ML20059L320
| ML20059L320 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Peach Bottom  |
| Issue date: | 11/24/1993 |
| From: | Greeves J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9402040043 | |
| Download: ML20059L320 (5) | |
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION P
In the matter of
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PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC COMPANY
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Docket No. 50-171
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(Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, )
Unit 1)
EXEMPTION I.
The Philadelphia Electric Company (the licensee), is the holder of Possession-Only License (POL) No. DPR-12 which authorizes possession and maintenance of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 1 (PBAPS-1). The license provides, among other things, that the plant is subject to all rules, regulations, and Orders of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission now or
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hereafter in effect.
PBAPS-1 is a permanently shutdown, high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor that permanently ceased power operations in 1974.
PBAPS is located at the licensee's site in Delta, Pennsylvania.
The fuel was removed from the reactor and shipped offsite. A POL was issued July 6, 1974. A condition of the PBAPS-1 POL No.DPR-12 states:
"The licensee is not authorized to operate the-reactor.
Fuel may not be placed in the reactor vessel." PBAPS-1 is currently i
in SAFSTOR until 2015. The licensee is planning to decommission PBAPS-1 j
simultaneously with the PBAPS-2 and PABPS-3 in 2015.
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II.
The NRC is considering granting an exemption from the training requirements of 10 CFR 50.120 for those categories of personnel listed in 10 CFR 50.120.
This rule states the following:
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"...each nuclear power plant licensee, by [0ctober 25,.1993, publication] shall establish, implement, and maintain a training J
program derived from a systems approach to training as defined in 10 CFR 55.4."
The intent of 10 CFR 50.120 is to ensure that civilian nuclear power plant operating personnel are trained and qualified to safely operate and maintain I
the farility commensurate with the safety status of the facility.
III.
The NRC may grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), are (1) authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present.
Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR 50.12 provides that special circumstances exist when application of the regulations in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The NRC will not consider granting an exemption unless special circumstances are present.
The special circumstances identified in the licensee's letter of July 30, 1993, for PBAPS-1 are;
- 1) the reactor has been defueled; 2) the fuel is removed from the reactor and stored offsite; 3) the reactor license has been amended to prohibit the reactor from returning to operation; 4) the training
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i requirements necessary to assure adequate protection of the public health and safety at a permanently shutdown and defueled facility are significantly less than the training requirements necessary to assure the public health and a
safety at an operating facility; and 5) there are no credible accident scenarios that could result in offsite doses greater than a small fraction of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's " Protective Action Guidelines."
l This exemption would relieve the licenseo from the training requirements for all nine categories of personnel listed in 10 CFR 50.120. The nine categories that would be exempted are: 1) non-licensed operators; 2) shift supervisors; 3) shift technical advisor; 4) instrument and control technician;
- 5) electrical maintenance personnel; 6) mechanical' maintenance personnel; 7)
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radiological protection technician; 8) chemistry technician; and
- 9) engineering support personnel.
The only category of personnel at PBAPS-1 who performs similar duties comparable to those required during plant operations is the radiological protection technician.
For all personnel in the radiological protection-category, PBAPS-2 and PBAPS-3 personnel perform those tasks on an as needed basis for PBAPS-1, and all PBAPS-2 and PBAPS-3 personnel, including those who perform work on PBAPS-1, are trained in accordance with the PBAPS-2 and PBAPS-3 approved training program.
This exemption would relieve the licensee from the training program requirements of 10 CFR 50.120.
Because of the reduced nuclear safety significance at PBAPS-1, it is not necessary to require PBAPS-1 to comply with the training requirements specified in 10 CFR 50.120 to achieve the underlying i
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purpose of the rule. However, it will not relieve the licensee from previous requirements or commitments to train and qualify facility personnel.
IV.
The staff agrees with the licensee's analyses as presented in Section III above and concludes that sufficient bases exist for approving the exemption request.
In addition, the staff finds that the special circumstances presented satisfy the requirements of 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii).
V.
Based on the special circumstances at PBAPS-1, the NRC staff has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(1), an exemption is authorized by law, and that this exemption will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety and is consistent with the common defense and security.
Accordingly, the NRC hereby grants an exemption to the portions of 10 CFR 50.120 that apply to the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of training programs using a syet:ss approach to training.
This exemption does not relieve the licensee of any other training requirements or commitments that were made to the NRC.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the NRC has determined that the granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (58 FR 61930, dated November 23, 1993).
A copy of the licensee's request for exemption and supporting documentation dated July 30, 1993, and the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation, included in the exemption, are available for public inspection at the NRC's
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5 Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037, and at the local public document room at the State Library of f
Pennsylvania, Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of November,1993.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ohn T. Greeves, Director Division of Low-level Waste Management and Decommissioning Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 9
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