ML19210B608

Requests Verification That Facility Is Equipped W/Valves Which Meet Minimum Wall Thickness Requirements.Info Re Valves within Reactor Coolant Pressure Boundary Requested within 30 Days

ML19210B608
Person / Time
Site:	Crane
Issue date:	06/22/1972
From:	James O'Reilly NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:	John Miller METROPOLITAN EDISON CO.
References
NUDOCS 7911110081
Download: ML19210B608 (4)

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NEWARK. NEW JER$ tiy 07102 1.:

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JUN 2 21972

-l Metropolitan Edison Company Docket No. 50-289 1

Attention:

Mr. J. G. Miller 50-320 Vice President P. O. Box 542 Reading, Pennsylvania 19603 4

Gentlemen:

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Information obtained during inspections conducted by the Directorate 1

of Regulatory Operations, has disclosed that a number of facilities have been equipped with valves with wall thicknesses below the mini-mum requirements specified by the applicable codes, standards, and procurement specifications.

In other instances, licensees have not been able to document uhether or not their valves met minimum wall thickness requirements. Our survey of this subject has disclosed that the matter is not limited to any class of licensee or valve supplier.

j In light of the above information, you are requested to verify, through manufacturing records or other suitable means, that valves important to nuclear safety installed or to be installed at your facilities meet the minimum uall thickness requirements of the speci-fied codes or standards. To the extent that verification records are currently available, you are requested to promptly accumulate those records at the plant site, and to advise this office within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter of what records are avail-able and when our inspector may examine them at the plant site.

In the event that records are not currently available, you are re-quested to advise this office within thirty (30) days, of your plans and schedules for demonstrating by suitcble alternate means, that valves important to nuclear safety installed or to be installed at your facilities are acceptabic with respect to wall' thickness. Rec-ords of conformance shall be maintained currer.t with inspections performed.

The valves uhich require demonstration of acceptable wall thickness are the following:

L507 355-3911110D h/

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('t Each valve within the reactor coolant pre: sure boundary, as

-j defined in subsection 50.55(e) (codes and Standards) of 10

~i CFR 50, where the valve is:

't (a) over 1-inch nominal pipe size for pressurized water i

reactors; (b)~ over 1-1/4-inch nominal pipe size in water lines for boiling l

water reactors; (c) over 2-1/2-inch nominal pipe size in steam lines for boiling water reactors.

The f611ouing techniques are considered to be a sufficient demonstra-j tion of acceptable wall thickness. Alternate techniques may be i

offered,_but.there is no assurance that they will be found acceptable.

.Ij (17 Documented direct physical measurement of actual wall

i thickness, with comparison to specified minimum wall j

thickness.

t (2). Documented results of ultrasonic measurement of wall thickness, with comparison to specified minimum wall thickness, and documentation that the ultrasonic measure-i ment technique is demonstrated to have a maximum error

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in repeatability and accuracy, of not more that 2% of

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the wall ~ thickness.

I (3) Wall thicknesses, verificd cy either of the above tech-niques, to be not less than 90% of specified minimum wall thickness will be acceptable, provided that the documented mechanical characteristics of the material exceed the c

specification minimum by an amount sufficient to compensate f6r.the measured reduction in wall thickness.

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(4) "Specified Minimum Wall Thickness" as used above, means the j

vall thickness required by thm relevant codes and standards (e. g., ASA 331.1 (1955); USAS 331.1.0 (1967); USAS E16.5; MSS-SP-66) in effect on the date of the purchase order.

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(5) Certain of your valves may have, for procurement con-venien.ce, been ordered to ratings higher than actually requir_d by service conditions.

Tt such instances, you may, 'i you wish, provide for our review, an engineering

'l justification for accepting valves which do not conform

-j to procurement specifications, but do, in your opinion, satisfy service requiremants.

Such justification shou]d be promptly transmitted to this of fice, in ten (10) copies.

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J (6) In certain instances, you may wish to repair valves found to have wall thickness below the specified minimum.

In such

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instances you are requested to provide to this office for our review, the proposed repair procedure, including a descriptinn of techniques to be used to verify the acceptability 4

of'the repaired components.

Such a proposed procedure should also be submitted in ten (10) copics.

Acceptabic documentation of conformance with the above requirements must

,j b'c: completed within three (3) years of the date of this letter.

Very truly yours,

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ames P. O'Reilly D rector (s, ]

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