Meteorological Monitoring Supporting Maintenance Activities Robert F. Yewdall PSEG Nuclear LLC NUMUG Oct 2003 Chattanooga, TN

Background Maintenance of meteorological instrument and data acquisition/ display systems generally receive adequate attentions. This portion of the monitoring systems is implemented by approved/ controlled processes and procedures. In addition, inspections and audits performed by regulatory oversight organizations and internal audits (QA and self-assessment) assure satisfactory instrument performance. However, supporting maintenance activities with respect to structures (towers, instrument building and site areas) may not receive the same level of attention as the meteorological instruments

Safety Issues Lack of adequate maintenance may lead not only to degraded meteorological system performance but also to unsafe conditions. Increasingly, may meteorological towers have become dual function structures supporting radios, microwave, cellular telephone equipment. This leads to additional burden on maintenance support organizations.

Other Programs & Systems Organizational Responsibilities Intra-department cooperation Planning & Scheduling Budgeting For PM & CM

Ownership Maintaining items such as: HVAC, cathodic protection, lightning protection, UPS systems, security fencing, guy wire and anchors inspections, power and instrument wiring and conduit inspections, vegetation control, FAA warning lights and structural reviews of the tower are extremely important. In many cases there are no owners of these activities or they have become orphaned due to organizational changes or program cutbacks. Necessary resources attention and budgeting may be lacking in organizations and directly contribute to inadequate maintenance.

Checking What ? Surveillance Checks Operability Checks Functional Checks Safety – Hazard Checks

PM – CM – Corrective Action Preventative Maintenance Activities Corrective Maintenance Corrective Action Problem Identification Cause (Apparent Cause, Root Cause, etc.) Resolution Documentation

Questionnaire Meteorological Monitoring System Maintenance Questionnaire – Non-Instrument I.How often are the following non-instrument maintenance activities performed? 1. Guy wire tension checks (if not free standing) _____________________________________ 2. Inspections of guy wire anchors & hardware ______________________________________ 3. Tower structural reviews – including climbing apparatus ____________________________ 4. Instrument and electrical conduit/ wiring _________________________________________ 5. Tower junction boxes (including heaters, seals etc.)_________________________________ 6. Tower warning lighting (beacon, strobe etc.) ______________________________________ 7. Tower painting _____________________________________________________________ 8. Grounding system (including cathode protection) __________________________________ 9. Lightning protection__________________________________________________________ 10. Instrument building PMs (i.e., painting, penetration seals, etc.,) _______________________ 11. Backup power (batteries, generators) ____________________________________________ 12. Security fencing ____________________________________________________________ 13. HVAC ____________________________________________________________________

Questionnaire – cont. II.Is the same organization that is responsible for instruments (calibrations, maintenance & repair, surveillance data collection) the department responsible for these maintenance activities? 1. If no, what organizational department is responsible? (i.e., maintenance, yard departments, contractors)? 2. If yes, which activities? 3. Are material resources (paint, new guy wires, tower/shelter hardware etc.) budgeted as I&C expenses III.What process or protocols do you have in place (or utilize) to ensure that physical problems associated with meteorological related structures, and/or grounds are corrected expeditiously?

Recent Problem NUMUG Listserver Question – Sept. 2, 2003 We are bringing in a tower vendor tomorrow to inspect our guy wire anchors and our tower.If the guy wires are showing any sign of degradation, the vendor will not climb the tower. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with finding degraded conditions? What affect did it have on the operability of the tower? Were plant personnel allowed to perform surveillances or instrument calibrations prior to repairing the condition?