HL-5270, Application for Amend to License NPF-5,revising SLMCPR Values Based Upon Unique plant-evaluations for Current Cycle 13 & Use of GE Fuel in Next Cycle 14
| ML20135D478 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hatch  |
| Issue date: | 12/03/1996 |
| From: | Beckham J GEORGIA POWER CO. |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135D481 | List: |
| References | |
| HL-5270, NUDOCS 9612090394 | |
| Download: ML20135D478 (6) | |
Text
_ _
m
.. - - _ -...... _ _ - ~ _ _ _ _ _. -. ~. _ _..
1 ooo,,o p., %n, -_
- 40 invemess Center P;rkwry -
+
. Post Office Box 1295 Birmingharn, Alabama 3s201
[!
. Tolophone (205) 877-7279 A
M =1,
GeorgiaPbwer i
Hatch Project a 2%d I
December,3, 1996 The saswim company l
Docket Nos. 50-366.~
. HL-5270 '
i l
l U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
' ATTN: Document Control Desk l
l Washington, D.C. 20555 -
il J
i Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant-Unit 2 I-Request to Revise Technical Specifications:
Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SINCPRs) l, Gentlemen:
I l
i In accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.90, as required by 10 CFR 50.59(c)(1),.
j
)
Georgia Power Company (GPC) hereby proposes changes to the Plant Hatch Unit 2 l
Technical Specifications, Appendix A to Operating License NPF-5. The two proposed
)
changes revise the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) values based
-l l
upon unique plant-evaluations for the current Cycle 13 and the use of General Electric j
(GE) GE-13 fuel, a 9 x 9 fuel design, in the next Cycle 14. The proposed SLMCPRs for I
(
Plant Hatch Unit 2 are 1.08 and 1.09 (single-loop operation) for the current Cycle 13, and 1.12 and 1.14 (single-loop operation) for Cycle 14.
- provides a description of the proposed changes and an explanation of the basis for each change. Enclosure 2 details the bases for GPC's determination that the proposed changes'do not involve a significant hazards consideration. Enclosure 3
' provides page change instructions for incorporating the proposed change for the current Cycle 13. Following Enclosure 3 are the revised Technical Specifications pages and the corresponding marked-up pages. Enclosure 4 provides page change instructions for incorporating the proposed change for Cycle 14. Following Enclosure 4 are the revised Technical Specifications pages and the corresponding marked-up pages. Enclosure 5
- provides General Electric letters REK:96-171 and REK:96-382 which~specify the SLMCPRs for Cycle 13 and Cycle 14, respectively.
i
- Georgia Power Company requests the proposed amendment for Cycle 13 to be issued as
(
soon as possible, with an immediate effective date and implementation within 30 days after issuance.
f 9612090394 961203 Afl @l PDR ADOCK 05000366:
i P_
PDR t
~
.Ge'oigia Power d U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 2 December 3, 1996 Georgia Power Company's schedule is to load the GE-13 fuel for Cycle 14 beginning i
during the Spring 1997 outage. GPC requests approval for the proposed changes by March 15,1997. The proposed license amendment should become effective upon startup in Cycle 14.
In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.91, the designated State official will be sent a copy of this letter and all applicable enclosures.
l Mr. J. T. Beckham, Jr. states he is Vice President of Georgia Power Company and is authorized to execute this oath on behalf of Georgia Power Company, and to the best of his knowledge and belief, the facts set forth in this letter are true.
Sincerely,
, h
-c y
J. T. Beckham, Jr.
Swont to and subscribed before me this.3k day ofbam\\ 1996.
i kn h O Ocx U b V
Notary Public IFUeS
Enclosures:
l
- 1. Basis for Change Request 2.
10 CFR 50.92 No Significant Hazards Evaluation
- 3. Page Change Instructions for Cycle 13 I
- 4. Page Change Instructions for Cycle 14 l
- 5. General Electric Nuclear Energy Letters REK:96-171 and REK:96-382 cc: (See next page.)
HL-5270
.G oigiabwer A i
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 3 December-3, 1996' j
cc: Georgia Power Company t
Mr. H. L. Sunmer, Nuclear Plant General Manager NORMS U.S. Nuclear Regulatorv Commission. Washington. D.C.
Mr. K. Jabbour, Licensing Project Manager - Hatch
\\
U.S. Nuclear Regulatorv Commission. Region 11 Mr. S. D. Ebneter, Regional Administrator i
Mr. B. L. Holbrook, Senior Resident Inspector - Hatch State ofGeorma r
Mr. J. D. Tanner, Commissioner - Department of Natural Resources i
l t
1 I
]
l l
i HL-5270
/
a
{.
~
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant -
i Request to Revise Technical Specifications:
j
- Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs)
Basis for Change Reauest
.)
l-Moosed Chanae 1
l The proposed Unit 2 Technical Specifications changes revise Specification 2.1.1.2 to reflect the changes in the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs) based j
l upon the plant-specific evaluation performed by General Electric Nuclear Energy (GENE) for Plant Hatch Unit 2. The new SLMCRs were calculated using NRC-approved L
methods provided in Reference 3 and interim implementing procedures discussed during -
the GENE meetings with the NRC on April 17,1996, and May 6 - 10,1996. The.
I SLMCPRs are set high enough to ensure that > 99.9% of all fuel rods in the core avoid transition boiling if the limit is not violated. The SLMCPRs incorporate a margin for i
uncertainty in the core operating state for uncertainties that are fuel-type dependent, l
including fuel bundle nuclear characteristics, critical power correlation, and manufacturing tolerances. These interim procedures were revised to incorporate the following cycle-specific parameters:
l I
Actual core loading.
i Conservative variations of projected control blade patterns.
e Actual bundle parameters (e.g., local peaking).
e Full cycle exposure range.
l l
The proposed SLMCPRs for Plant Hatch Unit 2 are 1.08 and 1.09 (single-loop operation)
+
for the current Cycle 13, and 1.12 and 1.14 (single-loop operation) for Cycle 14.
The Cycle 13 SLMCPRs are specified in a letter from Mr. R. E. Kingston, GENE Senior I
Fuel Project Manager, to Mr. K. S. Folk, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC),
I dated May 8,1996 (Reference 1). The Cycle 14 SLMCPRs were specified in a letter from l
Mr. Kingston to Mr. Folk, dated November 18,1996 (Reference 2). Enclosure 5 provides i
copies of References I and 2.
I r
Basis for Proposed Change The proposed changes revise the SLMCPRs contained in Unit 2 Technical Specification 2.1.1.2. In the course of calculating a cycle-specific SLMCPR for another utility, GENE determined that the GESTAR II fuel-type generic SLMCPR may be non-conservative when applied to some actual core and fuel designs (Reference 3).
i HL-5270 El-1 semy g,
.gy.
p p
-y er
-m T-1
l E,nclosure 1 Request to Revise Technical Specifications:
Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs)
Basis for Change Request GENE informed the NRC of this issue in a telephone call on March 27,1996. By letter dated May 24,1996, GENE issued a 10 CFR Part 21 notification addressing the SLMCPR issue. Georgia Power Company (GPC) provided the NRC additional information for Cycle 13 in LER 50-366/96-001, dated June 4,1996.
The GENE calculation of the revised plant-specific SLMCPR values for Plant Hatch Unit 2 Cycle 14 is based upon USNRC-approved methods and interim implementing procedures. Revision 11 of GESTAR II requires that the SLMCPR be reconfirmed each cycle. GENE performed the Unit 2 reconfirmation using the interim implementing procedures discussed with GENE during meetings with the NRC staff on April 17,1996, and May 6 - 10,1996.
Based upon the above discussion, GPC proposes that Plant Hatch Unit 2 Technical Specification 2.1.1.2 be revised to reflect the change in the SLMCPRs.
References:
1.
GENE letter REK:96-171, " Verified Safety Limit MCPR Calculation Results for Hatch 1 Cycle 17 and Hatch 2 Cycle 13," dated May 8,1996.
2.
GENE letter REK:96-382, " Safety Limit MCPR (SLMCPR) Calculation for Hatch 2 Cycle 14, dated November 18,1996.
3.
" General Electric Application for Reactor Fuel," GESTAR II, NEDE-24011-P-A-11.
and U.S. Supplement, NEDE 24011-P-A-11-US. November 17,1995.
HL-5270 El-2
~..
i.
l L
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant 1
l-Request to Revise Technical Specifications:
l Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs) i
~ 10 CFR 50.92 No Sinnificant Hazards Evaluation l
In 10 CFR 50.92(c), the NRC provides the following standards to be used in determining l
the existence of a significant hazards consideration:
1
...a proposed amendment to an operating license for a facility licensed under I
l.
50.21(b) or 50.22 for a testing facility involves no significant hazards L
consideration if operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed L
amendment would not: (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) Create the possibility of an accident of a new or different kind from any previously evaluated; or (3)
Involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety.
l.
Georgia Power Company has reviewed the proposed license amendment requests and l'
determined their adoption does not involve a significant hazards consideration based on i
the following discussion.
l l
Basis for no sienificant hazards consideration determination i
1.
Does the change involve a sigmficant increase in the probability ofconsequences of i
i an accidentpreviously evaluated?
1 The derivation of the revised SLMCPRs for Plant Hatch Unit 2 for incorporation into the Technical Specifications, and its use to determine cycle-specific thermal limits, were performed using NRC-approved methods ~. Additionally, interim implementing procedures incorporating cycle-specific parameters were used. Based upon the use of these calculations, revised SLMCPRs cannot increase the probability or severity of an accident. The basis of the SLMCPR calculation is to ensure that
> 99.9% of all fuel rods in the core avoid transition boiling if the limit is not violated.
The new SLMCPRs preserve the existing margin to transition boiling and fuel damage in the event of a postulated accident. Thus, it can be concluded that the probability of fuel damage is not increased and the proposed Technical Specifications changes do not involve an increase in the probability or consequences of an accident evaluation.
HL-5270 E2-1
7 - -. -
e
' Enclosure 2 ~
i
' Request to Revise Technical Specifications:
- Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratios (SLMCPRs) l 10 CFR 50.92 Evahiation i
i
?
' 2. '
Do the proposed changes create the possibility ofa new or different type of.
accidentfrom anypreviously evaluated?
The SLMCPR is a Technical Specifications numerical value designed to ensure that fuel damage from transition boiling does not occur as a result of the limiting postulated accident. The SLMCPRs were calculated using NRC-approved methods.
Additionally, interim procedures incorporating cycle-specific parameters were used j
in the analysis. Therefore, the proposed changes do not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
t 3.
"Do the proposed changes imvive a sigmficant reduction in the margin ofsafety?
The margin of safety as defined in the Bases will remain the same. The new SLMCPRs were calculated using NRC-approved methods which are in accordance with the current fuel design and licensing criteria. Additionally, interim implementing procedures, which incorporate cycle-specific parameters were used.
l The SLMCPR remains high enough to ensure that > 99.9% of all fuel rods in the core will avoid transition boiling if the limit is not violated, thereby preserving the fuel cladding integrity. Therefore, the proposed changes do not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
Information Sunnarting an Environmental Assessment An environmental assessment is not required for the proposed changes since the changes conform to the criteria for " actions eligible for categorical exclusion" specified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). The proposed changes will have no impact on the environment and do not involve a significant hazards consideration as discussed above. The proposed changes do not involve a significant change in the type, or significant increase'in the amount, of any effluents that may be released offsite. In addition, the proposed changes I
do not involve a significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation i
exposure.
Conclusion The Plant Hatch Plant Review Board and the Safety Review Board reviewed the proposed 1
changes to the Plant Hatch Unit 2 Technical Specifications and concluded that the changes do not involve a significant hazards consideration and will not endanger the health and safety of the public.
i l
HL-5270 E2-2 i
l
_