ML080580155
| ML080580155 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook, 05000040, 07201030 |
| Issue date: | 03/04/2008 |
| From: | Weber M Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Gavutis S C-10 Research & Education Foundation |
| Davis B J 301-492-3371 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML080580151 | List: |
| References | |
| G20080093, LTR-08-0076, SECY-2008-0086 | |
| Download: ML080580155 (4) | |
Text
March 4, 2008 Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director C-10 Research and Education Foundation 44 Merrimac Street Newburyport, MA 01950
SUBJECT:
C-10 REQUEST FOR AUDIT VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTATION FOR TRANSNUCLEAR, INC. NUHOMS HD 32PT DRY SHIELDED CANISTERS TO BE USED AT SEABROOK STATION (72-1030)
Dear Ms. Gavutis:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of February 7, 2008, to Chairman Klein, requesting that we perform an audit to verify that all Transnuclear, Inc. (TN) NUHOMS HD 32PT casks scheduled to be loaded with spent fuel during Seabrook Stations refueling outage, in April 2008, have verified certificates of performance.
NRC staff has determined an audit is not necessary at this time for several reasons. Although there have been three instances of undocumented temporary weld attachments (TWAs), as cited in your letter, they have not been linked to a common root cause. In addition, in each case, subsequent testing and analysis have been performed by TN and its fabricators, and reviewed by NRC staff, to ensure that safety is maintained. Finally, the 32PT casks to be used at Seabrook Station were fabricated at Hitachi Zosen, not at GE-Hitachi, located in Canonsburg, PA, where the recent TWA documentation problems occurred.
There are also a number of activities in place to help ensure that quality control documentation will be in place for storage casks to be used at Seabrook Station. These include the following:
NRC has an inspection program that ensures that fabrication activities are performed in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Parts 21, 71, and 72, the applicable Certificate of Compliance and Safety Analysis Report, and TNs NRC-approved Quality Assurance program. The cask fabricators are all regularly inspected, and GE-Hitachi, where the recent TWA problems occurred, is currently on an enhanced (i.e., more frequent) inspection schedule.
In January 2008, staff requested that TN submit a corrective action plan to ensure that loss or omission of required documentation does not recur (ML080090376). We will review TN's response upon receipt to ensure its adequacy.
The licensee, FPL Energy, is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate paperwork for the casks is in order, before loading.
We appreciate your interest in ensuring safe storage of spent fuel at Seabrook Station. The NRC shares this objective.
If you have further questions, please contact Jennifer Davis, of my staff, at (301) 492-3371, or bjd1@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Michael F. Weber, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-1030
We appreciate your interest in ensuring safe storage of spent fuel at Seabrook Station. The NRC shares this objective.
If you have further questions, please contact Jennifer Davis, of my staff, at (301) 492-3371, or bjd1@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Michael F. Weber, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-1030 DISTRIBUTION: G20080093/EDATS: SECY-2008-0086 SFST r/f NMSS r/f ESchultz ELeeds GEMiller/NRR RTemps JPearson ML080580151 OFC:
SFST SFST Tech Ed SFST SFST NAME:
BJDavis WWheatley EKraus DPstrak RNelson DATE:
02/27/08 02/28/08 02/28/08 02/28/08 02/29/08 OFC:
NMamish Ehackett for EWBrach MWeber DATE:
03/03/08 03/04/08 03/04/08 C = COVER E = COVER & ENCLOSURE N = NO COPY OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
C-10 AUDIT REQUEST cc:
James M. Peschel FPL Energy Seabrook LLCPO Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874 Mr. Donis Shaw Transnuclear, Inc 7135 Minstrel Way, Suite 300 Columbia, MD 21045 Ms. Tara Neider Transnuclear, Inc 7135 Minstrel Way, Suite 300 Columbia, MD 21045 Mr. Robert Grubb Transnuclear, Inc.
7135 Minstrel Way, Suite 300 Columbia, MD 21045