ML062500401

2006/09/08-Requests for Additional Information for the Review of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station License Renewal Application

ML062500401
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	09/08/2006
From:	Subbaratnam R NRC/NRR/ADRO/DLR/RLRA
To:	Kansler M Entergy Nuclear Operations
SUBBaratnam R, NRR/DLR/RLRA, 415-1478
References
%dam200612, TAC MC9669
Download: ML062500401 (8)

Text

September 8, 2006Mr. Michael KanslerPresident Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601-1839

SUBJECT:

REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE REVIEW OF THEPILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION(TAC NO. MC9669)

Dear Mr. Kansler:

By letter dated January 25, 2006, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., submitted an applicationpursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 10 CFR Part 54, to renew the operatinglicense for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, for review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC staff is reviewing the information contained in the licenserenewal application and has identified, in the enclosure, areas where additional information is needed to complete the review. These requests for additional information on Time Limited Aging Analysis of Reactor Vessel Internals in License Renewal Section: 4.2.1.These questions were discussed with a member of your staff, Bryan Ford, and a mutuallyagreeable date for this response is within 30 days from the date of this letter. If you have any questions, please contact me at 301-415-1478 or by e-mail at RXS2@nrc.gov

. Sincerely, /RA/Ram Subbaratnam, Project ManagerLicense Renewal Branch A Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-293

Enclosure:

Requests for Additional Informationcc w/encl: See next page

ML062500401OFFICEPM:RLRA:DLRLA:RLRA:DLRBC:REBB:DLRNAMERSubbaratnamYEdmondsLLund DATE09/08/0609/08/0609/08/06 Letter to Michael Kansler from Ram Subbaratnam dated: September 8, 2006

SUBJECT:

REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE REVIEW OF THEPILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION(TAC MC9669)HARD COPYDLR R/FE-MAIL:JFairRWeisman AMurphy RPettis GGalletti DShum GBagchi SSmith (srs3)

SDuraiswamy YL (Renee) Li RidsNrrDlr RidsNrrDlrRlra RidsNrrDlrRlrb RidsNrrDe RidsNrrDci RidsNrreEemb RidsNrrDeEeeb RidsNrrDeEqva RidsNrrDss RidsNrrDnrl RidsOgcMailCenter RidsNrrAdes DLR Staff----------RSubbaratnam Shoffman SUttal JShea AWilliamson CSydnor MMtichel GWilson CAnderson, Region 1 WRaymond, Region 1 NSheehan, Region 1 Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station cc:

Regional Administrator, Region IU. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415Senior Resident InspectorU. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Post Office Box 867 Plymouth, MA 02360Chairman, Board of Selectmen11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360ChairmanNuclear Matters Committee Town Hall 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360Chairman, Duxbury Board of SelectmenTown Hall 878 Tremont Street Duxbury, MA 02332Office of the CommissionerMassachusetts Department of Environmental Protection One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108Office of the Attorney GeneralOne Ashburton Place 20th Floor Boston, MA 02108MA Department of Public HealthRadiation Control Program Schrafft Center, Suite 1M2A 529 Main Street Charlestown, MA 02129Secretary of Public SafetyExecutive Office of Public Safety One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Attn: James Muckerheide 400 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702-5399Mr. William D. MeinertNuclear Engineer Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company

P.O. Box 426 Ludlow, MA 01056-0426Mr. Michael A. BalduzziSite Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Stephen J. BethayDirector, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Bryan S. FordManager, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 600 Rocky Hill RoadPlymouth, MA 02360-5508Mr. Gary J. Taylor Chief Executive Officer Entergy Operations 1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213 Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station cc:

Mr. John T. HerronSr. VP and Chief Operating Officer Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Oscar LimpiasVice President, Engineering Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Christopher SchwarzVice President, Operations Support Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. John F. McCannDirector, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Ms. Charlene D. FaisonManager, Licensing Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. Michael D. Lyster5931 Barclay Lane Naples, FL 34110-7306Mr. Michael J. ColombDirector of Oversight Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Ms. Stacey LousteauTreasury Department Entergy Services, Inc.

639 Loyola Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113Mr. James Sniezek5486 Nithsdale Drive Salisbury, MD 21801Mr. Travis C. McCulloughAssistant General Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601Mr. James RossNuclear Energy Institute 1776 I Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006-3708Plymouth Public LibraryAttn: Dinah O'Brien 132 South Street Plymouth, MA 02360Duxbury Free LibraryATTN: Ms. Elaine Winquist 77 Alden Street Duxbury, MA 02332

Kingston Public Library ATTN: Reference Librarian 6 Green Street Kingston, MA 02364Ms. Mary LampertDuxbury Nuclear Advisory, Chair Pilgrim Watch, Director 148 Washington Street Duxbury, MA 02332 ENCLOSUREREQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPILGRIM LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (LRA)TIME-LIMITED AGING ANALYSIS (TLAA) OF REACTOR VESSEL (RV) INTERNALSSECTION: 4.2.1 NEUTRON FLUENCERAI 4.2.2-1Section 4.2.2 of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) License Renewal Application (LRA),"Pressure-Temperature [P-T] Limits," states that in a license amendment request dated December 4, 2002, PNPS requested to use the present P-T limit curves through the end of operating cycle 16, which corresponds to approximately 23 effective full power years (EFPY) offacility operation. The end of operati ng cycle 16 is expected to occur in 2007. Section 4.2.2also states that, in this December 4, 2002 submittal, PNPS committed to develop and submit updated P-T limit curves and revised fluence calculations based on an NRC-approvedcalculation method that adheres to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.190, "Calculational and DosimetryMethods for Determining Pressure Vessel Neutron Fluence," prior to the end of operating cycle16. License Amendment 197 granted this request in 2003. Section 4.2.2 then states thatrecent fluence calculations that were done per RG 1.190 confirm that the fluence for 54 EFPYis less than the fluence used to calculate the P-T limits that were approved for use only throughthe end of operating cycle 14. Based on the above statements, you conclude that the currentTechnical Specification (TS) P-T limit curves remain valid for the period of extended operation.(a)Please confirm whether the P-T limit curves currently established in the PNPS TSs expireat the end of operati ng cycle 16 (23 EFPY).(b)Please explain why the recent fluence calculations that were done per RG 1.190 confirmthat the fluence for 54 EFPY is less than the fluence used to calculate the P-T limits thatwere approved for use through the end of cycle 14. Explain how this information was usedto determine that the existing P-T limits remain valid for the period of extended operation.(c)The staff does not require the P-T limit curves for the extended period of operation to besubmitted as part of the applicant's LRA for this time-limited aging analysis (TLAA).

However, the staff does require NRC approval of the P-T limit curves for the extendedperiod of operation prior to the expiration of the P-T limit curves for 32 EFPY. Please state when you intend to submit P-T limit curves for NRC approval for the extended licensedperiod of operation (54 EFPY).RAI 4.2.4-1Table 4.2-2 of the PNPS LRA lists initial RTNDT values for the PNPS RV beltline materials. Theinitial RTNDT values for Lower Intermediate Shell Plate G-3108-1 (Heat No. C-2921-2) andLower Intermediate Shell Plate G-3108-3 (Heat No. C-2945-2) are less conservative than the corresponding initial RTNDT values established in the NRC staff's reactor vessel integritydatabase (RVID) for these materials. Section 4.2.4 of the PNPS LRA states that, "initial

RTNDT values are from report SIR-00-82, which was submitted in 2001 as part of the PNPS P-Tlimit change request (Reference 4.2-5)." Reference 4.2-5 points to the April 13, 2001, license amendment issued by the NRC authorizing revised P-T limit curves. Please provide additional information that points to where the NRC staff authorized the use ofthe specific initial RTNDT values listed in Table 4.2-4 for determining the adjusted referencetemperature (ART) values for the PNPS reactor vessel (RV) beltline materials.RAI 4.2.4-2The %Cu and chemistry factor (CF) values for Lower Shell Axial Welds 2-338A, B, and C fromLRA Table 4.2-2 are less conservative than the corresponding %Cu and CF values that were established in the staff's RVID for these welds. Please provide the following information: (a)verification of whether the %Cu and CF values listed in Table 4.2-1 are valid for the abovewelds,(b)justification for the use of these chemistry data for the above welds, including the source ofthe data, and a specific reference for the documentation/analysis demonstrating that thesechemistry data represent the best available estimate of the weld chemistries.RAI 4.2.4-3Lower Intermediate / Upper Shell Circumferential Weld 3-339B (Heat No. 13253) is listed in theNRC staff's RVID. However this weld is not represented in LRA Table 4.2-2 or (LRA Table 4.2-1). Please resolve this discrepancy.RAI 4.2.5-1Section 4.2.5 of the PNPS LRA addresses the TLAA for the RV Circumferential WeldExamination Relief. Table 4.2-3 of the LRA compares the limiting RV circumferential weld parameters for PNPS to those used in the NRC evaluation of the BWRVIP-05 report, "BWRVessel and Internals Project, BWR Reactor Pressure Vessel Shell Weld Inspection Recommendations." The PNPS limiting RV circumferential weld parameters are based on Lower Intermediate / Lower Shell Circumferential Weld 1-334 (Heat No. 21935), which is the only circumferential weld represented in LRA Table 4.2-2. However, as discussed in RAI 4.2.4-3, the NRC staff's RVID also lists Lower Intermediate / Upper Shell CircumferentialWeld 3-339B (Heat No. 13253) as one of the RV welds for PNPS. Furthermore, the chemistry and CF data for this weld are more limiting than for the Circumferential Weld 1-334. Please explain why this TLAA did not address Lower Intermediate / Upper Shell Circumferential Weld 3-339B (Heat No. 13253).RAI 4.2.5-2The NRC staff requires that a request for relief from the American Society of MechanicalEngineer Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code) RV circumferential shell weld examination requirements be submitted prior to the beginning of the extended period ofoperation. Please state whether you intend to apply for relief from the ASME Code RV circumferential weld examination requirements for the extended licensed period of operation. State when you plan to submit this relief request. RAI 4.2.5-3In the July 28, 1998 SER on BWRVIP-05, the NRC staff concluded that examination of the RVcircumferential shell welds would need to be performed if the corresponding volumetric examinations of the RV axial shell welds revealed the presence of an age-related degradation mechanism. Confirm whether or not previous volumetric examinations of the RV axial shell welds have shown any indication of cracking or other age-related degradation mechanisms in the welds.

RAI 4.2.6-1The limiting axial weld failure probability calculated by the NRC staff in the BWRVIP-05 SER isbased on the assumption that "essentially 100 percent" (i.e., greater than 90 percent)examination coverage of all RV axial welds can be achieved in accordance with ASME Code,Section XI requirements.State whether your ISI examinations achieve "essentially 100 percent" (i.e., greater than 90percent) overall examination coverage for the RV axial welds for the duration of the currentlicensed operating period. If less than 90 percent overall examination coverage is achieved for the RV axial welds, revise this TLAA to account for the effects of the limited scope examination coverage.