ML20010B150
| ML20010B150 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 08/10/1981 |
| From: | Swartz L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8108140140 | |
| Download: ML20010B150 (7) | |
Text
Staff 8/10/81 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY C0ftMISSION 6
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METROPOLITAN EDISON COMPANY,
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(Three Mile Island, Unit 1)
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NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO INTERVENOR AAMODT'S MOTION TO TAKE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS _
I.
Introduction On July 20, 1981, Mrs. Aamodt filed a " Motion to the Board to Take Official Notice of NRC Letter, June 1,1981, to all B & W Licensees and NRC Letter, July 1,1981, to all Licensees Regarding Deficiencies in Training Programs of Licensed Operations" (Motion). The Staff opposes this Motion on the ground that these documents do not contain " facts" which the Licensing Board could officially notice and that, in any event, they are not relevant to the TMI-1 restart proceeding.
l II.
Discussion Section 2.743(i) of the Commission's Rules of Practice states that the presiding officer '?may take official notice of any fact of which a court of the United States may take judicial notice or of any technical or scientific fact within the knowledge of the Commission as an expert body."
In most of the cases where a Licensing or Appeal Board took official notice of a document, the basis for such a ruling was that the material noticed was within the knowledge of the Commission as an 8108140140 810810 A
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. expert body or was part of the public records of the Commission. See, e.g., Consumers Power Co. (Midland Plant, Units 1 and 2), ALAB-123, 6 AEC 331, 332 (1973); Consolidated Edison of New York (Indian Point, Unit i
2), ALAB-75, 5 AEC 309, 310 (1972); Duquesne Light Co. et al.(Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit 2), LBP-74-25, 7 AEC 711, 733 (1974); Duke Power Co. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2), LBP-74-22, 7 AEC 659, 667 (1974); Duke Power Co. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2),
LBP-74-5, 7 AEC 82, 92 (1974).
It is improper, however, to take official notice of opinions and conclusions. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.
l (Nine Mile Point, Unit 2), LBP-74-26, 7 AEC 758, 760 (1974).
In this instance, the two letters which Mrs. Aamodt seeks to have officially noticed are within the knowledge of the Commission as an l
expert body and are part of the public record of the Commission. The l
letters, however, contain the Staff's opinion, not facts, as to certain l
l deficiencies or concerns in +33 operation of nuclear power plants.
l The June 1, 1981 letter :s "All B & W Licensees" from Thomas M.
Novak of the Division of Licensing, a copy of which is attached, 1
discusses Abnormal Transient Operator Guidelines (AT0G) and identifies five areas which, in the Staff's view, were not addressed adequately in the ATOG for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1.
Mrs. Aamodt seems to argue that identification of these concerns should be a matter of record because "the ATOG program was to have been ready for use with the training department this month" and because the " commitments of the
. Licensee in Exhibit 56 were made specifically on the time for completion of the ATOG training...." Motion at 1.
The June 1,1981 letter merely describes what the Staff considers to be deficiencies in the ATOG for Arkansas Nuclear One. These Staff opinions do not rise to the standard of " precise facts" of which official notice could be taken. Nine Mile Point, supra.
Even if these Staff opinions are deemed to constitute facts which may be officially noticed, their relevance to the THI-1 restart proceeding is questionable at best. Mrs. Aamodt makes no effort to describe how the deficiencies identified by the Staff in the AT0G for Arkansas Nuclear One relate to the safe operation of TMI-1 or affect the operator training program at l
TMI-1, which she asserts is the purpose of her Motion. Absent a showing of clear relevance, reopening the record at this late date is not warranted.E l
The second document identified by Mrs. Aamodt is a July 1,1981U letter to "All Licensees of Operating Plants and Holders of Construction 1/
The record on management capability issues, which includes operator training, has been closed since mid-April.
Findings of fact were filed by the parties and interested state agencies on May 15, 1981.
Reply findings were filed on June 15 and 29,1981.
NRC case law makes it clear that, absent a showing of significant new information which could bear upon the outcome of the proceeding, the record ought not to be reopened.
Kansas Gas & Electric Co. (Wolf Creek Generating Station, Unit 1), ALAB-462, 7 NRC 320, 338 (1978).
Mrs. Aamodt has not demonstrated that the information in the two letters would affect the outcome of the proceeding and, thus, reopening the record in these circumstances is not appropriate.
y Mrs. Aamodt refers to a " July 1,1982" letter. The Staff assumes that she intended to refer to a July 1,1981 letter involving steam generator overfill.
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. Permits" concerning steam generator overfill.3.] She claims, without citation to the record, 9at the " deficiencies in ovi.rall training per the 11 arch 28,1980 letter of H. Denton have been detected by the Licensing Branch in administering flRC examinations." Motion at 1.
She then asserts that the observation in the letter to the effect that, while reacter operators are aware of the need to avoid overfilling steam generators, there may be a general lack of appreciation of the potential seriousness of such situations (Steam Generator Overfill Letter at 1),
"may very well apply to the operators at TMI." Motion at 1.
As was the case with the June 1,1981 letter, the July 1,1981 letter expresses only Staff opinions, not facts. The Staff did not conclude that reactor operators do not appreciate the seriousness of steam generator overfill, but only that they "may" not have such an appreciation. The Licensing Board cannot take official notice of mere speculation or cpinion.
fline Mile Point, supra.
Moreover, Mrs. Aamodt fails to identify how a possible lack of appreciation of the potential seriousness of steam generator overfill involves the operator training at TMI-1.
Indeed, she concedes that "these observations" may not apply to the operators at TMI.
Motion at 1.
- Again, l
in tne absence of a showing c: clear relevance, there is simply no 3]
The July 1,1981 letter was originally designated as Generic Letter 81-16.
Apparently there were two letters given that designation and the Staff reissued the July 1, 1981 Steam Generator Overfill letter on July 32, 1981 as Generic Letter 81-28. A copy of the July 31.1981 letter, which is identical to the July 1,1981 letter discussed by Mrs. Aamodt, is attached.
. justification for reopening the record to admit a document which, by the movant's own admission, has a questionable nexus to issues in the restart proceeding.
III. Conclusion For the reasons stated above, the Staff opposes Mrs. Aamodt's Motion to take official notice of Staff documents dated June 1,1981 relating to ATOG and July 1, 1981 relating to steam generator overfill.O Respectfully submitted, p
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9(1 Lucinda Low Swartz Counsel for NRC Staff Dated at Bethesda, Maryland this 10th day of August,1981.
y The last two paragrdphs of Mrs. Aamodt's Motion do not relate to her request for the Licensing Board to take official notice.
Rather, she asks the Board to consider certain portions of the testimony of Mr. Kelly. This request is more in the fom of a proposed or reply finding of fact, the time for which is long past.
The Staff asks that these two paragraphs be disregarded.
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y UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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]1 TO ALL B&W LICEtoEES (Except Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit One) c 4
I Gentlemen:
SUBJECT:
NUREG-0737, ITEM I.C.1, ABNORMAL TRANSIENT OPERATOR GUIDELINES (AT0G) (Generic Letter No. 81-16 )
4'Q The staff has completed a preliminary review of the AT0G prepare) for
.y Arkansas Nuclear One Unit One and submitted as generic guidelines in
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,l response to NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements, d
Item I.C.l.
We have identified the following deficiencies in areas 73 that were identified in NUREG-0737, but are not addressed by the AT0G s ubmittal :
'h 1.
The bases for the consideration of multiple and consequential failures is not provided. The sequence-of-event diagrams are not
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complete (i.e., ATWS following an initiating event).
- n-M 2.
Supporting analyses for multiple failures are not presented for Ji all cases.
The description of the computer programs used to analyze the events is not provided.
3.
Operator errors of omission or commission are not addressed.
i 4.
The following multiple failure events are not addressed:
(a)
SG tube rupture in more than one steam generator; (b)
Failure of the high-pressure reactor coolant makeup system; (c)
ATUS following an initiating event (with or without a 1
i turbine trip); and
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(d)
Failure of main and auxiliary fee'dwater with partial or complete loss of HPI.
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5.
The transition from emergency procedures into an adequate core cooling (ICC) procedure is not developed or included.
(We understand that B&W is incorporating ICC into the AT0G program for some future sub-mi ttal. )
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'l Since you have referenced this report as applicable to your facility, l
.J please advise us within 30 days of your receipt of'this letter of your schedule for response to these items and the impact this will have on your schedule for implementing a program of emergency operating procedures l
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that comply with the requirements of NUREG-0737, Iten I.C.1.
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Ali B&W Licensees Except -
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since the responses required by this letter affect fewer than 10
,,'I licensees and are required to obtain a benefit, they are not subject 1:
to Office of Management arfd Budget clearance as required by P.L.96-511.
Sincerely,
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l Thomas M. Novak, Assistant Dire tor for.0perating Reactors j :.
Division of Licensing cc:
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July 31,1981 s
ALL LICENSEES OF OPERATING PLANTS AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS Gentlemen:
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SUBJECT:
STEAM GENERATOR OVERFILL (GENERIC LETTER 81-28)
(Formerly Issued July 1,1981, as Generic Letter 81-16)
In a letter dated March 28, 1980 from H.R. Denton, we informed you of the revised criteria to be used by the staff in evaluating reactor operator training and licensing that could be implemented under the current regulations.
We also advised you that Commission review in the area of operator training and qualification was continuing and it could be expected to result in additional criteria.
The NRC Office of Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data has produced
' a report entitled, "AE0D Observations and Recor<nendations Concerning the Problem of Steam Generator Overfill and Combinad Primary and Secondary Side Blowdown," dated December 17, 1980, a copj of the report is enclosed.
This report documents results of studies completed to date by the Office of Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data with regard to the steam generator overfill problem.
This report expresses concerns in the following area:
(1) increased dead weight and cotential seismic loads placed on the main steamline and its support should this line become flooded; (2) the load placed on the main steamlines due to the potential for rapid collapse of steam voids resulting in water hammer; (3) the potential for secondary safety valves sticking open following discharge of water or two-phase flow; (4) the potential for rupture for weakend tubes in the once-through-steam-generator (OTSG) on B&W NSSS plants due to tensile loads caused 3
g by the rapid thermal shrinkage of the tubes relative to the generator j
shell.
From the examining experiences of the Operator Licensing Branch, operators at nuclear power plants are aware of the need to avoid overfilling steam generators and not operating steam systems with water accumulation.
1 However, there may be a general lack of appreciation of the potential
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seriousness of situations that can arise from these events.
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- July 31,1981
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?i.-n While this issue is being studied further, we request that you determine cp
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which scenarios are credible for your plant and that you include in your yyt overall training program, plan *.-specific information stressing the fij importance of feedwater flow as ell as the possible consequences of
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steam generator overfill.
This information should be factored into
[./;j your initial operator training programs and the operator requalification
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- .Si Darrell G. E e nu, T cJi9 Division of Licensing dQi Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
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Enclo:ure:
94; As stated
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4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY C0ft4ISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of HETROPOLITAii EDIS0N COMPANY, Docket No. 50-289 ET AL.
(ThreeMileIsland, Unit 1)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of "NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO INTERVENOR AAMODT'S MOTION TO TAKE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS," dated August 10, 1981, 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 asterisk, through deposit in the Nuclear Regulatory Counission's internal mail system, this 10th day of August, 1981:
- Ivan W. Smith, Esq., Administrative Ms. Marjorie M. Aamodt Judge R.D. #5 Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel Coatesville, PA 19320 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Cammission Washington, D.C.
20555 Mr. Thomas Gerusky l
Bureau of Radiation Protection Dr. Walter H. Jordan, Administrative Dept. of Environmental Resources Judge P.O. Box 2063 881 W. Outer Drive Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830 Mr. Marvin I. Lewis Dr. Linda W. Little, Administrative 6504 Bradford Terrace Judge Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19149 5000 Hermitage Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27612 Metropolitan Edison Company ATTN:
J.G. Herbein, Vice President George F. Trowbridge, Esq.
P.O. Box 542 Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge Reading, Pennsylvania 19603 1800 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20006 Ms. Jane Lee R.D. 3; Box 3521 Karin W. Carter, Esq.
Etters, Pennsylvania 17319 505 Executive House P. O. Box 2357 Walter W. Cohen, Consumer Advocate Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Department of Justice Strawberry Square,14th Floor Honorable Mark Cohen Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17127-l 512 D-3 Main Capital Building Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
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Thomas'J. Germine Deputy Attorney General Divisi% of Law - Room 316 1100 Raymond Boulevard Newark, New Jersey 07102 Allen R. Carter, Chairman John Levin, Esq.
Joint Legislative Coculttee on Energy Pennsylvania Public Utilities Comm.
Post Office Box 142 Box 3265 Suit.e 513 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Senate Gressette Building Columbia, South Carolina 29202 Jordan D. Cunningham, Esq.
Fox, Farr and Cunningham Robert Q. Pollard 2320 North 2nd Street 609 Montpelier Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110 Baltimore, Maryland 21218 Louise Bradford Chauncey Kepford 1011 Green Street
' Judith H. Johnsrud Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102 Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power 433 Orlando Avenue State College, Pennsylvania 16801 Ms. Ellyn R. Weiss Harmon & Weiss P
Ms. Frieda Berryhill, Chairman 1725 I Street, N.W.
Coalition for Nuclear Power Plant Suite'506 Postponement Washington, D.C.
20006 2610 Grendon Drive Wilmington, Delaware 19808 Mr. Steven C. Sholly Union of Concerned Scientists Gail P. Bradford 1725 I Street, N.W.
ANGRY Suite 601 245 W. Philadelphia St.
Washington, D.C.
20006 York, Pennsylvania 17401
- Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555
- Atomic Safety arid Licensing Board Panel._
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i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Lucinda Low Swartz
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Washington, D.C.
20555 Counsel for NRC Staff
- Secretary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTH: Chief, Docketing & Service Br.
Washington, D.C.
20555 William S. Jordan, III, Esq.
Harmon & Weiss 1725 I Street, N.W.
Suite 506 Washington, D.C.
20006
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