ML023640348

Request for Additional Information Regarding Amendment Request to Increase New Fuel Storage Rack Enrichment Limit

ML023640348
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley
Issue date:	12/30/2002
From:	Dan Collins NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To:	Bezilla M FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
Collins D S, NRR/DLPM, 415-1427
References
TAC MB5301
Download: ML023640348 (4)

Text

December 30, 2002 Mr. Mark B. Bezilla Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Beaver Valley Power Station Post Office Box 4 Shippingport, PA 15077

SUBJECT:

BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION, UNIT NO 2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING AMENDMENT REQUEST TO INCREASE NEW FUEL STORAGE RACK ENRICHMENT LIMIT (TAC NO. MB5301)

Dear Mr. Bezilla:

By letter dated May 31, 2002, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) submitted a request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 2 (BVPS2), to increase the new fuel storage rack enrichment limit to 5.00 weight percent (w/o) U-235.

The NRC staff is reviewing information provided in the application and in a September 11, 2002, supplement to the application. We have determined that additional information is needed in order for the NRC staff to complete its evaluation. This RAI was discussed with Mr. Ron Fedin of your staff on December 16, 2002. FENOC staff indicated that a response would be provided to the enclosed request for additional information (RAI) by January 15, 2003. If circumstances result in a need to revise that schedule, please call me at the earliest possible opportunity.

If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at (301) 415-1427.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Daniel Collins, Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-412

Enclosure:

RAI cc w/encl: See next page

December 30, 2002 Mr. Mark B. Bezilla Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Beaver Valley Power Station Post Office Box 4 Shippingport, PA 15077

SUBJECT:

BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION, UNIT NO 2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING AMENDMENT REQUEST TO INCREASE NEW FUEL STORAGE RACK ENRICHMENT LIMIT (TAC NO. MB5301)

Dear Mr. Bezilla:

By letter dated May 31, 2002, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) submitted a request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 2 (BVPS2), to increase the new fuel storage rack enrichment limit to 5.00 weight percent (w/o) U-235.

The NRC staff is reviewing information provided in the application and in a September 11, 2002, supplement to the application. We have determined that additional information is needed in order for the NRC staff to complete its evaluation. This RAI was discussed with Mr. Ron Fedin of your staff on December 16, 2002. FENOC staff indicated that a response would be provided to the enclosed request for additional information (RAI) by January 15, 2003. If circumstances result in a need to revise that schedule, please call me at the earliest possible opportunity.

If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at (301) 415-1427.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Daniel Collins, Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-412

Enclosure:

RAI cc w/encl: See next page DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC MOBrien ACRS SRichards PDI-1 Reading DCollins OGC BPlatchek, RGN-I SColpo RLaufer FAkstulewicz DOCUMENT NAME: C:\ORPCheckout\FileNET\ML023640348.wpd ACCESSION NO. ML023640348 *see previous concurrence OFFICE PDI-1/PM PDI-1/LA SRXB/SC PDI-1/SC NAME DCollins MOBrien FAkstulewicz* RLaufer DATE 12/27/02 12/27/02 12/23/02 12/30/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2 Mary OReilly, Attorney Rich Janati, Chief FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Division of Nuclear Safety FirstEnergy Corporation Bureau of Radiation Protection 76 South Main Street Deparment of Environmental Protection Akron, OH 44308 Rachel Carson State Office Building P.O. Box 8469 FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 Regulatory Affairs/Corrective Action Section Larry R. Freeland, Manager Mayor of the Borough of Beaver Valley Power Station Shippingport Post Office Box 4, BV-A P O Box 3 Shippingport, PA 15077 Shippingport, PA 15077 Commissioner James R. Lewis Regional Administrator, Region I West Virginia Division of Labor U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 749-B, Building No. 6 475 Allendale Road Capitol Complex King of Prussia, PA 19406 Charleston, WV 25305 Resident Inspector Director, Utilities Department U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Utilities Commission Post Office Box 298 180 East Broad Street Shippingport, PA 15077 Columbus, OH 43266-0573 FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Director, Pennsylvania Emergency Beaver Valley Power Station Management Agency ATTN: M. P. Pearson, Director 2605 Interstate Dr. Services and Projects (BV-IPAB)

Harrisburg, PA 17110-9364 Post Office Box 4 Shippingport, PA 15077 Ohio EPA-DERR ATTN: Zack A. Clayton FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Post Office Box 1049 Beaver Valley Power Station Columbus, OH 43266-0149 Mr. B. F. Sepelak Post Office Box 4, BV-A Dr. Judith Johnsrud Shippingport, PA 15077 National Energy Committee Sierra Club 433 Orlando Avenue State College, PA 16803 L. W. Pearce, Plant Manager (BV-IPAB)

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Beaver Valley Power Station Post Office Box 4 Shippingport, PA 15077

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING AMENDMENT REQUEST TO INCREASE NEW FUEL STORAGE RACK ENRICHMENT LIMIT BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET NO. 50-412 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff, is reviewing FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Companys (FENOC) May 31, 2002, application (L-02-070) and the associated supplement dated September 11, 2002 (L-02-093) for an amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-73 for the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 2 (BVPS2), which would allow new fuel with an enrichment of 5.00 weight percent (w/o) U-235 to be placed into and stored in the BVPS-2 new fuel storage racks.

The NRC staff has determined that additional clarification of FENOCs response to the staffs second question addressed in the September 11, 2002, supplement is needed in order to complete the NRC review of the amendment request. The following is a revision of the staffs previous question #2.

1. NUREG/CR-6698 is a guide for validation of nuclear criticality safety calculational methodologies. Table 2.3 of this NUREG contains physical parameters for areas of applicability, including enrichment. A range of appropriate evaluated benchmark experiments is listed given the enrichment to be modeled. There is no question that the benchmark experiments used for the validation are appropriate if they fall within the range listed in the table. However if the experiments to be credited do not fall within the specified ranges, justification must be provided as to why the experiments used are appropriate.

Page 3, Section 4, of the enclosure to the May 31, 2002, application stated that the methods used in the criticality analysis conform with ANSI/ANS 8.1. From our review, we cannot confirm how you satisfy the requirements of this ANSI standard. Please describe how your methods demonstrate compliance with ANSI/ANS 8.1, paragraph 4.3.1, Establishment of Bias, and 4.3.2, Bias Trends, as they relate to areas of applicability, specifically isotopic composition requirements for critical benchmark experiments. This is of particular importance because it is used to establish the validity of your calculated keff.

Explain why the low-enriched experiments detailed in WCAP-14416 (i.e., 2.35 w/o and 2.46 w/o) which supplement the 4.31% enriched experiments are applicable for your validation even though they fall beyond the experimental range suggested by NUREG/CR-6698, Table 2.3.

Enclosure