ML023110004
| ML023110004 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Farley  |
| Issue date: | 11/07/2002 |
| From: | John Nakoski NRC/RGN-II |
| To: | Beasley J Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| Rinaldi F, NRR/LPD2-1, 415-1447 | |
| References | |
| TAC MB3776 | |
| Download: ML023110004 (6) | |
Text
November 7, 2002 Mr. J. B. Beasley Vice President - Farley Project Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295
SUBJECT:
JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 RE: THIRD 10-YEAR INTERVAL INSERVICE INSPECTION PROGRAM REQUEST FOR RELIEF (TAC NO. MB3776)
Dear Mr. Beasley:
By letter dated November 21, 2001, you submitted Relief Request RR-50. You requested reduced examination coverage for two pressurizer safety valve nozzle welds and one pressurizer spray weld in lieu of the coverage requirements of the 1989 Edition of Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code. This request applies to the third 10-year interval inservice inspection (ISI) at Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Farley-1).
On the basis of its review, the NRC staff concludes that for Request for Relief No. RR-50 the requirements of the Code are impractical and the examinations performed provide reasonable assurance of structural integrity of the subject components. Therefore, relief is granted pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.55a(g)(6)(i) for the third 10-year interval ISI at Farley-1. Granting relief pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(i) is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property, or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest given due consideration to the burden upon the licensee that could result if the requirements were imposed on the licensee.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John A. Nakoski, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-348
Enclosure:
Safety Evaluation cc w/encl: See next page
November 7, 2002 Mr. J. B. Beasley Vice President - Farley Project Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295
SUBJECT:
JOSEPH M. FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 RE: THIRD 10-YEAR INTERVAL INSERVICE INSPECTION PROGRAM REQUEST FOR RELIEF (TAC NO. MB3776)
Dear Mr. Beasley:
By letter dated November 21, 2001, you submitted Relief Request RR-50. You requested reduced examination coverage for two pressurizer safety valve nozzle welds and one pressurizer spray weld in lieu of the coverage requirements of the 1989 Edition of Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code. This request applies to the third 10-year interval inservice inspection (ISI) at Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Farley-1).
On the basis of its review, the NRC staff concludes that for Request for Relief No. RR-50 the requirements of the Code are impractical and the examinations performed provide reasonable assurance of structural integrity of the subject components. Therefore, relief is granted pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.55a(g)(6)(i) for the third 10-year interval ISI at Farley-1. Granting relief pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(i) is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property, or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest given due consideration to the burden upon the licensee that could result if the requirements were imposed on the licensee.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John A. Nakoski, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-348
Enclosure:
Safety Evaluation cc w/encl: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC JNakoski OGC Srosenberg, EDO PDII-1 Reading CHawes GHill (2)
BBonser, RII HBerkow FRinaldi ACRS
- No major changes to SE ADAMS ACCESSION NO. ML023110004
- See previous concurrence OFFICE PDII-1/PM PDII-1/LA EMCB*
OGC**
PDII-1/SC NAME FRinaldi CHawes TChan SUttal NLO JNakoski DATE 11/6/02 11/6/02 10/04/02 11/04/02 11/6/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO THE THIRD 10-YEAR INTERVAL INSERVICE INSPECTION PROGRAM RELIEF REQUEST RR-50 SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY INC., ET AL.
FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-348
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By letter dated November 21, 2001, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee) submitted a request for relief to allow reduced examination coverage for two pressurizer safety valve nozzle welds and one pressurizer spray weld in lieu of the coverage requirements of the 1989 Edition of Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code.
This request applies to the third 10-year interval inservice inspection (ISI) at Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Farley-1). The NRC staff has reviewed the information submitted by the licensee in support of the request for relief, and has found the licensees request for relief acceptable. The NRC staffs basis for disposition is documented below.
2.0 BACKGROUND
ISI of the ASME Code Class 1, 2, and 3 components is performed in accordance with Section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code and applicable addenda as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.55a(g). Specific written relief may be granted by the Commission pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(i) provided the licensee demonstrates that the specific requirement is impractical. 10 CFR 50.55a(a)(3) states that alternatives to the requirements of paragraph (g) may be used, when authorized by the NRC, if the licensee demonstrates that (i) the proposed alternatives would provide an acceptable level of quality and safety or (ii) compliance with the specified requirements would result in hardship or unusual difficulty without a compensating increase in the level of quality and safety.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(4), ASME Code Class 1, 2, and 3 components (including supports) shall meet the requirements, except the design and access provisions and the pre-service examination requirements, set forth in the ASME Code,Section XI, Rules for Inservice Inspection (ISI) of Nuclear Power Plant Components, to the extent practical within the limitations of design, geometry, and materials of construction of the components. The regulations require that inservice examination of components and system pressure tests conducted during the first 10-year interval and subsequent intervals comply with the requirements in the latest edition and addenda of Section XI of the ASME Code incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 50.55a(b) 12 months prior to the start of the 120-month interval, subject to the limitations and modifications listed therein. The applicable edition of Section XI of the ASME Code for the third 10-year ISI interval at Farley-1 is the 1989 Edition with no Addenda.
3.0 LICENSEES RELIEF REQUEST 3.1 The Components for Which Relief is Requested:
Two Category B-F, Item No. B5.40, 6-inch pressurizer safety valve nozzle to safe-end welds and one Category B-F, Item No. B5.40, 4-inch pressurizer safety valve nozzle to safe-end weld as identified in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1 Category /
Item No.
Identification No.
Description Limitation Approximate Percentage B-F / B5.40 ALA1-4502-1DM 6" Nozzle to Safe-end Pressurizer Safety Valve Nozzle Limited examination due to nozzle and safe-end configuration UT - 81%
PT - 100%
B-F / B5.40 ALA1-4503-1DM 6" Nozzle to Safe-end Pressurizer Safety Valve Nozzle Limited examination due to nozzle and safe-end configuration UT - 81%
PT - 100%
B-F / B5.40 ALA1-4205-35DM 4" Safe-end to Nozzle Pressurizer Safety Valve Nozzle Limited examination due to nozzle and safe-end configuration UT - 81%
PT - 100%
3.2 Code Requirement:
For dissimilar welds, Category B-F, Table IWB-2500-1, of ASME Section XI, 1989 Edition, no addenda, requires surface and volumetric examination of pressure-retaining welds in Class 1 piping. Applicable examination volume is shown in ASME Section XI Figure IWB-2500-8.
3.3 Licensees Proposed Alternative:
The recommended industry practice for examination of dissimilar metal welds was utilized. This practice includes 45 and 60 refracted longitudinal wave examination to meet Code requirements plus a supplemental 45 shear wave to examine nozzle base material.
3.4 Licensees Basis for Requesting Relief:
The subject nozzle to safe-end welds (or safe-end to nozzle welds) have physical limitations on both sides of the weld that restrict coverage and make it impractical to achieve 100 percent of the total examination volume. To obtain the Code-required 100-percent volumetric coverage of dissimilar metal welds, scans must be conducted clockwise and counterclockwise on the weld (plus 1/2-inch of adjacent base metal) to detect reflectors transverse to the weld. Scans must also be conducted from both sides of the weld to detect reflectors parallel to the weld.
Complete coverage for reflectors located transverse to the weld was obtained; however, due to the limited scan surface on the nozzle and safe-end sides, complete coverage for reflectors located parallel to the weld was not obtained.
3.5 Licensees Justification for Relief:
Obtaining the required ultrasonic examination volume for the subject welds would require re-design and replacement of the pressurizer head or the pressurizer and attached piping systems. This is impractical and would be a burden for the licensee.
Complete Code coverage of the examination volume was obtained for reflectors transverse to the weld; therefore, axially oriented cracks should have been detected. For reflectors parallel to the weld, at least one direction of coverage was obtained through the entire examination volume. In addition, a 45 shear wave examination was performed as an aid in detecting any cracks that may have propagated into the carbon steel nozzle. With the coverage obtained, the licensee finds there is reasonable assurance that significant circumferential cracking would have been detected and that the structural integrity of the weld is being maintained.
4.0 EVALUATION The NRC staff has reviewed the information and drawings submitted by the licensee for the third 10-year ISI program Request for Relief No. RR-50.
ASME Section XI, Table IWB-2500-1, Examination Category B-F, Item No. B5.40, requires 100-percent volumetric and surface examinations of the subject welds. The licensee was unable to obtain the full 100-percent volumetric coverage of the subject welds identified in Table 1. The volumetric examinations of the subject welds were limited due to the configuration of the welds, piping, and pressurizer head. In order to obtain the required examination coverage, redesign and modification of the subject components would be necessary. Imposition of this requirement would result in a significant burden on the licensee. Therefore, the 100-percent volumetric examination coverage is impractical.
The licensee has examined the subject welds to the extent practical. The licensee has obtained volumetric coverages of approximately 81 percent for each of the subject welds. In addition, the licensee was able to complete the required surface examinations for these welds.
These examinations should have detected any significant areas of degradation, if present, and therefore, provide reasonable assurance of continued structural integrity.
5.0 CONCLUSION
For Request for Relief No. RR-50, the NRC staff concludes that the requirements of the Code are impractical and the examinations performed provide reasonable assurance of structural integrity of the subject components. Therefore, relief is granted pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(i) for the third 10-year ISI interval at Farley-1. Granting relief pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(g)(6)(i) is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property, or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest given due consideration to the burden upon the licensee that could result if the requirements were imposed on the licensee.
Principal Contributor: Andrea Keim Date: November 7, 2002
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant cc:
Mr. Don E. Grissette General Manager -
Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 470 Ashford, Alabama 36312 Mr. Mark Ajluni, Licensing Manager Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295 Mr. M. Stanford Blanton Balch and Bingham Law Firm Post Office Box 306 1710 Sixth Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35201 Mr. J. D. Woodard Executive Vice President Southern Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201 State Health Officer Alabama Department of Public Health 434 Monroe Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1701 Chairman Houston County Commission Post Office Box 6406 Dothan, Alabama 36302 Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 7388 N. State Highway 95 Columbia, Alabama 36319 William D. Oldfield SAER Supervisor Southern Nuclear Operating Company P. O. Box 470 Ashford, Alabama 36312 Mr. D. N. Morey Vice President - Farley Project Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201-1295