ML092930502
| ML092930502 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Point Beach  |
| Issue date: | 10/22/2009 |
| From: | Justin Poole Plant Licensing Branch III |
| To: | Meyer L Point Beach |
| Poole Justin/DORL/LPL3-1/ 301-415-2048 | |
| References | |
| TAC MD9321, TAC MD9322 | |
| Download: ML092930502 (2) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 October 22, 2009 Mr. Larry Meyer Site Vice President NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC 6610 Nuclear Road Two Rivers, WI 54241-9516
SUBJECT:
POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM REACTOR SYSTMES BRANCH RELATED TO LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST NO. 247 SPENT FUEL POOL STORAGE CRITICALITY CONTROL - ROUND 3 (TAC NOS. MD9321 AND MD9322)
Dear Mr. Meyer:
By letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dated July 24, 2008, as supplemented by letters dated September 19, 2008, April 14, May 22, August 7, and August 27,2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos.
ML082240685, ML082630114, ML091050499, ML091420436, ML092220273, and ML092400262, respectively), FPL Energy Point Beach, LLC, submitted a license amendment application to revise the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, licensing basis to reflect a revision to the spent fuel pool criticality analysis methodology.
The NRC staff is reviewing your submittal and has determined that additional information is required to complete the review. The specific information requested is addressed in the enclosure to this letter. During a discussion with your staff on October 8, 2009, it was agreed that you would provide the additional information within 30 days of the date of this letter.
The NRC staff considers that timely responses to requests for additional information help ensure sufficient time is available for staff review and contribute toward the NRC's goal of efficient and effective use of staff resources. If circumstances result in the need to revise the requested response date, please contact me at (301) 415-2048.
RfZ-Justin C. Poole, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-266 and 50-301
Enclosure:
Request for Additional Information cc w/encl: Distribution via ListServ
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION POINT BEACH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-266 AND 50-301 Based on the information submitted by the licensee to date, the staff finds that the licensee's analysis does not provide reasonable assurance that Point Beach fuel storage will comply with the regulatory limit of kelt less than 1.0 under unborated conditions. Currently, there is not a generically-approved methodology for performing a spent fuel pool (SFP) criticality analysis.
Therefore, licensees must submit a plant-specific SFP criticality analysis that includes technically-supported margins. Issues identified during staff review to date have reduced the reserved analytical margin, an order of magnitude from 0.5 percent L1k to 0.049 percent L1k. The analysis currently shows a maximum kelt of 0.99951. The analytical margin is normally reserved to address potential uncertainties that are unaccounted for. The reserved analytical margin of 0.049 percent L1k essentially requires that there are no other uncertainties that must be accounted for, and that the remaining portions of the analysis are without issues. The staff finds that this is not the case for the Point Beach analysis.
For example, the proper use of the constant specific power and operating history assumption alone requires an additional allowance of 0.2 percent L1k margin, according to NUREG-6665, "Review and Prioritization of Technical Issues Related to Burnup Credit for LWR Fuel." With the reserved analytical margin at 0.049 percent L1k, the analysis is unable to accommodate this additional uncertainty. The analysis no longer provides reasonable assurance that kelt will be less than 1.0.
With available margin being so small, issues that may be otherwise resolved by engineering judgment become more important to consider and quantify. Consequently, an issue that was relatively insignificant in the past can now be significant enough to cause regulatory limits to be exceeded. Issues such as the effect of not accounting for fission products and actinides in the criticality code validation, become important to quantify when any additional error greater than or equal to 0.00049 in L1k results in non-compliance. An analysis that retains the full 0.5 percent L1k analytical margin intact may allow the staff to accept engineering judgment to disposition certain issues.
ENCLOSURE
Mr. Larry Meyer Site Vice President NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC 6610 Nuclear Road Two Rivers, WI 54241-9516
SUBJECT:
POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM REACTOR SYSTMES BRANCH RELATED TO LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST NO. 247 SPENT FUEL POOL STORAGE CRITICALITY CONTROL - ROUND 3 (TAC NOS. MD9321 AND MD9322)
Dear Mr. Meyer:
By letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dated July 24, 2008, as supplemented by letters dated September 19,2008, April 14, May 22, August 7, and August 27,2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos.
ML082240685, ML082630114, ML091050499, ML091420436, ML092220273, and ML092400262, respectively), FPL Energy Point Beach, LLC, submitted a license amendment application to revise the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, licensing basis to reflect a revision to the spent fuel pool criticality analysis methodology.
The NRC staff is reviewing your submittal and has determined that additional information is required to complete the review. The specific information requested is addressed in the enclosure to this letter. During a discussion with your staff on October 8, 2009, it was agreed that you would provide the additional information within 30 days of the date of this letter.
The I'JRC staff considers that timely responses to requests for additional information help ensure sufficient time is available for staff review and contribute toward the NRC's goal of efficient and effective use of staff resources. If circumstances result in the need to revise the requested response date, please contact me at (301) 415-2048.
Sincerely, IRA!
Justin C. Poole, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 111-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-266 and 50-301
Enclosure:
Request for Additional Information cc w/encl: Distribution via ListServ DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC RidsNrrLATHarris Resource LPL3-1 r/f RidsNrrPMPointBeach Resource RidsNrrDorILp/3-1 Resource GCranston, NRR RidsRgn3MailCenter Resource RidsOgcRp Resource TNakanishi, NRR RidsAcrsAcnw_MailCTR Resource RidsNrrDirsltsb Resource RidsNrrDorlDpr Resource ADAI\\IIS Accession Number ML092930502 OFFICE LPL3-1/PM LPL3-1/LA NRRISRXB/BC LPL3-1/BC NAME JPoole I
THarris GCranston RPascarellj DATE 10/22/09 10/22/09 10/22/09 10/22/09 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY