ML19209A706
| ML19209A706 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 10/01/1979 |
| From: | Mills L TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY |
| To: | Rubenstein L Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7910050251 | |
| Download: ML19209A706 (2) | |
Text
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY CH ATT A NCCGA TENNESSEE 374ot 400 Chestnut Street Tower II October 1, 1979 Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Attention:
Mr. L. S. Rubenstein, Acting Chief Light Water Reactors Branch No. 4 Division of Project Management U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555
Dear Mr. Rubenstein:
In the >beter of the Application of
)
Docket Nos. 50-327 Tennessee Valley Authority
)
50-328 We have received your September 14, 1979, letter t'. H. G. Parris requesting information on possible guide thimble tube wear in Westinghouse fuel assemblies.
Subsequent communication with Westinghouce has disclosed the following information.
In December 1977, during a core refueling outage at a non-Westinghouse plant, cracks and wall penetrations were discovered in the control rod guide thimble tubes of the fuel assemblies (1).
See Enclosure for references.
Corrective actions, including increased operability sur-veillance, step insertion of control rods, and extensive sleeving of both new and irradiated guide tubes, were taken at all affected facilities (2).
Shortly thereafter, the NRC requested that other fuel vendors, ' cluding Westinghouse, provide evidence for the absence of gaide chimbit sear in their fuel assemblies (2).
Westinghouse responded to t.41s request, pro-viding analyses and supportive post-irradiation examination data, show'.ng that adequate margins for fuel integrity exist in the Westinghouse design and that fuel assembly guide thimble wear is not a safety concern (3, 4, 5).
It is our understanding that this issue is being handled generically and that Westinghouse plans to meet with the NRC in early October to answer these questions.
Presently, TVA does not believe that these questions require a docket specific response. Any additional information which applies specifically to Sequoyah Nuclear Plant will be provided after the NRC-Westinghouse meeting.
Very truly yours, TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY m
L. M. Mills, Manager g
Nuclear Regulation and Safety Enclosure jjQh h h. T910050 2 4 An E saicacormr-Eme,cye t h
O v* 9 r ENCLOSURE REFERENCES (1) ACRS, 216th General Meeting, Washington, D.C., Friday, April 7, 1978, page 391. (2) Letter from D. G. Eisenhut, NRC, to T. M. Anderson, Westinghouse, June 12, 1978. (3) Letter from T. M. Anderson, Westinghouse, to D. G. Eisenhut, NRC, NS-TMA-1936, September 12, 1978. (4) Letter from T. M. Anderson, Westinghouse, to D. G. Eisenhut, NRC, NS-TMA-1992, December 15, 1978. (5) Letter from T. M. Anderson, Westinghouse, to D. G. Eisenhut, NRC, NS-TMA-2102, June 27, 1979. 1106 052}}