Information Notice 1997-29, Containment Inspection Rule

Containment Inspection Rule

ML031060003
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant, Crane
Issue date:	05/30/1997
From:	Slosson M Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-97-029, NUDOCS 9705290064
Download: ML031060003 (9)

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UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

May 30, 1997

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 97-29: CONTAINMENT INSPECTION RULE

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to clarify

for addressees the containment inspection rule in accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(a), which

in part endorses Subsections IWE and IWL of Section Xl of the American Society of

Mechanical Engineers' Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code). The rule became

effective on September 9, 1996. It is expected that recipients will review the information for

applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate. However, suggestions

contained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or

written response is required.

Description of Circumstances

In a Federal Register, dated August 8, 1996 (61 FR 41303), the NRC amended its

regulations (rule) to incorporate by reference the 1992 Edition and Addenda of

Subsections IWE and IWL of Section Xl of the ASME Code. Subsections IWE and IWL give

the requirements for inservice inspection (ISI) of Class CC (concrete containments), and

Class MC (metallic containments) of light-water-cooled power plants. The amended rule

became effective on September 9, 1996; it requires the licensees to incorporate the new

requirements into their ISI plans and to complete the first containment inspection within five

years (i.e., no later than September 9, 2001). Any repair or replacement (RIR) activity to be

performed on containments after the effective date of September 9, 1996, has to be carried

out in accordance with the respective requirements of Subsections IWE and IWL.

Recognizing the potential industry concern related to the immediate implementation of the

rule for R/R activities, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) wrote a letter to NRC (Reference 1)

indicating a general industry interpretation of the rule that all containment ISI activities, including R/R activities should be effective from September 9, 2001. The NRC responded to

the NEI letter (Reference 2) stating that all R/R activities within the scope of Subsections IWE

and IWL of the code conducted after September 9, 1996, must be conducted in accordance

with these subsectio

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IN 97-29 May 30, 1997 Additionally, the staff stated (Reference 2) that 10 CFR 50.55a(3) permits the Director of the

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation at his discretion to grant relief from the requirements of

10 CFR 50.55a to licensees who submit a justifiable need to use an alternative that provides

an acceptable level of safety or who encounter extreme hardship or unusual difficulty without

a compensating increase in the level of quality or safety. In general, the staff stated that with

proper justification, relief requests from compliance with the RJR requirements of Subsections

IWE and IWL for a period of about one year from September 9, 1996, would appear to be

reasonable.

Although NEI sent the response from NRC to many of the addressees, the NRC staff is

issuing this information notice to inform all addressees about the NRC staff position.

Discussion

As discussed above, addressees are required to implement the rule for all containment- related R/R activities to be conducted after September 9, 1996. Even though a licensee is

able to demonstrate hardship or unusual difficulties in the immediate implementation of the

rule, the licensee has to demonstrate that other procedures utilized for R/R activities will

ensure adequate safety of the containments and that proper quality assurance requirements

have been implemented.

In some of the relief requests that the staff has reviewed, licensees have reported

appropriate "hardship and unusual difficulties" reasons for postponing the implementation of

the rule, but did not describe the effectiveness of the procedures they plan to use during the

relief period. Without such information, the staff has no way of concluding that the quality

and safety of containment RIR activities are adequate.

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IN 97-29 May 30, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Marylee M. Slosson, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR

301-415-2737 E-mail: sjl@nrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

301-415-2851 E-mail: hgaenrc.gov

References

1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated 09119/96 (Accession No. 9704180074).

2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," dated 11/06/96 (Accession No. 9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

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Attachment

IN 97-29

May 30, 1997 0

LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information

Date of

Notice No.

Subject

Issuance

Issued to

97-28

97-27

Elimination of Instrument

Response Time Testing

Under the Requirements of

10 CFR 50.59

Effect of Incorrect

Strainer Pressure Drop

on Available Net Positive

Suction Head

Degradation in Small- Radius U-Bend Regions

of Steam Generator Tubes

05/30/97

05/16/97

05/19/97

All holders of OLs or CPs

All holders of OLs or CPs

for light-water power

reactors, except those

licensees who have per- manently ceased operations

and have certified that

fuel has been permanently

removed from the reactor

vessel

All holders of OLs or CPs

for pressurized-water

reactors

97-26

87-10,

Sup. 1

Potential for Water

Hammer During Restart of

Residual Heat Removal

Pumps

Dynamic Range Uncertain- ties in the Reactor Vessel

Level Instrumentation

05/15/97

05/09/97

All holders of OLs or CPs

for boiling-water reactors

All holders of OLs or CPs

for Westinghouse pressurized- water reactors

97-25 OL = Operating License

CP = Construction Permit

IN 97-29 May 30, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or writterd response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

original signed by S.H. Weiss for

Marylee M. Slosson, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR

301-415-2737 E-mail: sjl@nrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

301-415-2851 E-mail: hga@nrc.gov

References

1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated 09/19196 (Accession No. 9704180074).

2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," dated 11/06/96 (Accession No. 9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Inforrnation Notices

Tech Editor has reviewed and concurred on 4/17/97 DOCUMENT NAME: 97-29.IN

To receive a copy of this document, kndlcata hI the box: *C' - Copy w/o

attachmentlenclosure 'E' - Copy wlattachmentlenclosure 'N'

- No copy

OFFICE

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DATE

04/22/97

05/15/97

05/2.3/97 IV

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

IN 97-XX

May XX, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Marylee M. Slosson, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR

(301) 415-2737 E-mail: sjl~nrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

(301) 415-2851 E-mail: hga~nrc.gov

References

1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated 09/19/96 (Accession No. 9704180074).

2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," dated 11/06/96 (Accession No. 9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

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05/06/97

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DATE

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97-XX

May XX, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contact listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Thomas T. Martin, Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR

(301) 415-2737 E-mail: sjlenrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

(301) 415-2851 E-mail: hga@nrc.gov

REFERENCES

1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," September 19, 1996 (Accession 9704180074).

2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," November 6, 1996 (Accession 9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\TAGXINCONT

IN 97-XX

April XX, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response.

If

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact

the technical contact listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Thomas T. Martin, Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR

(301) 415-2737 E-mail: sjl~nrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

(301) 415-2851 E-mail: hga@nrc.gov

REFERENCES

1.

Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated September 19, 1996 (Accession, 9704180074).

2.

Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), 'Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," dated November 6, 1996 (Accession

9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

OFC

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l ECGB:DE

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NAME

T. Greene*

S. Lee*

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T. Martin

DATE

04/22/97

04/22/97

/97 j

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• See previous concurrence

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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

DOCUMENT NAME:

G:\\TAG\\INCONT

IN 97-XX

April XX, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contact listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Thomas T. Martin, Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts:

Seung Lee, NRR

(301) 415-2737 E-mail: sjlnrc.gov

Hans Ashar, NRR

(301) 415-2851 E-mail: hgaenrc.gov

REFERENCES

1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation of

Amended 10 CFR 50.55a," September 19, 1996 (Accession xxxxxoxxxx).

2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation of

Containment Inspection Rule," November 6, 1996 (Accession 9611130161).

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

OFC

PECB:DRPM

ECGB:DE

C/ECGB:DE

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D/DRPM

NAME

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S. Lee ;;f

G. Bagchi

A. Chaffee

T. Martin

DATE

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DOCUMENT NAME: G:ITAGUNCONT