Each pump has a recirculation line that ensures a continuous flow of water

through the operating pump. Plant personnel found that one line was partially clogged, which could

cause pump damage.

The NRC conducted a special inspection, beginning October 31, 2002, to review this issue and

its relation to the initial problem with the auxiliary feedwater system. NRC inspectors concluded that

the clogging resulted because the utility installed orifices in the recirculation lines that were

susceptible to clogging, which would prevent them from fulfilling their design function of recirculating

water in certain accident conditions.

The utility took adequate compensatory and corrective actions, which included

revalidation of design basis for the auxiliary feedwater system and the revision of procedures and

operator training.

The NRC made a preliminary determination on this issue as being of high significance to safety

because it could lead to the failure of the auxiliary feedwater system in certain conditions and reduce

the plant’s ability to shut down in certain accidents. 

Before the NRC makes a final decision on the safety significance of the issue, the utility has an

opportunity to request a Regulatory Conference to provide its perspective on the significance of the

findings, as well as additional information related to the issue. NRC staff, uses this information, along

with its inspection findings, to determine the final safety significance of a problem. 

When the NRC regulatory process identifies a "red" issue, it means that a "cornerstone" of

safety met with longstanding issues of significant reduction in safety. 
The details of the NRC inspection findings are discussed in inspection report 2002-15, which is

available online in the NRC’s electronic reading room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

The report’s accession numbers is ML030920128.

The final determination of the safety significance will be posted on the NRC's web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN1/poin1_chart.html 

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