ML012280408
| ML012280408 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle, 07003040  |
| Issue date: | 08/21/1986 |
| From: | Crow W Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Conway R Georgia Power Co |
| References | |
| -RFPFR NUDOCS 8608280005 | |
| Download: ML012280408 (20) | |
Text
s-L4 AUG 2 1 1986 FCUP:GHB 70-3040 Georgia Power Company ATTN:
Mr. R. E. Conway Senior Vice President P. 0. Box 4545 Atlanta, Georgia 30302 Gentlemen:
Enclosed is NRC Materials License No.
SNM-1967 which authorizes the receipt, possession, inspection, and storage of uranium enriched in the U-235 isotope contained in fuel assemblies.
The materials are for eventual use at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 1.
Also enclosed are five copies of Indemnity Agreement Number B-107 for your review and acceptance.
Please return one signed copy.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) uses an electronic data processing system to record the location, by licensee, of special nuclear material.
This system uses a three letter Reporting Identification Symbol (RIS) to identify licensees who submit material transfer reports and periodic material status reports in accordance with 10 CFR 70.54 of the Commission's regulation.
For this purpose, you should continue to use your assigned RIS:XIH.
This symbol should be used in completing the transfer reports and periodic material status reports and should be used in any other correspondence with the NRC relative to such reports.
You should also note the requirements of 70.51(b),
(c),
and (d) regarding records, material control and accounting procedures, and physical inventories.
Your cooperation will be appreciated.
Your application dated February 1986 (submitted by letter dated March 7, 1986) requested an exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR 70.24.
Such an exemption would relieve you from the requirement of having a criticality alarm system.
Because of the inherent features associated with the storage and inspection of unirradiated fuel assemblies, the NRC staff has determined that you have shown good cause for being granted an exemption from 10 CFR 70.24.
Granting this exemption is authorized by 10 CFR 70.14 and will not endanger public life or property, the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest.
This license is issued following preparation of an Environmental Assessment related to the proposed action.
Based on this Assessment, a Finding of No Significant Impact has been prepared and approved pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51.
Georgia Power Company 2
AUG 2 1 1986 Copies of this Finding, which was published in the Federal Register on July 28 1986, and the supporting Environmental Assessment are enclosed.
ATso enclosed is our Safety Evaluation Report in support of this license.
Sincerely, iOraiginal signed by- "
W. T. Crow W. T. Crow, Acting Chief Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS
Enclosures:
- 1.
Materials License No.
- 2.
Indemnity Agreement Number B-107 (5)
- 3.
Finding of No Significant Impact
- 4.
Environmental Assessment
- 5.
Safety Evaluation Report DISTRIBUTION: w/enclosure Docket No. 70-3040 50-424 NMSS r/f FCUP r/f VLTharpe GBidinger (2)
- DWeiss, LFMB GBennington, SGRT
- FCUF
- OGC
- NRFR
-OGC S
- FCU NAME:GHBidianger/ht/asi:VLg arpe/BB a-Mr erR'n e :J alt man:WTCrow DATE:8/19'/86
- 8/1 /86 :8/.O/86
- 8/VA86L R8/1R86:8P86 OF FICIAL RECORI~t OPY
NRC Form 374 (5-84) 4 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION MATERIALS LICENSE I
I PAGE O__
F _____PAGES Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (Public Law 93 -438), and Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, Parts 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40 and 70. and in reliance on statements and representations heretofore made by the licensee, a license is hereby issued authorizing the licensee to receive, acquire, possess, and transfer byproduct, source, and special nuclear material designated below; to use such material for the purpose(s) and at the place(s) designated below: to deliver or transfer such material to persons authorized to receive it in accordance with the regulations of the applicable Part(s). This license shall be deemed to contain the conditions specified in Section 183 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and is subject to all applicable rules, regulations and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now or hereafter in effect and to any conditions specified below.
Licensee WIN Georgia Power Company 1 1Ogethorpe Power Corporation
.O. Box 4545 August 31 1991,
Atlanta, GA 30302
- 4. Expiration date
- 5. Docket or 70-3040 Reference No.
- 6. Byproduct, source, and/or special nuclear material A.
Uranium enriched up to 3.15 w./o in the U-235 isotope B.
Uranium enriched in the U-235 isotope
- 7. Chemical and/or physical form A.
UO in fuel asiemblies B.
Uranium oxide in fission chambers
- 8. Maximum amount that may possess at any one under this license A.
2369 kg U-235 B.
3 grams U-235 licensee time
- 9.
Authorized Use:
For receipt, possession, and use in accordance with the statements, representations, and conditions specified in the license application dated February 1986 (submitted by letter dated March 7, 1986), Revision 1, dated June 1986 (sub mitted by letter dated June 30, 1986),
and Revision 2, dated August 1986 (submitted by letter dated August 1, 1986),
except as specifically provided otherwise by this license.
- 10. Authorized Place of Use:
The licensee's Vogtle Electric Generating Plant-Unit 1, located in the eastern sector of Burke County, Georgia.
- 11. The Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is hereby exempted from the provisions of 10 CFR 70.24 insofar as this section applies to materials held under this license.
- 12. The licensee shall maintain and fully implement all provisions of the Commission approved Physical Security Plan, including any changes that may be made pursuant to the authority of 10 CFR 70.32(e).
The approved Physical Security Plan consists of the licensees' Plan titled, "Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit I-Security Plan for Storage of Special Nuclear Material," dated July 1, 1986.
The Physical Security Plan identified by this condition shall be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790(d).
- or upon conversion of Construction Permit No. CPPR-108 into an operating license, whichever is earlier.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AUG 2 1-1986 By:
Origirna. siged by:
W.?. Crow Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS Washington, DC 20555 Date:
i'.
it I
0PUY
7590-01 U.S.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL LICENSE NO.
SNM,1967 GEORGIA POWER COMPANY ET.
AL.
BURKE COUNTY, GEORGIA DOCKET NO.
70-3040 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering the issuance of Special Nuclear Material License No.
SNM-1967 to the Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and City of Dalton, Georgia (the applicants) for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 1, located in Burke County, Georgia.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Identification of Proposed Action:
The proposed action would authorize the applicants to receive, possess, inspect, and store special nuclear materials in the form of unirradiated fuel assemblies.
In addition, the license would authorize the applicants to receive, possess, inspect, and use fission chambers containing enriched U-235.
Because the fission chambers are sealed and contain only small amounts (gram quantities) of nuclear material, storage and use of these materials will pose no threat to the environment.
Therefore,
2 the discussion below will be limited to assessing the potential for environmental impacts resulting from the handling and the storage of new fuel at Vogtle, Unit 1.
The Need for the Proposed Action:
The proposed license will allow the applicants to receive and store fresh fuel prior to issuance of the Part 50 operating license in order to inspect the fuel and to finalize fuel preparation needed to load the fuel into the reactor vessel.
Actual core loading, however, will not be authorized by the proposed license.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action:
Once at Vogtle, Unit 1, the new fuel may be temporarily stored in their shipping containers prior to placement in their designated storage locations: the new fuel storage racks and the spent fuel storage racks located in the Fuel Handling Building.
No more than 40 loaded shipping containers will be temporarily stored at one time in the receiving area of the Auxiliary Building.
The staff has concluded that the safety factor is adequate for temporary storage.
Upon removal of the fuel assemblies from the shipping containers, they are inspected and surveyed for external contamination.
The fuel is then trans ferred to their designated location.
Criticality safety in the storage locations is maintained by limiting interaction between adjacent fuel assemblies.
The staff has evaluated the new fuel area and the spent fuel pool and found both to be critically safe for all conditions of water moderation and/or reflection.
In addition, the design of these storage locations, combined with plant procedures, will ensure acceptable protection of the general public and plant personnel either under normal or abnormal conditions.
3 Since the fresh fuel assemblies are sealed sources, the principal exposure pathway to an individual is via external radiation.
For a low-enriched uranium fuel bundle (<4 percent U-235 enrichment), the exposure rate at 1 foot from the surface is normally less than I mr/hr; therefore, it is estimated that the exposure level to an individual from unirradiated fuel would be less than 25 percent of the maximum permissible exposure specified in 10 CFR Part 20.
Because of the low radiation exposure levels associated with the requested materials and activities and GP's radiation protection procedures, the staff concludes that fuel handling and storage activities can be carried out without any significant radiological impact to the environment.
Only a small amount, if any, of radioactive waste (e.g., smear papers and/or contaminated packing material) is expected to be generated during fuel handling and storage operations.
Any waste that is produced will be properly stored onsite until it can be shipped to a licensed disposal facility.
The applicant has not requested permission to transport assemblies, however, in the event the assemblies must be returned to the fuel fabricator, all packaging and transport of fuel will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 71.
The package will meet NRC approval requirements for normal conditions of transport and hypothetical accident conditions.
No significant external radiation hazards are associated with the unirradiated assemblies because the radiation level from the clad fuel pellets is low and because the shipping packages must meet the external radiation standards in 10 CFR Part 71.
Therefore, any shipment of unirradiated fuel by the applicant or any other authorized party is expected to have an insignificant environmental impact.
4 In the unlikely event that an assembly (either within or outside its shipping container) is dropped during transfer, fuel cladding is not expected to rupture.
Even if the cladding were breached and the pellets were released, an insignificant environmental impact would result.
The fuel pellets are composed of a ceramic UO2 that has been pelletized and sintered to a very high density.
In this form, release of UO2 aerosol is highly unlikely except under conditions of deliberate grinding.
Additionally, UO2 is soluble only in acid solution so dissolution and release to the environment are extremely unlikely.
==
Conclusion:==
The environmental impacts associated with the handling and storage of new fuel at Vogtle, Unit 1, are expected to be insignificant.
Essentially no effluents, liquid or airborne, will be released and acceptable controls will be implemented to prevent a radiological accident.
Therefore, the staff concludes that there will be no significant impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action:
The principal alternative would be to deny the requested license.
Assuming the operating license will eventually be issued, denial of the storage only license would merely postpone new fuel receipt at Vogtle, Unit 1. Although denial of the Special Nuclear Material License for Vogtle, Unit 1, is an alternative available to the Commission, it would be considered only if significant issues of public health and safety could not be resolved to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities involved.
5 Alternative Use of Resources:
This action does not involve the use of resources not previously considered in connection with the Commission's Final Environmental Statement (NUREG-1087) dated March 1985 related to this facility.
Agencies and Persons Consulted:
The Commission's staff reviewed the applicant's request of March 7,
- 1986, and its supplements dated May 14, June 20, and June 30, 1986, and did not consult other agencies or persons.
Finding of No Significant Impact:
The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to the issuance of Special Nuclear Materials License No.
On the basis of this assessment, the Commission has concluded that environmental impacts created by the proposed licensing action would not be significant and does not warrant the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.
Accordingly, it has been determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.
The Environmental Assessment and the above documents related to this proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the Commission's Public Document Room, 1717 H Street, NW.,
Washington, DC.
Copies of the Environmental Assessment may be obtained by calling (301)427-4510 or by L
6 writing to the Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
Dated at Silver Spring, Maryland this 115th day of July 1986.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION W. T. Crow, Acting Chief Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS
JUL 1 6 1986 FCUP:MLH DOCKET NO:
70-3040 APPLICANTS:
Georgia Power Company Oglethorpe Power Corporation Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia City of Dalton, Georgia FACILITY:
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 1 Burke County, Georgia
SUBJECT:
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT - LICENSE APPLICATION TO RECEIVE NEW FUEL
Background
By letter dated March 7, 1986, and supplements dated May 14, June 20, and June 30, 1986, Georgia Power Company (GP),
acting on its own behalf and as agent for the above, applied for an NRC license to permit the receipt, possession, and storage of special nuclear material in the form of unirradiated nuclear fuel assemblies.
In addition, GP, as part of the license application, seeks authorization to receive, possess, store, and use fission chambers containing enriched U-235.
All materials are for eventual use in Vogtle, Unit 1. In accordance with 10 CFR Part 51.21, the NRC has prepared this assessment of the environmental impacts that may be caused by issuance of the requested license.
Because of the form and small amount (gram quantities) of nuclear materials contained in the fission chambers, storage of these materials will pose no threat to the environment.
Therefore, the discussion below will be limited to assessing the potential for environmental impacts resulting from the storage of new fuel assemblies at Vogtle, Unit 1.
The Proposed Action The proposed action is issuance of a special nuclear materials license pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70 that will authorize GP to receive, possess, inspect, and store 193 fresh fuel assemblies at Vogtle, Unit 1. The license would be effective until it can be superseded by GP's operating license under 10 CFR Part 50.
The fuel assemblies contain uranium dioxide (UO
) pellets that have a maximum uranium-235 enrichment of 3.15 percent by weight ind are encapsulated in zircaloy tubing.
Issuance of the license would result in the receipt, possession, inspection, and storage of the unirradiated fuel assemblies at Vogtle, Unit 1. The transport of new fuel to Vogtle, Unit 1, will be the responsibility of the fuel fabricator.
Georgia Power Company JUL 1 6 1986 2
Need for the Proposed Action GP proposes to receive and store fresh fuel prior to issuance of the Part 50 operating license in order to inspect the assemblies and to finalize fuel preparation (e.g., add necessary hardware) needed to load the fuel into the reactor core vessel.
Actual core loading, however, will not be authorized by the proposed license.
Early completion of this fuel handling will help avoid delays in the Vogtle, Unit 1, startup once its operating license is issued.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action Alternatives to the proposed action include complete denial of GP's application.
Assuming the operating license for the facility will eventually be issued, denial of the storage only license now would merely postpone new fuel receipt at Vogtle, Unit 1. Such action, as well as any other alternative that could be imagined, would not present an environmental advantage because, as discussed below, no environmental impacts are expected from the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action A Final Environment Statement (NUREG-1087) associated with the full-scale operation of Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, has already been issued by the NRC.
Based on the evaluation in this statement, the environmental impacts of plant operation subject to proposed conditions for environmental protection are expected to be small.
New fuel receipt and storage is only a small part of Vogtle, Unit l's overall operation that will eventually include the handling and storage of irradiated fuel which is significantly more hazardous.
Accordingly, the environ mental impacts resulting from the handling and storage of new fuel are expected to be very minor.
Once at Vogtle, Unit 1, the new fuel may be temporarily stored in their shipping containers prior to placement in their designated storage locations:
the new fuel storage racks and the spent fuel storage racks located in the Fuel Handling Building.
No more than 40 loaded shipping containers will be temporarily stored at one time in the receiving area of the Auxiliary Building.
The staff has concluded that the safety factor is adequate for temporary storage.
Assemblies are then removed from their shipping containers, inspected, and surveyed for external contamination.
The fuel is then transferred to their designated location.
Criticality safety in the storage locations is maintained by limiting interaction between adjacent fuel assemblies.
The staff has evaluated the new fuel area and the spent fuel pool and found both to be critically safe for all conditions of water moderation and/or reflection.
In addition, the design of these storage locations, combined with plant procedures, will ensure acceptable protection of the general public and plant personnel either under normal or abnormal conditions.
Georgia Power Company JUL 1 6 1986 3
Since the fresh fuel assemblies are sealed sources, the principal exposure pathway to an individual is via external radiation.
For a low-enriched uranium fuel bundle (<4 percent U-235 enrichment), the exposure rate at 1 foot from the surface is normally less than 1 mr/hr; therefore, it is estimated that the exposure level to an individual from unirradiated fuel would be less than 25 percent of the maximum permissible exposure specified in 10 CFR Part 20.
Because of the low radiation exposure levels associated with the requested materials and activities and GP's radiation protection procedures, the staff concludes that fuel handling and storage activities can be carried out without any significant radiological impact to the environment.
Only a small amount, if any, of radioactive waste (e.g., smear papers and/or contaminated packing material) is expected to be generated during fuel handling and storage operations.
Any waste that is produced will be properly stored onsite until it can be shipped to a licensed disposal facility.
The applicant has not requested permission to transport assemblies, however, in the event the assemblies must be returned to the fuel fabricator, all packaging and transport of fuel will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 71.
The package will meet NRC approval requirements for normal conditions of transport and hypothetical accident conditions.
No significant external radiation hazards are associated with the unirradiated assemblies because the radiation level from the clad fuel pellets is low and because the shipping packages must meet the external radiation standards in 10 CFR Part 71.
Therefore, any shipment of unirradiated fuel by the applicant or any other authorized party is expected to have an insignificant environmental impact.
GP has installed redundant engineered-safety features on equipment intended for use in fuel handling and storage operations.
These safety features combined with administrative controls minimize the likelihood of an accident situation occurring during fuel handling activities.
In addition, GP has analyzed the possible consequences that may result from various postulated accidents, the worst being an assembly (either within or outside its shipping container) dropped during transfer.
The fuel cladding is not expected to rupture.
Even if the cladding were breached and the pellets were released, an insignificant environmental impact would result.
The fuel pellets are composed of a ceramic UO that has been pelletized and sintered to a very high density.
In this form, ;elease of UO aerosol is highly unlikely except under conditions of deliberate grinding.
Ahditionally, UO is soluble only in acid solution so dissolution and release to the environmeht are extremely unlikely.
Conclusion Based upon the information presented above, the environmental impacts associated with new fuel storage at Vogtle, Unit 1, are expected to be insignificant.
Georgia Power Company 4
JUL 1 6 Essentially no effluents, liquid or airborne, will be released and acceptable controls will be implemented to prevent a radiological accident.
Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51.31, a Finding of No Significant Impact is considered appropriate for this action.
Original Signed BY Merni Horn Merri Horn Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS Original Signed By:
Approved by:
W. T. Cr,'w W. T.
Crow, Section Leader OFC: FCUP
- FCUR
- FCUF
- FCUF NAME:M*,/ks/as:GBidinger:VL*'*pe:WTCrow DATE:6/30/86
- p// /86
- /4I/86./Jt/86 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
AUG 2 1 1986 FCUP:GHB DOCKET NO:
70-3040 APPLICANTS:
Georgia Power Company Olgethorpe Power Corporation Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia City of Dalton, Georgia FACILITY:
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant-Unit 1 (VEGP)
SUBJECT:
SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT, APPLICATION FOR MATERIALS LICENSE DATED FEBRUARY 1986, FOR RECEIPT, POSSESSION, AND STORAGE OF REACTOR FUEL AND OTHER MATERIAL I.
INTRODUCTION By letter dated March 7, 1986, Georgia Power Company acting on its own behalf and as agent for the above applicants requested a materials license for the period beginning August 1, 1986, until receipt of a Part 50 operating license.
The applicants propose to receive, possess, and store enriched uranium in the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant-Unit 1.
In response to NRC staff questions, the applicant revised and supplemented the application by letter dated June 20, 1986.
On June 30, 1986, the applicant submitted Revision 1 to the application which supersedes and supplements the information provided by letters dated May 14 and June 20, 1986.
On August 1, 1986, the applicant submitted Revision 2 to the application to supersede and supplement previous information, primarily for the dry storage of fuel in the spent fuel racks.
Unit 1 is located in the eastern part of Burke County on the southwest side of the Savannah River, across from the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Plant.
II.
SCOPE OF REVIEW This evaluation report is based on the staff review of the application and technical discussions with the NRR Project Manager and the Region II Resident Inspector.
The Organization and Administrative Controls, Radiation Protection Program, and the Nuclear Criticality Safety Program received particular attention in this review.
The evaluation of the "Security Plan for Storage of Special Nuclear Material at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant" was made by the Safeguards Material Licensing and International Activities Branch, Division of Safeguards.
A separate Environ mental Assessment has also been prepared.
Based on the Assessment, a Finding of No Significant Impact has been prepared and approved pursuant to 10 CFR 51.
2 AUG 2I IM Because of current licensing practices, the expiration date of the license will read:
Expiration Date:
August 31, 1991, or upon conversion of Construction Permit No.
CPPR-108 into an operating license, whichever is earlier.
III. POSSESSION LIMITS The applicant has requested authorization to possess enriched uranium dioxide fuel assemblies and enriched uranium oxide in fission chambers.
The uranium dioxide will be in the form of cylindrical pellets inside Zircaloy tubing which is sealed at both ends to form fuel rods.
A standard fuel assembly will contain 264 fuel rods, 24 control rod guide thimbles, and one instrumentation thimble arranged in a 17 x 17 matrix.
The 17 x 17 matrix is maintained by grids located along the length of the assembly.
The pellets are 0.3225 inches in diameter.
The tubing is 0.374 inches in diameter with a wall thickness of 0.0225 inches.
The nominal fuel length is 144 inches and the fuel assembly is 8.426 inches square.
The uranium in the fuel will be enriched to 2.1 w/o, 2.6 w/o, or 3.1 w/o U-235.
The applicant has also requested 2.0692 grams U-235 in 14 fission chambers.
The uranium enrichment will be greater than 90 w/o U-235.
To accommodate this request, the staff recommends the following license conditions:
Material Form Quantity A.
Uranium enriched up to A.
UO in fuel A.
2369 kg U-235 3.15 w/o in the U-235 assemblies isotope B.
Uranium enriched in the B.
Uranium oxide in B.
3 grams U-235 U-235 isotope fission chambers IV.
AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES For the fuel assemblies, the applicant has requested authorization as follows:
o Fuel assembly receipt and temporary storage o
Fuel assembly inspection o
Fuel assembly handling and storage If any fuel must be returned to the vendor, the packaging and shipment will be the responsibility of the supplier (Westinghouse Electric Corporation).
The applicant also requested authorization to receive, store, and install fission chambers in the reactor.
The fuel assemblies will not be installed in the reactor.
AUG 2 1 1986 To authorize the activities, the staff recommends the following license conditions.
Authorized Use:
For receipt, possession, and use in accordance with the statements, representations, and conditions specified in the license application dated February 1986 (submitted by letter dated March 7, 1986),
and Revision 1, dated June 1986 (submitted by letter dated June 30, 1986),
and Revision 2, dated August 1986 (submitted by letter dated August 1, 1986), except as specifically provided otherwise by this license.
Authorized Place of Use:
The licensee's Vogtle Electric Generating Plant-Unit 1, located in the eastern sector of Burke County, Georgia.
V.
ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS A.
Radiation Safety Responsibilities The General Manager - Vogtle Nuclear Operating (GMVNO) has overall responsibility for safe operation and compliance with the license.
The Health Physics Superin tendent, who reports to the GMVNO, is responsible for establishing the Health Physics program and has functional control of the program.
The Operations Superintendent and the Reactor Engineer have responsibility for nuclear criticality safety and fuel handling.
The Operations Superintendent is responsible for ensuring that operations are conducted in accordance with standing orders, procedures, and license requirements.
Procedures for handling nuclear fuel are reviewed and approved by the Plant Review Board.
The Board is composed of plant personnel who collectively possess the expertise required to review procedures that affect nuclear safety.
B.
Minimum Qualifications The minimum qualifications for the positions of General Manager, Operations Superintendent, Health Physics Superintendent, and Reactor Engineer are those specified in ANSI-N18.1-1971, "Selection and Training of Nuclear Power Personnel," respectively, for Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Radiation Protection, and Reactor Engineering.
Alternately, the technical person reporting to the Health Physics Superintendent may possess the required qualifications.
The qualifications and experience of personnel in the above positions were reviewed and found to satisfy the minimum position requirements.
C.
Training Training of personnel is coordinated by the Training Department.
The training of radiation safety personnel and fuel handling operators will be completed before fuel is received onsite.
Training will be provided in the Health Physics program and in fuel handling procedures, including the safety aspects of the activities.
3
4 AUG 2 1 498t VI.
RADIATION SAFETY The uranium to be received by the applicant is unirradiated and fully encapsulated.
As a result, only low levels of radiation will exist in the fuel handling areas when the uranium is present.
Nonetheless, the applicant has a program for contamination control for personnel, equipment, and facilities.
Personnel exposures will be monitored by personnel thermoluminescent dosimeters, pocket dosimeters, and/or survey instruments.
Survey instruments will be cali brated, normally on a semi-annual basis.
Solid radioactive waste will be collected, compacted, and stored until it is shipped to an offsite disposal site.
Georgia Power has a policy of maintaining occupational exposures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA).
The Health Physics Superintendent is responsible for implementation of the ALARA Program.
The administrative programs are designed to assure compliance with 10 CFR 20.
The staff concludes that the Health Physics program is adequate for the proposed activities.
VII.
NUCLEAR CRITICALITY SAFETY Fuel assemblies will be received in Westinghouse containers, Model RCC-1 or RCC-3, which have been approved by NRC Certificate of Compliance No.
Each package may contain two fuel assemblies.
The shipping containers will be stored temporarily in the receiving area of the Auxiliary Building.
After receipt, the fuel assemblies will be unpacked, inspected, and stored in the new or spent fuel racks in the Fuel Handling Building.
A.
Temporary Storage - Criticality Control The applicant has limited the receiving area of the Auxiliary Building to a maximum of 40 containers.
This number has been justified for Fissile Class II shipments by Westinghouse.
The staff concludes that the safety factor is quite adequate for temporary storage.
B.
Fuel Assembly Handling - Criticality Control The applicant has committed to having only one fuel assembly out of a shipping container or storage rack at any one time.
Because one fuel element cannot be made critical under any condition, the staff concludes that adequate controls exist for handling fuel assemblies.
The protective wrapper on each fuel assembly will be taken off for inspection, but may be replaced for rack storage.
To assure drainage of liquid that might inadvertently get into the wrapper, the wrapper will be open at the bottom or the wrapper will be slit near the bottom.
This action is sufficient, but at the same time, very necessary to prevent inadvertent nuclear criticality.
AUG 2 1 1986 C.
New Fuel Racks - Criticality Control The new fuel storage area is a reinforced concrete pit, about 14-feet deep, in the Fuel Handling Building.
The applicant claims that the facility is protected by design from the effects of natural phenomena.
The design was not evaluated since the design is being reviewed by NRR for use during reactor operations.
The fuel will be stored in racks which assure a minimum 21-inch center-to-center spacing between fuel assemblies.
Each fuel assembly will be stored in an individual cell within the storage racks.
Each square cell is made from stainless steel and has inside dimensions of 9.0 inches and a wall thickness of 0.075 inches.
The applicant has calculated that the k-effective for the fuel array in the pit would be less than 0.95 for full water flooding or optimum moderation by low density hydrogeneous material such as fire suppression sprays.
In the cal culations, the applicant assumed a uranium enrichment of 3.5 w/o U-235.
The applicant used a Monte Carlo code, KENO-IV, and a 218-group cross-section library derived from ENDF/B-IV data.
The staff evaluated the storage array for optimum and full density moderation for assemblies containing uranium enriched to 3.15 w/o U-235.
Using SCALE, which contains KENO-IV and a 27-group cross-section set, the staff calculated that k-effective would be less than 0.85 for the 3.15 w/o U-235 fuel.
D.
Spent Fuel Racks - Criticality Control The Unit-1 Spent Fuel Pool is located in the Fuel Handling Building.
The pool is 41-feet deep, constructed of reinforced concrete, and lined with 1/4-inch stainless steel.
The racks consisted of 2 modules, each containing 144 cells in a 12x12x1 array.
Each fuel cell consists of a Boroflex sheet encapsulated in stainless steel.
Cell spacing is 10.6 inches, center-to-center.
The inside dimensions are 8.8-inches square and the wall thickness is 0.075 inches.
The Boroflex sheet is 0.078-inches thick, 7.5-inches wide, and 139-inches long.
The outside steel wrapper is 0.02-inches thick.
The poison in the Boroflex is B C particles with a boron-lO loading of 0.02g/cm2.
Because of seismic considerations, only 34 assemblies can be loaded into a rack when dry storage is used.
The applicant made calculations as described above for 4.3 w/o U-235 in uranium fuel.
The k-effective values do not exceed 0.95 for optimum full density water moderation. Using SCALE, the staff calculated that k-effective would be less than 0.85 for the 3.15 w/o U-235 fuel.
Both the applicant and the staff cal culated k-effective for full racks, the most reactive case.
5
AUG 2 1 1986 6
E.
Exemption for Criticality Monitor System The applicant has requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a).
The basis for the request is the storage of the fuel assemblies in the criti cality safe storage racks and the administrative procedures, as described in the application, which preclude nuclear criticality.
Because the fuel assemblies are handled as discrete items, stored with controlled engineered spacing under dry conditions, and the inherent features associated with unirradiated fuel containing uranium enriched to less than 5 percent in the U-235 isotope when no fuel processing is to be performed, the possibility of accidental criticality during fuel handling and storage activities is remote.
Therefore, the staff hereby determines that granting such an exemption will not endanger life or property.
This exemption is authorized pursuant to 10 CFR 70.14.
The exemption should read as follows:
The Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is hereby exempted from the provisions of 10 CFR 70.24 insofar as this section applies to materials held under this license.
VIII ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to the proposed materials license for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant-Unit 1.
Based on this Assessment, a Finding of No Significant Impact has been issued and approved pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51.
This Finding was published in the Federal Register on July 28, 1986.
IX.
FIRE SAFETY The fire protection measures for the Fuel Handling Building and the Receiving Area of the Auxiliary Building, with some exceptions, consist of separation of the areas from the rest of the facility by fire boundaries.
Exceptions to the fire boundaries will be subject to a fire watch when new fuel is present in the area.
Portable fire extinguishers and manual hose stations are provided.
Manual fire alarm stations and smoke detectors, which annunciate locally and in the control room, are to be provided.
If the automatic alarm system is not operational, an hourly fire patrol will be provided.
X.
PHYSICAL PROTECTION The Division of Safeguards,
- NMSS, has reviewed VEGP's Physical Plan and has determined that it meets the requirements of 10 CFR 73.67.
To ensure that the Physical Security Plan will be implemented and remain in effect whenever fresh fuel is stored onsite, the staff recommends the following license condition:
The licensee shall maintain and fully implement all provisions of the Commission approved Physical Security Plan, including any changes that may be made pursuant to the authority of 10 CFR 70.32(e).
The approved Physical Security Plan consists of the licensees' Plan titled, "Vogtle Electric
AUG 2 1 1986 Generating Plant, Unit 1-Security Plan for Storage of Special Nuclear Material," dated July 1, 1986.
The Physical Security Plan identified by this condition shall be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790(d).
XI.
CONCLUSION
- 1. After reviewing the application, and its supplement, the staff finds that:
- a.
The application meets the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended, and of the regulations of the Commission,
- b.
Issuance of the license would not be inimical to the common defense and security, and
- c.
Issuance of the license would not constitute an unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the public.
- 2.
With the recommended license conditions, the NRC staff finds that:
- a.
The applicants are qualified by reason of training and experience to use the material for the purpose requested in accordance with regulations in 10 CFR 70.
- b.
The applicants' proposed equipment and facilities are adequate to protect health and minimize danger to life or property.
- c.
The applicants' proposed procedures to protect health and to minimize danger to life or property are adequate.
XII.
RECOMMENDATION The staff recommends issuance of the special nuclear materials license provided that the conditions identified above are incorporated into the license.
Original Signed by G. H. Bidinger Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS Approved by:
W. T. Crow W. T. Crow, Section Leader OFC: FCUP,.q*
- FCUFe
- FCUF wý->
Q------- -------------------------------------------
NAME:GHBidinger/as:VLlharpe:WTCrow DATE:8/1/86
- 8/\\1O/86 :8R DC/86:O:
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY