ML20101K796

License Change Request 96-01 to Licenses DPR-44 & DPR-56, Revising TS Section 2.0, Safety Limits

ML20101K796
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom
Issue date:	03/25/1996
From:	Hunger G PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
Shared Package
ML20101K803	List: ML20101K796 ML20101K813
References
NUDOCS 9604030071
Download: ML20101K796 (7)

Text

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St: tion Suppcrt Deptrtment

. 10 CFR 50.90 PECO NUCLEAR ecco emersv comnemv Nuclear Group Headquarters A UNir or PECO ENTRGy 965 Chesterbrook Boulevard Wayne. PA 19087-5691 March 25,1996 Docket Nos. 50-277 50-278 License Nos. DPR-44 DPR-56 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commisskm Attn: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Subject. Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 License Change Request No. 9641

Dear Sir:

PECO Energy Company (PECO Energy) hereby submits License Change Request No. 96-01, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.90, requesting changes to the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS), Units 2 and 3 Facility Operating Licenses. The proposed changes will revise Technical Specifications (TS) Section 2.0, " Safety Limits." This Section will be revised to incorporate new Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs) due to the use of the GE13 fuel product line.

Attachment I to this letter describes the proposed Technical Specifications changes, and provides justification for these changes. Attachment 2 contains the revised Technical Specifications pages. Attachment 3 (Letter from R. M. Butrovich (GE Nuclear Energy) to H. J.

Diamond (PECO Energy), "GE13 Single Loop Operation SLMCPR," dated June 12,1995) specifies the new SLMCPRs for PBAPS, Units 2 and 3.

We request that the amendment be approved by August 1,1996 for PBAPS, Units 2 and 3. For PBAPS, Unit 2, we request that the amendment be made effective prior to the restart from the PBAPS, Unit 2 outage currently scheduled to begin September,1996. For PBAPS, Unit 3, we request that the amendment be made effective prior to the restart from the PBAPS, Unit 3 outage currently scheduled to begin September,1997.

If you have any quest 3ons, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours, 4.a. A G. A. Hunger, Jr.p ,

Director - Licensing

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Enclosures:

Affidavit, Attachment 1, Attachment 2 cc: T. T. Martin, Administrator, Region I, USNRC W. L Schmidt, USNRC Senior Resident inspector, PBAPS R. R. Janati, Commonwealth of Pennsy1vania (h' v

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9604030071 960325 PDR ADOCK 05000277 030004 \ (\

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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA  :

as.

COUNTY OF CHESTER  :

D. B. Fetters, being first duly swom, deposes and says:

That he is Vice President of PECO Energy Company; the Applicant herein; that he has read the attached License Change Request (Number 9641) for Peach Bottom Faculty Operating Licenses DPR-44 and DPR-56, and knows the contents thereof; and that the statements and matters set forth therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.

d'N . .<M Vice President Subscribed and swom to before me this@ day of 1996.

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i' Notary rublic Nctarial Seal Mary Lou Skrocki, Notary Pubtic i Tredyffrin Twp., Chester Counnf y Comm3sion Expires May 17, ' m l

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ATTACHMENT 1 PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION UNITS 2 AND 3 Docket Nos. 50-277 50-278 Ucense Nos. DPR-44 DPR-56 UCENSE CHANGE REQUEST No. 9641

" Revision of SLMCPRs for GE13 fuel" Supporting Information - 3 Pages l

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Docket Nos. 50-277

. '. 50-278 License Nos. DPR-44 DPR-56 Introduction PECO Energy Company, Licensee under Factity Operating Licenses DPR-44 and DPR-56 for the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS), Units 2 and 3, requests that the Technical Specifications (TS) contained in Appendix A to the Operating License be amended to revise TS Section 2.1 to reRect the change in the Safety Limit Minimum Crtical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs) due to the use of the GE13 fuel product line. The TS pages showing the proposed changes are contained in Attachment 2. Attachment 3 (Letter from R. M. Butrovich (GE Nuclear Energy) to H. J. Diamond (PECO Energy), 'GE13 Single Loop Operation SLMCPR," dated June 12,1996) specifies the new SLMCPRs for PBAPS, Units 2 and 3.

This License Change Request provides a discussion and description of the proposed TS changes, a safety assessment of the proposed TS changes, information supp6,1.,g a finding of No Significant Hazards Consideration and information supporting an Environmental Assessment.

Discussion and Descriotion of the Pranaamd Chanae The proposed License Change Request involves the change of PBAPS, Units 2 and 3 TS Section 2.1 to revise the SLMCPRs due to the use of the GE13 fuel product line.

The GE13 fuel product line has been developed in order to provide fuel with improved critical power performance and fuel cycle economics. The primary different.es between the new GE13 fuel design and ,

the GE11 fuel design are as follows: l

1) The part-length fuel rods in the GE13 fuel are twelve irr.hes longer than those of GE11; i

2) GE13 has one more fuel pin spacer than GE11; and

3) A GE13 bundle has a mass approximately two klograms greater than GE11.

The GE13 fuel product line is compatible with the co-resident fuel in the PBAPS, Units 2 and 3 reactor cores, reactor pressure vessel intemals, spent fuel pool intomals, refueling apparatus, and other plant systems. The thermal-mechanical, nuclear, and thermal-hydraulic behavior of the GE13 fuel design during steady-state, transient, and accident conditions in the reactor core complies with the existing fuel licensing crkeria as discussed in NEDE-32198P, "GE13 Compliance With Amendment 22 of NEDE-24011-P-A (GESTAR 11)," dated December 1993.

The GE13 fuel product line has different SLMCPRs than the fuel designs previously utilized at PBAPS.

Attachment 3 (Lotter from R. M. Butrovich (GE Nuclear Energy) to H. J. Diamond (PECO Energy), "GE13 Single Loop Operation SLMCPR," dated June 12,1996) specifies the new SLMCPRs for PBAPS, Units 2 and 3. The SLMCPRs are set high enough to ensure that greater than 99.9% of all fuel rods in the core 4 are expected to avoid transition bolling if the limit is not violated. The SLMCPRs incorporate margin for l uncertainty in the core operating state and for uncertainties which are dependent on fuel type, including fuel bundle nuclear characteristica, cruical power correlation, and manufacturing tolerances. The SLMCPRs resulting from these analyses are 1.09 for operation with two recirculation loops and 1.11 for single loop operation, as stated in Attachment 3 to this letter.

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Docket Nos. 50-277 50-278

. Ucense Nos. DPR-44 DPR-56 Therefore, we propose that PBAPS, Units 2 and 3 TS Section 2.1 be revised to reRect the change in the SLMCPRs due to the use of the GE13 fuel product line.

Safety Anaessment The prrpanad License Change Request wil revise TS Section 2.1 to rdect the change in the SLMCPRs due to the use of the GE13 fuel. The GE13 fuel product line has different SLMCPRs than the fuel designs previously utilized at PBAPS. The new SLMCPRs for the GE13 fuel are calculated using USNRC-approved methods and have the same calculational basis as the SLMCPRs for other GE fuel designs previously used at PBAPS, Units 2 and 3. The methodology for the calculation of the SLMCPR for single loop operation is cortained in NEDO-24229-1, " Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3 Single-Loop Operation," dated May 1980. This report was forwarded to you by GE Nuclear Energy in a letter dated December 18,1995. The SLMCPRs are set high enough to ensure that greater than 99.9% of aN fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid transition boling if the limit is not violated.

The SLMCPRs incorporate margin for uncertainty in the core operating state and for uncertainties which are dependent on fuel type, including fuel bundle nuclear characteristics, critical power correlation, and manufacturing tolerances The SLMCPRs resulting from these ord,s are 1.09 for operation with two recirculation loops and 1.11 for single loop operation at PBAPS, Units 2 and 3.

Information Supporting a Finding of No Sianificant Hazards Consideration We have concluded that the proposed changes to the PBAPS, Units 2 and 3 TS which wul revise TS Section 2.1 to change the SLMCPRs due to the use of the GE13 fuel product line, do not involve a Significant Hazards Consideration. In support of this determination, an evaluation of each of the three (3) standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.92 is provided below

1. The proposed TS channes do not involve a sionificant increase in the probablity or conaeauences of an accident oreviouaiv evaluated.

The derivation of the revised GE13 SLMCPRs for incorporation into the TS, and ks use to determine cycle-specific thermal limits, have been performed using USNRC-approved methods within the existing fuel licensing crkeria as discussed in NEDE-32198P, "GE13 Compliance With Amendenent 22 of NEDE-24011-P-A (GESTAR ll)," and cannot increase the probability or severky of an accident The basis of the SLMCPRs calculation is to ensure that greater than 99.9% of all fuel rods in the core avoid boting transkion if the limit is not violated. The new SLMCPRs preserve the existing margin to transkion bouing and fuel damage in the event of a postulated accident. The fuel licensing amafvance crkeria for the SLMCPRs calculation apply to the GE13 fuel in the same manner that they have applied to previous fuel designs. The probabuky of fuel damage is not increased Therefore, the proposed TS changes do not involve an increase in the probabilky or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.

2. The orooomed TS chanoes do not create the nossibuity of a new or different kind of accident from any accident oreviousiv evaluated.

The SLMCPR for the GE13 fuel design is a Technical Specification numerical value, designed to ensure that transition bouing does not occur in 99.9% of aN fuel rods in the core during the limiting postulated accident. It cannot create the possiblity of any new type of accident. The 2-

Docket Nos. 50-277

. '. 50-278 License Nos. DPR 44 DPR-56 now SLMCPRs are calculated using USNRCepproved methods and have the same calculational basis as the SLMCPR for other GE fuel designs previously used at PBAPS, Units 2 and 3. j Therefore, the proposed TS changes do not create the panamy d a new or different kind of i accident, from any accident previously evaluated l

3. The orocomed TS changes do not invdve a alonllicant reduction in a margin of safety.

The margin of safety as defined in the TS Bases wIl remain the same. The new SLMCPRs are calculated using USNRC approved methods which are in accordance with the current fuel licensing criteria. The SLMCPRs for the GE13 fuel remain high enough to ensure that greater than 99.9% of au fuel rods in the core wil avoid boling transition if the limit is not violated, thereby preserving the fuel cladding intsgrky Therefore, the proposed TS changes do not involve a reduction in a margin of safety.

Informailon Suonorting an Environmental Assessment l An environmental assessment is not required for the proposed changes since the proposed changes conform to the crkeria for ' actions eligible for categorical exclusion

• as specified in 10 CFR51.22(c)(9).

The requested change wHl have no impact on the environment. The proposed changes do not involve a significant hazards consideration as discussed in the preceding section. The proposed changes do not involve a significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite. In addition, the proposed changes does not involve a significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure.

Conclusion i The Plant Operations Review Committee and the Nuclear Review Board have reviewed these proposed changes to the PBAPS, Units 2 and 3 TS and have concluded that they do not involve an unreviewed .

safety question, and wbl not endanger the health and safety of the public.

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I ATTACHMENT 2 PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION UNITS 2 AND 3 1 Docket Nos. 50-277 l

50-278 l

License Nos. DPR-44 DPR-56  ;

1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS' CHANGES Ust of Attached Pages l Units 2 and 3 TS Page 2.0-1 1

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