ML19210B969
| ML19210B969 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 10/26/1979 |
| From: | Eisenhut D Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Saudek R VERMONT, STATE OF |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19210B970 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7911130099 | |
| Download: ML19210B969 (2) | |
Text
& T **
,/
UNITED STATES o,,
h
' NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION o
WASHINGTON D. C.20655
%.m,
- October 26, 1979 DoTket No. 50 271 Mr. Richard Saudek, Chairman State of Yemont Public-Service Boani 120 State Street Montpelier, Vemont 05602
Dear Mr. Saudek:
In your letter dated October 22, 1979 you asked that the NRC advise you of the acceptability of the Vemont Yankee (VY) rescheduling of the torus gusset weld nodification which is part of the Mark I Long Tem Program. Our response to.this question was provided by telephone on October 22, 1979 by Vernon Rooney, Vemont Yankee Project Manager, to Madeleine Kunin, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vemont, and separately to you.
In addition, on the same cay our response to this question was provided by T. A. Ippoliio, ORB #3 Branch Chief, to Dr. Novick, Vermont Commissioner of Health, and separately to Phil Paull. of the Vermont Public Service Board. The purpose of this letter is to confirm the infomation provided in those telephone conversations.
We encourage VY to complete all repair actions including the gusset weld modifications as soon as possible.. However, the VY schedule for completing long tem modifications is consistent with our targeted goal of December 1980.
The basis for the December 1980 date results from the Mark I Short Tem Program safety evaluation.
The February 1978 exemption based on this safety evaluation concluded that Vermont Yankee was sufficiently safe to operate until the long term Mark I program was complete (approximately 2 years) at which time the originally intended safety margin would be restored.- This conclusion was not based on VY completing any particular plant modifications during the 1979 refueling outage.
In addition, the two-year period was selected simply to provide a reasonable time frame for the resolution of this issue.
Throughout the course of the Mark I Containment Long Tem Program, the staff has urged the Mark I licensees to make any necessary plant modifications at the earliest possible time to expedite the resolution of this issue.
Similarly, in March 1979, the staff requested that each Mark I licensee submit their planned modification schedules, based on the extent of plant modifications necessary to satisfy the objectives of the Long Term Program which were known to them at that time. We are continuing to discuss these schedules with the individual licensees to ensure that every effort is being made to restore the margins of safety in the Mark I facilities as quickly as possible. However, we also 1323 046 of 7911180
'T
Mr. Richard Saudek-October 26,1979 recognize that many of the proposed plant modifications being considered for the Mark I program require careful planning and analysis.
In this regard, VY has already attempted this particular modification with unacceptable results.
Consequently, we do not believe that this modification should be performed hastily.
We are also enclosing for your information an internal memorandum which contains the staffls acceptance criteria for the Mark I Long Term Program.
These criteria will be transmitted.to the affected licensees (including VY) within the next few days and will provide them with guidance in per-fonning their long-term program plant-unique analyses and in refining their plant modification design.
We conclude that the present configuration of the VY plant does not jeopardize the health and safety of the people of Vermont. We will continue to monitor the licensee's progress in restoring the margin of safety in the containment design and take whatever action is necessary to assure a timely and thorough resolution of this issue.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Sincerely, N.k.
0Mh Darrell Eisenhut, Acting Director Division of Operating Reactors Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation E'nc1 osure:
Memo dtd 10/15/79 regarding Acceptance Criteria for the Mark I Containment Long Term Program cc:
Madeleine Kunin, Lt. Governor Dr. Lloyd Novick, Commissioner of Health Thomas Keenan, Director of 1323 047 Engineering and Operations, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation