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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
	CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
		Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-98-16

March 4, 1998

The utility was cited for 18 violations involving the failure to implement an adequate program for monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance done on plant systems and equipment. The NRC maintenance rule, adopted in July 1996, is designed to minimize the likelihood of failures of equipment important to safety.

During an inspection last August and September, NRC found that the Commonwealth Edison failed, among other things, to establish goals and monitoring for systems and equipment, as the maintenance rule requires. In two instances, the utility took no action after it became clear that the type of preventive maintenance being performed on systems and equipment was not effective in preventing a functional failure.

In his letter notifying the utility of the proposed fine, NRC Regional Administrator A. Bill Beach said the violations show a "programmatic breakdown" in Commonwealth Edison's compliance with the NRC maintenance rule.

"The NRC concludes that actions taken to implement the Maintenance Rule had not been fully integrated into the appropriate programs at Quad Cities," Beach said. "Although a corporate assessment did identify many of the issues in a June 1997 effort, the Quad Cities staff failed to take appropriate action to understand the full extent of the issues and address them. It was only after NRC inspectors identified the extensiveness of the deficiencies, that aggressive, substantive actions were implemented."

Mr. Beach noted that Commonwealth Edison has taken a number of corrective actions including: reviewing standards with an expert panel; training of system engineers; and performing a program independent assessment. In addition, after the maintenance rule program issues were identified in September of last year, the utility implemented a plan to re-examine and revise, the program for the Braidwood, LaSalle, and Zion facilities.

Commonwealth Edison has until April 2 to pay the fine or to protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the utility may request a hearing.