ML20216B880
| ML20216B880 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 05/07/1998 |
| From: | Barrett R NRC OFFICE FOR ANALYSIS & EVALUATION OF OPERATIONAL DATA (AEOD) |
| To: | Bernard Thomas INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9805180499 | |
| Download: ML20216B880 (5) | |
Text
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T-Q 3 May 7, 1998 Mr. B:rnard Thomes 4 jfg INES Coordinator Division of Nuclear Safety International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna Austria
Dear Mr. Thomas:
Enclosed is a completed Event Rating Form for an event at the Limerick Generating Station, Unit 1. The event involved the detection of an odor of propane in the main turbine condenser area during a refueling outage. This event is considered out of scale based on Part 1-1.3 of the INES User's Manual.
Sincerely, (Original /s/ by R. Barrett)
Richard J. Barrett, Deputy Director incident Response Division Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Enclosures:
- 1. INES Rating Form g g Q% NU
- 2. Press release Distribution:
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Mr. Bernard Thomas 1
INES Coordinator Division of Nuclear Safety International Atomic Energy Agency j
Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100
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A-1400 Vienna j
Austria
Dear Mr. Thomas:
Enclosed is a completed Event Rating Form for an event at the Limerick Generating Station, Unit 1. The event involved the detection of an odor of propane in the main turbine condenser area during a refueling outage. This event is considered out of scale based on Part 1-1.3 of the INES User's Manual.
Sincerely, 0
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afd J. Barrett, Deputy Director incident Response Division Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Enclosures:
- 1. INES Rating Form
- 2. Press release
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THE INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR EVENT SCALE (INES)
EVENT RATING FORM (ERF)
TO BE SENT TO THE LAEA INES CO ORDINATOR BY eF
+ 431 7
IAEA. WAGRAMERSTRASSE 5. P O. BOX 100. A-1400 VENN A, AUSTRIA e E-MAIL THOMASONEPO1IAEA.OR AT ODOR OF COMBUSTIBLE GAS IN TURBINE BUILDING EVEM DATE TE 17.04.98 RATING R
OF B
ON SCALE SAF DEGR DEFENCEIN DEPTH g
ISIONAL E
o 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
ON-SITE IMPACT 01.05.98 E
OFF SITE IMPACT I
COUNTRY USA FACILITY LIMERICK GENERATING STATION FACILITY BWR NAME UNIT 1 TYPE ASPECTS OF SIGNIFICANCE TO THE PUBLIC:
YES NO ACCIDENT O INCIDENT C DEVIATION O RADIOACTIVE RELEASES OFF-SITE O
E RADIOACTIVE RELEASES ON-SITE O
E WORKERS INJURED BY RADIATION O
E WORKERS INJURED PHYSICALLY O
E
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PLANT SAFETY iS UNDER CONTROL E
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THE EVENT REPORTED IS A DISCOVERY OF A DEFICIENCY BY ROUTINE SURVEILLANCE O
E A PRESS RELEASE WAS MADE E
O (IF YES, PLEASE ATTACH IT)
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT: On 17 April 1998, workers in the main turbine condenser bay detected a strong odor, described as that of propane or acetylene.
Personnel were evacuated from the area, and the building ventilation system was used to purge the odor from the building. An Al.ERT Emergency Classification was declared as a precautionary measure as the licensee worked to identify and isolate thc j
source of the odor. The source of the odor was later discovered to be an industrial l
lubricant from a gearbox being used in the main turbine condenser bay. This lubricant has a flash point of greater than 180C (356F) and is not considered to be a fire hazard.
JUSTIFICATION OF THE RATING: This event is rated as out of scale in accordance with Part 1-1.3 of the INES Users Manual, as it did not involve any possible radiological hazard and did not affect the safety layers.
CONTACT NAME Richard J Barrett PERS N ADDRESS USNRC, Washington, DC 20555 PHONE 1301) 415-7482 p
FAX (301) 816-5151
_PLEASE ATTACH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON JUSTIFICATION OF THE EVENT R ATING AND DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTFRED, IF NEEDED
==r-PC 50s 8699 Phile (phia PA 19101 8699 PECO ENERGY News Release comc,,
Michael Wood, (215) 841-5555 ALERT DECLARED AT LIMERICK GENERATING STATION PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 17,1998 - PECO Energy Company has declar_ed an Alert at Unit 1 of its Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County, Pa.
The Alert was declared at 11:54 a.m. due to an unidentified gas entering the Unit 1 turbine building.
Limerick 1 is in day 14 of a scheduled refuel and maintenance outage. PECO Energy said plant personnel detected a gaseous odor in the plant's condenser area and turbine building. Under Limerick's operating guidelines, the plant's staff declared an Alert for emergency response.
Plant officials said the Alert declaration was precautionary. As of 12:15 p.m.,
plant personnel were relocated from the condenser and turbine areas, the oder was dissipating, and the situation appeared under control. The source of the odor remains unkncvn.
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The Alert at Limerick has not resulted in injury to any plant f arsonnel, and there is no impact on the local community.
The nuclear portion of the plant was unaffected. Limerick Unit 2 remains operating at full power. The two Limerick units produce 1,100 megawatts of electricity.
An Alert is the second least sericus of four emergency classifications at U.S.
nuclear power plants. PECO Er,rgy said it has notified all appropriate local, state and federal authorities of the plant status.
l See reverse stee for basic PECO Energy data.
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Ccrporate Ctmmunicatens PO Bo 8699 Philadelphia PA 191018699
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PECO ENERGY News OOaSe M c se W od,(215) 841-5555 ALERT ENDS AT LIMERICK GENERATING STATION PHILADELPHIA, PA., April 17,1998 -The Alert declared at 11:54 a.m.today at the Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County, Pa., was terminated at 3:05 p.m.
PECO Energy Company said the gaseous odor detected inside the Unit 1 turbine building dissipated within 20 minutes. After conducting a thorough inspection of the plant and determining all plant equipment was secure, the event was declared over.
The unidentified odor was limited to the Unit 1 condenser room and turbine building. Plant personnelin those areas were temporarily relocated, while plant personnel could investigate. No abnormal or unusual condition was found.
The incident did not affect other areas of the plant or the surrounding' community.
Unit 1 is in the midst of a scheduled refuel and maintenance outage, which began April 3. Limerick Unit 2 continues to generate electricity at full power.
1 l
See reverse side for basic PECO Energy data.