ML13112A275

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Review of Containment Liner Random and Non-Random Reports

ML13112A275
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley
Issue date:	04/30/2013
From:	Peter Bamford Plant Licensing Branch 1
To:	Emily Larson FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
Bamford P
References
TAC ME9626
Download: ML13112A275 (6)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 April 30, 2013 Mr. Eric A. Larson, 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. 1- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REVIEW OF CONTAINMENT LINER RANDOM AND NON RANDOM REPORTS (TAC NO. ME9626)

Dear Mr. Larson:

By letter dated February 14,2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML110470404), FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, (FENOC, the licensee) submitted the containment liner random and non-random examinations report for the Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS), Unit 1, fall 2010 refueling outage. By letter dated July 11,2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12195A155), FENOC submitted the containment liner random and non-random examinations report for the BVPS, Unit 1, spring 2012 refueling outage. In response to a request for additional information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff, FENOC submitted supplemental information regarding these exams by letter dated March 4,2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13064A333).

The NRC staff has reviewed the information described above and has concluded that the licensee has provided the information described in Commitment 34 of Appendix A of NUREG 1929, Supplement 1, "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2," (ADAMS Accession No. ML093140250). This commitment requires that the licensee conduct supplemental volumetric examinations at a minimum of 75 randomly selected locations and eight non-randomly selected locations and provide a summary of the results to the NRC. Further, the NRC staff concludes that the information provided demonstrates that the licensee has completed the actions described in Commitment Nos. 32, 33, and 34 of NUREG-1929, Supplement 1, Appendix A, for BVPS, Unit

1. Enclosed is the documentation of the NRC staff's review.

E. Larson - 2 Please contact me at 301-415-2833, if you have any questions.

Sincerely, Peter Bamford, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 1-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-334

Enclosure:

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated February 14, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML110470404), FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, (FENOC, the licensee) submitted the containment liner random and non-random examinations report for the Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS), Unit 1, fall 2010 refueling outage. By letter dated July 11, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12195A155), FENOC submitted the containment liner random and non-random examinations report for the BVPS, Unit 1, spring 2012 refueling outage. In response to a request for additional information from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff, FENOC submitted supplemental information regarding these exams by letter dated March 4, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13064A333). The information submitted by the licensee documents and informs the NRC of the completion of license renewal commitments related to supplemental volumetric examinations of the BVPS, Unit 1 containment liner. The licensee's original requirements for supplemental volumetric examinations at BVPS, Unit 1, are given in Commitment Nos. 32, 33, and 34 in Appendix A of NUREG-1929, Supplement 1, "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2," (ADAMS Accession No. ML093140250). These commitments require that the licensee conduct supplemental volumetric examinations at a minimum of 75 randomly selected locations and eight non-randomly selected locations and provide a summary of the results to the NRC.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 54, "Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants," the NRC issued Renewed Operating License DPR-66 for BVPS, Unit 1, on November 5,2009. NUREG-1929, Supplement 1 (October 2009), documents the NRC staff's technical review of the license renewal application for BVPS. Appendix A, "BVPS Units 1 and 2 License Renewal Commitments," of NUREG 1929, Supplement 1, lists the commitments that were made in relation to the licensee's aging management programs and time-limited aging analyses for managing the aging effects for the BVPS structures, systems, and components during the period of extended operation.

The subject commitments, applicable to Unit 1 of BVPS, are items number 32,33, and 34 in this list. They state:

-2 Commitment 32: Supplemental volumetric examinations will be performed on the Unit 1 containment liner prior to the period of extended operation. A minimum of seventy-five (one foot square) randomly selected (as described in FENOC Letter L-09-205) sample locations will be examined (as described in FENOC Letter L 09-243). If degradation is identified, it will be addressed through the corrective action program (as described in FENOC Letter L-09-243).

Commitment 33: Supplemental volumetric examinations will be performed on the Unit 1 containment liner prior to the period of extended operation. A minimum of 8 non-randomly selected locations will be examined, focusing on areas most likely to experience degradation based on past operating experience (as described in FENOC Letter L-09-242). If degradation is identified, it will be addressed through the corrective action program.

Commitment 34: A summary of results for each phase of volumetric testing (described in Unit 1 Commitments No. 32 and No. 33) will be documented in a letter to the NRC.

These commitments are incorporated, by reference, into license condition 2.F. In its letter dated July 11, 2012, the licensee stated that random supplemental volumetric examinations were performed on the Unit 1 containment liner during the twentieth refueling outage (1 R20) and the twenty-first (1 R21) refueling outage. The non-random examinations to satisfy commitment 33, along with 38 random examinations, were performed during 1R20. The results of these examinations were provided to the NRC by letter dated February 14, 2011. The licensee further stated that no evidence of loss of material was found during any of the examinations. The acceptance criterion was identified as 90 percent (%) of the nominal wall thickness, which varies depending on the location. The letter dated July 11, 2012, also contained the results of the examinations conducted during 1R21.

The licensee stated that the supplemental volumetric examinations had been successfully completed and; therefore, license renewal commitments 32, 33, and 34 are considered closed.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

The NRC staff reviewed the information provided by the licensee in its letter dated July 11, 2012, against the commitments as described in Appendix A of NUREG-1929, Supplement 1.

The staff noted that the licensee's submittal dated February 14, 2011, did not identify the locations of the measurements (i.e., cylinder or dome), the nominal thickness, or the corresponding acceptance criteria for the measurements reported. Without this information, the licensee's conclusions regarding the measurements could not be verified by the NRC staff. In addition, Commitment No. 32 states that "if degradation is identified, it will be addressed through the corrective action program (as described in FENOC letter L-09-243)." In FENOC letter L-09 243, dated September 4,2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML092530241), the licensee stated that "locations with identified loss of material less than 10%, but with a breadth and shape will be entered into the corrective action program and tracked as a point of interest for monitoring during subsequent outages until dispositioned." Five locations in the July 11, 2012, report had measurements below what appears to be the nominal thickness of the liner; however, it was not clear if these locations would be monitored in the future. Therefore, by letter dated February 5, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13023A377), the NRC staff requested that the licensee identify the appropriated nominal thickness and acceptance criteria for the measurement locations in

- 3 the letter dated February 14, 2011, and explain how it was determined what "breadth and shape" was necessary for degradation to be entered into the corrective action program and monitored.

By letter dated March 4, 2013, the licensee provided the nominal thickness, the acceptance criteria, and the lowest measured value for all of the measured locations reported in the letter dated February 14, 2011. All of the provided measurements were above the acceptance criteria; however, nine of the random exam locations (four reported in the 2011 letter and five reported in the 2012 letter) had thickness measurements below the nominal thickness. The licensee explained that the containment liner ultrasonic testing site procedure instructs examiners to record the lowest thickness found and to record whether any wear pattern exists that has a measurable breadth and shape. The licensee further stated that of the nine locations identified with a thickness below nominal, eight were isolated pOints that showed no evidence of a wear pattern with measurable shape or breadth. The licensee stated that the ninth location (1 RN-073, 2011 letter) was entered into the corrective action program, evaluated, and found acceptable. The location was also scheduled for reexamination in the fall 2013 refueling outage (1 R22) to validate the conclusions of the initial evaluation.

The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's response and noted that all of the measured values, both the random and non-random values from the 2011 and 2012 letters, were above the acceptance criteria. The staff also noted that the licensee had clear guidance in its site procedures regarding identifying possibly degraded areas with "a breadth and shape." The one location that showed a possible indication of wall loss was properly dispositioned and identified for follow-up inspections. Therefore, the staff concluded that the licensee provided the requested acceptance criteria, demonstrated that all measured values were above the acceptance criteria, and explained how areas below the nominal thickness are identified for future monitoring.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Based on the review described above, the NRC staff concludes that the licensee has provided the information described in Commitment No. 34 of Appendix A of NUREG-1929, Supplement 1.

The NRC staff also concludes that the information provided demonstrates that the licensee has completed the actions described in Commitment Nos. 32, 33, and 34 of NUREG-1929, Supplement 1, Appendix A.

Principal Contributor: B. Lehman Date: April 30, 2013

E. Larson -2 Please contact me at 301-415-2833, if you have any questions.

Sincerely, Ira!

Peter Bamford, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 1-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-334

Enclosure:

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