Part 21 Report - 1997-442

 
 

ACCESSION #: 9707090271



Northeast                               Rope Ferry Rd. (Route 156),

Nuclear Energy                          Waterford, CT 06385



                                        Millstone Nuclear Power Station

                                        Northeast Nuclear Energy Company

                                        P.O. Box 128

                                        Waterford, CT 06385-0128

                                        (860) 447-1791

                                        Fax (860) 444-4277



                                        The Northeast Utilities System



                                                  Docket No. 50-245

                                                             B16531



                                                  Re: 10 CFR 21.21



U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission                     JUL 3 1997

Attention: Document Control Desk

Washington, DC 20555



               Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1

             10 CFR 21 Report Concerning GE Class 1E Relays



Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO) is providing this letter to

inform the Commission, in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21 (c)(4), that

defective Class 1E electrical relays were received from General Electric

Company.  The non-conforming components were ordered for use at Millstone

Unit No. 1.  The subject relays were not installed in the plant.



Initial notification of this matter was provided via facsimile

notification to the NRC Operations Center in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21

(c)(3) on June 6, 1997.



The information required by 10 CFR 21 is provided in Attachment 1 to this

letter.



There are no new commitments made in this letter.  Should you have any

questions, please contact R. W. Walpole at (860) 440-2191.



                              Very truly yours,



                              NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY



                              John P. McElwain

                              Millstone Unit No. 1 Recovery Officer



OS3422-5 REV. 12-95



U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

B16531\Page 2



Sworn to and Subscribed Before Me



This    Day of   , 1997



     Notary Public



My Commission Expires



Attachment:

10 CFR 21 Report Concerning Class 1E Relays Provided by General Electric

Company



cc:  H. J. Miller, Region I Administrator

     Dr. W. D. Travers, Director, Special Projects Office

     W. D. Lanning, Director, Millstone Assessment Team

     S. Dembek, NRC Project Manager, Millstone Unit No. 1

     T. A. Easlick, Senior Resident Inspector, Millstone Unit No. 1



                                                  Docket No. 50-245

                                                             B16531



                              Attachment 1



                          Millstone Unit No. 1



        10 CFR 21 Report Concerning Class 1E Relays Provided by

                        General Electric Company



                                                          July 1997



U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

B16531\Attachment 1\Page 1



In accordance with 10 CFR 21.21 (c)(4), NNECO is providing the following

information:



(i)       Name and address of the individual or individuals informing the

          Commission.



          Mr. John P. McElwain

          Millstone Unit No. 1 Recovery Officer

          Northeast Nuclear Energy Company

          P.O. Box 128

          Waterford, Connecticut 06385-0128



(ii)      Identification of the facility, the activity, or the basic

          component supplied for such facility or such activity within

          the United States which fails to comply or contains a defect.



          GE-IFCS Class 1E Electrical Relays



          Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1

          Northeast Nuclear Energy Company

          Waterford, Connecticut



(iii)     Identification of the firm constructing the facility or

          supplying the basic component which fails to comply or contains

          a defect.



          General Electric Company

          San Jose, CA



(iv)      Nature of the defect or failure to comply and the safety hazard

          which is created or could be created by such defect or failure

          to comply.



          The IFCS electrical relays provided by General Electric Company

(GE) have been reviewed by NNECO with a focus on the dedication of the

commercial product conducted under the General Electric Nuclear Energy

(GENE) Quality Assurance (QA) program.  The GENE commercial grade

dedication program has been determined by NNECO to be inadequate in its

ability to demonstrate seismic capability of these specific relays as

delineated in the procurement specifications.  The basic components of

particular concern are GE-IFCS relays; however, the apparent weaknesses

in the GE commercial-grade dedication program potentially had an impact

on the qualification of the entire order of 6 other types of relays

purchased under Northeast Utilities Purchase Order No. 02012938.

However, NNECO has confirmed the acceptability of these other types of

relays through independent testing.



U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

B16531\Attachment 1\Page 2



          The IFCS relays were received in an unusable condition and thus

were not installed in the plant.  However, if installed, the limiting

consequence for a malfunction of the IFCS relays would be the opening of

the output breaker for both the Gas-Turbine Generator and the Emergency

Diesel Generator resulting in a loss of onsite Class 1E power.  NNECO's

inspection of the IFCS relays revealed manufacturing defects which may

have impacted the structural integrity and capability of the devices.

Had the damage been less severe and not identified, the relays would have

been made available for installation in the plant.  The installation of

these relays would have most likely resulted in a situation where the

relays may have proper electrical functionality unless subjected to

external loads such as a Design Basis Earthquake.  Thus, the relays could

have appeared serviceable but would potentially not meet their design

requirements.  This condition, if the relays had been installed, would

have represented a significant degradation of safety-related equipment

and potentially a condition outside the design basis of the plant for the

onsite power supplies.



(v)       The date on which the information of such defect or failure to

          comply was obtained.



          A Non-Conformance Report (NCR) addressing the issue was

prepared on April 10, 1997.  A Condition Report (CR) was then written on

April 18, 1997.



(vi)      In the case of a basic component which contains a defect or

          fails to comply, the number and location of all such components

          in use at, supplied for, or being supplied for one or more

          facilities or activities subject to the regulations of this

          Part.



          The basic components of concern are GE-IFCS relays provided

under Northeast Utilities Purchase Order No. 02012938.  Six of the seven

IFCS relays ordered were received with damage.  This damage was internal

and was not detected upon initial receipt inspection.  However, none of

the subject relays had been installed in the plant at the time of

discovery.



(vii)     The corrective action which has been, is being, or will be

          taken; the name of the individual or organization responsible

          for the action; and the length of time that has been or will be

          taken to complete the action.



          The defective relays were returned to GENE's facility at 2015

East Bridge Boulevard, Mascot TN 37806 for repair or replacement.  The

subject relays were repaired by GE and returned to NNECO.  The repaired

relays were then inspected by NNECO and determined to be acceptable.



U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

B16531\Attachment 1\Page 3



(viii)    Any advice related to the defect or failure to comply about the

          facility, activity, or basic component that has been, is being,

          or will be given to purchasers or licensees.



          None.



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