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Home       > Electronic Reading       Room       > Document       Collections       > General       Communications       > Information       Notices       > 1979       > IN 79-01
IN79001                               UNITED STATES                       NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION                          WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555                                                                   January 31, 1979 MEMORANDUM FOR:     B. H. Grier, Director, Region I                     J. P. O'Reilly, Director, Region II                     J. G. Keppler, Director, Region III                     K. V. Seyfrit, Director, Region IV                     R. H. Engelken, Director, Region V FROM:               Norman C. Moseley, Director, Division of Reactor                       Operations Inspection, OIE SUBJECT:            Information Notice No. 79-01, BERGEN-PATERSON                     HYDRAULIC SHOCK AND SWAY ARRESTOR The subject document is transmitted for issuance on February 2, 1979.  The Information Notice should be issued to all power reactor facilities with an operating license or a construction permit. Also enclosed is a draft copy ofthe transmittal letter. No inspection followup is necessary since no action by the licensee is requested. We anticipate forwarding additional information when the Rancho Seco evaluation program for corrective action is completed.                                         Norman C. Moseley                                         Director                                         Division of Reactor                                           Operations Inspection, IE Enclosures: 1.   Information Notice No. 79-01 2.   Draft Transmittal Letter CONTACT:  H. A. Wilber, IE           (492-8180) .(Draft letter to all power reactor facilities with an operating license or a construction permit)                                             Information Notice No. 79-01 Addressee: This Information Notice is provided as an early notification of a possibly significant matter. It is expected that recipients will review the information for possible applicability to their facilities. No specific action or response is requested at this time. If further NRC evaluations so indicate, an IE Circular or Bulletin will be issued to recommend or request specific licensee actions. If you have questions regarding this matter, please contact the Director of the appropriate NRC Regional Office.                                         Signature                                         (Regional Director) Enclosures: 1.   Information Notice No. 79-01 2.   List of IE Information Notices        Issued in 1979 .                             UNITED STATES                       NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION                    OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT                          WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555                                                                  February 2, 1979                                             Information Notice No. 79-01 BERGEN-PATERSON HYDRAULIC SHOCK AND SWAY ARRESTORS (HSSA) On December 4, 1978, Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station reported the failure of seven Bergen-Paterson HSSA (Snubber) units to lockup in the compression direction and the failure of one additional unit to lockup in the extension direction. These failures were identified during surveillance testing and the affected models included HSSA-3-6, HSSA-10-6 and HSSA-20-6. When the units were disassembled, the licensee observed damage to the poppetvalve and seat on the compression side of the valve blocks of the seven units that failed in the compression direction. It was also observed that five of the seven units had the poppet spring entrapped between the poppet and the seat. The licensee attributed the seven failures in the compression direction to abusive handling during compression of the units for installation following testing at the previous refueling outage. The cause of the single failure in the extension direction has not been determined. In addition to exercising greater care in reinstallation, the licensee committed to functionally test all Bergen-Paterson snubbers subjected to transient conditions which cause either physical damage to or significant movement of piping. This testing will include verification of piston movement, lockup and bleed. The Bergen-Paterson Technical Maintenance Manual recommends that additional inspections should be made on units which may have participated in an unusual shock occurrence involving known damage to piping or equipment. On January 3, 1979, the licensee reported that the decay heat removal systemhad been subjected to a transient condition in the form of a "water hammer."This transient, caused pipe movement great enough to damage two rigid pipe support wall attachments. The subsequent functional testing of the affected Bergen-Paterson units revealed that one of seven units failed the lockup test. This unit (Model No. HSSA-3-6) was disassembled and damage to the poppet valve and seat was observed. The damage to the poppet valves is presently being reviewed by both the licensee and Bergen-Paterson. At this time, the cause of damage has not beencompletely defined nor has appropriate corrective action been determined. Other licensees have reported instances of poppet valve damage; however, thecause and extent of damage are not known at this time.                                Page 1 of 2 .Information Notice No. 79-01                          February 2, 1979 This information is provided as an early notification of a possibly significant matter. It is expected that recipients will review the information for possible applicability to their facilities. No specific action or response is requested at this time. If further NRC evaluations so indicate, an IE Circular or Bulletin will be issued to recommend or request specific licensee actions. If you have questions regarding this matter, please contact the Director of the appropriate NRC Regional Office.                                 Page 2 of 2