ML20126F493

Responds to Finding from Insp of Nuclear Matls Control Program That Fnmc Plan Did Not Address Receipt of Fuel Assemblies for Downloading

ML20126F493
Person / Time
Site:	07001201
Issue date:	12/01/1992
From:	Knapp K FRAMATOME COGEMA FUELS (FORMERLY B&W FUEL CO.)
To:	Sherr T NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
26864, NUDOCS 9212300351
Download: ML20126F493 (3)

Text

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Theodore S.

Sherr, Chief i-/

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REFERENCE:

FNMC Plan, SNM-1168, Docket 70-1021 During a routine NRC inspection of our Nuclear Materials Control I

program, it was noted that our present FNMC plan did not address the receipt of fuel assemblies for downloading.

B&W Fuel Company (BWFC) has on several occasions received fuel assemblies back-from customers to be de-assembled to include removal of the fuel pellets.

A process in which we denote as downloading.

There are two different downloading operations that we perceive being conducted at the Commercial Nuclear Fuel Plant (CNFP).

One would include downloading of fuel that was fabricated by BWFC in which traceability back to the original fabrication process can be maintained.

The second circumstanc.e would be the downloading of I

fuel that was not manufactured by BWFC.

In either case, the downloaded pellets are never put directly back into production but rather are returned to our pellet vendor to be placed in their scrap recovery cycle.

The pellet vendor dissolves the downloaded pellets into uranyl nitrate, purifies the uranium through solvent extraction and reconverts-the uranium for uranium dioxide production.

During these stages, the pellet

.vondor is required to obtain samples to quantify the material.

For BWFC fuel, since we are able to track the pellets back to the original fabrication records which includes pellet sampling under an approved plan, sampling shall not be. conducted and-the shipper's values shall be accepted.

However, for fuel not manufactured by BWFC, sampling is required.to verify shipper's

.l values and an appropriate sampling plan has been included in Annex 3 of our FNMC Plan.

A section has been added to Chapter 3 l

of the FNMC Plan to establish criteria for downloading l

.y operations.

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-s Since this is an addition to the Plan and due-to the disposition of the material and the ability for the pellet vendor to obtain-good quantitative samples, BWFC regards those changes as an

- increase rather than decrease of the Plans effectiveness and are submitting these changes under the provisions of 10LCFR 70.32.

Six copies of Chapter 3 and page 6 of Annex 3 of the Plan are provided.

Chapter 3.0 should be removed in its' entirety and replaced with the one provided.

The changes to the Plan are identified by a side bar.

If you should have any questions regarding this submittal, please feel free to call me (804) 522-6202.

Sincerely,

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B&W FUEL COMPANY Commercial Nuclear Fuel-Plant Mkb b-Olthh Kathryn S.

Knapp Manager, Safety & Licensing

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