ML20070M014

Statement of Inadequate Record.Eddy Current Testing Not Proved Adequate for Sleeving Steam Generator Tubes.Record Must Be Reopened.Certificate of Svc Encl

ML20070M014
Person / Time
Site:	Point Beach
Issue date:	12/30/1982
From:	Patricia Anderson WISCONSIN'S ENVIRONMENTAL DECADE
To:
References
NUDOCS 8301120221
Download: ML20070M014 (6)

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W N'2H NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Before the Atomic Safet_v and Licensing Board u ,;.g .

Wisconsin Electric Power Company POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT UNITS 1 & 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-266 AND 50-301 Operating License Amendment-1 (Steam,Generat_or Tube Sleeving Program)

_] . STATEMENT OF INADEQUATE RECORD u.

t Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Inc. ("'. Decade"), submits 3.1.

the:following Statement of Inadequate Record in the above-Jh captioned matter, in lieu of proposed findings of fact. ,

= i$ 5-s.L'LA s an administrative agency, the Nuclear Regulatory

.= 1 Commission and its designated agents must act according to clear Tir s'tindards, and may not act arbitrarily and capriciously. 42 c4w D'.d C.'S706.

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.1-- Cong r e s s has established as the statutory - .

standard to i

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control the Commission's action:g ~ ~~ ~ ,

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I "In any event, no license may be issued to any person  !

within the United S t a t e's if, in the opinion of the l

= Commission, the issuance of)a license to such person would  !

. .v be inimical to the common def ense and security or to the

, health and safety of the public." 4 2 U.S.C. S 2133.

l o$$ In turn, the I Commission has established as the SE' adndkistrativeregulationtocontrol--itsconduct, as well as its g@

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O Licensing Board's actions: .

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So "In determining that a ' license will be issued to an I 3@ applicant, the commission will be guided by the following I

& considerations:

"(a) The processes to be perforIned, the operating gg 3 5D3

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procedures,-the facility and. equipment, the-use of the facility, and other technical specificans, or the proposals, in regard to any - of the foregoing collectively provide reasonable assurance that the ,

applicant will comply with the regulations in this  :

. chapter, including the regulations in Part 20, and that _I the hAAlth And AAfRiZ 21 tha Ruhl12 Mill RAI DR  !

endance red." 10 . C.F.R. S50.4 0 (a) [ Emphasis added.]  !

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', "The reactor coolant pressure boundary shall be i designed, f abricated, erected, and tested so as to. have an extremely lag probability of abnormal leakage, of rapidly.

propagating f ailure, and of gross rupture." 10 C.F.R. Part 50 App. A Crit. 14. [ Emphasis added.]

The Board has before it in this docket a proceeding to determine whether to approve a new procedure (sleeving) intended toj repair one part of the reactor coolant pressure boundary (steam generator tubes) that is failing. Tr. 1385.

Sleeving involves the insertion of 3/4 inch tubes, aproximately lextremely thin] inch in wall thickness, into a 7/8 inch tube, approximately .005 inch in wall thickness, f rom the confined, radioactive primary side of the steam generator by temporary workers, and then joining the ends of the first tube to the .inside face of the second tube by a complex proprietary process. Appl. Ex. 1.

In making a determination as to whether to approve sleeving, the Board is not free to act arbitrarily, but rather must make a reviewable record on whether the new procedure will be " inimical to the health and safety of the public," 42 U.S.C. S2133, whether tne "public health and safety will be endangered", 10 C.F.R. 5 5 0.4 0 (a) , and whether it will engender a " low probability of abnormal leakage, of rapidily propagating f ailure or of gross l rupture",10 C.F.R. Part 50 App. A Crit.14.

In making a f actual determination of whether sleeving will l \

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meet these tests' it must compile evidence on. the consequences to "the health and safety of the public" from a isleeve induced tube

• I f ailure under various accident conditions,110 C.F.R...S50.4 0 (a),

and weigh that in relation to a whether there. is " low probability" of such a failure, 10 'C.F.R. Part 50 App..A Crit.

J' 14..'"

'It may be noted that neither statutory standard consists of a precise quantifiable test, and, therefore,. judgment must- be

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7 applied. The exercise of judgment by an administrative agency, however, must be done' on the basis of a reviewable record in order'to establish that it has not been done arbitrarily.

From this, it necessarily follows that the Board must adduce

- evidence to ascertain:

1. The consequences to "the health and saf ety of the -

public" f rom dif f ering magnitudes of sleeve induced tube

.2 Jfailures, as weighed against,

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U M 2. The " probability" of fallure.

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7e f lAs to the first questian, the Board has ruled questions

.g related to the consequences of f ailures f rom accidents during'.

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N lossC8f-coolant conditions and during normal accident conditions

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to be irrelevant. Memorandum and Order, dated October 1,1982, 4

at pp. 7 to 8. Because of this ruling, the Board does not have i before 'it evidence on either the consequences to the public health and saf ety f rom tube f ailures nor on the number of tube 25;-

f ailures necessary to precipitate these consequences.

l As to the second, it should be noted at the outset that i evidence on this question -- even if argnandn it did exist --

would be meaningless unless used in conjunction with evidence on WED-PA-12/30/ 82-P3 : 5026 6 NRC . P56-2 i

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.g the first question related to the number of tubes necessary to engenaer 'or exacerbate accident conditions. Since there is no : -

l eyidence on the first question, it is unnecessary to consider the adequacy of the evidence on the second question related to the d I

probability of failures.

Even if tnere was evidence on the first issue, however, it is . clear that the testimony concerning probability which 'does ex'ist -is wholly insufficient to reach any informed judgment. On

.this point, each of the . Licensee's witnesses disclaimed any knowledge sufficient to quantify the probability that incipient

f ailures will be detected. See, e.g., Tr.150 2 to 15 0 8 .and 16 4 8 to 1649.

The Board does know that the detection techniques to avert catastrophic failures are not perfect, but it does not know what b

degree of perrection is required to necessary to protect _the

. public health and , saf ety.

..Z f 5 'The Licensee avows that the risks of rupture are low, but even if -- f or the sake of argument only -- that were accepted, ,

the Board does not know how low is necessary to comply with its legal obligations. With regard to the validity of the Licensee's rekresentations, however, we strongly urge the Board to carefully rehiew Int. Ex. 2 at Tr. 1712, to observe the devasting inadequacy of eddy current testing. Unfortunately, the establishment of a briefing schedule which compels the intervenor to prepare during the Christmas vacation precludes completion of our argument.

For tne foregoing reasons, the Board must reopen the record WED-TM-)122/2@/82-P3 : 50 26 6 NRC. P564

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for the purpose of completing the record before proceeding to a decision.

spectfully submitted, W CONSIN' IRONMENTAL DECADE, INC.

s By l PETER A DERSON

, Co-Director 114 North Carroll Street Suite-208 Madison, Wisconsin 53703 (608).251-7020 Dated: December 30, 1982

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' UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 cc~. .

• 20 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIQNgf . ? - , .

Before the Atomic Safety and Licensino C[

W Wisconsin Electric Power Company POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT UNITS 1 &2 DOCKET NOS. 50-266 AND 50-301 Operating License Amendment (Steam Generator Tube Sleeving Program)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

'I certify that true and correct copies of Decade's Statement of Inadequate Record, dated December 30, 1982, were served this day by eitner depositing the same in the first class mails or to a delivery service to:

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Mr. Peter B. Bloch, Chairman Dr. Jerry R. Kline Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 Washington, D. C. 20555 Dr.,Hugh C. Paxton Docketing and Service Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Nuclear Regul.atory Commission 1229. .41st Street Washington, D. C ., 20555 l Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544 ,

Mr. Bruce Churchill Mr. Richard nachmann 1800 M Street N.W. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20036 Washington, D. C. 20555 DATED at Madison, Wisconsin, is Oth of D ember, 1982.

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