ML19351F151
| ML19351F151 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | La Crosse File:Dairyland Power Cooperative icon.png |
| Issue date: | 12/05/1980 |
| From: | Levin H Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19351F147 | List: |
| References | |
| ISSUANCES-SC, NUDOCS 8012290645 | |
| Download: ML19351F151 (7) | |
Text
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12/5/80 t
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1
BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD 2
r i
3 In the Matter of 4
DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE
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Docket No. 50-409-SC (La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor)
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(OrdertoShowCause) 5 t
TESTIMONY OF HOWARD A. LEVIN 6
IN RESPONSE TO BOARD QUESTIONS
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7 8
Q.
Please state your name and business address.
9 A.
My name is Howard A. Levin and my address is the U.S. Nuclear 10 Regulatory Comission, Washington, D.C. 20555.
11 Q.
Would you state your position with the NRC and your professional 12 experience?
13 A.
I am currently Technical Assistant to the Director of the Division 14 of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. A statement of l
15 my professional experience and qualifications is attached to this 16 testimony.
17 Q.
Please state the purpose of your testimony.
18 A.
The purpose of my testimony is to respond to question 4 in the Licen-l 19 sing Board's November 12, 1980 Order and question 6 in the Board's l
20 November 25,1980 Order.
21 Q. Have you read the Board's questions?
22 A.
Yes, I have.
f!. Would you answer the Board's question 4? That question is:
24 8 01229 o g
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1 "In a memorandum from Robert E. Jackson to t
l 2
D. Crutchfield dated June 23, 1980, titled
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3
' Initial Review and Recomendations for Site 4
Specific Spectra at SEP Sites,' the Staff l
5 appears to be judging a return period proba-6 bility of 10-3 or 10'4 for a safe shutdown
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7 earthquake as acceptable. On what basis is 8
a departure from a probability of 10-6 or 9
10-7 (accepted by the Staff with respect to 10 other external events), acceptable in this 11 instance? (See, for example, sections 2.2.3 12 and 3.5.1.6 of the Standard Review Plan;
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13 SECY-80-409,TableH-2, September 4,1980.)"
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14 A.
The annual probability of exceeding the recomended safe shutdown 15 earthquake (SSE), as specified for the La Crosse site in a memorandum 16 from R. Jackson to D. Crutchfield, dated June 23, 1980, titled " Initial 17 Review and Recomendations for Site Specific Spectra at SEP Sites",
-3 to 10'4 As discussed in the 18 has been characterized on the order of 10 19 memorandum, the SSE was selected through consideration of various approaches 20 utilizing both probabilistic and empirical methodologies.
21 It is appropriate to characterize the seismic risk to the public in 22 tenns of expected consequences-of future seismic events, such as the 23 chances of exceeding 10 CFR 100 radiation doses. The quantification of 24 seismic risk involves consideration of many factors including the probability
g,
' 1 of structural / mechanical failure and radionuclide dispersion as a 2
function of various levels of ground motion. The ground motion or 3
seismic hazard is defined as the expected occurrence of future seismic 4
events.
In general, the seismic hazard cannot be equated directly to 5
seismic risk since the hazard is a component of the risk.
6 The 10 10 probabilities specified in the Standard Review
-7 7
Plan, sections 2.2.3 and 3.5.1.6 are used as guidelines for the identi-8 fication of design basis events, such as earthquakes, which must be 9
considered in the design of a plant, because such events may lead to 10 the exceeding of 10 CFR 100 limits.
(The differentiation between the
-6
-7 11 10 and 10 guidelines depends on the type of analysis performed.)
12 DBEs with lower probabilities need not be considered. Accordingly, 13 the effects of earthquakes are evaluated since potentially damaging 14 earthquakes are considered to have annual probabilities greater than
-6
-7 15 the 10
- 10 guideline.
Acceptance of a certain level of risk is implicit in the 10-6,
16
-7 17 10 guideline.
In view of the specification of the La Crosse SSE
-3
-4 18 as having an annual probability of the order of 10
- 10, margins 19 in design would have to be invoked to attain an overall level of risk
-6
-7 20 of 10
- 10 Specific efforts to probabilistically quantify these 21 margins for the La Crosse plant are not planned, although a detailed 22 deterministic evaluation is in progress as part of the Systematic 23 EvaluationProgram(SEP). Such an effort is beyond the state-of-24 design today and is impractical for implementation on an across-the-
. i N
1 board basis in the SEP or some other licensing program. However, the 1
2 NRC Office of Research is currently conducting a probabilistically 3
based generic program called the Seismic Safety Margins Research Pro-4 gram which is attempting fo-the first time to rigorously quantify 5
seismic margins. The results of this program have been and will con-i 6
tinue to be factored into the SEP and the licensing process.
7 Q. Would you answer the Board's sixth question? That question is:
8 "How long will it take to design a site 9
dewatering system, have it approved by the 10 NRC Staff, and install and make it opera-l 11 tional?"
12 A.
I cannot answer how long it will take to design a site dewatering 13 system and then install it and make it operational. These are matters 14 more appropriately addressed by the licensee.
I believe that it can 15 be reasonably estimated that it would take about two months for the 16 NRC staff to review a proposed site dewatering system.
17 18 19 20 21 u
I 22 23 24 l
HOWARD A. LEVIN PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS i
My name is Howard A. Levin.
I am Technical Assistant to the Director, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, NRC.
I assist in the development and evaluation of policies and programs related to the technical review of license applications and operating reactor license amendnents for nuclear power plants for the protection of the public health and safety and environment. My technical review includes evaluations in the areas of mech-anical, equipment qualification, structural, materials, chemical, hydrologic, geotechnical, earthquake and environmental engineering.
I am responsible for making technical recomendations regarding the adequacy of proposed and existing designs, including the safety of continued operation i
of reactors.
I am responsible for recomending program planning assumptions and systems, attesting to the appropriateness and validity of support analyses, analytical methods, data treatment and affinning the potential for improved management and decision making throughout the division.
I am responsible for administering a divisior. program for the continuing de-velopment and evaluation of standard review plans and procedures including the identification and review of areas in which new or revised staff positions are t
necessary. My duties include the coordination of division technical activities and the preparation of technical reports and correspondence for the division Director.
I am responsible for reviewing, coordinating coments and making recomendations to the P~ rector on the NRC Nuclear Safety Research Program.
f I am responsible for monitoring significant events in operating reactors and advising the Director on appropriate action.
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I am responsible for reviewing the Division's contractual technical assistance programs to evaluate the effectiveness and utility of the programs and technical l
effort.
I represent the Director at technical meetings with NRC and industrial repre-
]
sentatives.
I have provided testimony before the Advisory Comittee on Reactor L
Safeguards, the Atomic Safety Licensing Board, the NRC and public hearings to present and justify technical analysis and evaluations.
f I received a Bachelor of Engineerina Degree from the Stevens Institute of Tech-l, nology in 1974 and a Masters of Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of lechnology in 1976.
I have published reports and papers in the areas of l
structural, mechanical, materials and earthquake engineering.
I have presented l-technical papers and participated in panel discussions at technical society meetings.
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Howard A. Levin '
i I joined the NRC staff in 1976 and have served in positions of progressive responsibility. Prior to my current appointment, I served for two years as program coordinator for the NRC Systematic Evaluation Program seismic review.
Preceding my SEP assignment I was heavily involved in the review of operating reactor problems, From 1974 to 1976 I was employed by Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation.
I was responsible for the structural analysis and design of nuclear power plant piping, equipment supports and structures.
From 1970 to 1974 I held positions with Hercules, Inc. and Slattery Associates where I was involved in the construction of process chemical plants, bridges, subways, sewage plants, etc.
I I am a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of DAIRYLAND POWER COOPERATIVE Docket No. 50-409-SC (La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor)
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(Order to Show Cause) i CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the NRC STAFF'S LETTER TO THE BOARD ENCLOSING TESTIMONY OF LEON REITER AND TESTIMONY OF HOWARD A. LEVIN IN RESPONSE TO BOARD QUESTIONS in the above-captioned proceeding have been served on the following by deposit in the United States mail, first class, or as indicated by an f
asterisk, through deposit in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's internal mail system this 5th day of December, 1980.
Charles Bechhoefer, Esq.*
0.S. Hiestand, Esq.
Chairman Kevin Gallen, Esq.
J Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Morgan, Lewis & Bockius l
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission 1800 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20555 Washington, D.C. 20036 Mr. Ralph Decker Mr. Frederick M. Olsen, III Route #4, Box 1900 609 N. lith Street Cambridge, Maryland 21613 La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601 Dr. George C. Anderson Atomic Safety & Licensing Appeal Panel
- Department of Oceanography U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission University of Washington Washington, D.C. 20555 h
Seattle, Washington 98195 Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel
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Coulee Region Energy Coalition U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission i
Attn: Ms. Ann K. Morse Washington, D.C. 20555 P.O. Box 1583 La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601 Docketing & Service Section*
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fritz Schubert, Esq.
Washington, D.C. 20555 L
Staff Attorney Dairyland Power Cooperative i
2615 East Avenue, South La Crosse, Wisconsin Sa601 Mr. Frank Linder n
!i General Manager Dairyland Power Cooperative 2615 East Avenue, South
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La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601 Stephen G. Burns Counsel to NRC Staff i
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