ML20129F788

Technical Specification Improvement Program Highlights.Issue 91-1

ML20129F788
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/31/1991
From:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
NUREG-BR-0110, NUREG-BR-0110-I91-1, NUREG-BR-110, NUREG-BR-110-I91-1, NUDOCS 9610020088
Download: ML20129F788 (4)

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Rc)t/0nW Coff W K6/B/! ollo U.S. NRC - SECY D C._ Public Document Room P#' L. Street, N.W.

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\,h leeue No. 91-1

March 1991 NRC STAFF ISSUES DRAFT NEW STANDARD TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS e Written by J.A. Calvo 3

I i t WTl 4 Furthermore, a number of other studies by the NRC and industry

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identified the need to make additional improvements to Technical h

1 D Specifications. Herefore, the Commission issued its interim Policy

! Statement on Technical Specifications improvement in February 4 1987. The objective of the interim Policy Statement was to improve

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l operational safety thru simplifying the Technical Spedfications, j improving their Bases, focusing attention on the more safety sigtificant

; aspects, m aking theTechnical Specifications more operator oriented, and incorporating human factors considerations. The development of the new STS was the first step towards achieving this objective.

l l In parallel to the work on developing the new STS,the NRCstaffissued l

' a number of line-item improvements to existing Technical Specifi-N

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cations that are immediately available to licensees. These line-item

q improvemen

s have also been incorporated into the new STS.

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After more than a year-and-a-halfofintensive review by theTechnical

} 'he Technical Specifications Branch (OTSB), Bronch Chief, Jose Specifications Branch, the NRR technical speciahy branches, and ,

alvo; and O TSB members including Nanette Gilles, Richard Emch, numerous discussions with the nuclear power plant owners groups, l l sIark Reinhart, and Carl Schulten present thefirst draft copy of the new the N RC staffissued draft new STS on1anuary 29,1991 for comment i Standard Techmcal Specifications (STS) to Bill Jussell (seated),

i A ssociate Directorfor inspection and Technical Assessment, Office of by to dustry and the pubh.c.

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

After receipt and resolution of comments, the NRC staff will issue

the final new STS for plant-specific implementation. Plant-specific DeTechnical Specifications improvement Program reached s m aj or implementation will begin with five lead plant conversions to the new i milestone on January 29,1991, with the issuance of the draft new STS. Subsequently, follow-on plants would be considered for con-i Standard Technical Specifications (STS) to industry and the public versions to the new STS on a voluntary basis.

I for com ment. He new STS were issued as five drafi NUREGs, one j for each of the nuclear power plant owners groups representing: .y y j Babcock and Wilcox, Westinghouse, Combustion Engineering, and -

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General Electric (BWR-4 and B WR-6). Thesedraft NUREGs present -

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the results of the NRC staff review of the nuclear power plant owners

• c groups proposed new STS.

) Each commercial nuclear power plant is required by Federal regu-1 lations to have Techmcal Specifications as part of their operating --

j license. Technical Specifications set forth specific characteristics and i operating limits to p rovide adequ ate protection to the bcalth and safety 9 of the public. -

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In 1983, the NRC com missioced a task group to perforto a detailed ~ " '% . . . i/o + , * *W ' Of j study of technical specitications to identify the scope and nature of  : M. ]

problems with the technicai requirem ents. In its report (NUR EG-1024, v;. "

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! ' Technical Speci fication s - Enhancing the Sa fety l mpact"), the tas k . ..Em l ~oup recommended a complete reevaluation of all technical re-Shown above are five sets of the new STS, onefor each nuclearpower

, rements in Technical Spectfications and called upon tbe nuclcar plant owner group; includes S NUREGs with 3 volumes per set, about j mdustry to support the NRC staffin this effort. 7,000 pages.

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! PDR NUREG BR-0110 R PDR

i Program Activities asscciated with maintaining the.T0chnica

HIGHLIGHTS Specifications (TS> for existins operatin89 1 ants end fi dgeioping NRC Staff Issues Draft New SB .. . .... .. .... .. . . 1 TS fornew plants. In addition,he has been responsib%!or'managing 1

the implementation of the NR# sa fetvgamidstituted in response Jose Calvo, Chief OTSB Promoted to Assistant Nr. for to the Commission's Policy Statement on Technical Specifications i

RI Reactors.. . .3 Improvement. The cornerstone of the Technical Specifications

! OTSIl Presents Appreciation Awards to Contractors for Improvement Program (TSIP)is thedevelopment ofa completelynew l Outstanding Contributions to New STS .. .. .. ..... ... . 4 set of Standard Technical Specifications (STS) for each reactor vendor l Comment Resolution of New STS . .. .. . =5 design.

4 Tech Spec Program Briefing in Region II Office ... . ........ 6 During Mr. Calvo's tenure, Technical Specifications B onch (OTS B) l Mark Reinhart Promoted to Special Projects Section accomplished a major milestone with the issuance of drafis for five I Leader, OTSB . .. . .. .. ...... ...... .7 new sets of STS. In the area of the TSIP'conceming line-item im- ,

provements to existingTS,various topical reports were approved and FEATURES various generic letters were issued.

Line-ItemImprovementsinTech Specs.. =6 In another area of the TSIP, which related to the development of risk-

! Topical Reports ...... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. 8 based TS, a major milestone was achieved with the publication of a 1 report that established the feasibility of the concept of real-time risk- l based TS, and recommended implementation at an operating reactor.

Also,OTSB staff sponsored and participated in eight workshops with g& .

industry and other NRC staff to discuss 10 CFR 50.59 safety

, ., evaluations and determinations of equipment operability related to rN [ ' W ,

ym ., .c TS. In addition, two new olants' TS were issued and two major

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upgrades of existing TS were accomplished.

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[ We all wish Mr. Calvo well in his new position and endeavors. His k _'

enthusiasm for "getting a job done" will always be remembered by r~' -

his staff.

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. . LINE-ITEM IMPROVEMENTS FOR EXISTING TECHNICAL

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!  ; 1 + - Ns; l:  :.? SPECIFICATIONS  !

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4 Wrinen by T. Dunning g g,, The NRC staff is continuing to develop line-item improvements in

TS in order to implement the objectives of the Commission's Policy l Statemat onTechnicai Speencationimprovements. ne NRC staff JOSE CALVOs CHIEF OTSB will continue to issue generic letters to provide guidance for

PROMOTED TO ASSISTANT implemating line-item improvemats-

! DIRECTOR FOR REGION I The st^ff has issued this ycar the following generic ietters on iine-item

Empmemmts.

REACTORS w,g,4 m% Generle Letter 91-04," Changes in TS Survelliance Intervals to Accommodate a 24-Month Fuel Cycle" Mr. Calvo joined the AEC/NRC in 1972 and has held increasingly Current 18-month surveillance intervals are not compatible with responsible positions, including: Chief of the Plant, Electrical,in-operation on a 24-momh fuel cycle. Guidance is provided on TS

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strumentation and Control Systems B ranch; and Director of Project changes for surveillance intervals and information needed to support DirectorateIV. Mr. Calvo graduated fromleuisiana State University the NRC staff's review of changes that would accommodate a 24-4 in 1957 earning a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering. From 1957 month fuel cycle. Special consideration is given to the TS provisions until1972,he held various positions with Louisiana Power and Light for steam generator tube inspcctions and the modification ofexisting

Company, Westinghouse PWR Division and Bechtel Corporatio .

TS requirements on the interval between inspections.

During 1980, Mr. Calvo served as a Technical Advisor for the In-temational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Mexican Nuclear To support an increased surveillance interval for instruments that Regulatory Commission. In addition, Mr. Calvo served on the nree perform a safety function, the effects ofinstrum ent drift over a longer Mile Island Unit 2 (BU-2) Task Force and as the Systems Manager calibration interval must be considered, particularly the impact on l on the Comanche Peak Project Task Force responsible for assessing safety analysis assumptions and safety system setpoints. Guidan the quality of the plant construction. is provided on information to be provided by licensees to confirm th.

appropriate action has been taken to justify the proposed changes.

From May 1989 until his recent promotion, Mr. Calvo has managed the Offia of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Safety Review Continued on Page 3, Column 2 r

Tech Spoo Newsletter, Page 2

COMMENT RESOLUTION OF THE NEWSTS Wntten by N. GWes On January 29,191, GL 1:::# the draft new STS as five issued establishing a comment period on the draft NUREGs NUREGs one for each of the nuclear power plant owners groups through May31,1991. OTSB willhave eightlead engineers

presenting: Babcock and Wilcox, Westinghouse, Combustion responsible for resolving all comments. Rese individuals are ,

Engineering,andGeneralElectric(BWR-4andBWR-6). AFederal as follows: l Register Nodcc of Availability (56 FR 11462, March 18,1991) was TECHNICAL SPECIF7 CATION STS SECTION NUMBER STS SECTION DESCRIPIlON BRANCH CONTACT 1.0 Use and Application C. CraigHarbuck 2.0 Safety Limits Thecdore R.Tjader 3.0 Applicability C. Craig Harbuck 3.1 Reactivity Control Systems

' Theodore R.Tjader 3.2 PowerDistribudon Limits neodore R.Tjader 3.3 Instrumentadon Carl S. Schulten 3.4 Reactor Coolant System Nanette V. Gilles 3.5 Emergency Core Cooling System Nanette V. Gilles 3.6 Containment Calvin W. Moon 3.7 Plant Systems .

James R. Miller 3.8 ElectricalPower Distribution Chris L. Hoxie 3.9 Refueling Operations Maggalene W. Weston 3.10 SpecialOperations Theodore R.Tjader 4.0 Design Features neodore R.Tjader 5.0 Administrative Controls Nanette V. Gilles TOPICAL REPORTS NEDC-316W,"TechnicalSpeciScadmImprovement Analysisfor Wduen by M. WoM BWRIsolation ActuationInstrumentation."

The topical report provides the basis upon which B WRs can extend e following information pertains to OTSB approval of topical STIs and AOTs for isolation actuation instrumentadon in the tech-

.eports requesting extensionsin surveillance test intervals (STIs) and nical specifications. This approval completed the review of the first t.110wed outage times (AOTs) for various vendor owners' group group of topicals submitted by GE BWROG for changes in thein-actuation instrumentadon systems since February 1989. strumentation technical speci0 cations based on probabilistic risk TOPICAL REPORT STATUS FOR GENERIC assessment.

WESTINGHOUSE PWR STI/AOT EXTENSIONS LINE-ITEM IMPROVEMENTS FOR EDUSTING A safety evaluation report (SER) approving Westinghwse/

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Westinghouse Owners Group Topical Report WCAP-10271, (continued from page 2)

Supplement 2, Revision 1," Evaluation of S urveillance Frequencies and Out-of-Service 11mes for the Engineered Safety Feature Ac- Finally, guidance is provided on information needed to support an tuation System" was issued on February 23,1989, exemption to the 24-month interval for Type B and C leak tests, as specified in Appendix J of10 CFR Part 50,in order to be compatible The SER approves changes in analog channel STIs from monthly with a 24-month fuel cycle. With these changes, the boundinglimit to quarterly. Maintenance AOTs for analogchannels,logiceabinets, for performing these tests and surveillances would be 30 months.

and master and slave relays are extended to 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br />. Test AOTs

, are extended to either 12,8, or 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />. Addidonally, the staggered Generic IAtter 9101, "Rernoval of the Schedule for the test requirement is removed in the surveillance testing of reactor Withdrawal of Reactor Material S*rvdmans from TS" protection system (RPS) instrumentation analog channels. The surveillances associated with the T3 requirements on the pres-Supplement 1 to the above Safety Evaluation issued April 30,1990, sure and temperature limits for the reactor coolant system have approved AOTextensions for Westinghouse RPS logic cabinets, but included the schedule for the withdrawal of reactor material deniedSTI/AOTextensionsfortripbreakers. Additionally,thestaff specimens. Because Appendix H to Part 50 ofTitle 10 of the Code has approved STI/A OTextensions forthe engineered safetyfeatures of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) requires the submittal to and actuation system functions associated with the safetyinlection, steam approval by the NRCofa proposed withdrawal schedule for matedal lineisolation, main feedwaterisolation and auxiliary feedwater putnp Specimens before that schedule is impiemented, the TS duplicates aart signals. the controls on changes to this schedule that areincluded in Appendix H. He removal of this schedule from the TS eliminates an un-PICAL REPORTS STATUS FOR GENERIC BWR STI/

JTINSIONS necessary duplication of regulatory controls on this schedule. By making this TS change, the staff requested licensees to provide a An SER was issued on June 18,1990, approving General Electric commitment to place the schedule in the final safety analysis report Company (GE) BWR Owners Group (BWROG) Topical Report (FSAR) so that a copy would be readily available for reference.

Tech Spec Newl6tter, Page 3 l

OTSB PRESENTS APPRECIATION MARK REINHART PROMOTED TO.

AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING SPECIAL PROJECTS SECTO61 '

WORK TO MEREX LEADER,OTSEt CONTRACTORS ""'a 67 "2 a'doa Wriaen by N. Gilles q@q

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' ,. 7 OT5B Branch Chief, Jose Calvo, and several members of his staff k- '

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espress their appreciation for a " job well done" by the MEREX staff. Mark Reinhart On March 15,1991, OTS B B ranch Chief, Jose Calvo, presented NRC In March 1991, Mark Reinhart, Senior Operations Engineer, was Appreciation Awards to MEREX contractors for their outstanding promoted to Section Leader, SpecialProjects Section OUB. He was contributions to the issuance of the new STS (issued on January 29, assigned to this position with the reassignment of Richard label to 1991). M r. Calvo stated that the NRC greatly appreciated the effort the Office of the Executive Director for Operations (EDO) in Feb-and good work that the MEREX staff had done for the Technical ruary 1991.

Specifications Branch in preparation for issuance of the new STS.

Mark Reinhart, managed the development of the new Standard MEREX p rovided contract services specializingin word processing, Technical Specifications to their draft issuance in January 1991. He editing, and program management support to OTSB. They worked has over 24 years ofnuclear power experience and has worked for tt l

! aggressively to set-up a document control system which significantly NRC and for utilities with Pressurized Water and Boiling Wa. l

! lacreased the productivity of the word processing and editing effort Reactors.

j and were always willing to do whatever it took to get a job done in Mark has served as a nuclear engineer and ship's engineer officer in ,

j the time requested by OTSB. These schedules often required very I the Navy. He has also served as a licensed senior reactor operator, fast turn-around, but MEREX was always willing to work m,ghts, qu ality assurance supervisor, and managed alicensed operatortraining weekends, and even holidays m order to deliver the product.

pmgram.

! TECH SPEC NEWS CREDITS ** *" "iSb " * **" l" ""d*"*'i"8 "*" ^*'i ""* 8 "t -

! Ingdf a Eon"o$te{tI"e~i GEN'[*p"oduc i TECH SPEC PROGRAM BRIEFING l by the staff of NRRTechnical Specifications B ranch. Please IN REGION 11 OFFICE i forward questions and comments to the OTSB staff by: Wrinen by R. Emch

• " Commissia

[ h On February 12,1991, OTSB presented a briefmg in Atlanta, Geor-gia to the Region II management, inspectors, and resident inspec-

[ 11555 Rockville Pike tors fmm the lead plants planning to convert to the new STS. The i Rockville, Maryland 20852 briefing covered the status of the new STS development program, l MS 11E-22 i plans for implementation of the new STS at the lead plants, a de-Phone: (301) 492-1177 scription of ongoing work on risk-based TS,a su mmary ofline-item Executive Fxlitor im provements for the currentTS,a tutorial on equipment operability, Jose A.Calvo,NRR/OTSB and guidance on 10 CFR 50.59 safety evaluations.

Managing Fxlitor OTSB expects to conduct similar briefings in the other regional of-Mary Lynn Reardon, NRR/OTSB fices m the future. This briefing wasim portant for Region Il because Electronic Format and Layout all four of the active lead plants for conversion to the new STS are tilustrationby NRC Graphics Section located in Region II. OTS B explained the ways thelead plant reside i spector will be most helpful in the impiementation process cot Photographs by Dan Dehn sistent with limiting the burden on the residents.

l Centributors identified as Articles written.

Tech Spec Neweietter, Page 4

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