ML20071N399
| ML20071N399 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 08/01/1994 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20071N397 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9408050264 | |
| Download: ML20071N399 (3) | |
Text
_
p# #f Grjg O
[ yj pgj [ j UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION q,e WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001
- .,.+
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 191 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE N0. DPR-50 METROPOLITAN EDIS0N COMPANY j
JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY j
PENNSYLVANIA ELECTRIC COMPANY j
GPU NUCLEAR CORPORATION l
THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION. UNIT NO. 1 l
DOCKET NO. 50-289 i
1.0 LNTRODUCTION
[
By letter dated July 15, 1993, the GPU Nuclear Corporation (GPUN, the licensee) submitted a request for changes to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No.1 (TMI-1) Technical Specifications (TS). The requested changes would revise the current TMI-1 TS to incorporate the B&W Standard TS (BWSTS) Limiting Condition for Operation for the Reactor Vessel Water Level 1
(RVWL) Indication. This indication is a subsystem of the Reactor Coolant i
Inventory Trending System (RCITS). Because the other subsystem of the RCITS (the Void Fraction Tracking System) does not produce a Regulatory Guide 1.97 i
Category 1 parameter, it does not appear in the BWSTS and would therefore be removed from the THI-l TS along with its surveillance requirement.
The requested change also removed a note regarding the fact that the present TS for RCITS was only applicable through the end of Cycle 8.
The July 15, 1993, letter replaces, at the staff's request, an earlier application to modify the l
THI-1 TS dated September 5, 1991.
i The RCITS was installed in response to a December 10, 1982 Order for Modification of License from the Commission, which required installation or instrumentation for detecting inadequate core cooling (ICC) in accordance with i
NUREG-0737, Item II.F.2.
On December 13, 1988, the Commission issued Amendment No. 147 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-50 for TMI-1 in response to the licensee's letter dated December 10, 1986. The amendment incorporated requirements for operability and calibration frequencies for the l
RCITS in TMI-l TS Section 3.24.
However, the TS Section 3.24 was only approved to the end of fuel cycle 8 because the staff was in the process of completely revising the BWSTS. A note in Amendment No. 147 required the licensee to propose a license amendment consistent with the generic staff position at that time at the end of fuel cycle 8, with the presumption that the final BWSTS would be approved by the staff by that time.
The primary j
9400050264 940001 PDR ADOCK 05000289 P
y I purpose of the note in the TS was to commit the licensee to request a change at the end of cycle 8.
The licensee submitted a TS Change Request (TSCR) dated September 5, 1991 to delete the note in TS Section 3.24 believing that the remaining TS without the note would be the same as the final staff position on that section of the BWSTS.
When the final BWSTS was issued in September 1992 as NUREG-1430, the staff's position was different than the TMI-1 TS.
The staff therefore requested, by letter dated October 29, 1992, that GPUN resubmit its TSCR to be consistent with the final version of the B&W Standard TS, NUREG-1430.
In response, the licensee resubmitted the revised request on July 15, 1993.
2.0 EVALUATION The RCITS is comprised of two subsystems, one to indicate increasing coolant void fraction when one or more reactor coolant pumps (RCPs) are in operation (Void Fraction Trending System) and another to indicate reactor vessel water level in the hot leg piping and reactor vessel head area when no RCPs are in operation (RVWL Indication).
Both subsystems are intended to provide the i
plant operators with an indication of approaching core uncovering due to loss of coolant inventory.
In response to Regulatory Guide 1.97, the licensee has identified the RVWL Indication as a Category 1 system. The Void Fraction Trending Subsystem, does not produce a Regulatory Guide 1.97 parameter and it is deleted from the system description in TS 3.24, consistent with NUREG-1430.
l The RCITS is neither given credit nor required in the accidents evaluated in the TMI-1 Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR).
The system is not relied upon for reactor trip or initiation of any plant safety system. There will be no adverse impact if it is not operable. This system was required for all licensees, however, by the TMI Action Plan, NUREG-0737, following the 1979 reactor accident at TMI-2.
The previous evaluation by the staff, in conjunction with issuance of Amendment No.147, demonstrated that the TMI-I TS provided reasonable assurance that the RCITS information would be available to the operator to enhance the operator's ability to understand and manage transients and events when needed. At the time that amendment was issued, the staff sought to assure that the TMI-l TS would be consistent with the generic revisions to the BWSTS then under development.
Consequently, that amendment was approved only for a limited time.
The NRC approved NUREG-1430 entitled " Standard Technical Specifications for Babcock and Wilcox Plants," on September 28, 1992.
The BWSTS Limiting Condition for Operation for RVWL Indication indicates that two channels are required to be operable when the reactor is critical.
If less than two channels are operable, specific actions are required.
The staff's review of the licensee's current TS change request indicates that the change is consistent with NUREG-1430.
The deletion of Void Fraction Trending i
Subsystem description from TS 3.24 is also acceptable and is consistent with NUREG-1430.
Based on the above, the staff concludes that the proposed changes to the TMI-1 TS are acceptable.
c.- :_ -
3.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission't regulations, the Pennsylvania State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment.
The State official had no comments.
4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendment changes requirements with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and changes surveillance requirements.
The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the amounts or types of effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (59 FR 29626). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9).
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b) no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.
5.0 CONCLUSION
The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that:
(1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributor:
C. Chung Date:
August 1, 1994