96-6127. NRC Bulletin 96-01, Control Rod Insertion Problems Issuance of Bulletin

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 10601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6127]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------


NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

NRC Bulletin 96-01, Control Rod Insertion Problems Issuance of 
Bulletin

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Bulletin 
96-01 to alert holders of pressurized water reactor (PWR) licenses 
(except those licenses that have been amended to possession-only 
status) to several recent events in which control rods have failed to 
completely insert into the reactor core after receiving a scram signal, 
and assess the operability of control rods, particularly in high burnup 
fuel assemblies. It is expected that all PWR license holders will 
review the information for applicability to their facilities and 
consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, 
action is only requested from PWR license holders of Westinghouse-
designed plants. This bulletin is available in the NRC Public Document 
Room under accession number 9603120001. This bulletin is discussed in 
Commission information paper SECY-96-048 which is also available in the 
NRC Public Document Room.

DATES: The bulletin was issued on March 8, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Not applicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurence I. Kopp, [phone] (or 
Internet:[e-mail]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Several recent events in domestic reactors, 
as well as similar events in foreign reactors, have raised concerns 
about the operability of control rods in high burnup fuel assemblies, 
and may be precursors of more significant control rod binding problems 
in which required shutdown margins and rod drop times may be violated. 
Therefore, the NRC issued this bulletin to request that licensees 
promptly inform operators of recent events in which control rods did 
not fully insert and subsequently provide necessary training in 
required emergency response procedures. The bulletin also requests 
licensees to promptly determine the continued operability of control 
rods based on current information, to measure and evaluate control rod 
performance characteristics at each outage of sufficient duration 
during 1996, and assess the operability and performance trend of the 
rods, in particular those which do not fully insert promptly, for each 
reactor trip during 1996.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of March, 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dennis M. Crutchfield,
Director, Division of Program Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 96-6127 Filed 3-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P