ML072390260

License Amendment, Issuance of Amendment Administrative Control of Penetrations During Refueling

ML072390260
Person / Time
Site:	Davis Besse
Issue date:	10/17/2007
From:	Thomas Wengert NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIII-2
To:	Bezilla M FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
Wengert, Thomas J, NRR/DORL, 415-4037
Shared Package
ML072639545	List: ML072390260
References
TAC MD4421
Download: ML072390260 (12)

Text

October 17, 2007 Mr. Mark B. Bezilla Site Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Mail Stop A-DB-3080 5501 North State Route 2 Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760

SUBJECT:

DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF PENETRATIONS DURING REFUELING (TAC NO. MD4421)

Dear Mr. Bezilla:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 277 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-3 for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1. The amendment revises the technical specifications (TS) in response to your application dated February 12, 2007.

This amendment revises TS 3/4.9.4, Containment Penetrations, to allow containment penetrations that provide direct access from the containment atmosphere to the outside atmosphere to be open during refueling activities if appropriate administrative controls are established.

TS page 3/4 9-5 is not changed by this amendment. The page has been reformatted for proper pagination.

A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Thomas J. Wengert, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch III-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-346

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 277 to NPF-3

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page

Mr. Mark B. Bezilla October 17, 2007 Site Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Mail Stop A-DB-3080 5501 North State Route 2 Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760

SUBJECT:

DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF PENETRATIONS DURING REFUELING (TAC NO. MD4421)

Dear Mr. Bezilla:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 277 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-3 for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1. The amendment revises the technical specifications (TS) in response to your application dated February 12, 2007.

This amendment revises TS 3/4.9.4, Containment Penetrations, to allow containment penetrations that provide direct access from the containment atmosphere to the outside atmosphere to be open during refueling activities if appropriate administrative controls are established.

TS page 3/4 9-5 is not changed by this amendment. The page has been reformatted for proper pagination A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Thomas J. Wengert, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch III-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-346

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 277 to NPF-3

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC LPL3-2 R/F RidsNrrPMTWengert RidsNrrDssScvb RidsNrrDirsItsb RidsOgcRp RidsRgn3MailCenter RidsNrrDirsIolb RidsAcrsAcnwMailCenter GHill (2) RidsNrrLAEWhitt RidsNrrDraAadb RidsNrrDorlLpl3-2 RidsNrrDorlDpr JParillo, NRR Package Accession Number: ML072630545 Amendment Accession Number: ML072390260 TS Accession Number: ML OFFICE LPL3-2/PM LPL3-2/LA DRA/AADB/BC DSS/SCVB/BC DIRS/IOLB/BC DIRS/ITSB/BC OGC LPL3-2/BC NAME TWengert EWhitt MHart RDennig NSalgado TKobetz RHolmes RGibbs DATE 9/2707 9/27/07 9/27/07 9/28/07 9/28/07 10/4/07 10/15/07 10/17/07 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 cc:

Manager, Site Regulatory Compliance President, Board of County FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Commissioners of Ottawa County Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Port Clinton, OH 43252 Mail Stop A-DB-3065 5501 North State Route 2 President, Board of County Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760 Commissioners of Lucas County One Government Center, Suite 800 Director, Ohio Department of Commerce Toledo, OH 43604-6506 Division of Industrial Compliance Bureau of Operations & Maintenance The Honorable Dennis J. Kucinich 6606 Tussing Road United States House of Representatives P.O. Box 4009 Washington, D.C. 20515 Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-9009 The Honorable Dennis J. Kucinich Resident Inspector United States House of Representatives U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 14400 Detroit Avenue 5503 North State Route 2 Lakewood, OH 44107 Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760 Joseph J. Hagan Stephen Helmer President and Chief Nuclear Officer Supervisor, Technical Support Section FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Bureau of Radiation Protection Mail Stop A-GO-14 Ohio Department of Health 76 South Main Street 35 East Chestnut Street, 7th Floor Akron, OH 44308 Columbus, OH 43215 David W. Jenkins, Attorney Carol OClaire, Chief, Radiological Branch FirstEnergy Corporation Ohio Emergency Management Agency Mail Stop A-GO-15 2855 West Dublin Granville Road 76 South Main Street Columbus, OH 43235-2206 Akron, OH 44308 Zack A. Clayton Danny L. Pace DERR Senior Vice President, Fleet Engineering Ohio Environmental Protection Agency FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company P.O. Box 1049 Mail Stop A-GO-14 Columbus, OH 43266-0149 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 44308 State of Ohio Public Utilities Commission Manager, Fleet Licensing 180 East Broad Street FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Columbus, OH 43266-0573 Mail Stop A-GO-2 76 South Main Street Attorney General Akron, OH 44308 Office of Attorney General 30 East Broad Street Columbus, OH 43216

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 cc:

Director, Fleet Regulatory Affairs FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Mail Stop A-GO-2 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 44308 Jeannie M. Rinckel Vice President, Fleet Oversight FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Richard Anderson Vice President, Nuclear Support FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Mail Stop A-GO-14 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 4430 James H. Lash Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Mail Stop A-GO-14 76 South Main Street Akron, OH 44308

FIRSTENERGY NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY AND FIRSTENERGY NUCLEAR GENERATION CORP.

DOCKET NO. 50-346 DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 277 License No. NPF-3

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment filed by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company et al. (the licensee), dated February 12, 2007, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's 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 Commission's 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 Commission's 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-3 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No.277, are hereby incorporated in the license. FENOC 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 of the date of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Russell Gibbs, Chief Plant Licensing Branch III-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications and Facility Operating License Date of Issuance: October 17, 2007

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 277 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-3 DOCKET NO. 50-346 Replace the following pages of the Facility Operating License and 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 License NPF-3 License NPF-3 Page 4 Page 4 TSs TSs 3/4 9-4 3/4 9-4 3/4 9-5 3/4 9-5

2.C. This license shall be deemed to contain and is subject to the conditions specified in the following Commission regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I: Part 20, Section 30.34 of Part 30, Section 40.41 of Part 40, Sections 50.54 and 50.59 of Part 50, and Section 70.32 of Part 70; and is subject to all applicable provisions of the Act and to the rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect; and is subject to the additional conditions specified or incorporated below:

(1) Maximum Power Level FENOC is authorized to operate the facility at steady state reactor core power levels not in excess of 2772 megawatts (thermal).

Prior to attaining the power level, Toledo Edison Company shall comply with the conditions identified in Paragraph (3) (o) below and complete the preoperational tests, startup tests and other items identified in Attachment 2 to this license in the sequence specified. Attachment 2 is an integral part of this license.

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 277, are hereby incorporated in the license. FENOC shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

(3) Additional Conditions The matters specified in the following conditions shall be completed to the satisfaction of the Commission within the stated time periods following the issuance of the license or within the operational restrictions indicated. The removal of these conditions shall be made by an amendment to the license supported by a favorable evaluation by the Commission:

(a) FENOC shall not operate the reactor in operational Modes 1 and 2 with less than three reactor coolant pumps in operation.

(b) Deleted per Amendment 6 (c) Deleted per Amendment 5 Amendment No. 277

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 277 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-3 FIRSTENERGY NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY FIRSTENERGY NUCLEAR GENERATION CORP.

DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 DOCKET NO. 50-346

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) dated February 12, 2007, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, et al. (the licensee) requested changes to the technical specifications (TSs) for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1 (DBNPS).

The proposed amendment would revise TS 3/4.9.4, Containment Penetrations, by adding a note which allows containment penetrations that provide direct access from the containment atmosphere to the outside atmosphere to be open during refueling activities, provided that appropriate administrative controls are established. The proposed changes are consistent with the NRC-approved TS Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-312-A, Revision 1.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The NRC staff evaluated the impact of the proposed changes as they relate to the radiological consequences of affected design basis accidents (DBAs). For this license amendment request (LAR), the only affected DBA is the fuel handling accident (FHA) inside containment. The licensee has not submitted a revised FHA analysis. This LAR relies on the current design basis FHA as described in Section 15.4.7, of the DBNPS updated safety analysis report (USAR). For the current design basis FHA analysis, the licensee incorporates the source term as defined in Technical Information Document (TID) 14844, Atomic Energy Commission, U.S., 1962, Calculation of Distance Factors for Power and Test Reactors Sites. Therefore, the NRC staffs review is based on the regulatory guidance provided in NUREG-0800, AStandard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,@ Section 15.7.4, Radiological Consequences of Fuel Handling Accidents.

Since the licensee evaluated the FHA using the TID 14844 source term, the maximum dose criteria to the whole body and the thyroid that an individual at the exclusion area boundary can receive for the first 2 hours2.314815e-5 days <br />5.555556e-4 hours <br />3.306878e-6 weeks <br />7.61e-7 months <br /> following an accident, and at the low population zone outer boundary for the duration of the radiological release, are as specified in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 100.11. These criteria are 25 roentgen equivalent man (rem) total whole body dose and 300 rem thyroid dose from iodine exposure. The accident dose criteria in 10 CFR 100.11 is supplemented by accident-specific dose acceptance criteria in SRP 15.7.4 which states that, The plant site and dose mitigating engineered safety feature systems are acceptable with respect to the radiological consequences of a postulated fuel handling accident if the calculated whole-body and thyroid doses at the exclusion area and low

population zone boundaries are well within the exposure guideline values of 10 CFR Part 100.11. Well within means 25 percent or less of the 10 CFR Part 100.11 exposure guideline values, i.e., 75 rem for the thyroid and 6 rem for the whole-body doses.

For control room dose consequence analyses that use the TID 14844 source term, the regulatory requirement for which the NRC staff bases its acceptance is General Design Criterion (GDC) 19 of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50, AControl Room@. GDC 19 requires that adequate radiation protection be provided to permit access and occupancy of the control room under accident conditions without personnel receiving radiation exposures in excess of 5 rem whole body, or its equivalent to any part of the body, for the duration of the accident. NUREG-0800, SRP Section 6.4, AControl Room Habitability System,@ Revision 2, July 1981, provides guidelines defining the dose equivalency of 5 rem whole body as 30 rem for both the thyroid and skin dose.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

3.1 Description of TS revision The licensee has proposed a TS revision applicable to containment penetrations capable of closure by a manual or automatic isolation valve, blind flange, or equivalent. The proposed revision would allow the applicable containment building penetrations that provide direct access from the containment atmosphere to the outside atmosphere to be open during refueling activities, if appropriate, administrative controls are established. Currently, TS 3.9.4(c) requires that during core alterations or movement of irradiated fuel within the containment: Each penetration providing direct access from the containment atmosphere to the atmosphere outside containment shall be : (1) closed by a manual or automatic isolation valve, blind flange, or equivalent, or (2) be capable of being closed from the control room by an OPERABLE containment purge and exhaust valve upon receipt of a high radiation signal from the containment purge and exhaust system noble gas monitor.

The proposed change would allow containment penetration flow paths controlled by TS 3.9.4(c) to be open during operations involving core alterations or fuel movement inside containment if appropriate administrative controls are established and maintained. The proposed change would revise TS Limiting Condition for Operation 3.9.4, Containment Penetrations, and is consistent with NRC approved Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-312-A, Revision 1, Administratively Control Containment Penetrations, which was approved on August 16, 1999, and the corresponding note to the Babcock and Wilcox Owners Group Standard Technical Specification (STS) 3.9.3, "Containment Penetrations." TSTF-312-A was approved based on the condition that licensees using TSTF-312-A: (1) demonstrate acceptable radiological consequences from a FHA inside containment, and (2) commit to implementation of administrative procedures that ensure that open containment penetrations can and will be promptly closed in the event of an FHA inside containment.

The proposed amendment would add a note applicable to TS 3/4.9.4, Containment Penetrations, to allow penetrations included under TS 3.9.4(c) to be opened during core alterations or movement of irradiated fuel, under administrative controls. This class of penetrations includes those penetrations which provide direct access from the containment atmosphere to the atmosphere outside containment. Specifically, the proposed change would add the following note, applicable to TS 3.9.4(c): NOTE: Penetration flow path(s) providing direct access from the containment atmosphere to the outside atmosphere may be unisolated under administrative controls.

As part of the implementation of the proposed amendment, the licensee will revise applicable procedures to permit opening the affected penetrations during fuel movement as long as administrative controls are in place, to ensure prompt closure of the affected penetration in the event of a FHA. These controls will entail assignment of a designated individual who will be readily available to isolate the flow path in the event of a FHA. This individual may be a part of the team assigned to perform local leak rate testing of the associated penetration. The licensee states that the purpose of this change is to allow local leak rate testing of containment penetrations to be performed during refueling outages, while fuel movement is in progress. The licensee expects that this change will result in a reduction in future outage durations.

3.2. Technical basis for the TS revision DBNPS USAR section 15.4.7, Fuel Handling Accident, provides the results of the FHA analysis, performed in accordance with the assumptions and guidelines of Safety Guide 25, Assumptions Used for Evaluating the Potential Radiological Consequences of a Fuel Handling Accident in the Fuel Handling and Storage Facility for Boiling and Pressurized Water Reactors, dated March 23, 1972. The licensees evaluation did not credit containment isolation, and is based on the release of the activity from one fuel assembly with a burnup of 60,000 megawatt-days per metric ton uranium (MWD/MTU). The release is assumed to occur over a two hour period. The results meet the acceptance criteria provided in SRP Section 15.7.4, and are well within the dose guidelines of 10 CFR 100.11.

DBNPS License Amendment No. 202 (Agencywide Documents and Management System Accession No. ML021210175) permitted both doors of the containment personnel air lock to be open during core alterations or movement of irradiated fuel in containment. Analyses performed in support of Amendment No. 202 are summarized in USAR section 15.4.7.3. These analyses calculated the control room dose for a FHA inside containment, assuming fuel activity consistent with a fuel assembly with 60,000 MWD/MTU burnup, 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> of fuel assembly decay, and no credit for removal of iodine activity by the control room emergency ventilation system.

As a part of the review of DBNPS License Amendment No. 202, the NRC staff completed an independent analysis of the potential radiological consequences of a FHA with the containment personnel air lock open, and determined that the results were within the acceptance criteria given in SRP Section 15.7.4 and GDC 19. The licensee asserts, and the NRC staff agrees, that the dose consequences of this change are bounded by the dose consequences of TS 3.9.4.b, which allows both personnel air lock doors to be open during core alterations or movement of irradiated fuel within the containment.

The proposed change will not impact the dose consequence of the licensing basis FHA, which is the only applicable DBA, because the proposed change will not result in changes to any of the values assumed in the radiological dose consequence analysis. The NRC staff has reasonable assurance that the requirements of 10 CFR 100.11, GDC 19, and the accident-specific dose criteria in SRP 15.7.4 will continue to be met for DBNPS. Therefore the NRC staff finds that the proposed change is acceptable from a radiological dose perspective.

In addition, the licensee proposed to reformat TS page 3/4 9-5 for proper pagination. This change is to correct the format/pagination of the TS document. This change is administrative in nature and is, therefore, acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Ohio State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

This 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 effluent 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 (72 FR 17949; April 10, 2007). 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 NRC staff 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 Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

Principal Contributor: John Parillo, NRR Date: October 17, 2007