ML032200027
| ML032200027 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 10/02/2003 |
| From: | Nerses V NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 |
| To: | Christian D Dominion Nuclear Connecticut |
| Nerses V, NRR//DLPM, 415-1484 | |
| References | |
| TAC MB9897 | |
| Download: ML032200027 (10) | |
Text
October 2, 2003 Mr. David A. Christian Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Innsbrook Technical Center 5000 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060-6771
SUBJECT:
MILLSTONE POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 3 - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT RELATED TO THE EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50.44, 10 CFR 50.46, AND 10 CFR PART 50, APPENDIX K (TAC NO. MB9897)
Dear Mr. Christian:
Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application for exemptions from the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46, and Appendix K. The proposed exemptions would allow the use of eight lead test assemblies containing fuel rods, guide thimble tubes, and instrumentation tubes fabricated with Optimized ZIRLO, a cladding material that contains a nominally lower tin content than the already approved ZIRLO material.
This action is in response to your letter dated July 1, 2003.
The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Victor Nerses, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-336
Enclosure:
As Stated cc w/encl: See next page
October 2, 2003 Mr. David A. Christian Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Innsbrook Technical Center 5000 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060-6771
SUBJECT:
MILLSTONE POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 3 - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT RELATED TO THE EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50.44, 10 CFR 50.46, AND 10 CFR PART 50, APPENDIX K (TAC NO. MB9897)
Dear Mr. Christian:
Enclosed is a copy of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact related to your application for exemptions from the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46, and Appendix K. The proposed exemptions would allow the use of eight lead test assemblies containing fuel rods, guide thimble tubes, and instrumentation tubes fabricated with Optimized ZIRLO, a cladding material that contains a nominally lower tin content than the already approved ZIRLO material.
This action is in response to your letter dated July 1, 2003.
The assessment is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Victor Nerses, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-336
Enclosure:
As Stated cc w/encl: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC PDI-2 R/F CHolden OGC JClifford ACRS JTappert CRaynor VNerses GMiller MShuaibi GHill (2)
RSummers, RGN I ADAMS Accession Number: ML032200027 OFFICE PDI-2/PM PDI-2/LA RLEP/SC OGC PDI-2/SC NAME VNerses CRaynor LZaccari for JTappert TKenyon for RWeisman JClifford DATE 8/26/03 8/18/03 8/29/03 9/23/03 9/30/03 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Millstone Power Station Unit 3 cc:
Lillilan M. Cuoco, Esquire Senior Counsel Dominion Resources Services, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Edward L. Wilds, Jr., Ph.D.
Director, Division of Radiation Department of Environmental Protection 79 Elm Street Hartford, CT 06106-5127 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 First Selectmen Town of Waterford 15 Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. P. J. Parulis Manager - Nuclear Oversight Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. W. R. Matthews Senior Vice President - Nuclear Operations Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. John Markowicz Co-Chair Nuclear Energy Advisory Council 9 Susan Terrace Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. Evan W. Woollacott Co-Chair Nuclear Energy Advisory Council 128 Terrys Plain Road Simsbury, CT 06070 Senior Resident Inspector Millstone Power Station c/o U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P. O. Box 513 Niantic, CT 06357 Mr. G. D. Hicks Director - Nuclear Station Safety and Licensing Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Ms. Nancy Burton 147 Cross Highway Redding Ridge, CT 00870 Mr. William D. Meinert Nuclear Engineer Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company Moody Street P.O. Box 426 Ludlow, MA 01056 Mr. J. Alan Price Site Vice President Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. Chris Funderburk Director, Nuclear Licensing and Operations Support Dominion Resources Services, Inc.
5000 Dominion Boulevard Glen Allen, VA 23060-6711
Millstone Power Station Unit 3 cc:
Mr. David W. Dodson Licensing Supervisor Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. S. E. Scace Assistant to the Site Vice President Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. M. J. Wilson Manager - Nuclear Training Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. A. J. Jordan, Jr.
Director - Nuclear Engineering Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385 Mr. S. P. Sarver Director - Nuclear Station Operations and Maintenance Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.
Rope Ferry Road Waterford, CT 06385
7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DOMINION NUCLEAR CONNECTICUT, INC.
DOCKET NO. 50-423 MILLSTONE POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 3 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of exemptions from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46, and Appendix K, for Facility Operating License No. NPF-49, issued to Dominion Nuclear Connecticut (the licensee), for operation of the Millstone Power Station, Unit No. 3 (MP3), located in Waterford, Connecticut. Therefore, pursuant to 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 exempt MP3 from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46 and Appendix K, to allow the use of up to eight Lead Test Assemblies (LTAs) fabricated with Optimized ZIRLO, a cladding material that contains a nominally lower tin content than previously approved cladding materials.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensees application dated July 1, 2003.
The Need for the Proposed Action:
As the nuclear industry pursues longer operating cycles with increased fuel discharge burnups and more aggressive fuel management, the corrosion performance specifications for the nuclear fuel cladding become more demanding. Industry data indicates that corrosion resistance improves for cladding with a lower tin content. The optimum tin level provides a reduced corrosion rate while maintaining the benefits of mechanical strengthening and resistance to accelerated corrosion from abnormal chemistry conditions. In addition, fuel rod internal pressures (resulting from the increased fuel duty, use of integral fuel burnable absorbers and corrosion/temperature feedback effects) have become more limiting with respect to fuel rod design criteria. By reducing the associated corrosion buildup, and thus, minimizing temperature feedback effects, additional margin to fuel rod internal pressure design criteria is obtained.
As part of a program to address these issues, the Westinghouse Electric Company has developed an LTA program, in cooperation with the licensee, that includes a fuel cladding with a tin content lower than the currently licensed range for ZIRLO. The NRCs regulations in 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46, and Appendix K, make no provision for use of fuel rods clad in a material other than Zircalloy or ZIRLO. The licensee has requested the use of up to eight LTAs with a tin composition that is less than that specified in the licensing basis for ZIRLO, as defined in Westinghouse design specifications. Therefore, use of the LTAs calls for exemptions from 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.44, Section 50.46, and Appendix K.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action:
The NRC staff has completed its environmental evaluation of the proposed action and concludes that the proposed exemptions would not increase the probability or consequences of accidents previously analyzed, and would not affect facility radiation levels or facility radiological effluents.
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 offsite, 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 involve 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 staff 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 resources than those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement for MP3, dated December 1984.
Agencies and Persons Consulted:
On August 22, 2003, the staff consulted with the Connecticut State official, Mr. Michael Firsick, of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 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 1, 2003. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 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 NRCs 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 2nd day of October 2003.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
James W. Clifford, Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation