ML082060572
| ML082060572 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Prairie Island  |
| Issue date: | 07/28/2008 |
| From: | Thomas Wengert NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIII-1 |
| To: | Wadley M Nuclear Management Co |
| Wengert, Thomas NRR/DORL 415-4037 | |
| References | |
| TAC MD9142, TAC MD9143 | |
| Download: ML082060572 (5) | |
Text
July 28, 2008 Mr. Michael D. Wadley Site Vice President Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089
SUBJECT:
PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 -
REQUEST FOR SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR ACCEPTANCE REVIEW OF LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST (TAC NOS. MD9142 AND MD9143)
Dear Mr. Wadley:
By letter dated June 26, 2008, Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) submitted a license amendment request for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. The proposed amendment would modify the technical specifications (TSs) to allow the use of Westinghouse 0.422-inch OD 14X14 VANTAGE+ fuel. The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff=s acceptance review of this amendment request. The acceptance review was performed to determine if there is sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review.
The acceptance review is also intended to identify whether the application has any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the plant.
Consistent with Section 50.90 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), an amendment to the license (including the TSs) must fully describe the changes requested, and following as far as applicable, the form prescribed for original applications. Section 50.34 of 10 CFR addresses the content of technical information required. This section stipulates that the submittal address the design and operating characteristics, unusual or novel design features, and principal safety considerations.
The NRC staff has reviewed your application and concluded that the information delineated in the enclosure to this letter is necessary to enable the staff to make an independent assessment regarding the acceptability of the proposed amendment request in terms of regulatory requirements and the protection of public health and safety and the environment.
In order to make the application complete, the NRC staff requests that NMC supplement the application to address the information requested in the enclosure by August 6, 2008. This will enable the NRC staff to begin its detailed technical review. If the information responsive to the NRC staff=s request is not received by the above date, the application will not be accepted for review pursuant to 10 CFR 2.101, and the NRC will cease its review activities associated with the application. If the application is subsequently accepted for review, you will be advised of any further information needed to support the staff=s detailed technical review by separate correspondence.
The information requested and associated time frame in this letter were discussed with Mr. Lenny Sueper of your staff on July 22, 2008.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-4037.
Sincerely,
/RA Chawla for/
Thomas J. Wengert, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch III-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306
Enclosure:
As stated cc w/encl: See next page
The information requested and associated time frame in this letter were discussed with Mr. Lenny Sueper of your staff on July 22, 2008.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-4037.
Sincerely,
/RA Chawla for/
Thomas J. Wengert, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch III-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306
Enclosure:
As stated cc w/encl: See next page DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC LPL3-1 r/f RidsNrrDorlLpl3-1 RidsNrrPMTWengert RidsNrrLATHarris RidsOGCRp RidsAcrsAcnw&mMailCenter RidsNrrDssSrxb RidsNrrDssSnpb RidsNrrDraAadb RidsRgn3MailCenter B. Parks, NRR A. Boatright, NRR S. Wu, NRR Accession Number: ML082060572 OFFICE NRR/LPL3-1/PM NRR/LPL3-1/LA NRR/SRXB/BC NRR/SNPB/BC NRR/AADB/BC NRR/LPL3-1/BC NAME TWengert MC for THarris GCranston AMendiola ACA for RTaylor LJames DATE 0725/08 07/25/08 07/25/08 07/25/08 07/25/08 07/28/08 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 cc:
Peter M. Glass Assistant General Counsel Xcel Energy Services, Inc.
414 Nicollet Mall (MP4)
Minneapolis, MN 55401 Manager, Regulatory Affairs Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089 Manager - Environmental Protection Division Minnesota Attorney General=s Office 445 Minnesota St., Suite 900 St. Paul, MN 55101-2127 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Resident Inspector's Office 1719 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089-9642 Administrator Goodhue County Courthouse Box 408 Red Wing, MN 55066-0408 When distributing documents that are not addressed to Wadley, add Wadley to the mailing list as follows:
Mr. Michael D. Wadley Site Vice President Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089 Commissioner Minnesota Department of Commerce 85 7th Place East, Suite 500 St. Paul, MN 55101-2198 Tribal Council Prairie Island Indian Community ATTN: Environmental Department 5636 Sturgeon Lake Road Welch, MN 55089 Nuclear Asset Manager Xcel Energy, Inc.
414 Nicollet Mall (MP4)
Minneapolis, MN 55401 Dennis L. Koehl Chief Nuclear Officer Nuclear Management Company, LLC 414 Nicollet Mall (MP4)
Minneapolis, MN 55401 Joel P. Sorenson Director, Site Operations Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC 1717 Wakonade Drive East Welch, MN 55089
REQUEST FOR SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ALLOW USE OF WESTINGHOUSE 14X14 VANTAGE+ FUEL (TAC NOS. MD9142 AND MD9143)
- 1) Please clarify the difference between "evaluate" and "analyze" as discussed in Chapter 5 of the licensing report. For those sections that discuss particular analyses, it is clear what the analysis entailed. For evaluations, however, the NRC staff seeks to understand how the licensee assured itself that reanalysis was not required. Please provide a summary of the evaluation technique used.
- 2) The excessive load increase section retains generic, boiler-plate language referring to general Westinghouse design features. Please clarify whether these design features (step and ramp load increase capabilities) apply to Prairie Island.
- 3) Section 5.2.4 of the licensing report states, "a post-LOCA core boric acid precipitation analysis was most recently performed as part of the Safety Analysis Transition Program/RSG Program (Reference 24)." The mentioned reference does not discuss this analysis. Please supplement the licensing report with a comprehensive discussion of post-LOCA long-term core cooling, including the following:
Discussion of different cases and scenarios analyzed Modeling assumptions and their impact on boric acid solubility and precipitation Description of thermal/hydraulic behavior in the lower plenum mixing volume, if credited Limiting times for manual recovery actions, including the types of actions, minimum initiation times, and maximum initiation times Predictions, calculations, and analyses of the behavior of various recovery systems, including refueling water storage tank, safety injection accumulators, sump mixing behavior during recirculation, etc.
- 4) Section 2.5 Seismic/LOCA Impact on Fuel Assemblies: The approved Westinghouse methodology to analyze the seismic and LOCA loading is WCAP-9401. Provide justification for use of the NKMODE and WECAN codes. In addition, provide the analytical description and results for mixed core.
- 5) Are the core isotopics based on Westinghouse 14x14 VANTAGE+ fuel, as calculated using an approved isotopic depletion/generation code (e.g., ORIGEN), bounded by the core isotopics calculated for the current design-basis accident analyses using the currently licensed fuel type?
ENCLOSURE