ML040500593
| ML040500593 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 03/12/2004 |
| From: | Scott Wall NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 |
| To: | Crane C Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear |
| Wall, S. NRR/DLPM 415-2855 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML040720611 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC MC1615 | |
| Download: ML040500593 (10) | |
Text
March 12, 2004 Mr. Christopher M. Crane President and Chief Nuclear Officer Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-E Kennett Square, PA 19348
SUBJECT:
LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1615)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 170 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-39 for the Limerick Generating Station, Unit 1. This amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated December 22, 2003, as supplemented by [[letter::A144306, Response to RAI Concerning Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change, License Amendment Request: AR A1443067|letter dated February 13, 2004]].
This amendment revises the safety limit minimum critical power ratio value in TS 2.1 with the reactor steam dome pressure greater than 785 psig and core flow greater than 10% of rated core flow from the current specification of 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation-loop operation and from 1.11 to 1.08 for single recirculation-loop operation.
A copy of our safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA by DRoberts for/
Scott P. Wall, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-352
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 170 to License No. NPF-39
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
March 12, 2004 Mr. Christopher M. Crane President and Chief Nuclear Officer Exelon Nuclear Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-E Kennett Square, PA 19348
SUBJECT:
LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1615)
Dear Mr. Crane:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 170 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-39 for the Limerick Generating Station, Unit 1. This amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated December 22, 2003, as supplemented by [[letter::A144306, Response to RAI Concerning Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change, License Amendment Request: AR A1443067|letter dated February 13, 2004]].
This amendment revises the safety limit minimum critical power ratio value in TS 2.1 with the reactor steam dome pressure greater than 785 psig and core flow greater than 10% of rated core flow from the current specification of 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation-loop operation and from 1.11 to 1.08 for single recirculation-loop operation.
A copy of our safety evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA by DRoberts for/
Scott P. Wall, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-352
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 170 to License No. NPF-39
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC PD1-2 R/F DRoberts SWall MOBrien FAkstulewicz OGC ACRS GHill (2)
TBoyce THuang CBixler, RGN-I BPham Accession Number: ML040500593 TS(s): ML Package: ML040720611
- Safety Evaluation dated February 24, 2004
- See previous concurrence OFFICE PDI-2\\PM SRXB\\SC*
IROB\\SC**
PDI-2\\LA OGC**
PDI-2\\SC(A)
NAME DRoberts for SWall FAkstulewicz TBoyce MOBrien JHull DRoberts DATE 03/12/04 2/24/04 3/9/04 03/12/04 3/11/04 03/12/04 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2 cc:
Chief Operating Officer Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Site Vice President Limerick Generating Station Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464 Plant Manager Limerick Generating Station Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464 Regulatory Assurance Manager - Limerick Exelon Generation Company, LLC P.O. Box 2300 Sanatoga, PA 19464 Senior Vice President - Nuclear Services Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Vice President - Mid-Atlantic Operations Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 3-N Kennett Square, PA 19348 Vice President - Operations Support Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Vice President Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Exelon Generation Company, LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 Director Licensing Exelon Generation Company, LLC Nuclear Group Headquarters Correspondence Control P. O. Box 160 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Manager Licensing Limerick and Peach Bottom Exelon Generation Company, LLC Nuclear Group Headquarters Correspondence Control P.O. Box 160 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Vice President General Counsel and Secretary Exelon Generation Company, LLC 2301 Market Street, S23-1 Philadelphia, PA 19101 Correspondence Control Desk Exelon Generation Company, LLC 200 Exelon Way, KSA 1-N-1 Kennett Square, PA 19348 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Senior Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Limerick Generating Station P.O. Box 596 Pottstown, PA 19464 Library U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2 cc:
Chief-Division of Nuclear Safety PA Dept. of Environmental Resources P.O. Box 8469 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8469 Chairman Board of Supervisors of Limerick Township 646 West Ridge Pike Linfield, PA 19468 Dr. Judith Johnsrud National Energy Committee Sierra Club 433 Orlando Avenue State College, PA 16803
EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC DOCKET NO. 50-352 LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 170 License No. NPF-39 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee), dated December 22, 2003, as supplemented by [[letter::A144306, Response to RAI Concerning Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change, License Amendment Request: AR A1443067|letter dated February 13, 2004]], 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-39 is hereby amended to read as follows:
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, as revised through Amendment No. 170, are hereby incorporated in the license. Exelon Generation 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.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Darrell J. Roberts, Acting Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 12, 2004
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 170 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-39 DOCKET NO. 50-352 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 Insert 2-1 2-1 B 2-1 B 2-1
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 170 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-57 EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-352
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated December 22, 2003, as supplemented by [[letter::A144306, Response to RAI Concerning Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change, License Amendment Request: AR A1443067|letter dated February 13, 2004]], Exelon Generation Company, LLC (the licensee) requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for the Limerick Generating Station (LGS), Unit 1. The supplement dated February 13, 2004, provided additional information that clarified the application, did not expand the scope of the application as originally noticed, and did not change the staffs original proposed no significant hazards consideration determination as published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2004 (69 FR 5203).
The proposed changes would revise the safety limit minimum critical power ratio (SLMCPR) value in TS 2.1 with the reactor steam dome pressure greater than 785 psig and core flow greater than 10% of rated core flow from the current specification from 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation-loop operation and from 1.11 to 1.08 for single recirculation-loop operation.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The licensee identified the applicable regulatory requirements in Section 5.0 of its December 22, 2003, submittal. The regulatory requirements that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff considered in its review of the application are in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 50, Section 36 (10 CFR 50.36), Technical Specifications.
The regulations (10 CFR 50.36) require that a safety limit be included in the plant-specific TSs.
Part 50 of 10 CFR, Appendix A, General Design Criterion (GDC) 10, requires that the reactor core and associated coolant, control, and protective system be designed with appropriate margin to assure that specified acceptable fuel design limits are not exceeded during steady state operation, normal operational transients, and anticipated operational occurrences. To ensure compliance with GDC 10 of Appendix A, 10 CFR Part 50, the staff will confirm, as part of its review, that the licensee performed the plant-specific SLMCPR analyses using NRC-approved methodologies as prescribed in NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan, Section 4.4.
The SLMCPR ensures that sufficient conservatism exists in the operating MCPR limit such that, in the event of an anticipated operational occurrence, at least 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid boiling transition for the power distribution within the core, including all uncertainties.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
In the December 22, 2003, submittal, the licensee referenced NRC-approved methodologies to calculate the proposed SLMCPR values. Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) performed the SLMCPR analysis using plant-and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters. In addition, GNF used the NRC-approved methodologies, which include NEDC-32505-P, Revision 1, R-Factor Calculation Method for GE11,GE12 and GE13 Fuel; NEDO-10958-A, General Electric Boiling Water Reactor Thermal Analysis Basis (GETAB); NEDC-32601-P, Methodology and Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations; NEDC-32694-P, Power Distribution Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations; and Amendment 25 to NEDE-24011-P-A, General Electric Standard Application for Reactor Fuel (GESTAR II). The licensees supplement of February 13, 2004, provided further information concerning the power shape penalty rationale and fuel bundle identification values.
The staff reviewed: (1) the licensees justification for the change to the SLMCPR from 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation-loop operation, and from 1.11 to 1.08 for single recirculation-loop operation using the approach delineated in Amendment 25 to GESTAR II; and (2) the adequacy of the SLMCPR calculation with respect to the end-of-cycle (EOC) penalty for an upskew or double-hump power shape through the cycle.
The licensee explained the overall decrease of the SLMCPR values for the LGS1 Cycle-11 operation with respect to that for the Cycle-10 operation. Considering the increase of R-factor uncertainty, the net calculated reduction in SLMCPR values from Cycle 10 to Cycle 11 is due mainly to use of the NRC-approved revised power distribution model and its associated reduced power distribution uncertainties. The licensee also confirmed that there is no double-hump power shape through the cycle.
The staff has reviewed the licensees justification to address the SLMCPR reduction of 0.03 for both two recirculation-loop operation and single recirculation-loop operation corresponding to the SLMCPR penalty issue. The staff has concluded that the licensees justification for those two issues is acceptable because the calculation results, which are based on NRC-approved methodologies, indicate that the proposed SLMCPR values are indeed conservative. The proposed LGS1 Cycle-11 SLMCPR values will ensure that 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core will not experience boiling transition, which satisfies the requirements of GDC 10 regarding specified acceptable fuel design limits. The staff concludes that the justification for analyzing and determining the SLMCPR value of 1.07 for two recirculation-loop operation and 1.08 for single recirculation-loop operation is acceptable for LGS1 Cycle-11, since NRC-approved methodologies listed above are used.
The NRC staff has reviewed the request by Exelon Generation Company, LLC, to revise the TSs for LGS1 Cycle-11 operation. Based on the review, the staff concludes that the proposed TS changes are acceptable because the licensee used NRC-approved methodologies and followed their calculation procedures to verify the accuracy of the results.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Pennsylvania State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The 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. 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 (69 FR 5203). 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 Commission 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 Commissions 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: T. Huang Date: March 12, 2004