ML040630732
| ML040630732 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 03/22/2004 |
| From: | Richard Ennis NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1 |
| To: | Kansler M Entergy Nuclear Operations |
| Ennis R, NRR/DLPM, 415-1420 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC1482 | |
| Download: ML040630732 (12) | |
Text
March 22, 2004 Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601
SUBJECT:
VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1482)
Dear Mr. Kansler:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 217 to Facility Operating License DPR-28 for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), in response to your application dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004.
The amendment revises the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio values in Technical Specification 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.
A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 217 to License No. DPR-28
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601
SUBJECT:
VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1482)
Dear Mr. Kansler:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 217 to Facility Operating License DPR-28 for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), in response to your application dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004.
The amendment revises the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio values in Technical Specification 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.
A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 217 to License No. DPR-28
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC CRaynor FAkstulewicz CAnderson, RGN-I PDI-2 Reading REnnis THuang AHowe OGC TBoyce DRoberts ACRS GHill (2)
Accession No.: ML040630732 OFFICE PDI-2/PM PDI-2/LA SRXB/SC IROB/SC OGC PDI-2/SC(A)
NAME REnnis CRaynor FAkstulewicz TBoyce SLewis DRoberts DATE 3/3/04 3/3/04 3/4/04 3/4/04 3/10/04 3/21/04 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:
Regional Administrator, Region I U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Mr. David R. Lewis Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge 2300 N Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1128 Ms. Christine S. Salembier, Commissioner Vermont Department of Public Service 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 Mr. Michael H. Dworkin, Chairman Public Service Board State of Vermont 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2701 Chairman, Board of Selectmen Town of Vernon P.O. Box 116 Vernon, VT 05354-0116 Mr. Michael Hamer Operating Experience Coordinator Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 320 Governor Hunt Road Vernon, VT 05354 G. Dana Bisbee, Esq.
Deputy Attorney General 33 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301-6937 Chief, Safety Unit Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place, 19th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Ms. Deborah B. Katz Box 83 Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 Mr. Raymond N. McCandless Vermont Department of Health Division of Occupational and Radiological Health 108 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05402 Manager, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC P.O. Box 0500 185 Old Ferry Road Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 Resident Inspector Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 176 Vernon, VT 05354 Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency ATTN: James Muckerheide 400 Worcester Rd.
Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Jonathan M. Block, Esq.
Main Street P.O. Box 566 Putney, VT 05346-0566 Mr. John Kelly Director, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Gary Taylor Chief Executive Officer Entergy Operations 1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:
Mr. John Herron Sr. VP and Chief Operating Officer Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Dan Pace Vice President, Engineering Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Randall Edington Vice President, Operations Support Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Director of Oversight Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. John M. Fulton Assistant General Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Jay K. Thayer Site Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station P.O. Box 0500 185 Old Ferry Road Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 Mr. Ken L. Graesser BWR SRC Consultant 38832 N. Ashley Drive Lake Villa, IL 60046 Jim Sniezek BWR SRC Consultant 5486 Nithsdale Drive Salisbury, MD 21801 Mr. Ron Toole BWR SRC Consultant 605 West Horner Street Ebensburg, PA 15931 Ms. Stacey Lousteau Treasury Department Entergy Services, Inc.
639 Loyola Avenue, Mail Stop L-ENT-15E New Orleans, LA 70113 Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Raymond Shadis New England Coalition Post Office Box 98 Edgecomb, ME 04556 Mr. James P. Matteau Executive Director Windham Regional Commission 139 Main Street, Suite 505 Brattleboro, VT 05301 Mr. William K. Sherman Vermont Department of Public Service 112 State Street Drawer 20 Montpelier, VT 05620-2601
ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE, LLC AND ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.
DOCKET NO. 50-271 VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 217 License No. DPR-28 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment filed by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensees) dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 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 3.B of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(B)
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 217, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
3.
This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 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 22, 2004
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 217 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-28 DOCKET NO. 50-271 Replace the following page of the Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised page. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains a marginal line indicating the area of change.
Remove Insert 6
6
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 217 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-28 ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE, LLC AND ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.
VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION DOCKET NO. 50-271
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By letter dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004 (References 1 and 2),
Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) submitted a request to amend the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS)
Technical Specifications (TSs). The supplement dated February 9, 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 January 20, 2004 (69 FR 2741).
The proposed amendment would revise the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) values in TS 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
As discussed in the VYNPS Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) Section 3.7, and the Bases for TS 1.1, the SLMCPR is a fuel design limit that is set to ensure that no fuel damage is calculated to occur if the limit is not violated. The SLMCPR is specified such that at least 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid boiling transition during the most severe abnormal operational transient, considering the power distribution in the core and all uncertainties. This method of selecting an operating limit is conservative because no fuel damage would be expected to occur even if a fuel rod experienced a boiling transition.
The SLMCPR values are determined using a statistical model that combines all the uncertainties in the operating parameters and the procedures used to calculate critical power.
The SLMCPR values are calculated prior to each plant operating cycle based on the plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters.
The construction permit for VYNPS was issued by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on December 11, 1967. As discussed in Appendix F of the VYNPS UFSAR, the plant was designed and constructed based on the proposed General Design Criteria (GDC) published by the AEC in the Federal Register (32 FR 10213) on July 11, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as draft GDC). The AEC published the final rule that added Appendix A to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants, in the Federal Register (36 FR 3255) on February 20, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as final GDC).
Differences between the draft GDC and final GDC included a consolidation from 70 to 64 criteria. As discussed in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-92-223, dated September 18, 1992 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML003763736), the Commission decided not to apply the final GDC to plants with construction permits issued prior to May 21, 1971. At the time of promulgation of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50, the Commission stressed that the final GDC were not new requirements and were promulgated to more clearly articulate the licensing requirements and practice in effect at that time. Each plant licensed before the final GDC were formally adopted was evaluated on a plant-specific basis, determined to be safe, and licensed by the Commission.
In order to determine the applicable regulatory acceptance criteria for the proposed amendment, the NRC staff reviewed the licensee's letters dated December 5, 2003 and February 9, 2004 (References 1 and 2). In addition, the staff reviewed NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan (SRP), dated April 1996, Section 4.4, Thermal and Hydraulic Design.
Based on a review of SRP Section 4.4, the NRC staff determined that final GDC 10 is applicable to SLMCPR changes. Attachment 2 to Entergy letter BVY 03-90, dated October 1, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No. ML032810447), provides a matrix of the draft GDCs versus the corresponding final GDCs. Based on Attachment 2 of letter BVY 03-90, final GDC 10 corresponds to draft GDC 6. The draft GDC requirements are as follows:
Draft GDC 6, Reactor Core Design (Category A), requires that the reactor core be designed to function throughout its design lifetime, without exceeding acceptable fuel design limits which have been stipulated and justified. The core design, together with reliable process and decay heat removal systems, shall provide for this capability under all expected conditions of normal operation with appropriate margins for uncertainties and for transient situations which can be anticipated.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
3.1 Licensee's Proposed Changes The SLMCPR values, as currently specified in TS 1.1.A.1 are 1.10 for dual recirculation loop operation and 1.12 for single recirculation loop operation. For the next VYNPS operating cycle (Cycle 24), the licensee has proposed to change the SLMCPR values to 1.07 for dual recirculation loop operation and 1.09 for single recirculation loop operation.
3.2 NRC Staff Evaluation of Proposed Changes The Cycle 24 SLMCPR values are based on a full core of 368 fuel assemblies, of which there are 116 fresh GE14 fuel bundles, 128 once-burned GE14 fuel bundles, 104 twice-burned GE13 fuel bundles, and 20 GE9B bundles loaded in Cycle 17.
In Attachment 1 of Reference 1, the licensee states that the proposed SLMCPR values are based on analysis by Global Nuclear Fuels (GNF) using VYNPS plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters and NRC-approved methodologies. A proprietary summary of the GNF analysis was provided in Attachment 5, GNF Summary of Technical Basis for SLMCPR Values of Reference 1. A non-proprietary version of the GNF summary was provided in Attachment 6 of Reference 1.
The GNF analysis referenced the following NRC-approved methodologies:
NEDC-32505P, 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-32601P, Methodology and Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations;
NEDC-32694P, 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 NRC staff reviewed the licensees justification, in References 1 and 2, for the proposed change in the SLMCPR values from 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation loop operation, and from 1.12 to 1.09 for single recirculation loop operation, using the approach delineated in Amendment 25 to GESTAR II.
The GNF analysis summary in Reference 1 explained the overall reduction of the SLMCPR values for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation with respect to the SLMCPR values for Cycle 23 operation. Further information was provided by GNF in Reference 2. The calculated reductions in SLMCPR values from Cycle 23 to Cycle 24 are due to use of the NRC-approved revised power distribution model and its associated reduced power distribution uncertainties.
Based on the review of the GNF analysis, the NRC staff finds that: 1) the analysis results are based on NRC-approved methodologies using plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters; and 2) the analysis results indicate that the proposed SLMCPR values are conservative (as shown in Tables 1 and 2 of Attachment 5 in Reference 1). Therefore, the staff concludes that there is reasonable assurance that the proposed SLMCPR values are specified such that at least 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid boiling transition during the most severe abnormal operational transient, considering the power distribution in the core and all uncertainties, consistent with the requirements of draft GDC 6 regarding acceptable fuel design limits.
3.3 Technical Evaluation Conclusion
Based on the considerations discussed in Safety Evaluation Section 3.2, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed amendment is acceptable.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Vermont 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 and changes surveillance requirements. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in 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 2741). 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.
7.0 REFERENCES
1)
Letter from J. K. Thayer (Entergy) to NRC dated December 5, 2003, Technical Specification Proposed Change No. 264, Safety Limit Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR)
Change 2)
Letter from J. K. Thayer (Entergy) to NRC dated February 9, 2004, Technical Specification Proposed Change No. 264 - Supplement 1, Safety Limit Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change - Response to Request for Additional Information Principal Contributors: T. Huang R. Ennis Date: March 22, 2004