The OIG gave me a call today.
...He humiliated and disrespected me with this phrase " if your were a decent whistleblower" you would have a complete report.
You know what I say, record and transcript every conversation I have with NRC official. If you were with me on my conversation you would see how disgraceful and uneducated some officials are.
Mostly the front line NRC inspectors and their bosses are really decent people...but the support people like Allegation and the OIG are atrocious and with their knowledge of the nuclear industry. They generally don't have the skills and are not trained to talk in a non threatening manner and have a open discussion.
This guy began exactly like the Allegation...what was the LER nmber?
...So were talking about target rock and why components immediately failed on new installs.
This guys didn't know what a safety relief valve did in a BRW. I had to educate him on its function.
You know what, these are really complicated components and organizational issues. You just can't come into a conversation with me without deeply researching my issues or I have to give you grammar school class in BWR designs. Both Allegation and the OIG did this.
If you don't do your background work before you get to me...i am going to lose you within the first five minutes.
The NRC OIG guy said its not fraud waste, misconduct or abuse within the rules of the OIG...so it a licensing or NRR thing. I said believe me i got it with your NRC people, you are going to pass me from one department to another because some NRC employees are too lazy to do their jobs. I am going to have to explain myself 100 times to different departments and NRC employees, who don't even know what the function of a SRV is. ...The NRC is doing one of those teenager la la la la deals while covering their ears to the obvious.
Basically, I asserted LER's are insanely incomplete and inaccurate...
...I would say i was exposed to a militaristic use of language to disrupt communications....the use of rules and regulations in way to disrupt communication and knowledge of the problem to the
public. It is using words, language, rules and regulations, indeed government as weapons against the innocence...the intent is deny public participation with government. They militaristically trying to rule me and everyone out of public participation.
I think what we got here is systemic breakdown with the utilities and NRC to control vender repair, new parts and basic off site engineering services. I think these vendor component and engineering suppliers are not required to tell the truth. I would say since I been hitting them on these issues the NRC has tried to come to grips with their vender service provider problem.
Bottom line, they are having trouble getting replacement parts on these obsolete plants. Companies have gone out of business and ceased production streams, and the new deal is they are hiring companies who specialize in doing "reverse engineering" on replacement parts that are dangling without any new parts stream.
...As example, all the new Mitsubishi kids are making the San Onophe SGs and the old experienced engineers have retired or died.
New March 28
I backed out of the NRC allegation process. They got hyper legalistic and evidence thingy on me...they knowing that the agency and the utility had all the cards. I said the Peach Bottom 2.206 administrator sent my issue into allegation...I didn't call in allegation on my own. I thought it was going to be a conversation between me and agency...not this one way deal where if i said i sneezed then I had to prove I sneeze. I asked, should I have brought my lawyers and engineers into the deal.
I didn't think the Allegations process was fair and opened...it was hyper legalistic and hyper regulatory rules thingy where you couldn't sneeze if it wasn't in the rules. The Alligation team went cold into this not even researching my involvement with VY and Peach Bottom, and the LERs and inspection reports.
I said I withdrawal my concern and I don't want to be updated about this. They told me you can't withdrawal a concern once one was given to the NRC....but you can be anonymous.
...At the bottom of it over VY and the Peach Bottom SRV issue, I spent days researching everything i could about the SRVs. I spent a hour and half each with both inspectors at VY and Peach Bottom for a total of four plant inspectors and three hours talking to me. I knew the territory and what I was talking about...I was frustrated that these four officials went cold into this meeting. Then they played the, mike this thing is evidence driven and we got to know the LER number and we got to know who the VY inspector's names are. It was humiliating and disrespectful for me. There was one official talking to me as I was discussing my issue, then none of the other three officials could even do quick search on the VY docket for the LER document number to get us past the sticking point. What BS!
I got a e-mail trail from Don, lets schedule a meeting beginning last thurs. I say I ready right now, tomorrow and any time at your convenience next week. Just set the time and date and i will be there. I wanted to make it easy for him. Then I get a e-mail tues saying I can't find anyone to have a meeting with you without any explanation. Next day he tells me the following day the meeting is on, what time.
They don't even have the courtesy on their own to read my 2.206s and transcripts surrounding the VY and Peach Bottom seals. These Allegation idiots have in their documents I make a recent allegation by phone about VY seals again and they are the ones who made the VY inspectors call me without going though the Allegation process.
That is another more specfic information not disclosed in the VY LERs or inspection reports...the 400 degree vitol seals.
We should go through the VY seal LER and update, then contrast what got in the NRC inspector report and then what came out in the NRC inspectors meeting with me. We should then discuss what should have been disclosed in LERs and further inspection reports. As far as i am concerned, the inspectors at both plants should be on the phone bridge. We should go over it point by point and not have any other commitment to rush anyone, until everything is completely hashed out. We should do the same thing with the Peach Bottom LER.
Again, we don't have public participation with the NRC and utilities around our homes, unless all the aspects of the problem is out in the public arena.
March27
Mr. Mulligan:
I have been unable to contact the appropriate NRC technical staff, for a telephone call with you. I will contact you when I know more.
Sorry for the late information.
v/r,
Ron Schmitt
USNRC
New
To: "Michael Mulligan (steamshovel2002@yahoo.com)"
Cc: "James, Lois"
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 8:33 AM
Subject: Time to discuss your concerns (RE: Quality Assurance program at Target Rock)
This email is in regards to your email that you sent to Mr. John Hughey, of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 17, 2012. In your email, you expressed concerns regarding the Quality Assurance program at Target Rock, as a result of failed safety relief valves at Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim and Peach Bottom nuclear power plants.
We would like to set up a call with you so that our staff can ask additional questions to better understand your concern.
Please respond to this email with some days and times that are convenient for you so that I can schedule the call.
Thank you for informing us of your concern. If you have any questions, please contact me or Ms. Lois James at .
Ronald V. Schmitt
Office Allegation Coordinator
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Pilgrim's failed Target Rock SRV
Licensee Event Report 2011-007-00: Safety Relief Valve leakage
So you get it, with the SRV threaded seals at VY and Peach Bottom they failed within the first cycle from degradation due to poor quality seals. Now at Pilgrim another SRV fails with months due to leakage and they blame poor pilot valve workmanship at Target Rock.
Sounds like systemic QA problems with Target Rock. I request a investigation of Target Rock and all similar safety valves.
I talked to your nice Peach Bottom inspectors over increasing the SRV's set inaccuracy from plus or minus 1% to plus or minus 3%. Does the NRC have any evidence that decreasing the margin of set point accuracy reduces the entry into applicable tech spec LCO. I see all the utilities have different guesses on what cause pilot valve bonding. Some say its oxygen or hydrogen that sets up bonding on the surfaces, others say its just bonding and they don't care. Others again say its outside insulation and temperatures that sets it up.
As far as the statement that increasing the relief valve testing set point inaccuracy will reduce entry into a LCO, I don't think that is true. The limited data I see indicates when you increase testing set point inaccuracy, you increase entry into a LCO in the long run.
PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION - NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION
October 1, 2011 through December
31 , 2011
The inspectors reviewed
procedures, condition reports, engineering evaluations, modification packages, post
maintenance testing, and license amendment correspondence, and interviewed
plant personnel to assess Entergy's problem identification, evaluation, and
corrective action effectiveness with respect to SRV and ADS valve leakage and
set-point drift. Additionally, the inspectors reviewed the technical specifications
and UFSAR to assess the change to the relief valves with respect to design and
licensing bases requirements. Documents reviewed are listed in the attachment. Findinqs
and Observations
Findinqs and
Observations
No findings were identified.
The ADS valves and SRVs
were originally a two-stage Target Rock-type design, consisting of a pilot-stage
assembly and a main-stage assembly. Industry Operating Experience had shown
that two-stage Target Rock relief valves exhibited some amount of pilot-stage
leakage during plant operation. Additionally, the technical specification allowed
valve setpoint pressure band was +/- 1%, which left little margin to maintain
the valves operable in the event of valve leakage. As a result, SRV and ADS
valve pilot stage leakage were challenges throughout the plant's operating history
and caused several forced shutdowns.
The inspectors noted, based
on nuclear industry operating experience, that the replacement of all the ADS
and SRVs with the three-stage Target Rock design was a significant positive step
in reducing the likelihood of relief valve seat leakage.
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