ML020520101

Response to Dnc'S February 7, 2002, Supplemental Response to Bulletin 2001-01, Circumferental Cracking of Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Penetration Nozzles.

ML020520101
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	02/21/2002
From:	Harrison J NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To:	Price J Dominion Nuclear Connecticut
J Harrison
References
IEB-01-001, TAC MB2639
Download: ML020520101 (5)

Text

February 21, 2002 Mr. J. A. Price Vice President - Nuclear Technical Services - Millstone Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

c/o Mr. David A. Smith Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385

SUBJECT:

MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 2 (MILLSTONE 2) -

RESPONSE TO DNC's FEBRUARY 7, 2002, SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSE TO BULLETIN 2001-01, CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACKING OF REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL HEAD PENETRATION NOZZLES

Dear Mr. Price:

On August 3, 2001, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff issued Bulletin 2001-01 Circumferential Cracking of Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Penetration Nozzles (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML012080284) to the industry requesting that addressees provide information related to the structural integrity of the reactor pressure vessel head penetration (VHP) nozzles for their respective facilities, including the extent of VHP nozzle leakage and cracking that has been found to date, the inspections and repairs that have been undertaken to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, and the basis for concluding that their plans for future inspections will ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements at their respective pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants.

The bulletin required a response from addressees within 30 days of issuance.

In response to Bulletin 2001-01, you provided information via letters dated September 4, 2001, December 28, 2001, and February 7, 2002. Your inspection plans were also discussed during a telephone conference on Friday, October 5, 2001, and during a public meeting on January 24, 2002.

As a follow-up to the meeting held with the NRC staff on January 24, 2002, you describe plans to perform ultrasonic testing (UT) of your reactor vessel head penetrations (RVHPs) at the next refueling outage of Millstone 2, in your letter dated February 7, 2002. This letter is consistent with the information that you presented to the staff on January 24, 2002, in that you propose to perform 100 percent volumetric inspection of the Millstone 2 RVHPs. However, you cite the possibility of UT equipment failure or some unanticipated interference due to head geometry as the basis for possibly reducing the scope of your inspection to less than 100 percent of the RVHPs, specifically a minimum of 65 out of the 78 RVHPs.

As summarized at the January 24, 2002, meeting, the staff has found that the examination equipment, technology, and methods that you proposed to utilize in your upcoming outage will provide an effective examination to ensure the public health and safety for subsequent operation of the plant. However, the staff does not agree with your statistical analysis used to justify inspecting fewer than 100 percent of the nozzles, and as stated during the January 24, 2002, meeting, the staff concludes that inspection of 100 percent of the nozzles is necessary to ensure the public health and safety for subsequent operation of the plant.

J. Price If you have any questions or comments concerning this issue, please contact me via telephone at (301) 415-3199, or e-mail jth2@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

John T. Harrison, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-336 cc: See next page

J. Price If you have any questions or comments concerning this issue, please contact me via telephone at (301) 415-3199, or e-mail jth2@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

John T. Harrison, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-336 cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC JClifford OGC WBateman PDI-2 R/F JHarrison ACRS AHiser EMCB R/F JZimmerman CCowgill, RI JCollins TClark LAbramson SLong JChung MReinhart RBarrett ALee BWetzel EAdensam ACCESSION NO. ML020520101 OFFICE PDI-2/PM PDI-2/LA EMCB/BC PDI-2/SC NAME JHarrison TClark WBateman JClifford DATE 2/21/02 2/21/02 2/21/02 2/21/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Millstone Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 cc:

Ms. L. M. Cuoco Mr. P. J. Parulis Senior Nuclear Counsel Manager - Nuclear Oversight Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

Rope Ferry Road Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Waterford, CT 06385 Edward L. Wilds, Jr., Ph.D. Mr. D. A. Christian Director, Division of Radiation Senior Vice President - Nuclear Operations Department of Environmental Protection and Chief Nuclear Officer 79 Elm Street Innsbrook Technical Center - 2SW Hartford, CT 06106-5127 5000 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mr. C. J. Schwarz 475 Allendale Road Director - Nuclear Operations and Chemistry King of Prussia, PA 19406 Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

Rope Ferry Road First Selectmen Waterford, CT 06385 Town of Waterford 15 Rope Ferry Road Mr. John Markowicz Waterford, CT 06385 Co-Chair Nuclear Energy Advisory Council Charles Brinkman, Manager 9 Susan Terrace Washington Nuclear Operations Waterford, CT 06385 ABB Combustion Engineering 12300 Twinbrook Pkwy, Suite 330 Mr. Evan W. Woollacott Rockville, MD 20852 Co-Chair Nuclear Energy Advisory Council Senior Resident Inspector 128 Terry's Plain Road Millstone Nuclear Power Station Simsbury, CT 06070 c/o U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 513 Mr. D. A. Smith Niantic, CT 06357 Manager - Regulatory Affairs Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

Mr. W. R. Matthews Rope Ferry Road Vice President and Senior Nuclear Waterford, CT 06385 Executive - Millstone Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. Ms. Nancy Burton Rope Ferry Road 147 Cross Highway Waterford, CT 06385 Redding Ridge, CT 00870 Ernest C. Hadley, Esquire P.O. Box 1104 West Falmouth, MA 02574-1104

Millstone Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 cc:

Mr. G. D. Hicks Director - Nuclear Training Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. J. Alan Price Vice President - Nuclear Operations - Millstone c/o Mr. David A. Smith Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385