Part 21 Report - 1997-730

 
 

ACCESSION #: 9710030170



                                        COOPER NUCLEAR STATION

                              P.O. BOX 98, BROWNVILLE, NEBRASKA 68321

                                        TELEPHONE (402)825-3811

Nebraska Public Power District               FAX (402)82--5211



NLS970124

September 29, 1997



U.S.  Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Attention: Document Control Desk

Washington, D.C.  20555-0001



Gentlemen:



Subject:  Interim Report Pursuant to 10 CFR 21.21 (a)(2)

          Cooper Nuclear Station, NRC Docket 50-298, DPR-46



Under the notification requirements of 10 CFR 21.21(a)(2), an interim

report must be prepared and submitted to the Commission within 60 days of

discovery of a deviation or failure to comply that has the potential to

have created a substantial safety hazard.  Accordingly, the Nebraska

Public Power District (the District) is herein notifying the Commission

of a condition where safety related calculations provided to the District

by General Electric Nuclear Energy were found to contain nonconservative

errors.  While a preliminary review suggests a substantial safety hazard

would not have been created, an in-depth evaluation has yet to be

completed.  Attachment 1 to this letter provides additional information

concerning this condition.



Should you have any questions or require any additional information,

please contact me.



Sincerely,





Philip D.  Graham

Vice President

of Nuclear Energy



/crm

Attachment



cc:  Regional Administrator

     USNRC - Region IV



     Senior Project Manager

     USNRC - NRR Project Directorate IV-1





NLS970124

September 29, 1997

Page 2 of 2





Senior Resident Inspector

USNRC



Tyrone Slayton

GE Nuclear Energy



NPG Distribution





Attachment 1

to NLS970124

Page 1 of 2



Interim Report Pursuant to 10 CFR 21.21(a)(2)

Cooper Nuclear Station, NRC Docket 50-298, DPR-46



Under the notification requirements of 10 CFR 21.21(a)(2), an interim

report must be prepared and submitted to the Commission within 60 days of

discovery of a deviation or failure to comply that has the potential to

have created a substantial safety hazard.  Accordingly, the Nebraska

Public Power District (the District) is herein notifying the Commission

of a condition where safety related calculations provided to the District

were found to contain nonconservative errors.  The following provides

additional details associated with this condition.



Background



General Electric Nuclear Energy (GE) was authorized by the District to

provide setpoint calculations for analytical limits, allowable values,

and nominal trip setpoints for the Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS) Improved

Technical Specifications (ITS) project.  The work was classified as

Essential (Nuclear-Safety Related) and was performed under GE's quality

assurance program in accordance with Service Agreement Number 86A-MS2,

Task Authorization Number 376.



The calculated allowable values were subsequently submitted to the

Commission as part of the ITS submittal 1_/.



Deviation or Failure to Comply



During the preparation of ITS surveillance test procedures using the GE

calculated setpoints, it was discovered that several of the setpoint

calculations contained errors.  Specifically, it was discovered that, in

some instances, the calculated setpoints would exceed the calculated

allowable values when considering as-left tolerances.  Further, a sample

review of the setpoint calculations indicated that some setpoint

calculations contained errors that affect the allowable values already

provided to the Commission in the ITS submittal and the associated

nominal setpoints.



Substantial Safety Hazard Evaluation



Since the setpoint calculations were performed in support of ITS which

has yet to be approved and implemented, the errors have no impact to

current plant operations.  A preliminary review suggests a substantial

safety hazard would not have been created; however, an in-depth

evaluation has yet to be completed.



_________________________

1_/  Letter (NLS970002) to USNRC from G. R. Horn (NPPD) dated March 27,

     1997, "Proposed Change to CNS Technical Specifications Conversion to

     Improved Standard Technical Specifications, Cooper Nuclear Station,

     NRC Docket No. 50298, License No. DPR-46"

_________________________





Attachment 1

to NLS970124

Page 2 of 2



The Commission has been apprised of the errors with regard to the ITS

submittal.



To establish the significance of the errors, the setpoint calculations

will be reviewed, corrected and approved, and the results compared to

those supplied by GE.  Discrepancies resulting from errors introduced by

GE will then be evaluated to determine if a substantial safety hazard

could have been created, assuming the original calculations were

implemented as supplied.  This in-depth evaluation will be completed by

January 9, 1998.





ATTACHMENT 3 LIST OF NRC COMMITMENTS



Correspondence No: NLS970124



The following table identifies those actions committed to by the District

in this document.  Any other actions discussed in the submittal represent

intended or planned actions by the District.  They are described to the

NRC for the NRC's information and are not regulatory commitments.  Please

notify the Licensing Manager at Cooper Nuclear Station of any questions

regarding this document or any associated regulatory commitments.



                                                  COMMITTED DATE

               COMMITMENT                            OR OUTAGE



To establish the significance of the errors,

the setpoint calculations will be reviewed,

corrected and approved, and the results compared  January 9, 1998

to those supplied by GE.  Discrepancies resulting

from errors introduced by GE will then be evaluated

to determine if a substantial safety hazard could

have been created, assuming the original calculations

were implemented as supplied.



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