ML20136E204

Forwards Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amend to Facility License & Proposed NSHC Determination & Opportunity for Hearing Re 961125 Request to Amend Facility License DPR-4

ML20136E204
Person / Time
Site:	Saxton File:GPU Nuclear icon.png
Issue date:	03/06/1997
From:	Alexander Adams NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	Kuehn G SAXTON NUCLEAR EXPERIMENTAL CORP.
References
TAC-M97155, NUDOCS 9703130141
Download: ML20136E204 (3)

Text

.- - - - .

, , l March 6, 1997 l

! Mr. G. A. Kuehn, Jr.

Vice President, SNEC l GPU Nuclear, Inc.

l 2574 Interstate Drive l Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT (TAC NO. M97155)

Dear Mr. Kuehn:

l Enclosed for your information is a copy of a " Notice of Consideration of l

Issuance of Amendment to Facility License and Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for Hearing" related to your i November 25, 1996, request for amendment to Amended Facility License No. DPR-4 for the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Facility (SNEF). The proposed amendment would allow decommissioning of the SNEF.

l The notice has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely, Original signed by:

Alexander Adams, Jr., Senior Project Manager Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning l Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management ,

Office of Nuclear . Reactor Regulation 1 Docket No. 50-146

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page l DISTRIBUTION:

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON D.C. 30606-0001 4

9 . . . . . ,d March 6, 1997 l Mr. G. A. Kuehn, Jr.

Vice President, SNEC GPU Nuclear, Inc.

2574 Interstate Drive l Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT (TAC NO. M97155)

Dear Mr. Kuehn:

Enclosed for your information is a copy of a " Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility License and Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for Hearing" related to your November 25, 1996, request for amendment to Amended Facility License No. DPR-4 for the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Facility (SNEF). The proposed amendment would allow decommissioning of the SNEF.

The notice has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely, MtN" q Alexander Adams, Jr., Seni Project Manager Non-Power Reactors an. ommissioning l Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-146

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page l

I i

l

[ Saxton Nuclear Docket No. 50-146

( Experimental Corporation cc:

Mr. William P. Dornsife, Director Carbon Township Supervisors Bureau of Radiation Protection ATTN: Penny Brode, Secretary Department of Environmental Protection R. D. #1, Box 222-C 13th Floor, Rachel Carson State Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 Office Building P. O. Box 8469 Hopewell Township Supervisors Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105-8469 ATTN: Sally Giornesto, Secretary -

Mr. Jim Tydeman RR 1 Box 95 1402 Wall Street James Creek, Pennsylvania 16657-9512 Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 Mr. D. Bud McIntyre, Chairman Mr. James H. Elder, Chairman Broad Top Township Supervisors l Concerned Citizens for SNEC Safety Broad Top Municipal Building l Wall Street Ext. Defiance, Pennsylvania 16633 l Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 l Mr. Don Weaver, Chairman l Mr. Ernest Fuller Liberty Township Supervisors l R. D. #1 R. D. #1 Six Mile Run, Pennsylvania 16679 Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 Saxton Borough Council U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ATTN: Peggy Whited, Secretary Baltimore District l 9th and Spring Streets ATTN: S. Snarski/P. Juhle Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 P. O. Box 1715 Baltimore, Maryland 21203 Ms. Norma Ickes, Chair Bedford County Commissioners The Honorable Robert C. Jubelirer County Court House President Pro-Temp Senate of l 203 South Juliana Street Pennsylvania l Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522 30th District l

State Capitol Mr. Larry Sather, Chairman Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Huntingdon County Commissioners County Court House Mr. William G. Heysek Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 16652 Licensing Department TMI Nuclear Station

, Saxton Community Library P. O. Box 480 l Front Street Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 j Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 Mr. Arthur Rone Vice President Nuclear Safety and Technical Services GPU Nuclear Inc.

1 Upper Pond Road Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 Ernest L. Blake, Jr., Esquire Shaw, Pittman, Potts, and Trowbridge 2300 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20037

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j NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION o 'g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20S55.M)1

• February 27, 1997

1 MEMORANDUM T0: Biweekly Notice Coordinator l l FROM: Alexander Adams, Jr., Senior Project Manager.s . - 'ZoN I Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning '

Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR PUBLICATION IN BI-WEEKLY FR NOTICE - NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT TO FACILITY LICENSE AND PROPOSED N0 SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION DETERMINATION, AND OPPCRTUNITY FOR A HEARING (TAC NO.

M97155)

GPU Nuclear. Inc. and Saxton Nuclear Exoerimental Corooration. Docket No.

l 50-146. Saxton Nuclear Experimental Facility (SNEF). Bedford County.

Pennsvivania l Date of amendment reauest: November 25, 1996.

l Description of amendment reauest: The proposed amendment would allow decomissioning of the SNEF. The proposed changes to the license and technical specifications (TSs) would (1) accommodate decomissioning activities at the SNEF, (2) establish specific TS controls such as

! administrative controls and inspection requirements over decomissioning

(

activities, (3) establish limiting conditions for performing decomissioning activities, (4) extend exclusion area controls to include l

the SNEF Decomissioning Support Building, (5) establish requirements for a Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program, an Off-Site Dose Calculation l Manual and a Process Control Program, and (6) establish requirements for Technical and Independent Safety Reviews. In addition, the licensees have proposed other administrative and editorial changes to the TSs associated

< with the changes proposed above.

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t ii Biweekly Notice Coordinator l Basis for Proposed No Sianificant Hazards Consideration Determination: As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensees have provided their analysis of l the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented

, below:

The proposed changes do not involve a significant hazards consideration because the changes would not:

1. Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.

Accidents which might occur during the active decommissioning phase of the SNEF are bounded by the twelve accidents addressed in section 3.0

> of the Updated Safety Analysis Report (USAR). The accident analyses addressed in the USAR demonstrate that no adverse public health and safety impacts are expected from accidents that might. occur during l decommissioning operations at the SNEF. The highest calculated dose to an individual located at the site boundary is less than 1.5 mrem to

! the whole body during a postulated materials handling accident. The dose to an individual located at the site boundary for other on-site accidents is at or below this value. The limiting accident case represents less than 0.15% of the EPA lower whole body dose limit for radiological accidents. Based on the analyses of postulated credible accidents that might occur during the planned decommissioning operations at the SNEF, it is concluded that no significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated would be involved.

2. Create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any previously analyzed.

There are three general categories of accidents. These scenarios evaluate different methods of dispersing radioactive material to the environment which include a loss of support systems and external events. The first includes accident scenarios associated with decommissioning tasks. These were identified and evaluated as described in Section 3.0 of the USAR. The radiological effects of these accident scenarios are discussed in item 1 above. They do not, therefore, reflect a new or different kind of accident previously evaluated. The second category, loss of support systems, does not i directly lead to an accident situation. Therefore, this category of i event does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of l accident. The final category of accidents involves external events.

l, l i Biweekly Notice Coordinator  ! Since these types of events can occur whether the SNEF is being l decommissioned or not, the act of decommissioning does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of external event. Any potential radiological hazard that may occur as a result of an external event is addressed in item 1 above.

3. Involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

The TSs currently in place at the SNEF were developed to maintain a shutdown facility in a secured condition with occasional monitoring.

These specifications were designed t. ensure that the approximately 4 1

megacuries of radioactive material left on site following shutdown in 1972 as identified in the Saxton Decommissioning Plan and Safety Analysis Report dated April 1972, would remain safely contained. In the ensuing years, natural decay of these radioactive materials has resulted in a remainder of approximately 1500 curies of radioactive material at the facility (93% of which is activation contained within the steel structures of the reactor vessel). These proposed decommissioning TSs were developed in order to ensure this remaining radioactive material is safely contained and disposed of and that the environment surrounding the facility is monitored. These actions will assure that there is no reduction in the margin of safety during the active decommissioning of the facility. The final result of these efforts will be the removal of any potential radiological hazard from the site and the release of the site for unrestricted use.

The NRC staff has reviewed the analysis of the licensees and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 50.92(c) are satisfied. j l

Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.

Local Public Document Room location: Saxton Community Library, Front Street, Saxton, Pennsylvania 16678 Attorney for the Licensee: Ernest L. Blake, Jr., Esquire, Shaw, Pittman, Potts, and Trowbridge, 2300 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037 I NRC Project Director: Seymour H. Weiss l

Docket No. 50-146 l 1

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