ML18249A365

Closeout of Generic Letter 2016-01, Monitoring of Neutron-Absorbing Materials in Spent Fuel Pools (CAC No. MF9437; EPID L-2016-LRC-0001)

ML18249A365
Person / Time
Site:	Harris
Issue date:	09/26/2018
From:	Doug Broaddus Special Projects and Process Branch
To:	Hamilton T Duke Energy Progress
Wall S DORL/LSPB 301-415-2855
References
CAC MF9437, EPID L-2016-LRC-0001
Download: ML18249A365 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 September 26, 2018 0MB Control No. 3150-0231 Ms. Tanya M. Hamilton Site Vice President Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant Duke Energy Progress, LLC 5413 Shearon Harris Road M/C HNP01 New Hill, NC 27562-0165

SUBJECT:

SHEARON HARRIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT 1 - CLOSEOUT OF GENERIC LETTER 2016-01, "MONITORING OF NEUTRON-ABSORBING MATERIALS IN SPENT FUEL POOLS" (CAC NO. MF9437; EPID L-2016-LRC-0001)

Dear Ms. Hamilton:

On April 7, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Generic Letter (GL) 2016-01, "Monitoring of Neutron-Absorbing Materials in Spent Fuel Pools" (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML16097A169), to address the degradation of neutron-absorbing materials (NAMs) in wet storage systems for reactor fuel at power and non-power reactors.

The generic letter requested that licensees provide information to allow the NRC staff to verify continued compliance through effective monitoring to identify and mitigate any degradation or deformation of NAMs credited for criticality control in spent fuel pools (SFPs).

By letter dated October 31, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16306A036), as supplemented by letter dated May 30, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18150A703), Duke Energy Progress, LLC (the licensee), responded to GL 2016-01 for Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Shearon Harris). In the licensee's response to GL 2016-01, as supplemented, the licensee stated that, for Shearon Harris, it relies on continual monitoring industry operating experience, including ongoing participation in the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Neutron Absorber Users Group (NAUG) and its related programs, to evaluate the condition of the Boral in its SFP. The licensee indicated that the NAUG, through EPRI, has completed a study which analyzes the criticality impact of blisters and pits on Boral. This study is described in EPRI document 3002013119, "Evaluation of the Impact of Neutron Absorber Material Blistering and Pitting on Spent Fuel Pool Reactivity," May 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18226A292). The licensee also stated that the NAUG, through EPRI, is developing an industry-wide program to gather water chemistry and Boral coupon data for SFPs. This program is described in EPRI document 3002013122, "Roadmap for the lndustrywide Learning Aging Management Program (i-LAMP) for Neutron Absorber Materials in Spent Fuel Pools," May 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18226A291 ). The licensee stated that relevant issues emerging from such industry

T. Hamilton efforts will be monitored through the licensee's Operating Experience Program and Corrective Action Program.

The stated purpose of this program is to inform the condition of the Boral at sites with no coupon, or in-situ, testing of its Boral, with results from other sites using the "sister pool criteria."

The NRC staff notes that aspects of the industry-wide program referenced in EPRI Report 3002013122 (i.e., the Boral coupon database, water chemistry database, sister pool criteria, etc.) are not yet complete and some guidelines might not be fully developed until 2020.

While the program as described in EPRI Report 3002013122 is not yet complete, the NRC staff did use the information found in EPRI Report 300203119 to support the conclusion that no additional information is needed, at this time, to address the five areas of information described in Appendix A to GL 2016-01 for Boral.

The NRC staff also notes that the studies documented in EPRI Reports 3002013119 and 3002013122 are intended to be generic analyses and were not provided as site-specific analyses. Therefore, the results of the analyses, or any part of those analyses, have currently not been shown as directly applicable to Shearon Harris. In addition, the NRC staff did not review whether the EPRI Reports could be used to justify equipment operability, design basis changes, or licensing changes requested pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50.90, "Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit." However, the NRC staff's review determined that the EPRI reports provide the information required to satisfy the request in GL 2016-01 for Boral, at this time.

Additionally, the licensee credits Metamic for criticality control and has an established NAM monitoring program. The NRC staff's review determined that the provided response sufficiently addressed the five areas of information described in Appendix A of GL 2016-01 for Metamic. In particular, the described monitoring program for the Metamic includes the following key features:

• Neutron attenuation testing of coupons.

• Established processes to ensure that the licensee will take the appropriate corrective actions if any potentially non-conforming material is discovered.

• A testing frequency not to exceed 10 years.

• Acceptance criteria to ensure maintenance of the 5-percent subcriticality margin for the SFP.

The NRC staff found that the licensee intends to continue monitoring the condition of its NAMs as described in its response.

In the licensee's response to GL 2016-01, as supplemented, the licensee also credits Boraflex for criticality control at Shearon Harris and identified the Boraflex installed in the SFP at Shearon Harris as being in a degraded condition and entered the issue in its Corrective Action Program. This resulted in the licensee implementing corrective actions to manage Boraflex degradation and maintain subcriticality in the SFP. The NRC staff acknowledges that a license amendment request (LAR) is currently under review which would, if approved, remove credit for Boraflex to meet NRC subcriticality requirements. Should this occur, no further actions regarding GL 2016-01 will be necessary to address Boraflex degradation. If necessary, the

T. Hamilton NRC staff will perform a follow-up inspection through the baseline reactor oversight process to ensure that the licensee is properly managing the degradation and maintaining the subcriticality of the SFP.

Based upon the information submitted by the licensee in response to GL 2016-01, the NRC staff has determined that the submission addresses the information requested in GL 2016-01, and no further information is requested regarding this matter. If necessary, the NRC staff will perform a Boraflex-specific follow-up inspection, through the baseline reactor oversight process to ensure that the licensee is properly managing the degradation and maintaining the subcriticality of the SFP. Any safety or timeliness issues associated with the degraded condition of the Boraflex will be addressed through NRC inspection activities consistent with Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0326, "Operability Determinations & Functionality Assessments for Conditions Adverse to Quality or Safety."

Sincerely, Douglas A. Broaddus, Chief Special Projects and Process Branch Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-400 cc: ListServ

ML18249A365 *via email OFFICE NRR/DORULSPB/PM NRR/DORULPL2-2/PM NRR/DORL/LAiT NRR/DORL/LSPB/LA NAME SWall MBarillas PTalukdar JBurkhardt DATE 09/25/18 09/25/18 09/11/18 09/17/18 OFFICE NRR/DMLR/MCCB/BC* NRR/DIRS/IRGB/BC* NRR/DSS/SNPB/BC* NRR/DORULSPB/BC NAME SBloom BPham Rlukes DBroaddus DATE 09/25/18 09/25/18 09/19/18 09/26/18