ML14043A138
| ML14043A138 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 02/14/2014 |
| From: | Satorius M NRC/EDO |
| To: | Keating W, Kennedy J, Steven Lynch, Markey E, Mcgovern J, Tierney J, Tsongas N, Warren E US HR (House of Representatives), US SEN (Senate) |
| Rihm, Roger 415-1717 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML13354B953 | List: |
| References | |
| G20140055, LTR-13-0957 | |
| Download: ML14043A138 (4) | |
Text
February 14, 2014 The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Markey:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of December 18, 2013, to Chairman Allison Macfarlane. As the Secretary of the Commission explained in a January 14, 2014, letter to you, the Commission is unable to address your requests regarding renewal of the license for Seabrook Station nuclear power plant because that license renewal is the subject of a current adjudication before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, and the Commission has an appellate role in those proceedings. I would like to provide you with an update on NRC staff activities regarding the Seabrook Station license renewal review, as it relates to the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) issue.
The NRC staffs safety review of the Seabrook Station license renewal application is ongoing and no regulatory decision has been made on the application. The original safety review schedule was revised, to address the staffs concerns with the applicants proposed plant-specific ASR monitoring program, and to add a second meeting with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards License Renewal Subcommittee. The status of the remaining schedule milestones is currently to be determined. In addition, during November 2013, NRC staff conducted an onsite audit of the ASR monitoring program and issued a report December 23, 2013, indicating the need for additional information. In a January 15, 2014, letter to NextEra Seabrook Energy, LLC, the staff requested additional information to support its review of the applicants program.
The NRC shares your concern regarding NextEras condition monitoring program, based solely on periodic insitu surface crack index and crack width measurements, to assess the progression of ASR. The NRC assures you that the staff is pursuing this, among other concerns, through our recently issued requests for additional information. The NRC will ensure that the ASR monitoring program includes methods and/or techniques to adequately monitor the condition of the affected structures in a manner that provides reasonable assurance that the ASR aging effects will be adequately managed.
With regard to the large-scale testing being conducted at the University of Texas - Austin, the NRC understands that this is a research effort intended to quantify the effect of different levels of ASR severity on the structural performance of ASR-affected reinforced concrete structures that do not have through-wall reinforcement, similar to that in the majority of the affected walls in safety-related structures at Seabrook Station. The NRC has requested information to further clarify the role of that testing with respect to our license renewal review. Should NextEra elect to use the results of the large-scale testing to resolve the ASR non-conforming condition, the testing methodology and results, and the method(s) of evaluation used, will be subject to NRC review pursuant to applicable regulatory processes. The NRC also continues, under its Reactor Oversight Process, to carefully and deliberately monitor, assess, and inspect NextEras ongoing
efforts to address the long-term resolution of the Seabrook ASR issue. Our inspections have determined that ASR-affected structures at the Seabrook Station remain capable of performing their intended safety functions.
I hope this information is useful to you. If you need any additional information, please contact me or the Office of Congressional Affairs at (301) 415-1776.
Sincerely,
/RA Michael F. Weber for/
Mark A. Satorius Executive Director for Operations
efforts to address the long-term resolution of the Seabrook ASR issue. Our inspections have determined that ASR-affected structures at the Seabrook Station remain capable of performing their intended safety functions.
I hope this information is useful to you. If you need any additional information, please contact me or the Office of Congressional Affairs at (301) 415-1776.
Sincerely,
/RA Michael F. Weber for/
Mark A. Satorius Executive Director for Operations DISTRIBUTION: G20140055/LTR-13-0957 EDO r/f RidsEdoMailCenter Resource RidsNrrMailCenter Resource RidsOcaMailCenter Resource RidsOgcMailCenter Resource RidsSecyMailCenter Resource ADAMS Accession: ML14043A138 (ltr) ML13354B953 (pkg)
OFFICE OEDO/CPM NRR OCA OGC EDO NAME RRihm MMarshall (AErickson)
EDacus CKanatas MSatorius (MWeber)
DATE 2/12/14 2/07/14 2/10/14 2/10/14 2/14/14 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Identical Letter Sent To:
The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable John F. Tierney United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable James P. McGovern United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Stephen F. Lynch United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable William R. Keating United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Niki Tsongas United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy III United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515