ML110620471
| ML110620471 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Duane Arnold  |
| Issue date: | 03/11/2011 |
| From: | Quay T Plant Licensing Branch III |
| To: | Saporito T - No Known Affiliation |
| Feintuch K, NRR/DORL/LPL3-1, 415-3079 | |
| References | |
| TAC ME5012, 2.206, NRC-585, G20100688, OEDO-2010-0925 | |
| Download: ML110620471 (50) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 11, 2011 Mr. Thomas Saporito, Petitioner Post Office Box 8413 Jupiter, Florida 33468-8363 saporit03@gmail.com
SUBJECT:
CLOSURE LETTER RE: THOMAS SAPORITO 10 CFR 2.206 PETITION REQUESTING ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER (DAEC) REGARDING CRACKED WELD (TAC NO. ME5012)
Dear Mr. Saporito:
Your petition dated November 12, 2010 (Refer to Enclosure 1), addressed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) was referred to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 2.206 of the Commission's regulations. In your petition you requested that the NRC take enforcement type action related to your concerns about an "indication identified in the N2A Recirculation Inlet Safe End to Safe End extension Dissimilar Metal Weld," at DAEC.
As the basis for your request, you stated that on or about November 6, 2010, the licensee noticed the NRC in a 21-page report [pertaining to an] "indication identified in the N2A Recirculation Inlet Safe End to Safe End extension Dissimilar Metal Weld." In addition, you provided a copy of a televised news article by Dave Franzman, Reporter entitled "Cracked Weld Discovered During Duane Arnold Refueling Outage."
On November 17,2010, Karl Feintuch petition manager, contacted you by email (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML103220270) to inform you on the 10 CFR 2.206 process and to provide you with an opportunity to address the NRC's petition review board (PRB) prior to the PRB's internal discussion to make the initial recommendation. On November 22,2010, you addressed the PRB by teleconference to discuss your petition. The teleconference was recorded by the NRC Operations Center and transcribed by a court reporter (Refer to Encloure 2). In addition, you provided a written statement to the PRB to supplement the teleconference discussion (Refer to Enclosure 3).
Management Directive (MD) 8.11, "Review Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions" ADAMS Accession No. ML041770328 is the governing process for 10 CFR 2.206 petitions. Following the teleconference, the PRB met internally on January 4, 2011, to discuss your petition as supplemented during the teleconference and to make the initial recommendation. In accordance with MD 8.11 the PRB's initial recommendation was that your petition met the criteria for rejection because the issue you raised has been reviewed, evaluated and resolved by the NRC on a generic basis and plant-specific basis. The bases for the detection, evaluation and remediation of the indication have already been the subject of NRC staff review. The following discussion provides a summary of the NRC's resolution for the issue raised in your petition on a generic basis and specifically at DAEC.
T. Saporito -2 Regarding the licensee's choice of repair methods in this specific instance, the weld overlay satisfies all the structural design requirements of the pipe for the original safe-end to safe-end extension welds. The design of the overlay considers all the identified flaws, circumferential and axial, found during the initial ultrasonic test examination. The weld overlay is designed as a full structural overlay. The weld overlay design can effectively address 100 percent through-wall flaws, even though the flaws detected in this instance were not through-wall or 360 degrees around the pipe circumference.
Further, the use of the Alloy 52M filler metal, which is compatible with all the base materials and the dissimilar metal welds that are covered by the overlay, provides resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and creates an effective barrier to flaw extension.
The overlay also results in compressive residual stresses on the inside surface of the weldment that helps to inhibit further SCC of the original weldment. The design of the overlay for the weldment uses methods that are standard in the industry. There are no new or different approaches in this specific overlay design, which would be considered either a first-of-a-kind or inconsistent with previous applications.
Mindful of the history and effectiveness of these repairs, the NRC reviewed the licensee's approach in its request for relief dated November 6, 2010, and its supplementary submittal dated November 10,2010, and found that the licensee's approach was suitable and effective.
Based on its analysis the NRC conveyed its decision to the licensee on November 15, 2010.
The decision to authorize the use of the alternative repair method (weld overlays) was conveyed to the licensee by telephone using a set of scripts to communicate the information to the licensee. The scripts are available for public view using the ADAMS Accession No. ML110240122.
Subsequent to the authorization for the licensee to use the weld overlay repair, the associated safety evaluation (SE) is being prepared, which will be transmitted to the licensee and retained as a record of the event. That SE is expected to be available in ADAMS to the public in the near future (approximately April or May 2011). If you would like to be notified of all future correspondence that the NRC headquarters office issues to DAEC, you can subscribe to the NRC's Operating Reactor Correspondence list server: http://www.nrc.gov/public involvellistserver/plant-by-reg ion. html.
In an email dated January 26, 2011, the petition manager informed you of the PRB's initial recommendation and offered you a second opportunity, per MD 8.11 to provide additional information to the PRB. In that email, the petition manager requested your response before January 28, 2011, if interested in requesting a second opportunity to speak. To ensure delivery of the email dated January 26, 2011, the petition manager sent you a second email on January 31, 2011, with a response requested before February 2, 2011, if you wanted to present additional information. The petition manager emphasized that you did not need to respond to the email unless you were requesting a second opportunity to address the PRB. Since you did not provide a response to either email, the PRB presumed that you would not make a second presentation to the PRB. Therefore, in accordance with MD 8.11, the PRB's initial recommendation is now the final recommendation.
T. Saporito - 3 In accordance with MD 8.11, we are sending you this closure letter, which documents the PRB final recommendation that your petition meets the criteria for rejection because the issue raised has been resolved by the NRC on a generic and plant-specific basis. The content of this closure letter is an update of the information provided in January 26, 2011, and January 31, 2011, email messages to you by Karl Feintuch of the NRC staff.
Should you have any questions about this matter, please contact Dr. Karl Feintuch at 301-415-3079 or karl.feintuch@nrc.gov.
Thank you for bringing the issues contained in your petition to the attention of the NRC.
Sincerely,
~4C~~
Theodore R. Quay, Deputy Division Director Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-331 Enclosures
- 1. Incoming 2.206 Petition dated November 12, 2010;
- 2. Court Reporter Transcript dated November 22, 2010;
- 3. Saporito written statement dated November 22, 2010;
- 4. Nuclear Technology Information cc w/encls:
Mr. Christopher R. Costanzo Vice President Duane Arnold Energy Center 3277 DAEC Road Palo, IA 52324-9785 Distribution via Listserv
T. Saporito -3 In accordance with MD 8.11, we are sending you this closure letter, which documents the PRB final recommendation that your petition meets the criteria for rejection because the issue raised has been resolved by the NRC on a generic and plant-specific basis. The content of this closure letter is an update of the information provided in January 26, 2011, and January 31, 2011, email messages to you by Karl Feintuch of the NRC staff.
Should you have any questions about this matter, please contact Dr. Karl Feintuch at 301-415-3079 or karl.feintuch@nrc.gov.
Thank you for bringing the issues contained in your petition to the attention of the NRC.
Sincerely, IRA!
Theodore R. Quay, Deputy Division Director Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-331 Enclosures
- 1. Incoming 2.206 Petition dated November 12, 2010;
- 2. Court Reporter Transcript dated November 22, 2010;
- 3. Saporito written statement dated November 22, 2010;
- 4. Nuclear Technology Information cc w/encls:
Mr. Christopher R. Costanzo Vice President Duane Arnold Energy Center 3277 DAEC Road Palo, IA 52324-9785 Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION: (G20100688/EDAT: OEDO-2010-0925)
PUBLIC RidsOcaMailCenter Resource LPL3-1 R/F RidsOgcRp Resource RidsEdoMailCenter Resource RidsNrrMailCenter Resource RidsNrrDorl Resource RidsRgn3MailCenter Resource RidsNrrDorlLpl3-1 Resource RidsNrrDpr Resource RidsNrrLABTully Resource TMensah, NRR RdisNrrPMDuaneArnold Resource MMitchell, NRR RidsOpaMail Resource AAndruszkiewicz, NRR ADAMS A ccesslon N0.: ML110620471 ncomlng ML103190731 OFFICE DORLlLPL3-1/PM DORLlLPL3-1/LA DORLlLPL3-1/BC DPR/PGCB/PM DPR/DD NAME KFeintuch BTuily RPascarelli TMensah TQuay DATE 03/11/11 03/11/11 03/11/11 03/11/11 03/11/11 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
- Incoming 2.206 Petition dated November 12, 2010 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE HON. WILLIAM BORCHARDT 1n the Matter of:
NEXTERA ENERGY, Date: 12 NOV 2010 Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant, Docket No.: 05000331
________________________ ~I PETITION UNDER 10 C.F.R. §2.206 SEEKING ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST NEXTERAENERGY AND DUANE ARNOLD NUCLEAR PLANT NOW COMES, Thomas Saporito, (petitioner or Saporito) and submits a "'Petition Under 10 C.J<:R. §2.106 Seeldng Enforcement Action Against NEXTera Energy and Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant" (hereinafter, "Petition"). For the reasons stated below, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should grant the Petition as a matter oflaw:
NRC BAS JURISDICTION AND AUTHORlTYTO GRANT PETII10N The NRC is the government agency charged by the United States Congress to protect public health and safety and the environment related to operation of commercial nuclear reactors in the United States ofAmerica (USA). Congress charged the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with this grave responsibility in creation of the agency through passing the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C.A. §58S1 (ERA). In the instant action, NEXTera Energy and Duane Arnold (hereinafter "licensee"). are collectively and singularly a "licensee" of the NRC and subject to NRC regulations and authority under 10 C.F.R.
§50 and under other NRC regulations and authority in the operation of the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant (DANp). Thus. through Congressional action in creation of the NRC; and the fact that the named-actionable parties identified above by Petitioner are collectively and singularly a licensee of the NRC, the agency has jurisdiction and authority to grant the Petition in the instant action.
STANDARD OF REVIEW A. Criteria for Reviewing PetitiollS UDder 10 C.F.R. §2.206 The staff will review a petition under the requirements of 10 C.F.R. §2.206 if the request meets all of the following criteria:
- The petition contains a request for enforcement-related action such as issuing an order modifying, suspending, or revoking a license, issuing a notice ofvioIation, with or 115 EOO --G20100688
without a proposed civil penalty, etc.
- The facts that constitute the basis for taking the particular action are specified. The petitioner must provide some element of support beyond the bare assertion. The supporting facts must be credible and sufficient to warrant further inquiry.
- There is no NRC proceeding available in which the petitioner is or could be a party and through which petitioners concerns could be addressed. If there is a proceeding available.
for example, if a petitioner raises an issue that he or she has raised or could raise in an ongoing licensing proceeding, the staff will inform the petitioner ofthe ongoing proceeding and will not treat the request under 10 C.F.R. §2.206.
B. Criteria for Rejecting Petitions Under 10 CF.R. §2.206
- The incoming correspondence does not ask. for an enforcement-related action or fails to provide sufficient facts to support the petition but simply alleges wrongdoing, violations of NRC regulations. or existence of safety concerns. The request cannot be simply a general statement of opposition to nuclear power or a general assertion without supporting facts (e.g., the quality assurance at the facility is inadequate). These assertions will be treated as routine correspondence or as allegations that will be referred for appropriate action in accordance with MD 8.8, <<Management ofAllegations".
- The petitioner raises issues that have already been the subject of NRC staff review and evaluation either on that facility, other similar facilities, or on a generic basis, for which a resolution has been achieved, the issues have been resolved, and the resolution is applicable to the facility in question. This would include requests to reconsider or reopen a previous enforcement action (including a decision not to initiate an enforcement action) or a directots decision. These requests will not be treated. as a 2.206 petition unless they present significant new information.
- The request is to deny a license application or amendment. This type ofrequest should initially be addressed in the context ofthe relevant licensing action, not under 10 C.F.R 2.206.
- The request addresses deficiencies within existing NRC rules. This type ofrequest should be addressed as a petition for rulemaking.
See, Volume 8, Licensee Oversight Programs, Review Process for 10 C.F.R. Petitions, Handbook 8.11 Part ill.
REQUEST FOR ENFORCEMENT-RELATED ACTION TO MODIFY, SUSPEND, A LICENSE AND ISSUE A CONFIRMATORY ORDER A. Request for Enforeement-Related Action 215
Petitioner respectfully requests that the NRC: (1) take enforcement action against the above-captioned licensee; (2) issue a confinnatory order requiring the licensee to bring the DANP to a "cold-shutdown" mode of operation; (3) issue a confirmatory order preventing the licensee from bringing the DANP to any mode of operation other than "cold shutdown" Witil the licensee completes fmther testing of its safety-related primary systems and its safety-related secondary systems including. but not limited to. all primary piping systems associated with the nuclear reactor (bot-leg and cold leg) loops; all primary piping systems associated with the steam generator system (including internal piping associated with each steam generator); the nuclear reactor vessel welds (mcluding the belt-line weld); a11 nuclear reactor feed-water system piping which supports inventory to the nuclear reactor; and (4) issue a confirmatory order requiring the licensee to obtain an "independent" evaluation of all the systems identified immediately above by a "certified' independent contractor.
B. Facts That Constitute the Basis forTaJdng the Requested EnfoRement-Related Action Requested by Petitiouer On or about November 6th, 2010, the licensee noticed the NRC in a 21-page report an "indication idenJifled in the N2A Recirculation Inlet Soft End to Saft End extension Dissimilar Metal Weld It The licensee's report describes a preliminary assessment which attributes the problem to "stress corrosion cracking".
3/5
Cracked Weld Discovered During Duane Arnold Refueling Outage By DaVIl Fnnm.n, Reporter
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story Created: NOli 10.2010 at 10:4l ..t.M CST PALO. lawa - NeXlEra Energy has Degun steps. 10 repair a craekec:! weld Joint in a nozzle round dlJrtng a refUelitlg outage at Ole Duane Arnold Energy Center The discovery was oescribea In a 21..page letter to tI'le Nutlear RegUlatOry Commission on Nov. 6 It deStrtbes an 'indlcatron lt1enrified in the H2A Recln:ulatlanlnlet Safe End to Sate End extension DISSImilar Metal Weld.'
C. There Is No NRC Proceeding Available in Which the Petitioner is or Could be a Party and Through Which Petitioner's Concerns Could be Addressed Petitioner avers here that there is no NRC proceeding available in which the Petitioner is or could be a party and througb which Petitioner's concerns could be addressed.
CONCLUSION FOR ALL TIlE ABOVE STATED REASONS. and because Petitioner has amply satisfied aU the requirements under 10 C.F.R. §2.206 for consideration of[bis] Petition by the NRC PRB, the NRC should grant Petitioner's requests made in the Petition as a matter of law.
Respectfully submitted, Thomas Saporito, pro se 4/5
Petitioner Post Office Box 8413 Jupiter. Florida 33468-8413 Voice: (561) 972-8363 Email: saporit03@gmail.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY, that on this 12th day ofNovember. 2010, a copy offoregoing document was provided to those identified below by means shown:
Hon. William Borchardt Executive Director for Operations U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555
{Sent via U.S. Mail and electronic mail}
Hon. Gregory B. Jaczko, Chairman U.S. Nuc1ear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555
{Sent via electronic mail}
James Heller Allegations Coordinator U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III Headquarters
{Sent via electronic mail}
d By: _________~~--~~----
/\~O, Thomas Saponto 5/5
- Court Reporter Transcript dated November 22, 2010 Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Title:
10 CFR 2.206 Petition RE Duane Arnold Energy Center Docket Number: (n/a)
Location: (telephone conference)
Date: Monday, November 22, 2010 Work Order No.: NRC-585 Pages 1-29 NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.
Court Reporters and Transcribers 1323 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 234-4433
1 1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3 + + + + +
4 10 CFR 2.206 PETITION REVIEW BOARD (PRB) 5 CONFERENCE CALL 6 RE 7 DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER 8 + + + + +
9 MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER 22, 2010 11 + + + + +
12 The conference call was held, Theodore 13 Quay, Chairperson of the Petition Review Board, 14 presiding.
15 16 PETITIONER: THOMAS SAPORITO 17 18 PETITION REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS:
19 THEODORE QUAY, Deputy director, Division of Policy 20 and Rulemaking 21 KARL FEINTUCH, Petition Manager for 2.206 Petition 22 TANYA MENSAH, Petition Review Board Coordinator 23 24 25 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 www.nealrgross.com
2 1 NRC HEADQUARTERS STAFF:
2 MOLLY BARKMAN-MARSH, Office of General Counsel, 3 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4 MATTHEW MITCHELL, Branch Chief, Office of Nuclear 5 Reactor Regulation 6 KENNETH RIEMER, Branch Chief, Region 3, Division 7 of Reactor Projects 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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3 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 (9:23 a.m.)
3 MR. FEINTUCH: Okay. First of all, let me 4 -- I'm going to give you some information. This is a 5 recorded line but I'd like to thank everyone for 6 attending this meeting.
7 My name is Karl Feintuch. And I an the 8 Duane Arnold Energy Center Project Manager for the 9 NRC. We're here today to permit the Petitioner, 10 Thomas Saporito, to address the Petition Review Board 11 regarding a 2.206 Petition dated November 12, 2010.
12 I am the Petition Manager for the 13 petition. The Petition Review Board Chairman is Ted 14 Quay.
15 As part of the Petition Review Board's --
16 or PRB, we'll be abbreviating -- review of this 17 petition, Thomas Saporito has requested this 18 opportunity to address the PRB. The meeting was 19 scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00. We've built in 20 some slack time so that -- and I'm going off my 21 prepared statement -- so Mr. Saporito can make the 22 statement he had originally intended.
23 The meeting is being recorded by the NRC 24 Operations Center and will be transcribed by a court 25 reporter. The transcript will become a supplement to NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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4 1 the petition. The transcript will also be made 2 publicly available.
3 I'd like to open the meeting with 4 introductions. As we go around the room, please be 5 sure to clearly state your name, your position, office 6 that you work for within the NRC for the record. And 7 I'll start with myself, Karl Feintuch, as Project 8 Manager for both Duane Arnold and Petition Manager for 9 this particular action.
10 And I'll go around the room. Next --
11 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Ted Quay, Deputy Director 12 of the Division of Policy and Rulemaking, NRR, NRC.
13 MS. MENSAH: Tanya Mensah. I'm the Rule 14 2.06 Coordinator, Petition of Policy and Rulemaking, 15 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
16 MS. BARKMAN-MARSH: Molly Barkman. I'm an 17 attorney in the Office of General Counsel.
18 MR. MITCHELL: Matthew Mitchell, Chief of 19 the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulations, Vessels and 20 Internals Integrity Branch.
21 MR. FEINTUCH: We have completed the 22 introductions at NRC Headquarters. At this time, are 23 there any NRC participants from headquarters on the 24 phone?
25 (No response.)
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5 1 MR. FEINTUCH: Okay, hearing none, are 2 there any NRC participants from Regional Office on the 3 phone?
4 MR. RIEMER: Yes, this is Ken Riemer. I'm 5 the Chief of Reactor Projects, Branch 3, and that 6 includes Duane Arnold. I may be joined by Jim Heller, 7 our Allegations Coordinator, during the call also.
8 MR. FEINTUCH: Are there any 9 representatives for the licensee on the phone?
10 MR. BYRNE: Yes, this is Tom Byrne from 11 NextEra Energy, Duane Arnold.
12 MR. FEINTUCH: Mr. Saporito, would you 13 please introduce yourself for the record.
14 MR. SAPORITO: Yes, I am the Petitioner.
15 My name is Saporito. It's spelled S as in Sam, A-P-O-16 I-T-O. I'm a resident of Jupiter, Florida.
17 MR. FEINTUCH: Are there any others such 18 as members of the public on the phone?
19 (No response.)
20 MR. FEINTUCH: Okay. I'd like to 21 emphasize that we each need to speak clearly and 22 loudly to make sure that the Court Reporter can 23 accurately transcribe the meeting. If you do have 24 something that you would like to say, please first 25 state your name for the record each time that you NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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6 1 speak, if possible.
2 For those dialing into the meeting, please 3 remember to mute your phones to minimize any 4 background noise or distraction. If you do not have a 5 mute button, this can be done by pressing *6. To 6 unmute, press *6 again.
7 Thank you.
8 At this time, I will turn the presentation 9 over to the PRB Chairman, Mr. Ted Quay.
10 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Good morning. Welcome to 11 this meeting regarding the 2.206 petition submitted by 12 Mr. Thomas Saporito.
13 I'd like to first share some background on 14 our process. Section 2.206 of Title 10 of the Code of 15 Federal Regulations describes the petition process, 16 the primary mechanism for the public to request 17 enforcement action by the NRC in a public process.
18 This process permits anyone to petition 19 the NRC to take enforcement-type action related to NRC 20 licensees or license activities. Depending on the 21 results of this evaluation, NRC could modify, suspend, 22 or revoke an NRC-issued license or take any other 23 appropriate enforcement action to resolve a problem.
24 The NRC staff guidanced for the disposition of 2.206 25 petition requests is in Management Directive 8.11, NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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7 1 which is publicly available.
2 The purpose of today's meeting is to give 3 the Petition an opportunity to provide any additional 4 explanation or support for the petition before the 5 Petition Review Board's initial consideration and 6 recommendation.
7 This is not a hearing nor is it an 8 opportunity for the Petitioner to question or examine 9 the Petition Review Board on the merits or issues 10 presented in a petition request. No decision 11 regarding the merits of this petition will be made at 12 this meeting.
13 Following this meeting, the Petition 14 Review Board will conduct its internal deliberations.
15 The outcome of this internal meeting will be 16 discussed with the Petitioner.
17 The Petition Review Board typically 18 consists of a Chairman, usually a manager at the 19 Senior Executive Service Level at the NRC. And it has 20 a Petition Manager and a Petitioner Review Board 21 Coordinator. Other members of the Board are 22 determined by the NRC staff based on the content and 23 the information in the petition request.
24 At this time, I would like to introduce 25 the Board. I am Ted Quay, the Petition Review Board NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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8 1 Chairman. Karl Feintuch is the Petition Manager for 2 the petition under discussion today. Tanya Mensah is 3 the Office's TRB Coordinator.
4 Our technical staff includes Matt 5 Mitchell, Branch Chief from the Office of Nuclear 6 Reactor Regulations, Vessels and Internals Integrity 7 Branch, Kenneth Riemer, Branch Chief, Region 3, 8 Division of Reactor Projects, Branch 2.
9 We also obtain advice from our General 10 Counsel represented by Molly Barkman-Marsh.
11 As described in our process, the NRC staff 12 may ask clarifying questions in order to better 13 understand the Petitioner's presentation and to reach 14 a reasoned decision whether to accept or reject the 15 Petitioner's request for a review under the 2.206 16 process.
17 I would like to summarize the scope of the 18 petition under consideration and the NRC activities to 19 date.
20 On November 12th, 2010, Mr. Saporito 21 submitted to the NRC a petition under 2.206 regarding 22 the Duane Arnold Energy Center. In this petition, Mr.
23 Saporito requested that the NRC one, take enforcement 24 action against the licensee of the Duane Arnold Energy 25 Center; two, issue a confirmatory letter requiring the NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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9 1 licensee to bring the Duane Arnold Energy Center to a 2 cold shutdown mode of operation; three, issue a 3 confirmatory letter preventing the licensee from 4 bringing the Duane Arnold Energy Center to any mode of 5 operation other than cold shutdown until the licensee 6 completes further testing of its safety-related 7 primary and secondary systems and components; and 8 four, issue a confirmatory letter requiring the 9 licensee to obtain an independent evaluation of all 10 relevant systems by a certified independent 11 contractor.
12 As the basis for this request, Mr.
13 Saporito cites one, a November 6th, 2010, 21-page 14 report from the licensee; and two, a news article 15 entitled "Cracked Weld Discovered During Duane Arnold 16 Refueling Outage" authored under the byline Dave 17 Franzman, Reporter, dated November 10th, 2010.
18 The story, as included in the petition, 19 consists of a photograph of the facility, a caption 20 for the photograph, and a one-sentence paragraph 21 citing the 21-page letter report. The publication in 22 which Mr. Franzman's article appeared is not 23 identified in the petition.
24 Allow me to discuss NRC activities to 25 date.
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10 1 On November 15th, 2010, the petition was 2 assigned to a Petition Manager to assemble a team to 3 review the petition.
4 On November 15th, the Petition Manager, 5 Karl Feintuch, contacted the Petitioner by email to 6 acknowledge the petition and to offer an opportunity 7 to appear in person or address the Petition Review 8 Board by phone.
9 On November 17th, 2010, the Petitioner 10 requested to address the Petition Review Board prior 11 to its initial meeting.
12 On November 18th, 2010, the Petition 13 Manager provided information on the date, time, and 14 telephone access for this meeting. The Petitioner was 15 also provided with an ADAMS session number for his 16 petition, which is ML103190731 and for the email 17 exchange of November 16th and 17th, 2010, which is ML18103220406.
19 As a reminder for the phone participants, 20 please identify yourself if you make any remarks as 21 this will help us in the preparation of the meeting 22 transcript that will be made publicly available.
23 Thank you. And at this point, I'm going 24 to turn it over to you, Mr. Saporito.
25 MR. SAPORITO: All right. Thank you very NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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11 1 much. This is Thomas Saporito, the Petitioner. And, 2 for the record, I'm a resident of Jupiter, Florida.
3 I want to thank the NRC for this 4 opportunity to address the Petition Review Board in 5 this manner.
6 A summary of my issues -- hello?
7 CHAIRMAN QUAY: We're here.
8 MR. SAPORITO: Okay. A summary of my 9 issues is a follows:
10 The Duane Arnold Energy Center is located 11 on a 500-acre site on the est bank of the Cedar River, 12 two miles north-northeast of Palo, Iowa, U.S.A., and 13 eight miles northwest of Cedar Rapids. Duane Arnold 14 began operation June 1974 and currently generates a 15 net power output of approximately 615 megawatts using 16 a single General Electric Mark 1 --
17 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Sir, you're breaking up 18 slightly in your presentation. It sounds electronic.
19 Are you talking from a cell phone? Is there a 20 possibility of getting a little stronger signal or --
21 MR. SAPORITO: Yes, and I'm sorry about 22 that. I don't have any control over that.
23 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay. I'll tell you what.
24 Speak a little slower only for the fact that it seems 25 to to be clipping your words. And that way it may NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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12 1 clear as far as the transcript is concerned.
2 MR. SAPORITO: Oh, all right. I'll try 3 that.
4 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay.
5 MR. SAPORITO: The nuclear plant is 36 6 years old and at the very end of its 40-year safety 7 design basis and NRC operational license.
8 As the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant aged 9 over the years, there was an increased need for the 10 licensee to address material degradation caused by 11 stress corrosion cracking, erosion-corrosion, wear, 12 and embrittlement, which can significantly reduce the 13 service life expectancy of the nuclear plant 14 components.
15 On November 6th, 2010, the licensees 16 authored a 21-page report to the NRC which described 17 an "indication identified in the N.A. Recirculation 18 Inlet Safe End to Safe End Extension Dissimilar Metal 19 Weld," for which the licensee attributed the problem 20 to "stress corrosion cracking." Apparently the 21 licensee has failed over the years to properly and 22 aggressively address the material degradation of the 23 Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant of energy center, they're 24 one in the same, and the NRC should be most concerned 25 about number one, material degradation of the balance NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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13 1 of the nuclear plant safety-related systems and 2 components; and, number two, the licensee's apparent 3 failure to properly address the material degradation 4 of the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant safety-related 5 systems and components overall.
6 In the instant action, the November 12th, 7 2010, petition filed under 10 CFR 2.206, requests were 8 made of NRC to take enforcement action against the 9 licensee to ensure for the protection of public health 10 and safety in these circumstances by requiring the 11 licensee to test all safety-related primary systems 12 and safety-related secondary systems as specifically 13 identified in the petition and require the licensee to 14 have a certified independent contractor evaluate the 15 safety-related systems identified in the petition 16 The NRC should require the licensee to 17 have an independent contractor certify the primary and 18 secondary safety-related systems identified in the 19 petition prior to the restart of the nuclear reactor, 20 and in further consideration of the licensee's intent 21 to seek a 20-year extension of its NRC operational 22 license for the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant.
23 NRC regulatory requirements and the Duane 24 Arnold technical specifications prohibit operation of 25 the nuclear reactor system with known through-wall NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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14 1 leakage from the primary water system. Furthermore, 2 NRC regulations, plant technical specifications, and 3 ASME Code requirements serve to ensure that NRC 4 licensees perform inspections to maintain an extremely 5 low probability of abnormal primary water leakage, or 6 rapidly propagating failure, and gross rupture. The 7 licensee's current inspection program implemented at 8 the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant does not appear to 9 permit timely identification of degradation of 10 materials exposed to the primary water environment in 11 a manner consistent with NRC requirements.
12 This next section deals with the 13 licensee's submittals to the NRC. On November 6th, 14 2010, the licensee submitted a document to the NRC 15 entitled, "Alternative to ASME Section XI Requirements 16 to Use Structural Weld Overlay Repairs as an 17 Alternative Repair Technique at the Duane Arnold 18 Energy Center."
19 The licensee proposed an alternative 20 repair activity to the requirements of the American 21 Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure 22 Vessel Code, Section XI, Rules for Inservice 23 Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components. The 24 licensee's proposed alternative would permit the use 25 of full structural weld overlay repair for an NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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15 1 indication identified in the N.A. Recirculation Inlet 2 Safe End to Safe End Extension Dissimilar metal weld.
3 MR. FEINTUCH: Excuse me, Mr. Saporito, 4 this is the Headquarter' Operation Officer. Hey, 5 participants, if you are not talking, please hit *6 on 6 your phone to mute your phones and that should reduce 7 the feedback. Thank you.
8 MR. SAPORITO: The licensee seeks NRC 9 authorization to extend the requested relief sought 10 until February 21, 2014, at which time the NRC 11 operational license for the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant 12 expires.
13 One November 10th, 2010, the licensee 14 authored a second submittal to the NRC entitled, 15 "Revision to Relief Request for Alternative to ASME 16 Section XI Requirements to Use Structural Weld Overlay 17 Repairs as an Alternative Repair Technique at the 18 Duane Arnold Energy Center." In its revised 19 submittal, the licensee stated in relevant part that:
20 ". . . In an --
21 COURT REPORTER: Excuse me, this is the 22 Court Reporter. What is that beeping noise?
23 MR. SAPORITO: This is the Petitioner. If 24 you're asking me, I have no -- I don't hear no beeping 25 noise. And I have no idea.
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16 1 CHAIRMAN QUAY: We're hearing it at 2 Headquarters also. We think there is a feedback but 3 we're not sure because we're on mute. Participants 4 not speaking, please go to mute.
5 MR. SAPORITO: This is the Petitioner.
6 Let me continue.
7 In its revised submittal, the licensee 8 stated in relevant part that, "in an email dated 9 November 9, 2010, the staff issued a request for 10 additional information regarding Reference 1. In 11 response to these questions and a telecon with the NRC 12 on November 9, 2010, NextEra Energy Duane Arnold is 13 revising the relief request provided in Reference 1 to 14 address the request for additional information and 15 remove the discussion pertaining to Mechanical Stress 16 Improvement Process (MSIP). This request supersedes 17 the request provided in Reference 1 in its entirety.
18 "While the determination of the formal 19 root cause is being tracked in the Corrective Action 20 Program, the preliminary assessment is that the 21 indication is due to stress corrosion cracking . . .
22 10 CRF 50.55a, subsections (a)(3)(I) states that the 23 proposed alternatives may be used when authorized by 24 the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 25 Regulation provided that the proposed alternatives NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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17 1 provide an acceptable level of quality and safety."
2 The licensee requested, "verbal approval 3 of this revised request prior to beginning the ASME 4 Class I Leakage Test of the Reactor Pressure Vessel, 5 currently scheduled for November 16, 2010."
6 And before I continue, can the NRC advise 7 as to whether the agency gave the licensee verbal 8 approval of the licensee's revised request for relief?
9 And if so, when did the NRC give that approval? Can 10 somebody give me an answer to that?
11 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Yes. We are still 12 experiencing distortion. Could you repeat the 13 question?
14 MR. SAPORITO: Yes. Can the NRC advise as 15 to whether the agency gave the licensee verbal 16 approval of the licensee's revised request for relief?
17 And if so, when?
18 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Yes, we did. We gave 19 verbal approval. That was done this past Monday.
20 That was done, I guess, the 15th.
21 MR. SAPORITO: Okay.
22 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Do you understand our 23 verbal process?
24 MR. SAPORITO: No.
25 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay.
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18 1 MR. SAPORITO: I would like to explain 2 that. And maybe -- let me finish this and then I 3 would like to understand that though before I end this 4 conversation.
5 I'm going to continue the discussion part 6 of this. Issue #1, as of November 6th, 2010, the 7 licensee has not specifically identified the formal 8 root cause but merely assumed that the indication or 9 crack was due to stress corrosion cracking.
10 The NRC should require the licensee to 11 affirm the formal root cause of the indication or 12 crack prior to allowing the licensee to bring the 13 nuclear reactor to any level of power. If the 14 licensee affirms that the formal root cause of the 15 indication or crack was due to stress corrosion 16 cracking, then the NRC should require the licensee to 17 conduct further inspections as outlined in the 2.206 18 petition and certified by an independent contractor 19 prior to allowing the licensee to bring the nuclear 20 reactor to any level of power.
21 If the licensee affirms that the formal 22 root cause of the indication or crack was due to 23 something other than stress corrosion cracking, then 24 the NRC should require the licensee to conduct further 25 inspections, as outlined in the 2.206 petition, and NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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19 1 certified by an independent contractor prior to 2 allowing the licensee to bring the nuclear reactor to 3 any level of power and take corrective actions as 4 needed.
5 Thus far, the licensee has only made 6 ultrasonic examinations of three additional 7 recirculation riser safe-end-to-safe-end extension 8 welds, which is far too narrow of an examination 9 considering the numerous safety-related plant systems 10 and components which may have similar indications or 11 cracks.
12 Issue #2, the NRC staff found that Topical 13 Report (Materials Reliability Program) TR MRP-169, 14 Revision 1, as revised by letter dated February 3rd, 15 2010, adequately described the methods for the weld 16 overlay design, the supporting analysis of the design, 17 the experiments that verified the analysis, and the 18 inspection requirements of the overlaid dissimilar 19 metal welds.
20 The licensee's November 10th, 2010, 21 revised submittal to the NRC does not appear to fully 22 comply with TR MRP-169, Revision 1, but merely states 23 that, "many of the same requirements are common in the 24 Staff's approval for the Materials Reliability Program 25 Topic Report (MRP-169), for full structural weld NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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20 1 overlays."
2 Thus, the licensee, through its submittals 3 to the NRC, not only seeks relief from the NRC's 4 safety parameters set out in 10 CFR 50.55a, 5 subsections (a)(3)(I), but apparently also seeks 6 relief from NRC requirements under TR MRP-169, 7 Revision 1. Thus, the NRC lacks requisite authority 8 to grant the requested relief sought by the licensee 9 in these circumstances where the licensee seeks relief 10 from NRC regulations and requirements to apparently 11 conduct an experimental and unproven repair 12 methodology, which could jeopardize the health and 13 safety of the public.
14 Notably, the licensee stated in its 15 November 10th, 2010, revised submittal, that "The 16 welding will be performed in accordance with the 17 approved weld procedure described in Attachment 1, 18 using a machine gas tungsten-arc welding process for 19 the RRA-F002A weld and adjacent RRA-J003 stainless 20 steel weld with Alloy 52M, as in Mary, being used for 21 the filler metal. In some instances of this process, 22 flaws in the first layer have occurred in the portion 23 of the overlay deposited on the austenitic stainless 24 steel portion of the assemblies. The flaw 25 characteristics are indicative of hot weld -- of hot NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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21 1 cracking.
2 "This phenomena has not been observed on 3 austenitic stainless steel or Alloy 82/182 DMW 4 portions of the assemblies when welding Alloy 52M, as 5 in Mary, thereon. Studies have determined that this 6 problem may be exacerbated when using Alloy 52M filler 7 metal on austenitic stainless steel materials with 8 higher sulfur content and high levels of silicon, as 9 in the case of cast austenitic stainless steel.
10 "Extensive test and field experience from 11 WSI indicate that hot cracking can be a concern when 12 the sulfur and silicon content in the diluted weld 13 puddle equals or exceed 0.014 percent. The impurity 14 hot cracking threshold level is a function of the 15 composition of the base material, weld filler 16 materials, and the welding parameters that are used 17 because these two factors control the dilution of the 18 solidified weld deposit.
19 "This suggests that a combined sulfur plus 20 silicon content of the base material of approximately 21 0.046 percent will represent a threshold for hot 22 cracking with the weld parameters WSI will use at the 23 Duane Arnold. Duane Arnold will use a barrier layer 24 (buffer layer) on all stainless steel. The barrier 25 layer will use ER308L on the stainless steel and will NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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22 1 incorporate Alloy 82 on the stainless steel near the 2 DMW to stainless steel fusion zone only."
3 As can be discerned from the licensee's 4 description of its intended welding repair activities 5 related to the indication or crack, the licensee 6 intends to deviate well beyond NRC requirements under 7 10 CFR 50.55a and under TR MRP-169. Essentially, the 8 licensee intends to conduct an unproven "field 9 experiment" at the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant in 10 making non-validated assumptions that a combined 11 sulfur plus silicon content of the base material of 12 approximately 0.046 percent will represent a threshold 13 for hot cracking with the weld parameters to be used 14 in the repair activities.
15 Moreover, the licensee intends to place a 16 so-called "barrier layer" using "ER308L" on the 17 stainless steel incorporating Alloy 82 on the 18 stainless steel near the fusion zone. Thus, the 19 licensee's assumptions, guesses, and use of unproven 20 methodology well outside the safety margins 21 established under NRC requirements, should be 22 categorically rejected by the NRC.
23 The final issue, which is Issue #3, the 24 licensee's submittals to the NRC fail to specifically 25 describe the methods, practices, and procedures which NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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23 1 the licensee intends to use at the Duane Arnold to 2 ensure that the nuclear workers involved in the repair 3 activities receive the least amount of radioactive 4 exposure possible during the repair activities, 5 including but not limited to, airborne radioactive 6 contamination, radioactive dose absorption to the 7 body, physical radioactive contamination to the body, 8 et cetera.
9
Conclusion:
the NRC must ensure that 10 public health and safety is protected by requiring the 11 licensee to comply with all NRC requirements in making 12 repairs to the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant in these 13 circumstances. The licensee's proposed relief 14 request, number one, does not comport with NRC 15 requirements under 10 CFR 50.55a and under TR MRP-169, 16 Revision 1; and number two, does not appear to be 17 similar to other recent requests for dissimilar metal 18 weld overlays submitted to the NRC by other NRC 19 licensees; and three, is essentially an unproven 20 "field experiment" at Duane Arnold which will 21 jeopardize public health and safety because the 22 licensee's proposed alternatives fail to provide an 23 acceptable level of quality and safety.
24 Now what I'm going to do is I'm going to 25 email a written version of these comments because of NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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24 1 the poor communications here to make sure that the 2 record properly documents these issues and that 3 document will serve as a supplement to the 2.206 4 petition if there are any problems with that.
5 And if there's any questions, I'll be 6 certainly willing to answer them. But I would also 7 like to point out that -- to the NRC that, you know, 8 the licensee's, part of their proposal here is --
9 especially with respect to the overlay weld that they 10 intend to perform at the fusion end, they want to 11 introduce further dissimilar metals because they want 12 to use Alloy 82 because of terms with respect to hot 13 cracking -- however, Alloy 82, when you introduce that 14 alloy, you are introducing another dissimilar metal to 15 the situation at hand.
16 I would highly suggest that the NRC 17 require that the licensee continue with Alloy 52M 18 throughout the entire procedure. Any concerns about 19 hot cracking with respect to the overlay weld activity 20 at the stainless steel end can be resolved through 21 ultrasonic testing and through dye penetrates to 22 ensure that there are no residual cracking. And if 23 so, they could be rewelded again using 52M.
24 But to introduce another alloy into the 25 situation, I just think is a not-very-well-thought-out NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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25 1 methodology. And in my review of these documents 2 submitted to the NRC by the licensee November 6th and 3 November 10th -- November 6th and November 10th 4 submittals for relief, it appears that the licensee 5 just rushed through this process for economical 6 concerns to get this reactor vessel back on line as 7 quickly as possible.
8 And in my view, that's not justification.
9 You know we need to make certain that the public 10 health and safety is protected. You have a nuclear 11 plant that is at the very end of its safety design 12 basis. It's 36 years old. It stands to reason -- and 13 a reasonably-minded individuals would certainly be 14 concerned that other safety-related systems, pipe 15 systems, components, that make up the primary water 16 system and the cooling systems for the nuclear reactor 17 core, can very well have cracking in them, cracking 18 that exceeds NRC requirements.
19 The licensee's in-service inspection 20 program, which apparently is a ten-year interval 21 program, is apparently not sufficient to detect these 22 flaws and cracks and indications because it was not 23 only until recently where the licensee discovered the 24 situation in the present matter we're discussing, that 25 this crack was discovered.
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26 1 So when you get -- you know this licensee 2 tends to -- in fact I believe they've already made 3 application to the NRC to extend their operating 4 license for an additional 20 years. And, you know, 5 that's a very troubling thought in consideration that 6 this stress -- that the piping in the primary water 7 system is made of the 600-type of material, which is 8 known to be prone to this type of cracking. And it 9 just seems reasonable that a more extensive survey and 10 inspection of all the systems, including the belt line 11 around the reactor vessel, be thoroughly inspected to 12 ensure that there aren't any other flaws, cracks, or 13 indications that exceed the safety parameters bounded 14 under 10 CFR Part 50.
15 And that will conclude my comments. And I 16 will certainly try to respond to any questions if 17 there are any. Thank you.
18 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay. At this time, does 19 staff here at headquarters have any questions for Mr.
20 Saporito?
21 (No response.)
22 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Seeing none, what about 23 the region? Does the region have any questions for 24 Mr. Saporito please? Did you try to respond, Ken?
25 MR. RIEMER: Yes, can you hear me now?
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27 1 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Yes.
2 MR. RIEMER: Okay. Yes. No questions 3 from Region 3.
4 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay.
5 Before I conclude the meeting, members of 6 the public may provide comments regarding the 7 petition. They may ask questions about the 2.206 8 petition process. However, as stated at the opening, 9 the purpose of this meeting is not to provide an 10 opportunity for the Petition or the public to question 11 or examine the PRB regarding the merits of the 12 petition request.
13 Have any members of the public joined the 14 phone call?
15 (No response.)
16 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Hearing none, Mr.
17 Saporito, thank you for taking time to provide the NRC 18 staff with clarifying information on the petition you 19 have submitted.
20 Before we close, does the Court Reporter 21 need any additional information for the meeting's 22 transcript? And I will tell you that both Mr.
23 Mitchell and Mr. Feintuch will be available to help 24 you with the transcript.
25 MR. SAPORITO: Mr. Chairman?
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28 1 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Yes?
2 MR. SAPORITO: This is the Petitioner, 3 Thomas Saporito. I had asked earlier if someone would 4 briefly explain the verbal authorization that was 5 given in these circumstances.
6 MR. FEINTUCH: Yes, this is Karl Feintuch.
7 I was just going to give you an idea of the process.
8 The verbal authorization doesn't preclude 9 the fact that there is a written analysis. Under 10 circumstances where there is some urgency, what 11 happens is we collect all the information on the 12 docket sufficient to make a technical decision. And 13 the technical reviewers in consultation with the 14 Branch Chief, arrive, using that information, at their 15 decision.
16 Then that information is conveyed -- the 17 decision is conveyed to the licensee. And we have 18 requirements that we then follow up with the full 19 report from our end, the safety analysis, which then 20 is used as the justification for that. So even though 21 it says verbal relief, it is, in fact, a full 22 analysis, followed by full documentation.
23 MR. SAPORITO: All right. Thank you very 24 much for that.
25 MR. FEINTUCH: Thank you.
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29 1 CHAIRMAN QUAY: Okay. With that, this 2 meeting is concluded. And we will be terminating the 3 phone conversation. Thank you.
4 (Whereupon, the above-entitled 5 teleconference was concluded at 10:08 a.m.)
6 7
8 9
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- Saporito written statement dated November 22, 2010 From the Desk of Thomas Saporito Post Office Box 8413, Jupiter, Florida 33468 Voice: 561-972-8363 Fax: 561-247-6404 Electronic Mail: saporito3@gmail.com November 22, 2010 Teleconference Call With NRC - PRB (2.206 Petition - Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant - NextEra Energy)
Summary:
The Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) is located on a 500-acre site on the west bank of the Cedar River, two miles north-northeast of Palo, Iowa, USA, and eight miles northwest of Cedar Rapids. Duane Arnold began operation in June 1974, and currently generates a net power output of approximately 615 megawatts using a single General Electric Mark I boiling water reactor. The nuclear plant is 36-years old and at the very end of its 40-year safety design basis and NRC operational license. As the Duane Arnold nuclear plant aged over the years, there was an increased need for the licensee to address material degradation - caused by stress corrosion cracking, erosion-corrosion, wear, and embrittlement - which can significantly reduce the service life expectancy of the nuclear plant components.
On November 6th, 2010, the licensee authored a 21-page report to the NRC which described an "...indication identified in the N2A Recirculation Inlet Safe End to Safe End Extension Dissimilar Metal Weld." for which the licensee attributed the problem to "stress corrosion cracking". Apparently the licensee has failed over the years to properly and aggressively address the material degradation of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant -
and the NRC should be most concerned about: (1) material degradation of the balance of the nuclear plant safety-related systems and components; and (2) the licensee's apparent failure to properly address the material degradation of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant safety-related systems and components overall.
In the instant action, the November 12th, 2010, petition filed under 10 C.F.R. §2.206, requests were made of the NRC to take enforcement action against the licensee to ensure for the protection of public health and safety in these circumstances by requiring the licensee to test all safety-related primary systems and safety-related secondary systems (as specifically identified in the petition); and require the licensee to have a certified independent contractor evaluate the safety-related systems identified in the petition. The NRC should require the licensee to have an independent contractor "certify" the primary and secondary safety-related systems identified in the petition -
prior to restart of the nuclear reactor - and in further consideration of the licensee's intent to seek a 20-year extension of its NRC operational license for the Duane Arnold nuclear plant.
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NRC regulatory requirements and the Duane Arnold Technical Specifications prohibit operation of the nuclear reactor system with known through-wall leakage from the primary water system. Furthermore, NRC regulations, plant Technical Specifications, and ASME Code requirements serve to ensure that NRC licensees perform inspections to maintain an extremely low probability of abnormal primary water leakage, or rapidly propagating failure, and gross rupture. The licensee's current inspection program implemented at the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant does not appear to permit timely identification of degradation of materials exposed to the primary water environment in a manner consistent with NRC requirements.
Licensee's Submittals to the NRC:
On November 6th, 2010, the licensee submitted a document to the NRC entitled, "Alternative to ASME Section XI Requirements to Use Structural Weld Overlay Repairs as an Alternative Repair Technique at the Duane Arnold Energy Center".
The licensee proposed an alternative repair activity to the requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code,Section XI
- Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components. The licensee's proposed alternative would permit the use of a full structural weld overlay repair for an indication identified in the N2A Recirculation Inlet Safe End to Safe End Extension Dissimilar metal weld. The licensee seeks NRC authorization to extend the requested relief sought until February 21, 2014, at which time the NRC operational license for the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant expires.
On November 10th, 2010, the licensee authored a second submittal to the NRC entitled, "Revision to Relief Request for Alternative to ASME Section XI Requirements to Use Structural Weld Overlay Repairs as an Alternative Repair Technique at the Duane Arnold Energy Center". In its revised submittal, the licensee stated in relevant part, that: "...In an email dated November 9, 2010, the Staff issued a request for additional information regarding Reference 1. In response to these questions and a telecon with the NRC on November 9, 2010, NextEra Energy Duane Arnold is revising the relief request provided in Reference 1 to address the request for additional information and remove the discussion pertaining to Mechanical Stress Improvement Process (MSIP). This request supersedes the request provided in Reference 1 in its entirety..." "...While the determination of the formal root cause is being tracked in the Corrective Action Program, the preliminary assessment is that the indication is due to stress corrosion cracking...10CFR50.55a(a)(3)(i) states that proposed alternatives may be used when authorized by the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation provided that the proposed alternatives provide an acceptable level of quality and safety..."
The licensee requested - "...verbal approval of this revised request prior to beginning the ASME Class I Leakage Test of the Reactor Pressure Vessel, currently scheduled for November 16, 2010..."
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Question:
Before I continue, can the NRC advise as to whether the agency gave the licensee verbal approval of the licensee's revised request for relief, and if so, when?
Discussion:
Issue #1
- As of November 6th, 2010, the licensee has not specifically identified the formal root cause - but merely assumed that the indication or crack was due to Stress Corrosion Cracking The NRC should require the licensee to affirm the formal root cause of the indication or crack prior to allowing the licensee to bring the nuclear reactor to any level of power. If the licensee affirms that the formal root cause of the indication or crack was due to Stress Corrosion Cracking, then the NRC should require the licensee to conduct further inspections as outlined in the 2.206 petition and certified by an independent contractor prior to allowing the licensee to bring the nuclear reactor to any level of power. If the licensee affirms that the formal root cause of the indication or crack was due to something other than Stress Corrosion Cracking, then the NRC should require the licensee to conduct further inspections as outlined in the 2.206 petition and certified by an independent contractor prior to allowing the licensee to bring the nuclear reactor to any level of power - and take corrective actions as needed. Thus far, the licensee has only made ultrasonic examinations of three additional recirculation riser safe-end-to-safe-end extension welds - which is far too narrow of an examination considering the numerous safety-related plant systems and components which may have similar indications or cracks.
Issue #2
- The NRC Staff found that Topical Report (Materials Reliability Program) TR MRP-169, Revision 1, as revised by letter dated February 3rd, 2010, adequately described the methods for the weld overlay design, the supporting analysis of the design, the experiments that verified the analysis, and the inspection requirements of the overlaid Dissimilar Metal Welds The licensee's November 10th, 2010, revised submittal to the NRC does not appear to fully comply with TR MRP-169, Revision 1 - but merely states that, "...many of the same requirements are common in the Staff's approval for the Materials Reliability Program...topical report (MRP-169), for full structural weld overlays..." Thus, the licensee, through its submittal(s) to the NRC, not only seeks relief from the NRC's safety parameters set-out in 10 C.F.R. 50.55a(a)(3)(i), but apparently also seeks relief from NRC requirements under TR MRP-169, Revision 1. Thus, the NRC lacks requisite 3/5
authority to grant the requested relief sought by the licensee in these circumstances where the licensee seeks relief from NRC regulations and requirements to apparently conduct an "experimental" and unproven repair methology which could jeopardize the health and safety of the public.
Notably, the licensee stated in its November 10th, 2010, revised submittal that:
"...The welding will be performed in accordance with the approved weld procedure described in Attachment 1 using a machine gas tungsten-arc welding...process for the RRA-F002A weld and adjacent RRA-J003 stainless steel weld with...(Alloy 52M) being used for the filler metal. In some instances of this process, flaws in the first layer have occurred in the portion of the overlay deposited on the austenitic stainless steel portions...of the assemblies. The flaw characteristics...are indicative of hot cracking. This phenomenon has not been observed on austenitic stainless steel or Alloy 82/182 DMW portions of the assemblies when welding Alloy 52M thereon. Studies have determined that this problem may be exacerbated when using Alloy 52M filler metal on austenitic stainless steel materials with higher sulfur content and high levels of silicon, as in the case of cast austenitic stainless steel. Extensive test and field experience from WSI indicate that hot cracking can be a concern when the sulfur and silicon content in the diluted weld puddle equals or exceeds 0.014%. The impurity hot cracking threshold level is a function of the composition of the base material, weld filler materials, and the welding parameters that are used because these two factors control the dilution of the solidified weld deposit. This suggests that a combined sulfur plus silicon content of the base material of approximately 0.046% will represent a threshold for hot cracking with the weld parameters WSI will use at Duane Arnold. Duane Arnold will use a barrier layer (buffer layer) on all stainless steel. The barrier layer will use ER308L on the stainless steel and will incorporate Alloy 82 on the stainless steel near the DMW to stainless steel fusion zone only...."
As can be discerned from the licensee's description of its intended welding repair activities related to the indication or crack, the licensee intends to deviate well-beyond NRC requirements under 10 C.F.R. 50.55a and under TR MRP-169. Essentially, the licensee intends to conduct an unproven "field experiment" at the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant in making non-validated assumptions that a combined sulfur plus silicon content of the base material of approximately 0.046% will represent a threshold for hot cracking with the weld parameters to be used in the repair activities. Moreover, the licensee intends to place a so-called "barrier layer" using "ER308L" on the stainless steel incorporating Alloy 82 on the stainless steel near the fusion zone. Thus, the licensee's assumptions, guesses, and use of unproven methology well-outside the safety margins established under NRC requirements should be categorically rejected by the NRC.
4/5
Issue #3
- the licensee's submittal(s) to the NRC fail to specifically describe the methods, practices, and procedures which the licensee intends to use at Duane Arnold to ensure that the nuclear workers involved in the repair activities receive the least amount of radioactive exposure possible during the repair activities, including but not limited to, airborne radioactive contamination, radioactive dose absorption to the body, physical radioactive contamination to the body, etc.
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Conclusion:==
The NRC must ensure that public health and safety is protected by requiring the licensee to comply with all NRC requirements in making repairs to the Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant in these circumstances. The licensee's proposed relief request: (1) does not comport with NRC requirements under 10 C.F.R. 50.55a and under TR MRP-169; (2) does not appear to be similar to other recent requests for dissimilar metal weld overlays submitted to the NRC by other NRC licensees; and (3) is essentially an unproven "field experiment" at Duane Arnold which will jeopardize public health and safety because the licensee's proposed alternatives fail to provide an acceptable level of quality and safety.
Respectfully submitted, Thomas Saporito 5/5
- Nuclear Technology Information Nuclear Technology Information The following information is to assist persons accessing this document who wish to have a convenient resource for interpreting the discussions.
Topic Convenient information sources or brief explanation ADAMS Agencywide Documents Access and Management System - the document control system, which stores records referenced in this letter by an ADAMS Accession Number in the form of ML(followed by 9 digits).
Boiling Water Reactors See attached diagram. Source: NUREG-1350 (BWRs)
Duane Arnold Energy http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/duan.html Center (Duane Arnold is a BWR)
Glossary of nuclear power http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary.html related terminology Information Digest http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-(NUREG-1350, Volume 22): collections/nuregs/staff/sr1350/
General information about the activities of the NRC and the nuclear industry Pressurized Water Reactors See attached diagram. Source: NUREG-1350 (PWRs)
Requests by DAEC for 1 - November 6, 2010 Letter: See ADAMS Accession authorization to use weld No. ML103120111 overlay repairs 2 - November 10, 2010 Letter replacing the letter of November 6, 2010: See ADAMS Accession No. ML103160155 Scripts used by NRC See ADAMS Accession No. ML110240122 Branch Chiefs on November 15, 2010 to authorize the use of weld overlays.
USNRC Management http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-Directive 8.11 collections/management-directives/volumes/vol-8.html Weld overlay a welding process where a weld layer is applied to a base metal in order to improve its properties, for example, corrosion resistance.
Welding The American Welding Society:
Weldment an assembly of parts welded together