ML19338D875
| ML19338D875 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee |
| Issue date: | 09/04/1980 |
| From: | Novak T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Kearney K AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8009240093 | |
| Download: ML19338D875 (3) | |
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September 4, 1980 L
DocLet No. 50-309 I
i Ms. Katheryn Kearney 121/2 Shawmut Street Lewiston, Maine 04240
Dear Ms. Kearney:
This is in response to your letter of July 3,1980 in which you requested lists of required improvements already made and a list of required improvements that will be made "to assure that every reactor in the United States is sufficiently safe to protect the public."
Let me assure you that every reactor in the United States is operated with the concept of providing only a minimal risk to the health and safety of the public.
Should we have sufficient reason to believe this were not the case, the NRC would order the reactor shut down.
Changes required at nuclear power plants to improve safety are already con-tained in public documents.
NUREG-0578, TMI-2 Lessons Learned Task Force Status Report and Short Term Recommendations, contains Category A items to be implemented by January 1,1980 and Category B items to be implemented by January 1,1981.
A copy of NUREG-0578 is enclosed for your information.
Five additional TMI-2 items were issued to all operating licensees by USNRC letter dated May 7, 1980. A copy of the May 7 letter and its, Implementation Schedule 2 Summary, is enclosed for your information.
Note in the applicability column of Enclosure 1 that many items do not apply to Maine Yankee.
The items not applicable to Maine Yankee are identified by:
BWRs, W, PWRs and Big Rock Point.
The remaining items are contained in NUREG-0649, Task Action Plans For Unresolved Safety Issues Related to Nuclear Power Plants.
NUREG-0649, " Task Action Plans for Unresolved Safety Issues Related to Nuclear Power Plants", provides details of each task action and provides a basis for continued plant operation and licensing pending completion of the task. A copy of NUREG-0549 is enclosed for your information.
" Unresolved Safety Issues" that may be applicable to the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Plant and a brief status of each are enclosed as draft status sheets (marked-up) for week ending 7/25/30.
A status sheet provides the estimated completion date for each TAP.
Plaase note that the completion of each task results in the issuance of an NRC report (NUREG).
The NUREG, after a period for cublic coment and ACRS discussions, is issued to each applicable licensee, e
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s who in turn must respond to the criterion contained therein.
The response may be reconrnendations for a change in procedures, Technical Specifications, issuance of a report, hardware modifications or justification as to why no action is required.
Because of interaction between the licensee and NRC G ring the TAP resolution process, the licensee may elect to le actions prior to the completion. of the TAP.
Several examples are included below.
The NUREG for TAP A-1, Water Hammer, has not yet been issued; howaver, Maine Yankee has responded to this task in part by addressing water hammer in the feedwater lines of steam generaters.
AltFough the NUP,EG for TAP A-2, Asymmetric Blowdown Loads on Reactor Primary Coolant Systems, has not yet been issued, Maine Yankee was the
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first operating Combustion Engineering plant in the U. S. to implement hardware modifications consisting of retrofit pipe rupture restraints.
We are presently reviewing and evaluating the licensee's final report regarding TAP A-2.
.Although TAD A-4, Steam Generator (SG) Tube Integrity, is not currently complete, Maine Yankee, during their Summer 1978 refueling outage, made extensive modifications to SG tubes as well as tube support plates.
Additional impacts of this TAP on the Maine Yankee plant will not be determined until the completion of TAP A-4 and issuance of its NUREG.
TAP A-36, Control of Heavy Loads Near Spent Fuel, has been completed with its NUREG-0612, Control of Heavy Loads at Nuclear Power Plants, recently issued. Maine Yankee has responded to this TAP by responding to the TAP group questions and regulatory positions.
Maine Yankee made minor modifications to their yarc area crane.
Maine Yankee's existing Technical Specification 3.13, Refueling Operations, together with imple-menting procedures and safety interlocks assure that heavy loads (other E
than a fuel assembly) are not carried over fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool.
P In addition to the above, the NRC is in the process of developing and implementing an action plan that integrates many of the actions described above and identifies additional actions that may be required.
While the Commission has not approved all of the proposed actions, I am enclosing "NRC Action Plan Developed as a kesult of the TMI-2 Accident" NUREG-0660 to provide further information on the safety improvements being considered by the NRC for implementation by nuclear power plant licensees.
- The licensees 'of nuclear power plants required to implement the above
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mentioned items may engage the services cf different engineering firms, procure equipment from various manufacturers and have equipment installed O
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by various contractors.
Thus.. cost _ estimates for the above mentioned
-items represents a combination of many different variables that are not-routinely available to the NRC.
Consequently, it'is not possible for us to provide you cost ~ estimates' of meaningful value.'
I trust that these comments, together with the _" closed information, answer the questions contained in your letter with the exception of cost estimates.
' Sincerely, e
-)1 Thomas M. Novak, Assistant Director for Operating Reactors Division of Licensing, NRR
Enclosures:
As stated l
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