Part 21 Report - 1999-391

 

 

ACCESSION #: 9909080248

FOXBORO

The Foxboro Company
Foxboro, MA 02035-2099
United States of America
Telephone +1 508 543 8750
Facsimile +1 508 549 6750
Internet http://www.foxboro.com/

September 03, 1999

Mr. Bob Stransky
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Event Assessment
1155 Rockville Heights
Rockville, MD 02852

SUBJECT: Our notification to you at 2:35 PM September 3, 1999

Dear Mr. Stransky,

In accordance with 10CFR21 this letter is to inform you that Foxboro Co. has identified a potential defect with N-2A0-L2C-R or N-2A0-L2C-R with ECEP 10273, Contact Output Isolator cards that may contain specific N0152CK relays. The subject relays, supplied by Communications Instruments Inc., were manufactured utilizing a repair residual on the contact armature plate. As a result, the contacts on the subject relays may not return to the normal de-energized position. The utilization of this repair residual would prevent the relay from functioning as designed. This potential defect is limited to only those relays supplied by Communications Instruments Inc. which display a manufacturer's date code of 9834 to 9933.

Foxboro is taking immediate corrective action to rectify the situation and will notify all Nuclear Utilities that have purchased this product from Foxboro during the time period affected and provide replacement relays.

Sincerely, The Foxboro Company /s/ George Robert Johnson Director, Corporate Assurance and Product Safety

An Invensys company

 

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Representative Sample

September 3, 1999

<<Title)) <<FirstName)) <<LastName>)

((JobTitle))

((Company))

((Address1))

<(Address2>>

<(City>), ((State)) <(PostalCode))

Reference:

Your Purchase Order Number: <<PurchaseOrderNo>) Foxboro Sales Order Number: <<SalesOrderNo>> Quantity:((Quantity)) Model: N-2A0-L2C-R and/or 2AO-L2C-R Contact Output Isolator

Dear Customer,

In compliance with 10CFR Part 21 this letter is to inform you of a potential failure with N-2A0-L2C-R and/or 2A0-L2C-R Contact Output Isolator cards purchased from The Foxboro Company as referenced above. The subject Contact Isolator cards may contain N0152CK relays Supplied by Communications Instruments Inc. which may have been manufactured utilizing a repair residual on the contact armature plate. As a result, relays utilizing this repair residual have contacts that may not return to their normal de-energized position when the relay is de-energized (a condition known as contact hang-up).

Extensive analysis performed on a number of relays confirmed that utilization of this repair residual prevented the return of the contact armature (and contacts) to the normally de-energized position when the relay coil was de-energized after an energization period of at least one hour. Further analysis performed by the supplier of the relay confirmed the presence, of this repair residual as the root-cause for the relay failures. To date, this is the first confirmed instance of this failure mode (utilization of a repair residual) on the relays. The supplier has determined that during assembly of the relays, this unauthorized repair procedure may have been utilized on 5 to 6% of the relays manufactured since manufacturing week 9834. Utilization of the repair residual has been halted by the manufacturer of the relay.

The Foxboro Company is recommending that each customer inspect for, and replace, N0152CK relays manufactured by Communications Instruments Inc which display manufacturer's date codes between 9834 and 9933, with replacement relays provided by The Foxboro Company. The date code is indicative of the year of manufacture First, followed by the calendar week of the indicated year.

Inspection for those relays supplied by Communications Instruments Inc. will require removal of the N-2A0-L2C-R and/or 2A0-L2C-R cards from the nest. Visual inspection of the relay package allows identification of the suspect relays. One side of the relay is stamped with the Communications Instruments Inc name and logo, the Communications Instruments Inc part number 41 JO-500G-BSL, and the manufacturer's date code. If the relay has a manufacturer's date code marking beginning with and including 9834 through 9933, it should be removed and replaced with one supplied by The Foxboro Company.

Replacement N0152CK relays may be obtained by contacting the Foxboro Response Center at 1-888-Foxboro (1-888-369-2676). You may also feel free to contact the Foxboro Response Center if you have any questions regarding this notification.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been informed of this potential defect. The Foxboro Company sincerely regrets any inconvenience this potential defect may cause you and trusts that our actions will completely resolve this matter to your satisfaction.

Best regards, The Foxboro Company George Robert Johnson Director, Corporate Quality Assurance and Product Safety

09/04/1999

U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commission Operations Center Event Report

Page 1

General Information or Other (PAR)			Event#	36122
Rep Org:	FOXBORO COMPANY		Notification Date/Time:	09/03/1999 14:00 (EDT)
Supplier:	FOXBORO COMPANY		Event Date/Time:	09/03/1999 (EDT)
			Last Modification:	09/03/1999
Region:	1		Docket #:
City:	FOXBORO		Agreement State:	Yes
County:			License #:
State:	MA		Notifications:	VERN HODGE (FAX) NRR
NRC Notified by:	GEORGE JOHNSON			TAD MARSH NRR
HQ Ops Officer:	WILLIAM POERTNER
Emergency Class:	NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:	21.21 UNSPECIFIED PARAGRAPH

__________________________________________________________________________

DEFECTIVE RELAYS PROVIDED TO FOXBORO BY VENDOR

Foxboro Co. has identified a potential failure with N-2A0-L2C-R and/or 2AO-L2C-R Contact Output Isolator cards. The subject cards may contain N0152CK relays supplied by Communications Instruments Inc. which may have been manufactured utilizing a repair residual on the contact armature plate. As a result, relays utilizing this repair residual have contacts that may not return to their normal de-energized position when the relay is de-energized (a condition known as contact hang-up).

Extensive analysis performed on a number of relays confirmed that utilization of this repair residual prevented the return of the contact armature (and contacts) to the normally de-energized position when the relay coil was deenergized after an energization period of at least one hour. Further analysis performed by the supplier of the relay confirmed the presence of this repair residual as the root cause for the relay failures. The supplier has determined that during assembly of the relays, this unauthorized repair procedure may have been utilized on 5 to 6 percent of the relays manufactured since manufacturing week 9834. Utilization of the repair residual has been halted by the manufacturer of the relay.

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FOXBORO The Foxboro Company

Foxboro, MA U.S.A. 02035-2099 Telephone: 508-543-8750

Telex: MCI-6817560 Fax: 542-4458

Date .....	3 September, 1999...........	From.....	George R. Johnson......
To ....	Bob Stransky...........	Signed..............................
Fax No. ....	301-816-5151......	This telefax consists of...4... pages--including this page

MESSAGE

Mr. Stransky,

Following is confirmation of our telephone conversation this afternoon regarding the N-2A0-L2C-R Contact Output Isolator cards. Also following is a draft of the customer notification of this issue.

Best regards, George R. Johnson Director, Corporate Quality Assurance and Product Safety

An Invensys Company

 

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