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RIV: 97-59 October 1, 1997
AT FORT CALHOUN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a predecisional enforcement conference Tuesday, October 7, with officials of Omaha Public Power District, the operator of Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant, near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, to discuss four apparent violations of NRC requirements.
The conference will begin at 9 a.m. at NRC Region IV offices in Arlington, Texas. The meeting will be open to public observation; NRC officials will be available afterward for questions.
All four apparent violations arose from an incident in which a plant operator mistakenly set the control switches for two valves in such a way that it rendered inoperable the containment spray system. Containment spray is provided to reduce temperature and pressure inside the reactor containment structure during certain accident conditions. The error was made during a maintenance test procedure.
The apparent violations being discussed are: failure to follow plant procedures; failure to shut down the plant as required when containment spray is inoperable; failure to log the actions taken; and failure to conduct a proper shift turnover that allowed the problem to go undetected.
The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that NRC has made a final determination that violations did occur or that enforcement action, such as a monetary fine, will be taken. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the apparent violations, their causes and safety significance, and to provide OPPD officials with an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report and present corrective actions that have been taken.
No decision on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC officials at a later time.
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