ML20133G913
| ML20133G913 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07003000 |
| Issue date: | 05/02/1985 |
| From: | Crow W, Horn M NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20133G866 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8510160182 | |
| Download: ML20133G913 (3) | |
Text
__.
umgy
=% w n~W WW CF i
a MAY 2 1985 1
DOCKET NO:
70-3000 LICENSEE:
Conronwealth Edison Conpany t
i FACILITY:
Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1 i
Will County, Illinois
[
t
SUBJECT:
ENVIROM ENTAL ASSESSMENT - LICENSE APPLICATION TO RECEIVE NEW FUEL 1
i
Background
I q
j By letter dated June 8,1984, and supplements dated September 18, and Noventer 19, l
1984, Connonwealth Edison (CECO) applied for an NRC license to permit the receipt, l
possession, inspection, and storage of special nuclear meterial contained in unirradiated nuclear fuel assemblies for eventual use in Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2.
The present licensing action is limited to the requirements of 1
Unit 1.
CECO also requested additional special nuclear material in the form of
]'
Materials License No. 12-05650-17 for the possession, storage, and use of small post accident neutron monitoring detectors. CECO has already been issued quantities of byproduct, source, and special nuclear material. Because of the f orm and small anount (gram quantities) of the other materiols, other than tuel i
asssemblies, the other materials pose no threat to the environment.
In accordance l
with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC has prepared this assessment of environnental inpacts that may be caused by issuing the requested license.
The Proposed Action The proposed action is issuance of a license pursuant to 10 CFR 70 that will j
authorize the applicant to receive, possess, inspect, and store 263 fresh fuel assentlies for eventual use in Braidwood Station, Unit 1.
The license would be i
effective until it can be superseded by CECO's operating license for Unit 1 under
.10 CFR 50. The fuel assentlies contain uranium dioxide (U0 ) pellets that have 2
a maximum U-235 enrichment of 3.SS percent by weight and are encapsulated in i
zircaloy tubing.
Issuance of the license would authorize receipt, possession, inspection, and storage of the unirradiated fuel at Braidwood. The transport of new fuel to Braidwood will be the responsibility of the fuel fabricator.
However, the proposed license would authorize the applicant to transport, or deliver to a carrier for transport, the assemblies in approved packages if this should become necessary (e.g., to return defective fuel to the manufacturer).
i l
8510160182 e51000 i
PDR ADOCK 07003000 C
PM i
i
'*'===*'*.'*'.
=. = * ' * ' '. ' ' '
!~~~>
- ' ' '. ~ ' '
.~.-..." -.
DATEk
' sac romu aia cio.soi sacu o24o OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
- U.S. GPO 1983-400-247,
__._-_--,-~-d L
m
c v
q:,
ww u
. HM 2 1965 Need for the Proposed Action The applicant proposed to receive and store fresh fuel prior to issuance of the Part 50 operating license in order to inspect the assen.blies and to finalize fuel preparation (e.g.. add necessary hardware) needed to load the fuel into the reactor core vessel. Actual core loading, however, will not be authorized by the proposed license. Early completion of this fuel handling stage will help avoid delays in Braidwood Unit l's startup once its operating license is issued.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action and Their Environmental Impacts Alternatives to the proposed action include complete dental of CECO's application.
Assuming the operating License will eventually be issued, denial of the storage only license now would rerely postpone the new fuel receipt. Such action, as well as any other alternative that can be imagined, would not present an environrental advantage because, as discussed below, no environmental inpacts are expected to result from the proposed action.
Environnental Ir, pacts of the Propoted Action A Final Environmental Staterent (NUREG-1026) related to the full-scale operation of Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2 has already been prepared and issued by the hRC. Based on the evaluation in this statement, the environnental inpacts of plant operation, subject to proposed conditions for environnental protection, are expected to be small. Plant operations will eventually include the sturage and handling of irradiated fuel which is significantly more hazardous than unirradiated fuel. Therefore, the environnental impact from handling unirradiated fuel is expected to be very minor.
Once at Braidwood Station, the new fuel wil6 be received at the Fuel Handling Building, in the Fuel Handling Building, the new fuel will be surveyed for external contamination. inspected, and transported to a storage location.
Only a small amount, if any, of radioactive waste may be generated during this handling (e.g., smear papers or contaminated package material) and any waste that is produced will be properly stored onsite until it can be shipped to a licensed disposal facility. The fuel will be stored in either the New Fuel Storage Vault or the Spent Fuel Storage Pool.
The fuel may also be stored within its shipping containers in either the new fuel unloading area of the Fuel Handling Building or in the area imediately outside this building.
Administrative controls combined with the design of these storage locations will ensure acceptable protection of the fuel assemblies, during fuel handling and storage, fron excessive physical damage under normal or abnormal conditions.
In the event the applicant rust return assemblies to the fuel manufacturer, all packaging and transport of fuel will be in accordance with 10 CFR 71.
The package will meet NRC approval requirements for normal conditions of transnort and hvoothetical accident conditions. No significant external OFFIC E >........
Eu%NAMEk DATEf nac ronu aia no.soinacu eno OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
- uS m "88-**2*7 4
mc r
F 1 Yr Yw V
WW 43 em:r n;w DT
~3~
NAY 2 1985 radiation hazards are associated with the unirradiated assemblies because the radiation level from the clad fuel is low (the exposure rate at one foot from the surface is normally less than 1 mr/hr) and because the shipping packages must reet the external radiation standards in 10 CFR 71. Therefore, any shipment of unirradiated fuel by the applicant is expected to have an insignificant environnental impact.
In the unlikely event that an assembly (either within or outside its shipping container) is dropped during transfer, the fuel cladding is not expected to ruptu re. Even if the fuel rod cladding were breached and the pellets were released, an insignificant environmental inpact would result. The fuel pellets are composed of a ceramic UO that has been pelletized and sintered to a very high density.
In this form,pthe aerosol is unlikely except under conditions of deliberate grfeneration of UOAdditio$ ally,U0 is soluble only nding.
in acid solution so dissolution and release to the environkent is extrenely unlikely.
All fuel handling activities will be in accordance with approved procedures to assure nuclear criticality and radiation safety. Safety will be further assured by several engineered safeguards.
Therefore, the proposed fuel handling and storage activities are critically safe (see the Safety Evaluation Report supporting this license) and no environnental inpacts from an accidental criticality are expected.
Conclusion Based upon the information presented above, the environrental impacts associated with new fuel storage at Braidwood Station, Unit 1 is, expected to be insignificant.
Essentially no ef fluents will be released and acceptable controls will be icplemented to prevent a radiological accident. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR s1.31, a Finding of No Significant Impact is considered appropriate for this action.
/s Merri orn Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Haterial Safety, HMSS RINL1 Signed 4
~
Approved by: F T. Cr%
W. T. Crow, Acting Chief
.%.1Cu.p.05
.."BM^.S.h.,yg,{,,,,,,,,. g,,,,,,,,,.
.....,F,C U P,,,,,,,,,,,,, f,CU
,,,FCUF pe
->.r.t.a.c......r.z.al.c...... m. e 9.s......s.ef.p.s...
- ". m" m ". " -*
- pe rou ve t:ngqp4o OFFICIAL RECORD COPY m_