ML032471679
| ML032471679 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinton  |
| Issue date: | 09/29/2003 |
| From: | Pickett D NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3 |
| To: | Skolds J AmerGen Energy Co |
| Pickett , NRR/DLPM, 415-1364 | |
| References | |
| TAC MB5737 | |
| Download: ML032471679 (11) | |
Text
September 29, 2003 Mr. John L. Skolds, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, Illinois 60555
SUBJECT:
CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT (TAC NO. MB5737)
Dear Mr. Skolds:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 159 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for the Clinton Power Station, Unit 1. The amendment is in response to your application dated July 31, 2002 (RS-02-119), and supplemented by letters dated March 7 (RS-03-048) and August 28, 2003 (RS-03-169).
The amendment revises Appendix A, Technical Specifications (TSs), of the Operating License by adding a Surveillance Requirement (SR) to TS 3.2.2, Minimum Critical Power Ratio (MCPR), that requires determination of the MCPR limits following completion of control rod scram time testing. The new SR provides for the required evaluation necessary to apply faster scram times to provide for improved MCPR operating limits.
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Douglas V. Pickett, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-461
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 159 to NPF-62
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
September 29, 2003 Distribution w/encls:
PUBLIC GHill (2)
PD3-2 r/f OGC Mr. John L. Skolds, Chairman ACRS WBeckner and Chief Executive Officer GGrant, RIII FAkstulewicz AmerGen Energy Company, LLC THuang DPickett 4300 Winfield Road THarris AMendiola Warrenville, Illinois 60555
SUBJECT:
CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT (TAC NO. MB5737)
Dear Mr. Skolds:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 159 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for the Clinton Power Station, Unit 1. The amendment is in response to your application dated July 31, 2002 (RS-02-119), and supplemented by letters dated March 7 (RS-03-048) and August 28, 2003 (RS-03-169).
The amendment revises Appendix A, Technical Specifications (TSs), of the Operating License by adding a Surveillance Requirement (SR) to TS 3.2.2, Minimum Critical Power Ratio (MCPR), that requires determination of the MCPR limits following completion of control rod scram time testing. The new SR provides for the required evaluation necessary to apply faster scram times to provide for improved MCPR operating limits.
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Douglas V. Pickett, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate III Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-461
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 159 to NPF-62
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page ADAMS Accession Number: ML032000000 (Package)
ADAMS Accession Number: ML032471679 (Letter)
ADAMS Accession Number: ML032000000 (Technical Specifications)
OFFICE PM:PD3-2 LA:PD3-2 SC:SRXB OGC SC:PD3-2 NAME DPickett THarris FAkstulewicz*
LZaccari AMendiola DATE 09/11/03 09/11/03 9/05/03 09/15/03 09/24/03 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
- See FAkstulewicz to DPickett memorandum dated 9/5/03
Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 cc:
Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Vice President Operations Support AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Vice President - Licensing and Regulatory Affairs AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Manager Licensing - Clinton and LaSalle AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Regulatory Assurance Manager - Clinton AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Clinton Power Station RR3, Box 228 Clinton, IL 61727-9351 Director Licensing AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Document Control Desk-Licensing AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Site Vice President - Clinton Power Station AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Clinton Power Station RR 3, Box 228 Clinton, IL 61727-9351 Clinton Power Station Plant Manager AmerGen Energy Company, LLC Clinton Power Station RR 3, Box 228 Clinton, IL 61727-9351 Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission RR #3, Box 229A Clinton, IL 61727 Chief Operating Officer AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Regional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 801 Warrenville Road Lisle, IL 60532-4351 Senior Counsel, Nuclear AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 R. T. Hill Licensing Services Manager General Electric Company 175 Curtner Avenue, M/C 481 San Jose, CA 95125 Chairman of DeWitt County c/o County Clerks Office DeWitt County Courthouse Clinton, IL 61727 J. W. Blattner Project Manager Sargent & Lundy Engineers 55 East Monroe Street Chicago, IL 60603 Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Disaster Assistance &
Preparedness 110 East Adams Street Springfield, IL 62701-1109
AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-461 CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 159 License No. NPF-62 1.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (the licensee), dated July 31, 2002, and supplemented by letters dated March 7, and August 28, 2003, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B.
The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C.
There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations; D.
The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E.
The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.
2.
Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.(2) of Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, as revised through Amendment No.
159 are hereby incorporated into this license. AmerGen Energy Company, LLC shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.
3.
This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days of the date of issuance.
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
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: September 29, 2003
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 159 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-62 DOCKET NO. 50-461 Replace the following pages of the Appendix "A" Technical Specifications with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.
Remove Pages Insert Pages 3.2-2 3.2-2 3.2-2a
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 159 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-62 AMERGEN ENERGY COMPANY, LLC CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-461
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated July 31, 2002, and supplemented by letters dated March 7, and August 28, 2003, AmerGen Energy Company LLC (the licensee), proposed changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for Clinton Power Station (CPS), Unit 1. The proposed change includes adding a surveillance requirement (SR) to determine the minimum critical power ratio (MCPR) operating limit following the performance of control rod scram time testing.
The supplemental letters contained clarifying information and did not change the initial no significant hazards consideration determination and did not expand the scope of the original Federal Register Notice.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The analytical methods and assumptions used to establish the operating limit MCPR are presented in the Clinton Updated Safety Analysis Report Chapters 4, 6, and 15. To ensure that the MCPR safety limit (SL) is not exceeded during any transient event that occurs with moderate frequency, limiting transients have been analyzed to determine the largest reduction in critical power ratio (CPR). The types of transients evaluated are loss of flow, increase in pressure and power, positive reactivity insertion, and coolant temperature decrease. The limiting transient yields the largest change in CPR (CPR). When the largest CPR is added to the MCPR SL, the required operating limit MCPR is obtained.
The regulatory requirements that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff considered in its review of the application are in 10 CFR 50.36, Technical Specifications, which provides the regulatory requirements for the content required in a licensees TS. 10 CFR 50.36(c)(3) requires that the TS will include SRs to assure that the limiting conditions for operation will be met. The proposed SR will assure the improved MCPR operating limits based on scram times are met.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
The function of the MCPR operating limit is to ensure that no fuel damage results during anticipated operational occurrences. The NRC has approved the methodology of NEDE-24011-P-A, General Electric Standard Application for Reactor Fuel, GESTAR-II, for determining MCPR operating limits. GESTAR-II offers two acceptable methods for determining the MCPR operating limit (i.e., Option A and Option B).
Option A uses the scram times required by TS Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.1.4, Control Rod Scram Times, to determine the MCPR operating limit. Prior to the use of GE14 fuel, the Clinton facility has calculated their MCPR operating limit using Option A from GESTAR-II. The BWR/2 through BWR/5 type plants have credited the application of a mean scram speed operating limit (i.e., Option B). Faster scram speeds produce lower, improved MCPR operating limits. Using the GE14 fuel, the Clinton facility now records faster scram times and could benefit by implementing Option B in determining the MCPR operating limit.
The licensee proposes to add SR 3.2.2.2 to TS 3.2.2, Minimum Critical Power Ratio (MCPR) that requires determination of the MCPR limits following completion of control rod scram time testing when thermal power 21.6 percent rated thermal power. The proposed SR will require determination of the operating limit MCPR based on the scram time results. The operating limit MCPR can be revised as a result of the use of Option B scram times and the cycle-specific analysis performed in support of current Cycle 9 operations.
The licensee has provided the following rationale for the proposed changes:
(1) Proposed SR 3.2.2.2 does not change the scram time calculation method; (2) The purpose of this SR is to require the evaluation of the scram time test results to determine the applicable MCPR operating limit in accordance with the Option B methodology; (3) Historically, the BWR/6 plants using the Option A method have not been limited by pressurization events. However, with the implementation of GE14 fuel for Clinton Cycle 9, pressurization events have become more limiting which is similar to most BWR/4 plants using the Option B methodology; and (4) Proposed SR 3.2.2.2 is based on the standard improved TSs for BWR/4 facilities and the frequency proposed in SR 3.2.2.2 (i.e., within 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> following completion of the scram time tests) is consistent with the standard TS.
The Option A methodology provides a more restrictive MCPR operating limit for pressurization events since Option A scram times are typically slower than the actual scram times. The Option B analysis yields a less restrictive operating limit based on the actual scram times associated with the CPS control rod drives and therefore provides additional operating flexibility.
The CPS Option B scram time analysis is documented in GE Nuclear Energy Report GE-NE-0000-0000-7456-01P, Option B Scram Times for Clinton Power Station, February 2002, which was included in the licensees letter dated March 7, 2003.
Control rod scram times can be obtained by either 1) individually scramming a control rod and measuring the time using the process computer and the transient analysis recording system, or
- 2) automatic data acquisition during an automatic reactor scram. A control rod is timed from full out to full in with the times recorded at rod notch positions 43, 29 and 13 to ensure compliance with the SRs. Control rod scram time testing is performed in accordance with CPS TS LCO 3.1.4, Control Rod Scram Times.
The staff has reviewed the subject application and supporting analyses. Based on our review, we have concluded that the proposed modification to add SR 3.2.2.2 to TS 3.2.2 is acceptable because: (1) the methodology for use of the Option B and Option A limits has been previously approved by the NRC and is included in NEDE-24011-P-A, General Electric Standard Application for Reactor Fuel, GESTAR-II, as amended through Amendment 26; (2) both methodologies yield the function of the MCPR operating limit to ensure that no fuel damage results during anticipated operational occurrences and that the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio is not exceeded; (3) the fast scram times for the BWR/6 plants is a direct result of the control rod drive systems mechanical design and not a reflection of the test methodology; and (4) the Option B will provide additional operational flexibility to compensate for loss of the MCPR margin due to the new core design (i.e., decreased heat transfer time from fuel rod to coolant due to reduced fuel rod diameter such as GE-14 fuel results in relatively greater increase in the CPR from pressurization transients than does for local events such as a rod withdrawal error for non-pressurization events).
Based on our review, the staff concludes that the above described TS changes and associated Bases to add a SR to TS 3.2.2 to determine the MCPR limit following the performance of control rod scram time testing is acceptable because the supporting analysis for the proposed TS changes are based on an NRC approved methodology.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Illinois State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
This amendment changes a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 or changes a surveillance requirement. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types, of any effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration and there has been no public comment on such finding (67 FR 58637). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b),
no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.
6.0 CONCLUSION
The staff has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributor: Tai Huang, NRR Date: September 29, 2003