ML20036A721

Discusses NRC Review of Individual Plant Evaluation Submitted by Util on 930201.Informs That Detailed Review of Submittal Cannot Be Performed at This Time Due to Overall Resources Required to Review Large Number of Submittals

ML20036A721
Person / Time
Site:	River Bend
Issue date:	05/05/1993
From:	Baker E Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Graham P GULF STATES UTILITIES CO.
References
TAC-M74459, NUDOCS 9305140048
Download: ML20036A721 (3)

Text

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g4 WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 s W 4[' n E i

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2 Docket No. 50-458 i

Gulf States Utilities ATTN: Mr. Philip D. Graham Vice President (RBNG)

Post Office Box 220 St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775

SUBJECT:

NRC REVIEW 0F INDIVIDUAL PLANT EVALUATION (TAC NO. M74459)

On February 1,1993, Gulf States Utilities Company (GSU) submitted an Individual Plant Evaluation (IPE) for the River Bend Station.

In the cover letter, GSU requested that the IPE be reviewed in sufficient detail to allow future use of the IPE in the resolution of safety issues, assessment of operational practices, relief from unnecessary regulatory requirements, and the evaluation of selected changes in design or procedures without additional repetitive review. These uses of the IPE, while beyond the requirements of Generic Letter 88-20, are the types of follow-on activities that maximize the benefit of having performed a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of the plant.

Relative to your intent to use the IPE for various regulatory actions, the NRC has in the past and continues to consider PRA arguments in support of requests for license amendments or other regulatory actions as long as PRA is not the sole basis for the request. However, a more detailed review of the River Bend IPE, beyond the currently planned review, cannot be performed at this time due to the overall resources required to review the large number of IPE submittals.

The review the staff is performing on IPEs is a Step 1 review as described in SECY-92-151, " Issuance of the Staff's Evaluation Report on the Seabrook Individual Plant Evaluation Submittal." This review is a process review which, in general, is not intended to validate the accuracy of the licensee's IPE findings. Although certain aspects of the IPE may be explored in more detail than others, the review will primarily focus on the licensee's ability to examine the River Bend Station for severe accident vulnerabilities, and not specifically on the detailed findings which stemmed from the evaluation.

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Mr. Philip D. Graham May 5, 1993 The NRC staff intends to review any licensing actions supported by PRA arguments on a case-by-case basis. The staff intends to maximize the use of any prior IPE review during reviews of specific requests for licensing action and will not repeat previous reviews. The IPE review is viewed as a broad review of the overall quality of the PRA that is necessary before performing detailed reviews for specific licensing actions.

Sincerely, Original Signed By Edward T. Baker, Senior Project Manager Project Directorate IV-2 Division of Reactor Projects III/IV/V Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION Docket File Local PDR NRC PDR PDIV-2 R/F JRoe MVirgilio EBaker EPeyton EJordan ACRS (10)

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Mr. Philip D. Graham

• CC:

Winston & Strawn Ms. H. Anne Plettinger ATTN: Mark J. Wetterhahn, Esq.

3456 Villa Rose Drive 1400 L Street, N.W.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806 Washington, D.C. 20005-3502 Mr. Les England Director - Nuclear Licensing Gulf States Utilities Company St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775 Mr. Philip G. Harris Cajun Electric Power Coop, Inc.

10719 Airline Highway P. O. Box 15540 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70895 t

Senior Resident Inspector P. O. Box 1051 St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775 President of West Feliciana Police Jury P. O. Box 1921 St. Francisville, Louisiana 70775 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 i

Arlington, Texas 76011 Mr. J. David McNeill, III William G. Davis, Esq.

Department of Justice

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Attorney General's Office P. O. Box 94095 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9095 Administrator Louisiana Radiation Protection Division i

P. O. Box 82135 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2135 i

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