ML20078C909
| ML20078C909 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 01/23/1995 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20078C904 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9501270152 | |
| Download: ML20078C909 (5) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES ye 2
E NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f
WASHINGTON, D.C. 2056H001 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 83 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NPF-68 AND AMENDMENT NO. 61 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NPF-81 GEORGIA POWER COMPANY. ET AL.
V0GTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT. UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-424 AND 50-425
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Section 50.36 of Title 10 of the Code of Regulations (10 CFR) established the regulatory requirements related to the content of Technical Specifications (TS). The rule requires that TS incle.le items in.five specific categories, including safety limits, limiting conditions for operation, and surveillance requirements; however, the rule does not specify the details of the requirements to be included in the TS for individual plants. The NRC has developed criteria, as described in the Commission's " Final Policy Statement on Technical Specifications Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors,"
(58 FR 39132) to determine which of the design conditions and associated surveillances need to be located in the TS because the requirement is "necessary to obviate the possibility of an abnormal situation or event giving rise to an immediate threat 'to the public health and safety." Briefly, those criteria are: (1) detection of abnormal degradation of the reactor coolant pressure boundary, (2) boundary conditions for design basis accidents and transients, (3) primary success paths to prevent or mitigate design basis accidents or transients which assume the failure of or present a challenge to a fission product barrier, and (4) functions determined to be important based on operating experience or risk assessment. The Final Policy Statement acknowledged that its implementation may result in the relocation of existing TS requirements to licensee-controlled documents and programs. The Policy Statement requirements for relocation of a TS requirement include a clear statement of the basis for the relocation, a safety evaluation, and a statement that the changes have been reviewed by a multidisciplinary group of responsible, technical supervisory personnel, including onsite operations personnel.
Georgia Power Company (GPC, the licensee), by letter dated February 3,1994, proposed license amendments to make a change to the TS for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (Vogtle), Units 1 and 2.
In accordance with the Final Policy Statement, the licensee provided a basis for relocating the area temperature monitoring requirements found in the TS to Chapter 16 of the FSAR. This basis included an evaluation to show that the existing TS requirements for 9501270152 950123 PDR ADOCK 05000424 P
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monitoring the temperatures of certain areas do not meet any of the four criteria of the Final Policy Statement used to determine which design and operational features belong in the TS in accordance with 10 CFR 50.36.
2.0 EVALUATION l
The purpose of the area temperature monitoring program described in the TS is j
to assure that safety-related equipment necessary for safe shutdown, and not serviced by engineered safety feature (ESF) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, will not be subjected to temperatures in excess i
of its environmental qualification and will therefore remain operable in order to perform its intended safety function. However, area temperatures give no direct indication of a specific equipnient's operability status, nor are they used to detect or indicate in the control room a significant abnormal 1
degradation of the reactor coolant pressure boundary.
The area temperature monitoring activities which are the subject of the proposed licensing action do not satisfy any of the four criteria identified in the Final Policy Statement which would require them to be included in the plant TS.
Furthermore, the licensee's submittal satisfies the requirements of the Final Policy Statement for relocation of area temperature monitoring requirements to other licensee-controlled documents which, in the case of Vogtle, is the FSAR.
The licensee's proposed changes in room selection criteria eliminates rooms that are classified as a mild environment.
The qualified life of safety-l related equipment in a mild environment is no longer based on environmental qualification, but is based on a combination of design life, trending, and periodic maintenance and surveillance as discussed in FSAR section 3.11.B.
Therefore, the monitoring of mild rooms is not required to verify that the normal design temperature is being maintained. However, the existing TS not only require monitoring of the normal room temperature, but also require actions to evaluate equipment operability if an abnormal condition temperature limit is exceeded. This latter requirement will be retained within the TS.
The relocation of Vogtle's area temperature monitoring requirements into the FSAR will continue to assure that the monitoring of area temperatures will be controlled. Any future changes to the program will be made under the I
provisions of 10 CFR 50.59, which will assure that any change which involves an unreviewed safety question will be submitted for prior approval by the l
staff in a license amendment application.
In accordance with the current TS, GPC has monitored the temperatures in the specified rooms at least twice per day, and as a result, a considerable amount of information has been gained concerning the temperatures in these rooms.
Based on the information gained from this monitoring, GPC has concluded that, with the exception of the main steam isolation valve (MSIV) area, the normal l
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ventilation systems provide adequate cooling capability to maintain room temperatures below the values that are assumed for normai operation and used for determining environmental qualification parameters. The MSIV area has exceeded its reportability limits on several occasions and has since been provided with a new ventilation system and temperature monitoring instrumentation, i
Excessive area temperatures will continue to be evaluated for the their significance with regard to equipment operability, in accordance with the i
requirements which are to be retained in the TS. However, the requirement for specific reporting based on excessive temperature will be eliminated in favor of the current TS reporting requirements associated with operability determinations. TS reporting requirements associated with operability determinations are not affected by this licensing action. Also, when the l
normal ventilation system for one of the specified rooms is not functioning, temperature monitoring activities will resume at the previously specified rate of once every 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br />. The proposed change to monitor these rooms when only the normal ventilation system is out of service will provide a level of assurance that is similar to that provided by the current TS. GPC has j
therefore concluded that continued monitoring is not warranted as long as the normal ventilation systems are functioning. The staff agrees with that 1
conclusion.
The Vogtle Plant Review Board (PRB) is a multidisciplinary group of responsible technical supervisory personnel and includes onsite operations personnel. The licensee's submittal was reviewed and approved by the PRB prior to its being forwarded to the NRC. The PRB action satisfies the Final l
Policy Statement requirement for such a review.
3.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Georgia State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendments. The State official l
had no comments.
4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendments change requirements with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and change surveillance requirements. The NRC staff has determined that the amendments involve no significant increase in the am9unts, and no significant change in the types, of any 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 amendments involve no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding i
(59 FR 45735 dated September 2, 1994). Accordingly, the amendments meet 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 amendments.
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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 amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributors:
L. Wheeler A. Dummer Date: January 23, 1995 i
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Sholly Coordinator D;te of initial notice in FEDERAL REGISTER: September 2, 1994 (59 FR 45735)
The Commission's related evaluation of the amendments is contained in a Safety Evaluation dated January 23, 1995.
No significant hazards consideration comments received: No local Public Document Room location:
Burke County Library, 412 Fourth Street, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
)ISTRIBUTLON:
M W;f tei PDII-3 Reading DHood DWheeler Sholly Coordinator i
DOCUMENT NAME:
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