ML20141L557

Enclosure 1: Safety Evaluation Report

ML20141L557
Person / Time
Site:	Westinghouse
Issue date:	05/22/2020
From:	Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
To:	Westinghouse
MDiaz NMSS/DFM/FFL 415.7110
Shared Package
ML20141L555	List: ML20141L556 ML20141L557 ML20141L558
References
EPID: L-2020-EPR-0000
Download: ML20141L557 (3)

Text

DOCKET: 70-1151 LICENSE: SNM-1107 LICENSEE: Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC Columbia, South Carolina

SUBJECT:

Safety Evaluation Report: Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC Request for Temporary Change to Site Emergency Plan BACKGROUND By letter dated April 9, 2020, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20100G526), as supplemented by letter dated April 22, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20113E923), Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) applied for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval to temporarily change the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) Site Emergency Plan (SEP). Specifically, WEC is requesting a temporary change to the CFFF SEP to amend the periodicity of performing an independent audit of equipment readiness and elements of the program that have had weakness identified during exercises or drills from annual to biennial due to the precautions put in place at CFFF in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The details of the SEP temporary change are described in Enclosure 1, CFFF SEP Temporary Change Request, of WECs application.

DISCUSSION Section 7.5, Independent Audit, of Revision 20 of the CFFF SEP currently states:

Independent audits of equipment readiness and elements of the program that have had weakness identified during exercises or drills shall be performed annually. WEC states that this audit was last performed on March 21, 2019, and per the special nuclear materials license number 1107 (SNM-1107) definition of annual, this audit must be completed within 15 months of the previous one. WEC states that due to the precautions put in place at the CFFF in response to the COVID-19 PHE, only necessary personnel for operations are currently onsite and visitors have been severely limited. The CFFF SEP equipment readiness audit requires completion by an independent auditor (i.e., not a CFFF employee) and cannot be completed remotely because the majority of the audit is equipment-related, and requires the auditors eyes on the equipment.

WEC states that it is unknown at this time how long these precautions and site access restrictions will be needed. Thus, WEC has requested a temporary change to the CFFF SEP, to change the periodicity of completing this audit from annual to biennial. WEC further states that per the SNM-1107 definition of biennial, the audit would next be performed in 2021, within 30 months of the date it was completed in 2019. WEC states that after the audit is completed in 2021, the temporary change will be removed, and the periodicity of the audit will go back to annual.

WEC has concluded that this temporary change does not have a negative impact on public health and safety. This conclusion is based on the results of the last audit conducted in 2019, which identified three suggestions for improvement, but no weaknesses. WEC states that it entered these items into the CFFF Corrective Action Program (CAP), and took actions to address them.

Enclosure 1

Although the regulations in 10 CFR 70.22(i)(3) do not specify a requirement to conduct these types of independent audits, 10 CFR 70.22(i)(3)(v), Mitigation of consequences, does require, in part, a brief description of the program for maintaining the equipment. Additionally, 10 CFR 70.22(i)(3)(vii), Responsibilities, requires, in part, responsibilities for developing, maintaining, and updating the plan. The guidance in Regulatory Guide 3.67, Standard Format and Content for Emergency Plans for Fuel Cycle and Materials Facilities, Revision 1, dated April 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML103360487), Section 7.5, Independent Audit, states, in part, that the emergency plan should discuss the program to be used annually to review and audit the licensees emergency preparedness program, including the emergency plan and its procedures; training activities; emergency facilities, equipment, and supplies; and records associated with offsite support agency interface, to ensure that the overall emergency preparedness program is being adequately maintained. As stated in Enclosure 1 of WECs letter, the majority of the SEP independent equipment readiness audit is equipment-related, and requires the independent auditors eyes on the equipment. The NRC staff has reviewed the last 5 years of the NRC inspections of the CFFF emergency preparedness (EP) program elements of the CFFF SEP EP program, which included the following:

NRC Inspection Reports Inspection Report ADAMS Areas Inspected Date Number Accession No.

EP program records, EP equipment storage, EP training, written agreements, verification that 70-1151/2020-001 problems or deficiencies April 28, 2020 ML20120A395 associated with the SEP or implementing procedures were corrected Biennial exercise, EP program records, EP training, written 70-1151/2019-003 July 31, 2019 ML19212A687 agreements, EP equipment storage, independent audit EP program records, EP training, 70-1151/2018-003 written agreements, EP equipment July 18, 2018 ML18200A029 storage, independent audit Biennial exercise, EP program records, EP training, written 70-1151/2017-003 July 18, 2017 ML17199A044 agreements, EP equipment storage, independent audit EP program records, EP training, 70-1151/2016-002 written agreements, EP equipment April 28, 2016 ML16119A230 storage, independent audit Biennial exercise, written 70-1151/2015-003 July 28, 2015 ML15209A010 agreements EP program records, EP training, 70-1151/2015-002 written agreements, EP equipment April 29, 2015 ML15119A002 storage, self-assessments These inspections documented that no violations of more than minor significance were identified, and as such, demonstrate that WEC has adequately planned for and established an independent audit of equipment readiness and elements of the program. In addition, during the most recent inspection of the CFFF EP program in February 2020, the inspectors reviewed documentation of events that have occurred since the last EP inspection that required the implementation of the CFFF SEP to verify that problems or deficiencies associated with the SEP or implementing procedures were corrected. The inspectors also reviewed the licensees corrective action entries from the most recent biennial exercise to verify that findings and recommendations were addressed in the licensees CAP. The inspection did not identify any violations of more than minor significance during this recent inspection. Therefore, the NRC staff has concluded that there would be no negative impacts to public health and safety related to the proposed change in the CFFF SEP to temporary amend the CFFF SEPs performance of these independent audits described in WECs letter from annual to biennial.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The NRC staff determined that the proposed temporary change to Revision 20 to the CFFF SEP is administrative, organizational, or procedural in nature. The temporary change to the plan will not impact any effluents, will not result in any changes to radiation exposures, does not have constructions impacts, and does not increase the potential for radiological accidents. Therefore, the amendment to temporarily revise the CFFF SEP is categorically excluded from the requirements to prepare a site-specific environmental assessment consistent with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11). In accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(d), neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is warranted for this action.

CONCLUSION The NRC staff concludes that the proposed change to Revision 20 to the CFFF SEP to temporarily change the periodicity of completing the independent audits from annual to biennial continues to meet the applicable requirements of 10 CFR 70.22(i)(3) and provides reasonable assurance that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in the event of a radiological emergency. After these independent audits are completed in 2021, the change will be removed, and the periodicity of the audit will go back to annual. As such, a new license condition, S-3 has been added to SNM-1107, supplementary sheet section titled SAFETY CONDITIONS, to document this CFFF SEP temporary change as follows:

S-3 Notwithstanding the requirements of 10 CFR 70.22(i)(3), the Site Emergency Plan is temporarily changed to allow the periodicity for performance of the independent audits of equipment readiness and elements of the program that have had weakness identified during exercises or drills from annual to biennial.

After these independent audits are completed in 2021, this temporary change will be eliminated, and the periodicity of these independent audits will go back to annual.

PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTOR Michael Norris