ML043090082
| ML043090082 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Catawba  |
| Issue date: | 11/03/2004 |
| From: | Mccree V Division Reactor Projects II |
| To: | Jamil D Duke Energy Corp |
| References | |
| EA-04-189, IR-04-010 | |
| Download: ML043090082 (6) | |
See also: IR 05000413/2004010
Text
November 3, 2004
Duke Energy Corporation
ATTN: Mr. D. M. Jamil
Site Vice President
Catawba Nuclear Station
4800 Concord Road
York, SC 29745
SUBJECT:
CATAWBA NUCLEAR STATION - NRC INSPECTION REPORT
05000413/2004010 AND 05000414/2004010
Dear Mr. Jamil:
This letter is in reference to an in-office inspection completed by the NRC staff on
October 29, 2004, concerning Duke Energy Corporations (DEC) proposed license amendment
request of February 27, 2003. DECs request, as supplemented by additional letters through
October 29, 2004, proposed to revise its Technical Specifications to allow the use of four mixed
oxide (MOX) fuel lead test assemblies (LTAs) at the Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2.
Based on our review of this information, the NRC staff has identified three apparent violations
as discussed below. The results of this inspection were discussed with you and your staff on
November 1, 2004.
DECs license amendment request of February 27, 2003, and supplements, were reviewed by
the NRC staff and approved as documented in our Safety Evaluation Report (SER) dated
April 5, 2004. On April 12, 2004, as a result of NRC review and questioning of DEC
representatives, the NRC became aware that the first fuel cycle for Catawba, Unit 1, that is
projected to use MOX LTAs will also contain eight LTAs of a Westinghouse Next Generation
Fuel (NGF) design. This represented additional information that was not included in the DECs
February 27, 2003, license amendment request or subsequent submittals that supported the
SER of April 5. This additional information raised concerns about the completeness and
accuracy of the information provided to the NRC staff for review in support of DECs request to
use MOX fuel. To understand the implications of this new information, the NRC staff conducted
a public meeting with members of your staff on April 23, 2004, and issued a request for
additional information (RAI) on April 30, 2004. This RAI was superceded by a second RAI
issued on May 19, 2004. Additionally, the staff conducted an audit of technical information at
DECs General Office in Charlotte, NC, on May 12-14, 2004. The audit was concluded with a
public exit meeting on May 14, 2004.
Your response to the staffs RAI was reviewed and considered with the staffs audit findings.
The staffs evaluation of the information related to the eight NGF LTAs was documented in a
supplement to the SER, which was issued on July 27, 2004. In its SER supplement, the staff
concluded that the effect of the eight NGF LTAs on the core had been conservatively evaluated
by DEC and that the NGF LTAs would not have any significant effect on the MOX LTAs.
2
In August 2004, DEC identified a second issue involving the completeness and accuracy of its
February 27, 2003, license amendment request and supplements. DECs letters of
August 31, 2004, and September 20, 2004, documented that some of the radiation dose
information provided to the NRC in support of the amendment request was based on out-of-
date input values for design basis accident doses with low enriched uranium cores. In its
correspondence, DEC indicated that the dose information was derived from data listed in Table
15-4 of the Catawba Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR). The staff subsequently
determined that the out-of-date values were obtained from UFSAR Table 15-14, not Table 15-4.
The NRC issued an RAI to DEC on October 7, 2004, to understand the implications of this
issue. In its response to the RAI, dated October 29, DEC indicated that the doses in the
UFSAR table had not been updated for a period of time. The staff is continuing its review of the
RAI response.
Related to the above issue, it also appears that previous license amendment requests and/or
cumulative plant changes have affected the dose calculation data contained in UFSAR Table
15-14. As an example, License Amendment No. 151 was issued on August 29, 1996, for
Catawba Unit 1, to reflect replacement of the steam generators. The dose calculations for the
Locked Rotor and Ejected Rod analyses, as documented in DECs letter of August 27, 1996,
were revised to reflect the latest dose calculations at that time. It appears, however, that such
updated dose calculations were not incorporated into periodic updates of the UFSAR as
required by 10 CFR 50.71(e).
Based on the above, three apparent violations (AVs) were identified and are being considered
for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and
Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600. The current
Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What We Do,
Enforcement, then Enforcement Policy. The first two AVs involve the requirements of
10 CFR 50.9, and the third AV involves the failure to periodically update the UFSAR as required
by 10 CFR 50.71(e). In the first AV, DECs February 27, 2003, license amendment request and
supplements were not complete and accurate, in that the submittals failed to identify that the
reactor core would also include eight NGF LTAs as part of the complete core loading of 193
fuel assemblies. In the second AV, DECs February 27, 2003, submittal and supplements used
inaccurate radiation dose information for the proposed reactor core composition. This
information was material to the NRC in that, as part of the license amendment review,
substantial further inquiry by the NRC was necessary to review the acceptability of the thermal-
hydraulic conditions, mechanical design, and radiation doses for the actual intended core
composition. The third AV involves DECs failure to periodically update Table 15-14 of the
UFSAR, based on changes that have been made to the facility.
An open, predecisional enforcement conference to discuss these AVs will be scheduled at the
NRCs White Flint North office in Rockville, Maryland. The details of this conference will be
coordinated with your staff, and the NRC will issue a separate meeting announcement
containing additional information on this public meeting. The decision to hold a predecisional
enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined that a violation has
occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. This conference is being held to obtain
information to assist the NRC in making an enforcement decision. This may include information
to determine whether violations occurred, information to determine the significance of violations,
information related to the identification of violations, and information related to any corrective
3
actions taken or planned. The conference will provide an opportunity for you to provide your
perspective on these matters and any other information that you believe the NRC should take
into consideration in making an enforcement decision.
You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this
matter. Also, please be advised that the number and characterization of the apparent violations
may change as a result of further NRC review. No response regarding these apparent
violations is required at this time.
For administrative purposes, this letter is issued as a separate NRC Inspection Report,
No. 05000413/2004010 and 05000414/2004010, and the above apparent violations are
identified as follows: AV 05000413,414/2004010-01, Failure to Provide Complete and Accurate
Information Involving MOX Amendment Fuel Assemblies; AV 05000413,414/2004010-02,
Failure to Provide Complete and Accurate Information Involving MOX Amendment Dose
Calculations; and AV 05000413,414/2004010-03, Failure to Update the FSAR Involving Dose
Calculations.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be
available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) or from
the NRCs document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
(Note: Public access to ADAMS has been temporarily suspended so that security reviews of
publicly available documents may be performed and potentially sensitive information removed.
Please check the NRC Web site for updates on the resumption of ADAMS access.)
Should you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Carolyn Evans, Region II
Enforcement Officer and Regional Counsel, at 404-562-4414, or Rani Franovich, Enforcement
Coordinator, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, at 301-415-1868.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Victor M. McCree, Director
Division of Reactor Projects
Docket Nos.: 50-413, 50-414
cc: (see page 4)
4
cc:
Lee Keller (CNS)
Regulatory Compliance Manager
Duke Energy Corporation
Electronic Mail Distribution
Lisa Vaughn
Legal Department (PB05E)
Duke Energy Corporation
422 South Church Street
P. O. Box 1244
Charlotte, NC 28201-1244
Anne Cottingham
Winston and Strawn
Electronic Mail Distribution
North Carolina MPA-1
Electronic Mail Distribution
Henry J. Porter, Assistant Director
Div. of Radioactive Waste Mgmt.
S. C. Department of Health
and Environmental Control
Electronic Mail Distribution
R. Mike Gandy
Division of Radioactive Waste Mgmt.
S. C. Department of Health and
Environmental Control
Electronic Mail Distribution
Elizabeth McMahon
Assistant Attorney General
S. C. Attorney General's Office
Electronic Mail Distribution
Vanessa Quinn
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Electronic Mail Distribution
North Carolina Electric
Membership Corporation
Electronic Mail Distribution
Peggy Force
Assistant Attorney General
N. C. Department of Justice
Electronic Mail Distribution
County Manager of York County, SC
Electronic Mail Distribution
Piedmont Municipal Power Agency
Electronic Mail Distribution
R. L. Gill, Jr., Manager
Regulatory Issues & Affairs
Duke Energy Corporation
526 S. Church Street
Charlotte, NC 28201-0006
Ms. Karen E. Long
Assistant Attorney General
North Carolina Department of Justice
P.O. Box 629
Raleigh, North Carolina 27602
NCEM REP Program Manager
4713 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-4713
Saluda River Electric
P.O. Box 929
Laurens, South Carolina 29360
Mr. Peter R. Harden, IV, Vice President
Customer Relations and Sales
Westinghouse Electric Company
6000 Fairview Road
12th Floor
Charlotte, North Carolina 28210
Ms. Mary Olson
Director of the Southeast Office
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
729 Haywood Road, 1-A
P.O. Box 7586
Asheville, North Carolina 28802
Mr. T. Richard Puryear
Owners Group (NCEMC)
Duke Energy Corporation
4800 Concord Road
York, South Carolina 29745
5
cc: (continued)
Mr. Richard M. Fry, Director
Division of Radiation Protection
NC Dept. of Environment, Health,
and Natural Resources
3825 Barrett Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609-7721
Mr. Henry Barron
Group Vice President, Nuclear Generation
and Chief Nuclear Officer
P.O. Box 1006-EC07H
Charlotte, NC 28201-1006
Diane Curran
Harmon, Curran, Spielbergy &
Eisenberg, LLP
1726 M Street, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Distribution:
L. Marsh, NRR
E. Hackett, NRR
R. Martin, NRR
S. Peters, NRR
R. Franovich, NRR
F. Congel, OE
C. Nolan, OE
W. Travers, RII
L. Plisco, RII
V. McCree, RII
L. Wert, RII
M. Ernstes, RII
R. Carroll, RII
S. Sparks, RII
G. Guthrie, RII
C. Evans, RII
R. Hannah, RII
K. Clark, RII
PUBLIC
OEMAIL
OEWEB
OFFICE
RII:EICS
RII:ORA
SIGNATURE
/RA/
JIM LYONS, VIA
NAME
CEVANS
LMARSH
FCONGEL
DATE
11/3/04
11/3/04
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