ML062180074

Request for Additional Information, Re Proposed License Amendment for a Spent Fuel Pool Boraflex Remedy

ML062180074
Person / Time
Site:	Turkey Point
Issue date:	08/08/2006
From:	Moroney B NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLII-2
To:	Stall J Florida Power & Light Co
Moroney B, NRR/DORL, 415-3974
References
TAC MC8741, TAC MC9740
Download: ML062180074 (5)

Text

August 8, 2006 Mr. J. A. Stall Senior Vice President, Nuclear and Chief Nuclear Officer Florida Power and Light Company P.O. Box 14000 Juno Beach, Florida 33408-0420

SUBJECT:

TURKEY POINT PLANT, UNIT NOS. 3 AND 4 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING PROPOSED LICENSE AMENDMENT FOR A SPENT FUEL POOL BORAFLEX REMEDY (TAC NOS. MC9740 AND MC9741)

Dear Mr. Stall:

By letter dated January 27, 2006, Florida Power & Light Company submitted requests to amend the Operating Licenses for Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 and 4. The proposed amendments would revise the Technical Specifications to include new spent fuel pool storage patterns and the use of Metamic rack inserts, in order to remove reliance on Boraflex as a neutron absorber.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has reviewed your submittal and finds that a response to the enclosed Request for Additional Information is needed before we can complete the review.

This request was discussed with members of your staff on August 1, 2006, and Mr. Paul Czaya agreed that a response would be provided within 60 days of the date of this letter.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-3974.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Brendan T. Moroney, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251

Enclosure:

Request for Additional Information cc w/encl: See next page

Mr. J. A. Stall TURKEY POINT PLANT Florida Power and Light Company cc:

Mr. William E. Webster Mr. Craig Fugate, Director Vice President, Nuclear Operations Division of Emergency Preparedness Florida Power & Light Company Department of Community Affairs P.O. Box 14000 2740 Centerview Drive Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100 M. S. Ross, Managing Attorney Attorney General Florida Power & Light Company Department of Legal Affairs P.O. Box 14000 The Capitol Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420 Tallahassee, Florida 32304 Marjan Mashhadi, Senior Attorney Michael O. Pearce Florida Power & Light Company Plant General Manager 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Suite 220 Florida Power and Light Company Washington, DC 20004 9760 SW. 344th Street Florida City, FL 33035 T. O. Jones, Site Vice President Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Walter Parker Florida Power and Light Company Licensing Manager 9760 SW. 344th Street Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Florida City, FL 33035 9760 SW 344th Street Florida City, FL 33035 County Manager Miami-Dade County Mark Warner, Vice President 111 Northwest 1 Street, 29th Floor Nuclear Operations Support Miami, Florida 33128 Florida Power and Light Company P.O. Box 14000 Senior Resident Inspector Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420 Turkey Point Nuclear Plant U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mr. Rajiv S. Kundalkar 9762 SW. 344th Street Vice President - Nuclear Engineering Florida City, Florida 33035 Florida Power & Light Company P.O. Box 14000 Mr. William A. Passetti, Chief Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420 Department of Health Bureau of Radiation Control 2020 Capital Circle, SE, Bin #C21 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1741

ML062180074 NRR-088 OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-2/LA CSGB/BC-A LPL2-2/BC NAME BMoroney BClayton TBloomer LRaghavan by memo dated DATE 08/08 /06 08/ 08 /06 06/09/06 08/ 08/06 REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELATED TO LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST FOR SPENT FUEL POOL BORAFLEX REMEDY FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 3 AND 4 DOCKET NOS. 50-250 AND 50-251 By letter dated January 27, 2006 (ML060900250), Florida Power and Light Company (FPL, the licensee) submitted a request for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review and approval of amendments to the operating licenses of Turkey Point Units 3 and 4. The proposed amendments would revise technical specifications Sections 3/4.9.1-Boron Concentration, 3/4.9.14 - Spent Fuel Storage, and 5.5.1 - Criticality, to include new spent fuel storage patterns and the use of Metamic' rack inserts.

During its review, the NRC staff identified the need for additional information relating to the use of Metamic' rack inserts. Please provide the following information:

1. Section 2.1, Technical Specification Changes, of Attachment 1, page 8 of 36, describes the addition of Surveillance Requirement (SR) 4.9.14.2 to perform visual inspection of representative sample of Metamic' inserts. Specifically, Attachment 5, Retyped Technical Specifications, page 3/4 9-15, SR 4.9.14.2, states:

A representative sample of inservice Metamic' inserts shall be visually inspected in accordance with the Metamic' Surveillance Program described in UFSAR [Updated Final Safety Analysis Report] Section 16.2.

The surveillance program ensures that the performance requirements of Metamic' are met over the surveillance interval.

Based on the staff's safety evaluation dated June 17, 2003 (ML031681432), the use of Metamic' in the spent fuel pool is conditioned upon a coupon sampling program to ensure consistent performance with that described in Holtec Report HI-2022871, Use of Metamic in Fuel Pool Applications. SR 4.9.14.2 indicates that a Metamic' Surveillance Program will visually inspect a sample of the Metamic' inserts used in the spent fuel storage racks.

a. Provide the details of this program ensuring expected material performance.

The details should include, at a minimum, the following:

• the selection criteria for the inserts inspected,

• the methods of inspection and its basis,

• the surveillance schedule and the basis for the frequency of the surveillance,

• the acceptance criteria and the bases for these criteria, and

• the actions to be taken as a result of not meeting the acceptance criteria.

Enclosure

b. Provide a copy, if available, of the proposed UFSAR Section 16.2 that will describe this program.

2. Based on the following information in the submittal, it appears that the design of the rack insert has not been finalized.

• The second bullet on page 35 of 36 in Section 3.8.2, Metamic Surveillance Program, of Attachment 1, states, If the manufacture process includes welding, the entirety of each weld is available for examination instead of inferring behavior from small coupon welds . . . ."

• The last sentence on page 2-7 of Attachment 9, Holtec Report HI-043149 (Proprietary), Boraflex Remedy at Turkey Point Nuclear Plant for FPL, states, The Metamic inserts may be manufactured by forming operations or by welding contiguous panels and the landing element as shown in Figure 2.5.1.

Please provide the following information:

a. Clarify that the amendment request is for review and approval of applying either rack insert design (i.e., mill-finished formed panels of Metamic' or mill-finished Metamic' panels welded to a landing element).

b. Specify the following:

(1) weight percent of boron carbide in the Metamic panels, (2) material of the landing element, (3) the weld material to be used to attach the Metamic' panel to the landing element, and (4) the type of weld used to attach the panel to the landing element.

c. Discuss how the elements of the Metamic Surveillance Program will differ with respect to the rack insert design (e.g., inspection of welded joint) and provide details in concert with Question 1.

d. Discuss the results of testing completed on formed or bent specimens to demonstrate that the stresses induced will not impact the integrity or functionality of the material. If test data are not available, discuss how the elements of the Metamic Surveillance Program account for this design.

e. Discuss the results of testing completed on the welded specimens, similar to the proposed design, to demonstrate that the elements of the Metamic Surveillance Program are sufficient to ensure adequate material performance. If test data are not available, discuss how the elements of the Metamic Surveillance Program account for this design.