ML072880125
| ML072880125 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | River Bend  |
| Issue date: | 12/03/2007 |
| From: | Bhalchandra Vaidya NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIV |
| To: | Venable J Entergy Operations |
| vaidya B, NRR/DLPM, 415-3308 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML072880119 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC MD6528 | |
| Download: ML072880125 (13) | |
Text
December 3, 2007 Mr. Joseph E. Venable Site Vice President Entergy Operations, Inc.
River Bend Station 5485 US Highway 61N St. Francisville, LA 70775
SUBJECT:
RIVER BEND STATION, UNIT 1 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE:
ONE-TIME EXTENSION OF THE INTEGRATED LEAK RATE TEST INTERVAL (TAC NO. MD6528)
Dear Mr. Venable:
The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 155 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 for the River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS). The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated August 17, 2007.
The amendment revised the date for performing the Type A test in the RBS TS 5.5.13, Primary Containment Leak Rate Testing Program, from prior to December 14, 2007" to prior to April 14, 2008.
A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Bhalchandra Vaidya, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-458
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 155 to NPF-47
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
PKG ML072880119 (Amendment/License ML072880125, TS ML072880134)
(*) No substantial change to SE Input Memo
(**) See previous concurrence OFFICE NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/LA NRR/DE/EMCB/BC NRR/DRA/APLA/BC NAME BVaidya (**)
JBurkhardt (**)
KManoly(*)
MRubin(*)
DATE 11/1/07 10/29/07 11/1/07 9/14/07 OFFICE NRR/DSS/SCVB/BC NRR/DIRS/ITSB/BC OGC - NLO NRR/ITSB/BC NAME RDennig(*)
TKobetz RVHolmes (**)
THiltz DATE 9/14/07 11/30/07 11/6/07 12/3/07
River Bend Station cc:
Senior Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations P.O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Senior Vice President and COO Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Vice President, Operations Support Entergy Operations, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995 General Manager, Plant Operations Entergy Operations, Inc.
River Bend Station 5485 US Highway 61N St. Francisville, LA 70775 Director, Nuclear Safety & Licensing Entergy Services, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Director, Nuclear Safety Assurance Entergy Operations, Inc.
River Bend Station 5485 US Highway 61N St. Francisville, LA 70775 Senior Manager, Nuclear Safety & Licensing Entergy Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Manager, Licensing Entergy Operations, Inc.
River Bend Station 5485 US Highway 61N St. Francisville, LA 70775 Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Radiological Emergency Planning and Response Division P.O. Box 4312 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4312 Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Compliance P.O. Box 4312 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4312 Attorney General State of Louisiana P.O. Box 94095 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095 President of West Feliciana Police Jury P.O. Box 1921 St. Francisville, LA 70775 Brian Almon Public Utility Commission William B. Travis Building P.O. Box 13326 1701 North Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701-3326 Mr. Jim Calloway Public Utility Commission of Texas 1701 N. Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78711-3326 Ms. H. Anne Plettinger 3456 Villa Rose Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70806 Richard Penrod, Senior Environmental Scientist/State Liaison Officer Office of Environmental Services Northwestern State University Russell Hall, Room 201 Natchitoches, LA 71497 Senior Resident Inspector P.O. Box 1050 St. Francisville, LA 70775 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-8064 September 2007
ENTERGY GULF STATES, INC. **
AND ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.
- DOCKET NO. 50-458 RIVER BEND STATION, UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 155 License No. NPF-47 1.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by Entergy Gulf States, Inc.* (the licensee) dated August 17, 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, as amended, 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 license amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and
- Entergy Operations, Inc. is authorized to act as agent for Entergy Gulf States, Inc., and has exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, operation and maintenance of the facility.
- Entergy Gulf States, Inc., has merged with a wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation.
Entergy Gulf States, Inc., was the surviving company in the merger.
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-47 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 155 and the Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. EOI shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.
3.
The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Thomas G. Hiltz, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 and Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: December 3, 2007
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 155 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-47 DOCKET NO. 50-458 Replace the following pages of the Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 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.
Facility Operating License Remove Insert 3
3 Technical Specifications Remove Insert 5.0-16 5.0-16 (3)
EOI, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, to receive, possess and to use at any time special nuclear material as reactor fuel, in accordance with the limitations for storage and amounts required for reactor operation, as described in the Final Safety Analysis Report, as supplemented and amended; (4)
EOI, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, to receive, possess, and use at any time any byproduct, source and special nuclear material as sealed neutron sources for reactor startup, sealed sources for reactor instrumentation and radiation monitoring equipment calibration, and as fission detectors in amounts as required; (5)
EOI, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, to receive, possess, and use in amounts as required any byproduct, source or special nuclear material without restriction to chemical or physical form, for sample analysis or instrument calibration or associated with radioactive apparatus or components; and (6)
EOI, pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Parts 30, 40 and 70, to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as may be produced by the operation of the facility.
C.
This license shall be deemed to contain and is subject to the conditions specified in the Commission's regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter 1 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 EOI is authorized to operate the facility at reactor core power levels not in excess of 3091 megawatts thermal (100% rated power) in accordance with the conditions specified herein. The items identified in Attachment 1 to this license shall be completed as specified. Attachment 1 is hereby incorporated into this license.
(2)
Technical Specifications and Environmental Protection Plan The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 155 and the l
Environmental Protection Plan contained in Appendix B, are hereby incorporated in the license. EOI shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications and the Environmental Protection Plan.
Amendment No. 155
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 155 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-47 ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.
RIVER BEND STATION, UNIT 1 DOCKET NO. 50-458
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application dated August 17, 2007 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML072340544) (Reference 7.1), Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee), requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for the River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS).
The proposed amendment would revise the date for performing the Type A test in the RBS TS 5.5.13, Primary Containment Leak Rate Testing Program, from no later than December 14, 2007" to no later than April 14, 2008.
The proposed change would extend the test interval for the licensee's next Appendix J, Type A test by approximately four additional months beyond the 5-year and 4-month extension already granted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff to the nominal 10-year interval by the NRC letters dated March 5, 2003 and February 9, 2006, via License Amendment Nos. 131 and 150 (References 7.2 and 7.3). The additional 4-month extension would allow the licensee to perform the Type A test during the next scheduled refueling outage (RF14), which has been moved beyond the current due date of December 14, 2007. RF14 has been re-scheduled no later than April 14, 2008, to allow for maintenance on key plant systems while online in the fall of 2007, and for planning of radiation source term dose reduction activities in RF14.
In its application dated August 17, 2007, the licensee stated that the reason for the request is to avoid the hardship of an additional plant shutdown (estimated duration of 7 days) that would be required for the conduct of the integrated leak rate test (IRLT) under the current TS requirement. This situation arose from the fact that the next refueling outage (RF14) originally scheduled to begin in October 2007, during which the ILRT was planned to be conducted, has been moved beyond the current ILRT due date of December 14, 2007. The licensee further stated that the need to perform the above work was not recognized until recently.
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
In Section 50.36 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the Commission established its regulatory requirements related to the content of the TSs. Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.36, TSs are required to include items in the following five specific categories related to station operation: (1) safety limits, limiting safety system settings, and limiting control settings; (2) limiting conditions for operation (LCOs); (3) surveillance requirements (SRs); (4) design features; and (50 administrative controls. The rule does not specify the particular requirements to be included in a plants TSs. As stated in 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(i), [l]imiting conditions for operation are the lowest functional capability or performance levels of equipment required for safe operation of the facility. When a limiting condition for operation of a nuclear reactor is not met, the licensee shall shut down the reactor or follow any remedial action permitted by technical specifications until the condition can be met. TS Section 3.0, on LCO and SR Applicability, provides details or ground rules for complying with the LCOs. As stated in 10 CFR 50.36(c)(5), Administrative Controls are the provisions relating to organizations and management, procedures, recordkeeping, review and audit, and reporting necessary to assure operation of the facility in a safe manner... This may include specifying dates when tests such as the next ILRT must be conducted. The date of the next ILRT test is specified in TS 5.5.13.
10 CFR, Part 50, Appendix J, Option B, requires that a Type A test be conducted at a periodic interval based on historical performance of the overall containment system. The RBS TS 5.5.13, Primary Containment Leakage Rate Testing Program, requires that leakage rate testing be performed as required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J, Option B, as modified by approved exemptions, and in accordance with the guidelines contained in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.163, Performance-Based Containment Leak-Test Program, dated September 1995, with one exception, which is pertinent to the current request and is discussed in the next two paragraphs. This RG endorses, with certain exceptions, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) report NEI 94-01, Revision 0, Industry Guideline for Implementing Performance-Based Option of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J, dated July 26, 1995. The local leakage rate tests (Type B and Type C tests) that verify the integrity of the penetrations and isolation valves, including their schedules, are not affected by this request. The leakage rate testing requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J, Option B (Type A, Type B, and Type C tests) and the Containment Inservice Inspection (CISI) requirements mandated by 10 CFR 50.55a together help ensure the continued leak-tightness and structural integrity of the containment during its service life.
RG 1.163 allows a 10-year interval for the Type A ILRT; however, NRC has granted one-time extensions to make the interval once at 15 years. This one-time extension is approved by specifying the date of the next future Type A ILRT in TS 5.5.13 with this date being 15 years after the last test performed. After this 15-year interval, the interval would be again 10 years.
The Type A test is an overall (integrated) leakage rate test of the containment structure.
NEI 94-01 specifies an initial test interval of 48 months, but allows an extended interval of 10 years, based upon two consecutive successful tests. The most recent two Type A tests at RBS have been successful, so the current interval requirement would normally be 10 years.
However, by letter dated March 5, 2003 (Reference 7.2), the NRC staff granted the licensee a one-time extension of the test interval from 10 years to 15 years via License Amendment No. 131. In addition, by letter dated February 9, 2006 the NRC staff granted another one-time extension of the test interval from 15 years to 15 years and 4 months via License Amendment No. 150.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
This application is requesting a change to TS 5.5.13 by adding approximately four more months to the 5-year and 4-month extensions already in place, for a total interval of 15 years and 8 months. Specifically, the exception states that the first Type A test performed after the August 15, 1992, Type A test shall be performed no later than April 14, 2008. The proposed TS change does not involve any other changes to licensing commitments or acceptance criteria in this regard. The proposed TS change is only to change the schedule for the next ILRT at RBS.
3.1 Containment Structural Integrity Considerations RBS is a General Electric BWR [Boiling Water Reactor]-6 reactor with a Mark III containment.
The containment consists of a reinforced concrete cylindrical drywell structure, which houses the reactor system, and an annular shaped suppression pool, both enclosed within the freestanding steel primary containment structure. The primary containment vessel is enveloped by an open annulus area and a concrete Shield Building which serves as a secondary containment. The primary containment vessel has access penetrations. The overall integrity of the primary containment vessel is verified by a Type A ILRT and the integrity of the penetrations and isolation valves are verified by Type B and Type C local leak rate tests as required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix J. These tests are performed to verify the essential leak-tight characteristics of the containment structure at the design-basis accident pressure. The last ILRT was successfully performed in August 1992.
In Attachment 2, "Containment Evaluation," of the August 17, 2007, application, the licensee provided a summary of the status of the CISI program subsequent to the information provided in support of the application for License Amendment No. 150. The licensee stated that:
1.
Changes to the Containment ISI Program There have been no changes to the Containment ISI Program since the supplemental information [(Ref. 2)] was provided to support the previous submittal [(Ref. 1)]. However, it is anticipated that the current Containment ISI interval will be extended as allowed under 10 CFR 50.55a and IWE-2412 to coincide with the proposed date for completing RF14.
2.
Containment Inspection (Appendix J & Containment ISI Required Examination and Testing)
Since the previous submittal [(Ref. 1)] and the supplemental information
[(Ref. 2)], no General Visual Examinations of the containment surfaces were performed. In accordance with RG 1.163, this General Visual Examination of both containment surfaces must be performed three times during a 10-year testing interval and one of them must be conducted prior to an ILRT. For the current interval, RBS has performed two inspections and the third inspection will be performed during the coming refueling outage (RF14) prior to the ILRT.
The last containment inspection was performed in RF12, October 2004, and no indications or problems were found.
3.
Bellows Testing No test was performed for bellows since the previous submittal [(Ref. 1)] and the supplemental information [(Ref. 2)]. The next bellows tests will be performed in the coming refueling outage (RF14).
Thus, there have been no CISI examinations performed on the RBS containment since October 2004, and the licensee has scheduled the next CISI inspections for the RF14 outage during which the next ILRT is scheduled to be conducted.
Note: The references listed in items 1 through 3 above are the following: (1) Ref. 1 is the licensee amendment request LAR 2005-01, dated March 8, 2005, from the licensee to NRC, for one-time extension of the ILRT, and (2) Ref. 2 is the supplemental letter dated January 17, 2006, to licensee amendment request LAR 2005-01.
In the safety evaluations for License Amendment Nos. 131 and 150, the NRC staff found that the licensee had an adequate inservice inspection program and procedures in place to periodically examine, monitor, and manage age-related and environmental degradations of the pressure-retaining components of the RBS containment, which the licensee has effectively implemented thus far.
Based on the licensees application dated August 17, 2007, and safety evaluations for License Amendment Nos. 131 and 150 (which previously extended ILRT interval from 15 years to the current 15 years and 4 months), the NRC staff finds that there is reasonable assurance that the containment structural and leak-tight integrity will continue to be maintained without undue risk to safety until the next Type A test proposed to be conducted during the RF14 refueling outage, because the RBS primary containment aging degradations are effectively monitored and managed. Therefore, extending the current ILRT interval by an additional 4 months to an interval of 15 years and 8 months, as requested by the licensee, is acceptable.
3.2 Probabilistic Risk Assessment The NRC approved a one-time extension of the containment ILRT interval from 10 to 15 years in License Amendment No. 131, and a similar extension of the drywell bypass leakage test (DWBT) interval In License Amendment No. 144. An additional extension of the ILRT interval to 15 years and 4 months was approved in License Amendment No. 150. Each test interval extension was supported by a licensee risk assessment. Since the ILRT and DWBT are typically performed on the same frequency, the latter two risk assessments evaluated the combined impact of both an extended ILRT and an extended DWBT. The NRCs reviews of the licensees risk assessments were documented in the Safety Evaluation Report (SER) for the respective license amendments, and concluded that the combined risk impact of the test interval extensions, in terms of total integrated plant risk, large early-release frequency (LERF),
and conditional containment failure probability, is small and supportive of the change.
This application requests that administrative TS 5.5.13 regarding the containment ILRT be amended to allow the currently approved interval of 15 years and 4 months to be extended to 15 years and 8 months. Although the request does not include an extension to the DWBT interval, the licensee performed a risk assessment of the combined impact of extending the test interval for the ILRT and DWBT from 10 years to 15 years and 8 months. (The DWBT interval was conservatively assumed to also be extended in order to facilitate comparisons with the previous submittal.) The risk assessment was provided in the August 17, 2007, application for license amendment. The risk assessment is based on the same methodology, input, and assumptions used to support License Amendment No. 150, with the exception of the revised test interval and the use of an updated version of the plant-specific probabilistic risk assessment.
Based on the analyses provided by the licensee, the risk impacts and risk comparisons for the proposed change are essentially unchanged from those reported in the previous SER, and the NRC staff conclusions remain valid. Specifically, the increase in the total integrated plant risk is small and supportive of the proposed change, the increase in the test interval results in only a small change in LERF consistent with the acceptance guidelines of RG 1.174, and the defense-in-depth philosophy is maintained based on the small magnitude of the change in the conditional containment failure probability.
Based on these conclusions, the NRC staff finds that the increase in predicted risk due to the proposed change is within the acceptance guidelines, while maintaining the defense-in-depth philosophy of RG 1.174 and, therefore, is acceptable.
3.3 Conclusions - Technical Evaluations Based on the foregoing evaluations in Sections 3.1 and 3.2, the NRC staff finds that the extension of the ILRT test interval for the next containment ILRT at RBS to 15 years and 8 months, and the proposed change to TS Section 5.5.13 are acceptable.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Louisiana 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. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the 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 published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2007 (72 FR 51857). 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 Commission's 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
7.1 Letter No. RBG-46724 dated August 17, 2007, from Jerry C. Roberts, Entergy Operations, Inc., to NRC Re: River Bend Station, Unit 1, License Amendment Request, LAR 2007-10, One-Time Extension of the Integrated Leak Rate Test Interval, Docket No. 50-458, License No. NPF-47 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072340544).
7.2 Letter dated March 5, 2003, from Michael Webb, NRC, to Paul D. Hinnenkamp, Entergy Operations Inc., Re: River Bend, Unit 1, License Amendment No. 131, Re: One-Time Extension of Integrated Leak Rate Test Interval [From 10 Years to 15 Years], TAC No. MB5092 (ADAMS Accession No. ML030650187).
7.3 Letter dated February 9, 2006, from Bhalchandra Vaidya, NRC, to Paul D. Hinnenkamp, Entergy Operations Inc., Re: River Bend Station, Unit 1 - Issuance of Amendment
[No. 150] re: Additional Extension of Appendix J, Type A Integrated Leakage Rate Test Interval [from 15 Years to 15 Years and 4 Months], TAC No. MC6328 (ADAMS Accession No. ML060410310).
Principal Contributors: R. Palla B. Lee G. Thomas H. Ashar Date: December 3, 2007