ML022070401

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Related to a Scheduler Exemption from the Requirements of 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii)

ML022070401
Person / Time
Site:	Quad Cities
Issue date:	08/27/2002
From:	Lyon C NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3
To:	Skolds J Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
Lyon C, NRR/DLPM, 415-2296
References
TAC MB5585
Download: ML022070401 (8)

Text

August 27, 2002 Mr. John L. Skolds, President Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT:

QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT RELATED TO A SCHEDULAR EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL EXAMINATIONS (TAC NO. MB5585)

Dear Mr. Skolds:

Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application for exemption dated July 10, 2002. The proposed exemption would grant an extension for the performance of the 3rd 120-month inspection interval examinations of the reactor pressure vessel nozzle-to-vessel welds and nozzle inside radius sections required by 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) from the November 2002 refueling outage until the next refueling outage in January 2005, which is the 1st inspection period of the 4th 120-month interval.

The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Carl F. Lyon, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-254

Enclosure:

Environmental Assessment cc w/encl: See next page

Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 cc:

Site Vice President - Quad Cities Nuclear Power Regional Administrator Station U.S. NRC, Region III Exelon Generation Company, LLC 801 Warrenville Road 22710 206th Avenue N. Lisle, IL 60532-4351 Cordova, IL 61242-9740 Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station Plant Manager Office of Nuclear Facility Safety Exelon Generation Company, LLC 1035 Outer Park Drive 22710 206th Avenue N. Springfield, IL 62704 Cordova, IL 61242-9740 Document Control Desk-Licensing Regulatory Assurance Manager - Quad Cities Exelon Generation Company, LLC Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road 22710 206th Avenue N. Warrenville, IL 60555 Cordova, IL 61242-9740 Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services Quad Cities Resident Inspectors Office Exelon Generation Company, LLC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4300 Winfield Road 22712 206th Avenue N. Warrenville, IL 60555 Cordova, IL 61242 Vice President William D. Leech Mid-West Operations Support Manager - Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC MidAmerican Energy Company 4300 Winfield Road P.O. Box 657 Warrenville, IL 60555 Des Moines, IA 50303 Senior Vice President Vice President - Law and Mid-West Regional Operating Group Regulatory Affairs Exelon Generation Company, LLC MidAmerican Energy Company 4300 Winfield Road One River Center Place Warrenville, IL 60555 106 E. Second Street P.O. Box 4350 Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Davenport, IA 52808 Affairs Exelon Generation Company, LLC Chairman 4300 Winfield Road Rock Island County Board Warrenville, IL 60555 of Supervisors 1504 3rd Avenue Director - Licensing Rock Island County Office Bldg. Mid-West Regional Operating Group Rock Island, IL 61201 Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 Senior Counsel, Nuclear Mid-West Regional Operating Group Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Manager Licensing - Dresden and Quad Cities Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

August 27, 2002 Mr. John L. Skolds, President Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT:

QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT RELATED TO A SCHEDULAR EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL EXAMINATIONS (TAC NO. MB5585)

Dear Mr. Skolds:

Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application for exemption dated July 10, 2002. The proposed exemption would grant an extension for the performance of the 3rd 120-month inspection interval examinations of the reactor pressure vessel nozzle-to-vessel welds and nozzle inside radius sections required by 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) from the November 2002 refueling outage until the next refueling outage in January 2005, which is the 1st inspection period of the 4th 120-month interval.

The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Carl F. Lyon, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-254

Enclosure:

Environmental Assessment cc w/encl: See next page Distribution:

PUBLIC OGC, O15B18 PD3-2 r/f ACRS, T2E26 A. Mendiola M. Ring, RIII C. Rosenberg J. Tappert F. Lyon ADAMS Accession Number: ML022070401 OFFICE PM:LPD3-2 LA:LPD3-2 SC:RLEP OGC SC:LPD3-2 NAME FLyon CRosenberg JWilson for JMoore AMendiola JTappert DATE 7/29/02 7/29/02 7/31/02 8/21/02 8/27/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-254 QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 1 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) for Facility Operating License No. DPR-29, issued to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), for operation of the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, located in Rock Island County, Illinois. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Identification of the Proposed Action:

The proposed action would grant a schedular extension for Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station (Quad Cities), Unit 1, from implementation of inservice examinations of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) nozzle-to-vessel welds and nozzle inside radius sections, per American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Code),Section XI, Table IWB-2500, Examination Category B-D, Item Nos. B3.90 and B3.100, by the end of the current 120-month inspection interval, as required by 10 CFR 50.55a, Codes and standards, paragraph (g)(4)(ii). The current interval ends on February 17, 2003 for Quad Cities Unit 1.

This schedular exemption requests an extension for the performance of the third interval inspections until the completion of the Unit 1 refueling outage in January 2005.

The proposed action is in accordance with the licensees application dated July 10, 2002.

The Need for the Proposed Action:

The proposed action is needed to prevent unnecessary radiation worker exposure.

Quad Cities Unit 1 was not specifically designed or constructed to permit easy access to the RPV nozzle-to-vessel welds and nozzle inside radius sections for inservice inspection, from the inside or outside surface. The task to access a nozzle for inservice examination employs several work groups and a significant number of man-hours with the attendant large radiation exposure accumulation. The estimated radiation dose avoided by exempting the nine nozzles until the fourth inspection interval is a minimum of 60 man-rem.

The licensee wishes to extend the inspection schedule in order to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure. Such an extension requires an exemption because 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4)(ii) requires inservice examinations of the RPV nozzle-to-vessel welds and nozzle inside radius sections, per the ASME Code,Section XI, Table IWB-2500, Examination Category B-D, Item Nos. B3.90 and B3.100, by the end of the current 120-month inspection interval.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action:

The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that there are no significant adverse environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of effluents that may be released off site, and there is no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no

other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action:

As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered denial of the proposed action (i.e., the no-action alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources:

The action does not involve the use of any different resource than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, dated September 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted:

On July 25, 2002, the staff consulted with the Illinois State official, Mr. F. Niziolek of the Department of Nuclear Safety, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had no comments.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensees letter dated July 10, 2002. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),

Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of August 2002.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Anthony J. Mendiola, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation