ML20059K284

Forwards Proprietary ABWR Ssar Info.Advises That Balance of Previously Designated Proprietary Pages Reclassified as Nonproprietary & Will Be Revised in Amend 33 W/Proprietary Designation Removed.Proprietary Info Withheld

ML20059K284
Person / Time
Site:	05200001
Issue date:	11/05/1993
From:	Quirk J GENERAL ELECTRIC CO.
To:	Borchardt R NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM), Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML19311B194	List: ML20059K284
References
MFN-190-93, NUDOCS 9311150296
Download: ML20059K284 (6)

Text

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a GENuclearEnergy i

Genera!Dectre Company c

175 Curt ter Avenue. San Jose. CA 95125 l

November 5,1993 MFN No.190-93 . ,

Docket No.52-001 l

t Document Control Desk l U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC 20555 Attention: Richard Borchardt, Director  !

Standardization Project Directorate

Subject:

Final Reclassification of ABWR SSAR Proprietary Information

References:

1. Letter dated August 18,1992, R. C. Mitchell to R. C. Pierson, l Reclassification of ABWR SSAR Proprietary Information, MFN  !

No.158-92 l t

2. Letter dated March 9,1993, Jerry N. Wilson to Patrick W.  !

Marriott, Request for Withholding Information from Public  :

Disclosure

3. Letter dated May 14,1993, P. W. Marriott to Richard W. l Borchardt, Revision to March 9,1992 Affidavit, MFN No. 076-93 )

i Enclosed are two (2) copies of the Standard Safety Analysis Report (SSAR) for the Advanced I

Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) designated as General Electric Company proprietary information. Also, enclosed are two copies of the corresponding proprietary affidavit. This transmittal supersedes all previous proprietary submittals on dockets STN 50-605 and 52-001, including Reference 1.

The balance of the previously designated proprietary pages have been reclassified as non-proprietary and will be revised in Amendment 33 with the proprietary designation removed.

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l Document Control Desk November 5,1993 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission MFN No.190-93 Page 2 Docket No.52-001 l

I l Reference 2 agreed that the material designated in our August 18,1992 affidavit (Reference 1) for the following subjects were appropriately classified as proprietary:

a. Fuel Rod and Fuel Pellet Parameters '

b. Containment Hydrodynamic LoadingTest Results

c. Fuel Loading Patterns .

d. Core Nuclear Conditions  !

e. Fuel Criteria

f. Control Rod Criteria

g. Emergency Operation Information and Controls

h. Containment Ultimate Strength Testing

i. ODYNA/REDYA Computer Code Changes i Since the issuance of Reference 1, we have replaced the proprietary version of item g with a non-proprietary version. In addition, we find that we can now declassify items f, h, and i and therefore no longer request these items be withheld from public disclosure.

The following summarizes our efforts to declassify the items which Reference 2 took exception to:

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a. IBDs and IEDs  ;

Reclassified as non-proprietary ,

b. Radwaste Building Arrangements and P& ids of Chapters 1,11 and 12 and ,

Chapter 11 text  ;

Non-proprietary versions replaced original proprietary versions  !

c. Environmental Conditions for Equipment Qualification

• Reclassified as non-proprietary

d. SAFER /GESTR LOCA Analysis Results Maintained as proprietary. Developed a non-proprietary summary of the results.

LOCA analysis results were included in SARs as non-proprietary information prior to development of General Electric's SAFER /GESTR analysis method. However, GE has consistently treated both the more advanced SAFER /GESTR methodology and analysis results as proprietary. I These results, if disclosed, would provide data and insight on methods that l would enable competitors to realize significant commercial benefits in reactor and fuel design and licensing, and thus affect our position in the market. For example, knowledge of the results and methods could provide competitors price advantages from not having to complete portions of the detailed analyses and calculations developed by GE at significant cost, utilizing specialized skills. Thus, we are providing a non-proprietary summary of the results.

i Document Control Desk November 5,1993 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission MFN No.190-93 Page 3 Docket No.52-001

e. Documents Pertaining to Radiation Protection NEDE-23819, NEDE-23996-1, NEDE-23996-2 and NEDE-24679 were provided by GE in support of Chapten 12 at the request of the staff. The first three documents were originally issued with limited distribution and  ;

were considered proprietary. However, following re-evaluation, GE re-issued these documents as Class I which permits general distribution.

The last document is retained as proprietary and identified appropriately. A revised affidavit was provided by Reference 3.

Sincerely, o ep F. Ouirk g

oject Manager A WR Certification Program MC-782, (408)925-6219 cc: R. C. Berglund (GE)

N. D. Fletcher (DOE)

C. Poslusny, Jr. (NRC)

F. A. Ross (DOE)

LTRl;K 9M5

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY l

AFFIDAVIT  !

1 I, Joseph F. Ouirk, being duly sworn, depose and state as follows:

(1) I am Project Manager, ABWR Certification Program, General Electric Company ("GE") and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph 2 which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.

(2) The information sought to be withheld is contained in the GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) Standard Safety Analysis Report (SSAR) as summarized in the attachment to this affidavit. This information is identified as "GE Proprietary Information - Class III"in the header of the specific material.

(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is an owner, GE relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"),5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act,18 USC Sec.1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a 4 ,

2.790(a)(4), and 2.790(d)(1) for " trade secrets and commercial or fin)a(nc information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential"(Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought is all

" confidential commercial information", and some portions also qualify under the narrower definition of" trade secret", within the meanin s assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respective Critical Mass Energy Proiect v. Nuclear Reculatory Commission. 975F2d871 DC Cir.1992), and Pulitic Citizen Health'Research Group v. FDA,704F2d1280 (DC Cir.1983).

(4) Some examples of categories of information which fit into the definition of proprietary information are:

a. Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by General Electric's competitors without license from General Electric constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies;

b. Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product;

c. Information which reveals cost or price information, produc' ion capacities, budget levels, or commercial strategies of General Electric, its customers, or its suppliers; i

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d. Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future Gereral Electric customer-funded development plans and programs, of potential commercial value to General Electric;

e. Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may l

be desirable to obtain patent protection.

The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in both paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b., above.

(5) The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GE, and is in fact so held. Its initial designation as pro?rietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorizec. disclosure, are as set forth in (6) and (7) following. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GE, no i

pubhc disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties including any required transmittals to NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidece.

(6) Initial ap of the on,ginatin);

proval com of proprietary aonent, thetreatment person mostof alikely document is made by to be acquainted withthe themanager '

value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge.

Access to such documents within GE is limited on a need to know" basis.

1 (7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist or other ec uivalent authority, by the manager of the cogm,zant marketing function (or his c elegate), and by the legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GE are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements.

(8) The information identified in paragraph (2) is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed results of analytical models, methods and processes, including computer codes, which GE has developed, obtained NRC approval of, and applied to perform evaluations of the loss-of-coolant accident for the BWR.

The development and approval of the loss-of-coolant accident computer codes  !

used in this analysis was achieved at a significant cost, on the order of several l million dollars, to GE.  !

The development of the evaluation process along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GE asset.

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(9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GE's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportumties. The information is part of GE's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost. The value of the technolog base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.

The research, development, engineering, analytical, and NRC review costs -

comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GE and its associates. l i

The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the l correct analytical methodo: ogy is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is  ;

! substantial. i GE's competitive advantage will be lost ifits competitors are able to use the i results of the GE experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they i are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can  :

arrive at the same or similar conclusions.  !

, The value of this information to GE would be lost if the information were  !

l disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors  !

without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GE .

and its associates of the opportunity to exercise their competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on thier large investment in developing these very valuable analytical tools.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA )

COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA )bb ,

Joseph F. Quirk, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

That he has read the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, Executed at San Jose, California, this M day of w >UK 193 f -

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OFFICIAL SEAL q

/jN[_

. PAULA F. HUSSEY t, J4(eph(F. Quirk W newn ruto: - cwroN Gcneral Electric Company V

- _ _ , ynnnn $$$5. um Subscribed and sworn before me this 2h day of T}% fu ,19D

.___, l JS I Q .f' Notary Public, State of California}

Affidavit Page 3