PNO-II-02-031, Fire and Trip of the 1C Service Water Pump
| ML022330646 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Farley  |
| Issue date: | 08/21/2002 |
| From: | Cahill S NRC/RGN-II |
| To: | Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| References | |
| PNO-II-02-031 | |
| Download: ML022330646 (1) | |
August 21, 2002 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE PNO-II-02-031 This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of possible safety or public interest significance. The information is as initially received without verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by Region II staff (Atlanta, Georgia) on this date.
Facility Licensee Emergency Classification Southern Nuclear Operating Co.
X Notification of Unusual Event Farley Unit 1 Alert Ashford, AL Site Area Emergency Dockets/License: 50-348 / NPF-2 General Emergency Not Applicable
Subject:
FIRE AND TRIP OF THE 1C SERVICE WATER PUMP On August 21, 2002, at 7:21 a.m. CDT, an operator in the Service Water Intake Structure observed an arc flash on the 1C Service Water (SW) Pump and a trip of the pump motor breaker. The local intake structure fire sprinkler headers were previously tripped and pressurized due to ongoing maintenance, but did not actuate because the amount of heat generated from the 1C SW pump motor was negligible and not sufficient to open the sprinkler heads. The licensee assembled and dispatched the fire brigade. No further fire suppression activity was needed or taken once the breaker trip eliminated the arcing. The licensee did not need offsite help for the fire. The fire was declared out at 7:24 a.m. CDT.
The service water system draws water from the Farley service water pond and provides cooling to safety related systems. Normally 4 of the 5 SW pumps on each unit are running, 2 in each train. The 1C SW pump is a swing pump capable of being aligned to either SW train and was aligned to the "A" train at the time of the event. The trip of the 1C SW pump resulted in a loss of the "A" Train of the Unit 1 SW system because the 1A SW pump was already out of service for planned major maintenance. The 1B Service Water pump was running and remained running during the entire event, maintaining adequate system pressure. The licensee is in a Technical Specification 72 hour8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> Limiting Condition for Operation for the loss of the Unit 1 A train of SW.
They plan to restore both the 1A and 1C pumps to operable status in parallel and anticipate being able to restore both before the 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> expire.
The licensee declared a Notice of Unusual Event (NOUE) based on criteria in their emergency implementing procedures for a fire with the potential to affect emergency core cooling equipment. They notified the NRC at 7:59 a.m. CDT. The licensee did not fully actuate the Technical Support Center and did not activate the Emergency Operations Facility. At 8:31 a.m., CDT, the licensee notified the NRC that the NOUE had been terminated at 8:14 a.m., CDT because there was not a fire and the plant was stable.
No local media or public interest has been observed.
The licensee notified state and local officials of the NOUE declaration and the termination. Several regional inspectors were onsite at the time of the event and observed the licensee response.
Region II received initial notification of this occurrence through the NRC Operations Center. This information presented herein has been discussed with the licensee and is current as of 11:30 a.m., August 21, 2002.
CONTACT:
Stephen Cahill 404-562-4520