ML17059B942

Discusses Core Shroud Insp,Evaluation & Contingency Plans for Refueling Outage 6 Scheduled to Begin May 1998

ML17059B942
Person / Time
Site:	Nine Mile Point
Issue date:	03/19/1998
From:	Hood D NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	Mueller J NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP.
References
TAC-MA0816, TAC-MA816, NUDOCS 9804020011
Download: ML17059B942 (8)

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t UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 19, 1998 Mr. John H. Mueller Chief Nuclear Officer Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Operations Building, Second Floor Lycoming, NY 13093

SUBJECT:

CORE SHROUD INSPECTION, EVALUATION,AND CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR REFUELING OUTAGE 6, NINE MILEPOINT NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT NO. 2 (TAC NO. MA0816)

Dear Mr. Mueller:

By letter dated February 2, 1998, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NMPC) submitted plans for inspection, evaluation, and repair of the core shroud at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit 2 (NMP2). The plans will be implemented during refueling outage 6 (RFO-6) scheduled to begin in May 1998. The letter is in response to Generic Letter (GL) 94-03, "Intergranular Stress-Corrosion Cracking of Core Shrouds in BWRs" which requests that licensees inspect their plant's core shroud, perform an appropriate evaluation and/or repair based on these inspections, and perform a safety analysis supporting continued operation of the plant until inspections are conducted.

It is also in response to NMPC's initial reply of August 23, 1994, committing to provide the NRC the NMP2 core shroud inspection plan and contingency plans for the evaluation and/or re'pair of the core shroud 3 months before performing the inspections.

NMPC states that its plans for inspection and evaluation satisfy the recommendations of the Boiling Water Reactor Vessel and Internals Project's (BWRVIP's) "BWR Core Shroud Inspection and Flaw Evaluation Guidelines" (BWRVIP-01), Rev. 2, with the revisions addressed in Mr. C.

Terry's letter of December 10, 1997. The inspection recommendations that apply to Category B plants (the appropriate category for NMP2) are for limited inspection of circumferential shroud welds H3, H4, H5, and H7. However, since NMPC intends to use the longest reinspection interval allowed by BWRVIP-07, "Guidelines for Reinspection of Core Shrouds," more extensive inspections than recommended by BWRVIP-01 will be conducted; NMPC will examine all of the accessible regions of welds H3, H4, H5, and H7.

NMPC willevaluate the examination results in accordance with BWRVIP-01 using limit load, linear elastic fracture mechanics, or elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, depending upon the neutron fluence exposure.

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'g Ifrepairs are needed, NMPC plans to followthe recommendations of BWRVIP-02, "Core Shroud Repair Design Criteria," and BWRVIP-04, "Guide for Format and Content of Core Shroud Repair Design Submittals."

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J. Mueller The NRC staff finds the above plans acceptable as they are consistent with the guidance in BWRVIP documents that have been approved for use by the NRC.

NMPC willexamine the welds by ultrasonic testing performed in accordance with BWRVIP-03, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project Reactor Pressure Vessel and Internals Examination Guidelines." Reinspections for future core shroud examinations willbe performed in accordance with BWRVIP-07. The NRC staff is currently completing its review of BWRVIP-03 and a re-review of BWRVIP-07.

Additional information of a plant-specific nature may be requested by the NRC staff to complete its review of your plans to use the guidance in these documents.

Accordingly, TAC MA0816 remains open pending completion of the NRC staffs review of NMPC's plans regarding these two documents.

Sincerely, g;.,('X//v+

Darl S. Hood, Senior Project Manager Project Directorate I-1 Division of Reactor Projects - I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-410 cc: See next page

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March 19, 1998 J. Mueller The NRC staff finds the above plans acceptable as they are consistent with the guidance in BWRVIP documents that have been approved for use by the NRC.'.

NMPC willexamine the welds by ultrasonic testing performed in accoidance with BWRVIP-03, "BWR Vessel and Internals Project Reactor Pressure Vessel and Internals Examination Guidelines." Reinspections for future core shroud examinations willbe performed in accordance with BWRVIP-07. The NRC staff is currently completing its review of BWRVIP-03 and a re-review of BWRVIP-07.

Additional information of a plant-specific nature may be requested by the NRC staff to complete its review of your plans to use the guidance in these documents.

Accordingly, TAC MA0816 remains open pending completion of the NRC staffs review of NMPC's plans regarding these two documents.

Sincerely, ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

Darl S. Hood, Senior Project Manager Project Directorate I-1 Division of Reactor Projects - I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-410 cc: See next page Distribution:

Docket File PUBLIC PDI-1 Reading OGC ACRS CCowgill, RGN-I DHood SBajwa MBanic KWichman CCarpenter JStrosnider RHermann WKoo DOCUMENT NAME: G:~iNMP2~iNM2A0816.LTR To receive a copy of this document. indicate in the box: "C" ~ Copy without enclosures "E" ~ Copy with enciosures "N" = No copy OFFICE PM: PDI-1 LA:PDI-D:PDI-1 NAME DHood/lcc >5 jf SLittl 'Bajwa DATE 03/( /98 03@/98 03/4'98 OFFICIALRECORD COPY

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1 John H. Mueller Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Unit No. 2 CC:

Regional Administrator, Region I

'U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Resident Inspector Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station P.O. Box 126 Lycoming, NY 13093 Mr. Jim Rettberg NY State Electric 8 Gas Corporation Corporate Drive Kirkwood Industsrial Park P.O. Box 5224 Binghamton, NY 13902-5224 Mr. John V. Vinquist, MATS Inc.

P.O. Box 63 Lycoming, NY 13093 Supervisor Town of Scriba Route 8, Box 382 Oswego, NY 13126 Mr. Richard Goldsmith Syracuse University College of Law E.l. White Hall Campus

Syracuse, NY 12223 Charles Donaldson, Esquire Assistant Attorney General New York Department of Law 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 Mr. Timothy S. Carey Chair and Executive Director State Consumer Protection Board 5 Empire State Plaza, Suite 2101 Albany, NY 12223 Mark J. Wetterhahn, Esquire Winston 8 Strawn 1400 L Street, NW.

Washington, DC 20005-3502 Gary D. Wilson, Esquire Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation 300 Erie Boulevard West

Syracuse, NY 13202 Mr. F. William Valentino, President New York State Energy, Research, and Development Authority Corporate Plaza West 286 Washington Avenue Extension Albany, NY 12203-6399

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