ML091350257

Request for Additional Information the Alloy 800 Steam Generator Tube Sleeving Licence Amendment

ML091350257
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley
Issue date:	05/19/2009
From:	Nadiyah Morgan Plant Licensing Branch 1
To:	Sena P FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
morgan n
References
TAC MD9969
Download: ML091350257 (4)

Text

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'i-/) ...0 Mr. Peter P. Sena III Site Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Beaver Valley Power Station Mail Stop A-BV":SEB1 P.O. Box 4, Route 168 Shippingport, PA 15077

SUBJECT:

BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION, UNIT NO.2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE: THE ALLOY 800 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE SLEEVING LICENSE AMENDMENT (TAC NO. MD9969)

Dear Mr. Sena:

By letter dated October 10, 2008, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company requested an amendment to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit NO.2.

The proposed changes would (1) modify TSs to allow an additional method of repair for steam generator tubes, involving use of Westinghouse leak limiting Alloy 800 sleeves and (2) clarify an existing reporting requirement concerning steam generator tube inspection.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is reviewing the submittal and has determined that additional information is needed to complete its review. The specific questions are found in the enclosed request for additional information (RAI). The NRC staff is requesting that the licensee provide a response to the RAI within 30 days of receipt and follow-up with the approved, revised TSs within the next 30 days.

Please contact me at (301) 415-1016, if you have any questions regarding this issue.

Sincerely, Nadiyah S. Morgan, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 1-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-412

Enclosure:

RAI cc w/encl: Distribution via Listserv

REQUEST FOR ADDITONAL INFORMATION REGARDING LICENSE AMENDMENT FOR ALLOY 800 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE SLEEVING BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION. UNIT NO.2 DOCKET NO. 50-412 By letter dated October 10, 2008, (Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML082890823), FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (licensee) requested an amendment to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit NO.2 (BVPS-2). The proposed changes would (1) modify TSs to allow an additional method of repair for steam generator (SG) tubes, involving use of Westinghouse leak limiting Alloy 800 sleeves and (2) clarify an existing reporting requirement concerning steam generator tube inspection. In order to complete the review of the document listed above, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff needs the following additional information:

1. Page 8 of Enclosure A of Reference 1 indicates that detection capability would be established with an operational margin relative to structurally limiting flaws, and that flaws would be plugged on detection. As a result, it would not be necessary to determine flaw sizes and, thus, sizing accuracy does not need to be quantified. BVPS-2 TSs requires condition monitoring assessments to be conducted during every outage in which the SG tubes are inspected. Since operating experience, e.g., NRC Regulatory Issues Summary 2000-22 (Reference 2) has shown that significant flaws can occur, even when inspected with qualified techniques, clarify how you will demonstrate tube integrity as part of the condition monitoring assessment.

2. Page 17 of Reference 1 indicates that the parent tube adjacent to the nickel band will be inspected prior to sleeve installation, and implies that no time limit will be needed on how long the sleeve can remain in service. The qualification data in Enclosure D of Reference 1, for verifying the inspection technique's capability to detect flaws in the parent tube adjacent to the nickel band, consists of only four cracks in one specimen. The depths of the cracks are large, with three of the four cracks being through-wall. Given the lack of a rigorous database supporting the ability to inspect this location, discuss how long you intend to leave the sleeves in service and your plans for incorporating this time limit in the BVPS-2 TSs. In addition, discuss your plans to modify the BVPS-2 TSs to reflect the limited inspection capability demonstrated in the parent tube behind the nickel band.

3. Page 4 of Reference 1 indicates that an inspection of the parent tube, at the location where the joint would be established, would be performed prior to installation of the sleeve.

Reference 1 also states that any service-induced indications observed in the parent tube wall at the joint location, or within 3 inches below the lower end of the lower joint of a "TZ" sleeve, would preclude installation of the sleeve. Given the importance of verifying that no detectable degradation exists in the parent tube at the location where the sleeve joint will be Enclosure

-2 established, discuss your plans to include requirements in the BVPS-2 TSs for inspecting the parent tube at the location where the sleeve joint will be established, immediately prior to the installation of the sleeve, and for allowing sleeve installation only if the inspection finds the region free from service-induced indications.

4. Page 11 of Reference 1 concludes that the sleeve should not inwardly deform during operation. Enclose D of Reference 1 reviews the collapse testing performed on the Alloy 800 sleeves. The testing was limited to a few specimens and may not have bounded the entire range of possible conditions, such as the tightness variability of Alloy 800 sleeve joints, which might have shown that this type of joint could achieve leak-tight sleeve-to-tube contact pressures similar to tungsten inert gas (TIG) and laser welded sleeves. Given the operating experience cited in Reference 1, that TIG and laser welded sleeves have inwardly deformed, discuss your plans to include a TS requirement to report this condition if it were to occur. In addition, discuss your plans for providing a root cause analysis, an assessment of the integrity of the sleeve/parent tube complex, and proposed corrective actions in the event that this condition were to occur.

References:

1. License Amendment Request No.07-007 "Alloy 800 Steam Generator Tube Sleeving,"

dated October 10, 2008.

2. NRC Regulatory Issues Summary 2000-22, "Issues Stemming from NRC Staff Review of Recent Difficulties Experienced in Maintaining Steam Generator Tube Integrity," dated November 3,2000.

May 19, 2009 Mr. Peter P. Sena III Site Vice President FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Beaver Valley Power Station Mail Stop A-BV-SEB 1 P.O. Box 4, Route 168 Shippingport, PA 15077

SUBJECT:

BEAVER VALLEY POWER STATION, UNIT NO.2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE: THE ALLOY 800 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE SLEEVING LICENSE AMENDMENT (TAC NO. MD9969)

Dear Mr. Sena:

By letter dated October 10, 2008, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company requested an amendment to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit NO.2.

The proposed changes would (1) modify TSs to allow an additional method of repair for steam generator tubes, involving use of Westinghouse leak limiting Alloy 800 sleeves and (2) clarify an existing reporting requirement concerning steam generator tube inspection.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is reviewing the submittal and has determined that additional information is needed to complete its review. The specific questions are found in the enclosed request for additional information (RAI). The NRC staff is requesting that the licensee provide a response to the RAI within 30 days of receipt and follow-up with the approved, revised TSs within the next 30 days.

Please contact me at (301) 415-1016, if you have any questions regarding this issue.

Sincerely, IRA!

Nadiyah S. Morgan, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 1-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-412

Enclosure:

RAI cc w/encl: Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC RidsNrrDorlDpr RidsRgn 1MailCenter LPLI-1 R/F RidsNrrDciCsgb DWerkheiser, RI RidsNrrDorlLpl1-1 KKarwoski RidsOGCMailCenter RidsNrrPMNMorgan AJohnson RidsNrrLASLittle RidsAcrsAcnwMailCenter ADAMS Accesslon N0.: ML091350257 *See memo dae t d M ay 1, 2009 OFFICE LPLI-1/PM LPLI-1/LA DCI/CSGB/BC DORLILPLI-1/BC (A)

NAME NMorQan SUttle MGavrilas* JBoska DATE 5/19/09 5/19/09 5/112009 5/19/09