Information Notice 1999-13, Insights from NRC Inspections of Low-and Medium-Voltage Circuit Breaker Maintenance Programs

Insights from NRC Inspections of Low-and Medium-Voltage Circuit Breaker Maintenance Programs

ML031040447
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant, Crane
Issue date:	04/29/1999
From:	Marsh L Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs
To:
References
IN-99-013, NUDOCS 9904280024
Download: ML031040447 (10)

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

April 29, 1999

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 99-13: INSIGHTS FROM NRC INSPECTIONS OF LOW- AND

MEDIUM-VOLTAGE CIRCUIT BREAKER

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to summarize

observations made and insights gained during inspections of licensee circuit breaker

maintenance programs. It is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability

to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate. However, suggestions contained in this

information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response

is required.

Description of Circumstances

Because of concerns about the reliability of safety-related medium-voltage (4-kV to 15-kV) and

low-voltage (600-V and below) power circuit breakers, the NRC inspected the circuit breaker

maintenance programs at eight nuclear power plant sites in 1998, using Temporary Instruction

(TI) 2515/137, Revision 1, "Inspection of Medium-Voltage and Low-Voltage Power Circuit

Breakers," issued on March 9, 1998. For more detailed information, the individual inspection

reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room. Attachment I lists the

inspection reports and their accession numbers.

The TI inspections confirmed that the programs were generally adequate. However, observations made at several of the plants inspected indicate that licensee programs have

several areas in common in which improvement may be desirable. In addition, in a few

instances certain aspects of programs did not meet NRC requirements, and violations were

cited. Licensees for the inspected plants have already taken steps to address many of the

areas of concern identified by the inspections. This notice was developed so that all licensees

may take advantage of insights gained from the inspections when considering circuit breaker

maintenance program improvements.

Discussion

Significant observations from the TI inspections are described below and have been

categorized as follow: (1) general programmatic issues, (2) preventive maintenance, i9042k8 o0l0

3 (EEDEZq9Dt

IN 99-13 April 29, 1999 (3) licensee/vendor interface, (4) control voltage calculations, and (5) operating experience

review. However, licensees are encouraged to review the inspection reports for detailed

findings and their resolutions.

I. General Programmatic Issues

Licensee preventive maintenance procedures and practices did not always reflect all of the

applicable vendor recommendations or industry operating experience, and when licensees

deviated from such recommendations and operating experience there was often no

documented basis or rationale given. Adherence to vendor recommendations is not a

regulatory requirement, but a sound engineering basis for such deviations is Important, and

should be performed in consultation with the vendor when possible, to ensure that valuable

vendor information is not overlooked.

Storage, shelf life, environment, segregation, and issuance of lubricants and cleaning materials

were not well controlled. Some licensees had not identified shelf lives for circuit breaker

lubricants and cleaning agents or solvents.

Individual breakers at some plants either did not come with or were not given unique identifiers.

Some licensees were not aware that group or series identifiers, such as shop order numbers, were not unique. Some licensees did not record both the breaker serial number, when present, or the cubicle number in maintenance records to allow for tracking of breaker location, performance, and maintenance history.

At most plants, the racking of breakers In and out of the cubicle (and local operation when

required) was the job of operations department personnel rather than circuit breaker

maintenance personnel. However, operations department training and/or procedures did not

always cover breaker position verification or functional testing in the connected position (closing

the breaker and running load equipment, when permitted by plant conditions). Training

operations department personnel to verify proper indications, closing spring recharging, and

restoration of all electrical and mechanical interfaces and interlocks, and cycling the breaker

after it is racked in, could result in fewer failures to close on demand.

II. Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance was not always performed with the frequency recommended by the

original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and licensees had no documented justification for

deviating from that frequency.

Maintenance procedures sometimes did not cover inspection for specific problems identified in

industry operating experience. Some licensees stated that they covered such items in training, but specific items in question were seldom explicitly addressed in lesson plans.

IN 99-13 April 29, 1999 Ill. Licenseeh/endor Interface

The TI inspections revealed that circuit breaker and switchgear vendor manuals were often not

kept current, and the programs for periodic recontact provided for in Generic Letter (GL) 90-03 were ineffective in obtaining revisions or updates to vendor manuals, or other pertinent

technical information.

Some licensees identified areas in which improvements could be made to vendor interface

programs, including (1) periodic review of plant equipment to ensure that lists of key safety- related equipment are current, (2) establishing organizational and procedural interfaces and

links to ensure that vendor interface personnel are kept informed of equipment changes or

modifications, (3) establishing personal contact with the appropriate vendor personnel,

(4) substantial involvement in the process by technically knowledgeable personnel, and

(5) periodic comprehensive reconciliation with the vendor of lists of equipment and related

technical publications or documentation.

IV. Control Voltaae Calculations

The TI inspections revealed that a few licensees had not performed the circuit breaker control

voltage calculations based on as-built systems. In some cases where calculations were

performed several discrepancies were identified, including (1) not starting with the minimum

battery voltage; (2) using an incorrect minimum battery voltage that did not take into account

loading, state of discharge, and/or aging factors; (3) using incorrect current paths, cable

lengths, conductor sizes, and/or ohms/foot values to determine overall cable resistance;

(4) calculation of cable conductor resistance using ambient temperature values, but neglecting

temperature rise caused by heat from surrounding cables In a raceway or without having data

to justify the non-conservative lower temperature assumption; and (5) using incorrect loading

values in the final determinations of voltage drops. One licensee, had not translated this design

basis information into test procedures to demonstrate breaker operability (NRC Inspection

Report 50-266/98-13).

V. Operating Experience Review

At most of the plants inspected, weaknesses were observed in the review of operational

experience documents related to low- and medium-voltage circuit breakers. These documents

included NRC information notices (INs); INPO SEE-IN documents or Nuclear Network reports;

and vendor information, such as service information letters, technical bulletins, or service

advisory letters.

The TI inspections revealed instances of industry operating experience information erroneously

determined to be not applicable because of narrowly focused and/or superficial reviews, and

insufficient involvement by technically knowledgeable personnel. Problems generically

applicable to several types of breakers were often not recognized because the plant's breakers

did not have exactly the same model designation as the one used as an example in the

information notice or the vendor technical bulletin.

IN 99-13 April 29, 1999 TI 2515/137, Revision 1, lists 62 NRC information notices and bulletins that deal with problems

with low- and medium-voltage power circuit breakers. As many as one-third of these were

erroneously determined to be not applicable at one or more plants.

Related Generic Communications

IN 98-38, Metal-Clad Circuit Breaker Maintenance Issues Identified by NRC Inspections,".

issued on October 15, 1998, alerted licensees to issues identified by reactive NRC inspections

at plants that experienced problems concerning circuit breaker reliability in 1997. The events

discussed in that information notice were the catalyst that prompted the TI inspections of

licensee maintenance programs in 1998.

Conclusion

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. However, recipients are

reminded that they are required to consider industry-wide operating experience (including NRC

information notices) where practical when setting goals and performing periodic evaluations

under Section 50.65, "Requirement for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear

power plants," of Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts

listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Ledyard B. Marsh, Chief

Events Assessment, Generic Communications, and Non-Power Reactors Branch

Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts:

Stephen Alexander, NRR

Amar Pal, NRR

301- 415-2995

301- 415-2760

E-mail: sdaDnrc.cov

E-mail: anDrtnrc.aov

David Skeen, NRR

S.K. Mitra, NRR

301- 415-1174

301- 415-2783 E-mail: dlsO-nrc.gov

E-mail: skm1I(nrc.aov

Attachments:

1. Table of NRC TI Inspection Reports

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

I -1

'U

Attachment 1

IN 99-13 April 29, 1999 TABLE I - Temporary Instruction 26151137 Inspection Reports

PLANT

REPORT

ISSUE

ACCESSION

NUMBER

DATE

NUMBER

Callaway

50-483/98-15

10/26/98

9810290263 Hatch 1 & 2

50-326/98-08

04/30/98

9805110181 Nine Mile Point 2

50-410/98-18

11/13/98

9811240071 Perry

50-440/98-11

07/16/98

9807220299 Point Beach 1 & 2

50-266/98-13

09/11/98

9809180178 Seabrook

50-443/98-07

09/28/98

9810050116 Sequoyah 1 & 2

5D-327/98-05

06/12/98

9807070138 Waterford 3

50-382/98-13

111/17/98

9811240126

-

4

Attachment 2

IN99-13

April 29, 1999 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information

Date of

Notice No.

Subject

Issuance

Issued to

99-12

Year 2000 Computer Systems

Readiness Audits

4/28/99

All holders of operating licenses

or construction permits for nuclear

power plants

99-11

Incidents Involving the Use of

Radioactive Iodine-131

4/23199

All medical use licensees

97-15, Sup 1 Reporting of Errors and

4/16/99 Changes inLarge-Break/Small- Break Loss-of-Coolant Evaluation

models of Fuel Vendors and

Compliance with 10 CFR 50.46(a)(3) certified that fuel

from the reactor

All holders of operating licensees

for nuclear power reactors, except

those who have permanently

cease operations and have

has been permanently removed

99-10

99-09

99-08

99-07 Degradation of Prestressing

4/13/99

Tendon Systems in Prestressed

Concrete Containments

Problems Encountered When

3/24/99

Manually Editing Treatment Data

on The Nucletron Microselectron-HDR

(New) Model 105.999 Urine Specimen Adulteration

4/11/99 Fire Protection Preaction

3/22/99

Sprinkler System Deluge Valve

Failures and Potentials Testing

Deficiencies

All holders of Ols for nuclear

power reactors

All medical licensees authorized

to conduct high-dose-rate (HDR)

remote after loading

brachytherapy treatments

All holders of operating licensees

For nuclear power reactors and

licensees authorized to possess

or use formula quantities of

strategic special nuclear material

(SSNM)

All NRC licensees

OL = Operating License

CP = Construction Permit

IN 99-13 April 29, 1999 TI 2515/137, Revision 1, lists 62 NRC information notices and bulletins that deal with problems

with low- and medium-voltage power circuit breakers. As many as one-third of these were

erroneously determined to be not applicable at one or more plants.

Related Generic Communications

IN 98-38, "Metal-Clad Circuit Breaker Maintenance Issues Identified by NRC Inspections,"

issued on October 15, 1998, alerted licensees to issues identified by reactive NRC inspections

at plants that experienced problems concerning circuit breaker reliability in 1997. The events

discussed in that information notice were the catalyst that prompted the TI inspections of

licensee maintenance programs in 1998.

Conclusion

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. However, recipients are

reminded that they are required to consider industry-wide operating experience (including NRC

information notices) where practical when setting goals and performing periodic evaluations

under Section 50.65, "Requirement for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear

power plants," of Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts

listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

[Original signed by]

Ledyard B. Marsh, Chief

Events Assessment, Generic Communications, and Non-Power Reactors Branch

Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts:

Stephen Alexander, NRR

Amar Pal, NRR

301- 415-2995

301- 415-2760

E-mail: sdaO-nrc.gov

E-mail: anPDnrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR

S.K. Mitra, NRR

301- 415-1174

301- 415-2783 E-mail: dlsO-nrc.aov

E-mail: skm1(Dnrc.aov

Attachments:

1. Table of NRC TI Inspection Reports

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\DLS\\BKRINSP.IN - See previous concurrence

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OFFICE

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April xx, 1999 TI 2515/137, Revision 1, lists 62 NRC information notices and bulletins that deal with problems

with low- and medium-voltage power circuit breakers. As many as one-third of these were

erroneously determined to be not applicable at one or more plants.

Related Generic Communications

IN 98-38, "Metal-Clad Circuit Breaker Maintenance Issues Identified by NRC Inspections,"

issued on October 15, 1998, alerted licensees to issues identified by reactive NRC inspections

at plants that experienced problems concerning circuit breaker reliability in 1997. The events

discussed in that information notice were the catalyst that prompted the TI inspections of

licensee maintenance programs in 1998.

Conclusion

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. However, recipients are

reminded that they are required to consider industry-wide operating experience (including NRC

information notices) where practical when setting goals and performing periodic evaluations

under Section 50.65, "Requirement for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear

power plants," of Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts

listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Ledyard B. Marsh, Chief

Events Assessment, Generic Communications, and Non-Power Reactors Branch

Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts:

Stephen Alexander, NRR

301- 415-2995 E-mail: sda(nrc.aov

Amar Pal, NRR

301- 415-2760

E-mail: anDLnrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR

301- 415-1174 E-mail: dIs(Dnrc.aov

S.K. Mitra, NRR

301- 415-2783 E-mail: skm10_nrc.gov

Attachments:

1. Table of NRC TI Inspection Reports

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\DLS\\BKRINSP.IN - See previous concurrence

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box

U=Gopy wo attacnmenienclosure t=Copy witn atnacnmenuenci

OFFICE

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IN 99-XX

April xx, 1999 Related Generic Communications

IN 98-38, "Metal-Clad Circuit Breaker Maintenance Issues Identified by NRC Inspections,"

issued on October 15, 1998, alerted licensees to issues identified by reactive NRC inspections

at plants that experienced problems concerning circuit breaker reliability in 1997. The events

discussed in that information notice were the catalyst that prompted the TI inspections of

licensee maintenance programs in 1998.

Conclusion

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. However, recipients are

reminded that they are required to consider industry-wide operating experience (including NRC

information notices) where practical when setting goals and performing periodic evaluations

under Section 50.65, "Requirement for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear

power plants," of Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Ledyard B. Marsh, Events Assessment, Generic Communications,

6- and Non-Power Reactors Branch

Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts:

Stephen Alexander, NRR

Amar Pal, NRR

301- 415-2995

301- 415-2760

E-mail: sda~nrc.gov

E-mail:anp@nrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR

S.K. Mitra, NRR

301- 415-1174

301- 415-2783 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

E-mail:skm1@nrc.gov

Attachments: 1. Table of NRC TI Inspection Reports

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\DLS\\BKRINSP.IN

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box C=Copy w/o attachmentlenclosure ECopy with attachment/enclosure N = No copy

lOFFICE

PECB:DRPM l

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IN 99-XX

April xx, 1999 Related Generic Communications

IN 98-38, "Metal-Clad Circuit Breaker Maintenance Issues Identified by NRC Inspections,"

issued on October 15, 1998, alerted licensees to issues identified by reactive NRC inspections

at plants that experienced problems concerning circuit breaker reliability in 1997. The events

discussed in that information notice were the catalyst that prompted the TI inspections of

licensee maintenance programs in 1998.

Conclusion

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. However, recipients are

reminded that they are required to consider industry-wide operating experience (including NRC

information notices) where practical when selling goals and performing periodic evaluations

under Section 50.65, "Requirement for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear

power plants," of Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Re ulation (NRR) project manager.

HeI

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Dalid . MOEliews, Director

Division

e ulatory Improvement Programs

Office o

uclea-tmor Regulation

Stephen Alexander, NRR

Amar Pal, NRR

301- 415-2995

301- 415-2760

E-mail: sdaenrc.gov

E-mail:anp@nrc.gov

Technical contacts:

David Skeen, NRR

301- 415-1174 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

S.K. Mitra, NRR

301- 415-2783 E-mail:skml@nrc.gov

Attachments: 1. Table of NRC TI Inspection Reports

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:XDLS\\BKRINSP.IN

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