NRC CAL – NOV (White)

On August 12, 2014 the NRC issued a Notice of Violation associated with a White Significance Determination Process finding to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC. for a violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI, Corrective Action, involving the failure to establish measures to promptly identify and correct a significant condition adverse to quality. Specifically, in 2004, the licensee implemented procedure NDE-995, "Ultrasonic Examination of Small Diameter Piping Butt Welds and Base Material for Thermal Fatigue Damage," to perform augmented in-service inspection program ultrasonic examinations, which did not provide measures to assure that high pressure injection nozzle component cracking would be identified and corrected. Consequently, in 2012, the licensee performed procedure NDE-995 on weld 1-RC-201-105, and did not identify any reportable indications; even though a ≥ 50% through wall circumferential crack was present in the weld. On November 11, 2013, the licensee identified the through-wall circumferential crack in weld 1-RC 201-105 after transitioning Unit 1 to Mode 3 to investigate non-isolable pressure boundary leakage.