ML19343C762
| ML19343C762 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | North Anna  |
| Issue date: | 03/19/1981 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Moran M AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8103250181 | |
| Download: ML19343C762 (6) | |
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s Mr. Michael J. Moran ff/
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4 Vienna, VA. 22180 ygo
Dear Mr. Moran:
This letter is in response to your letter dated February 11,1981 to Chairman Ahearne wherein you requested information regarding the North Anna Power Station, Units No.1 and No. 2 located near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
In your letter you askea, "Is there any spent fuel being stored at this time in the North Anna Pcwer Plant facilities?"
At this time there are 116 spent fuel assemblies stored in the North Anna Power Station spent fuel pool. The spent fuel capacity for the Station is 966 spent fuel assemblies.
The spent fuel pool is located in the Station Fuel Building which serves both nuclear reactor units.
Spent fuel was first stored in the spent fuel pool on October 17, 1979. Cycle 1 refueling operations at North Anna Unit 1 were completed or. 0ctober 30, 1979 at which time a total of 52 spent fuel assemblies were in storage. Just recently, during the Cycle 2 refueling operations at North Anna Unit 1, an additional 64 spent fuel assemblies were placed in storage so that by February 6, 1981, there is now a total of 116 spent fuel assemblies in storage.
In your letter you also asked, "How do they store spent fuel at this plant site?"
The weight of nuclear fuel, Uranium 0xide (UO ), in each of the two 2
reactors at the North Anna Power Station is about 181,000 pounds. The UD; is contained in sealed tubes called fuel rods. A group of 264 fuel 7
l rods are arranged in a 17 X 17 configuration which makes up each of the 157 fuel assemblies in each of the North Anna reactors.
When the nuclear fuel (UO ) elements inside a reactor core have used 2
up much of their available energy content, they must be unloaded to allow fresh fuel to continue a more efficient chain reaction within the reactor core.
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i The unloaded or spent fuel assemblies are highly radioactive when initially removed from the reactor core due to radioactive fission product content within the fuel rods.
These spent fuel assemblies, when first removed, also have a high thermal (heat) output.
The spent fuel pool is designed for storage of these assemblies to allow for radioactive and thermal decay prior to possible shipment to an off-site storage facility or fuel processing plant.
The najor portion of radioactive decay occurs in the first 150 days following removal of the fuel assemblies from the reactor core. After the first 150 days of storage,'the spent fuel assemblies can be withdrawn and placed in heavily shielded casks for possible off-site shipment.
Space permitting, these spent fuel assemblies can be stored. in the spent fuel pool for longer periods of time, such as is presently being done at the North Anna Power Station, allowing for continued fission product decay and thermal cooling.
The spent fuel pool is a seismically designed (for earthquates) 31nforced concrete structure with a stainless steel liner plate. This t
. fuel pool is located in a seismically designed fuel building which
.upported on a reinforced concrete mat on bedrock.
The spent fuel poel i. "illed with circulating water which acts as a coolant to dissipate the heat generated by radioactive decay.
In addition, the water acts as a shield to absorb' radiation emanating from the spent fuel assemblies..
The spent fuel assemblies are stored in stainless steel sleeves called
" rack s".
These storage " racks" are designed to accommodate seismic loads which could result from an earthquake at the North Anna Power Station. Also, l.
the.se " racks" are so designed to preclude criticality. Criticality refers to a physical state where radioactive elements may achieve a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction such as in a nuclear reactor.
Criticality is prevented in the spent fuel pool by proper spacing between the " racks" and by neutron absorbing material present in both the spent fuel pool water and the " racks".
l The spent fuel pool is designed to provide an adequate cooling capacity
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at all times for the maxinum NRC approved number of spent fuel assemblies.
Also, purification equipment maintains the qua'ity and clarity of the water in which the assemblies are imersed.
i The fuel building and spent fuel pool have been evaluated against NRC design basis accidents for seismic events (earthquakes), floods, tornado induced missile damage, and accidents involving the movements of heavy loads in the vicinity of the spent fuel-pool.
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4 6 Also, the fuel building and spent fuel pool contain NRC approved waste treatment systems designed to collect and process any gaseous, liquid and solid wastes that might contain radioactive material from the spent fuel assemblies.
Finally, operating limits for the storage of spent fuel are controlled by the plant Technical Specifications as appended to the NRC approved operating licenses for the North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2.
In your letter you also, asked, "Is there any radiation to be found in the air or water in the vicinity of the North Lake Anna Nuclear Power Plant?"
The answer to your question is yes. We all live in a radioactive world.
Radiation is all about us and is part of our natural environment.
We are continually exposed to ionizing radiation which occurs in the universe.
There are three primary sources of natural radiation. These are (1) solar and galactic radiation, (2) long-life radionuclides in the earth's. crust, and (3) radionuclides formed in the atmosphere from the interactic)ns of cosmic radiation with gases in the atmosphere. Radiation that man is exposed to is neasured in units called millirems (mrem).
This natural background radiation varies in intensity according to the latitude and altitude of any particular location on the ea~rth. The average United States background is about 88 mrem per year. The Eastern Coastal Plain registers about 65 mrem per year. Non-coastal areas of the United States register 88 mrem per year and Denver, Colorado (the mile-high city) registers 165 mrem per year. The average natural back-ground level for the State of Virginia is 78 mrem per' year and the natural background level for the North Anna Power Station (based on eleven nonitoring stations surrounding the Station) is about 65.7 mrem per year.
Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Virginia measure about 76.7 mrem per year.
You may be interested to know that after spent fuel has decayed about six months, there is no significant release of radioactive fission products from spent fuel. The only significant noble gas isotope attributable to storing spent fuel assemblies for a period greater than six months is Krypton-85.
In the NRC review and evaluation of the North Anna Power Station spent fuel facility, a conservative model was employed wherein it was postulated that the spent fuel pool was filled to capacity, the fuel assemblies were defective, and the spent fuel had been in storage for greater than six-months.
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> Based on this conservative scenario, it was estinated that an additional 80 curies per year of Krypton-85 coulf be released.
This increase would result in an additional body dose of less than 0.0002 mrem per year to an individual at the North Anna Power Station site boundary. As you can see, 0.0002 mrem per year is a small fraction of the natural back-ground radiation levels described above.
I trust this letter addresses the questions in your letter.
Sincerely, e@:t npad by ll. R. Canten Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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February 11, 1981 Mr. John Ahearne Director (Acting)
Nuclear Regulatory Cornission Room H 1149 1717 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Ahearne:
I am a resident of Virginia and concerned about nuclear power plants, especially the North Lake Anna Plant, near Fredricksburg, Virginia.
I have three specific questions to ask the Nuclear Regulatory Co=sission:
L Is there any spent fuel being stored at this time in the Nortli Anna Power -
Plant facilities?'
If not, are there plans to do so?
' How do they store the spent fuel at this plant ' site?
Is there any radiation to be found in the air or water in the vacinity
- of the North Lake Anna Nuclear Pcr.cer Plant?
Your response to this specific questions will be most appreciated.
Sincerely, 8
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41chael J. Moran 9406 Shouse Dr.
Vienna, VA.
22180 2/18...To EDO For Direct Reply... Suspense: March 6... Original to Docke't... 81-0198 D u PE: 2'14 R$2CW L R 7
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