ML20151Y443
| ML20151Y443 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oyster Creek |
| Issue date: | 09/14/1998 |
| From: | Roche M GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP. |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20138K996 | List: |
| References | |
| 1940-98-20488, NUDOCS 9809180242 | |
| Download: ML20151Y443 (8) | |
Text
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GU GPU Nuclear,Inc.
U.S. Route #9 South NUCLEAR Post Office Box 388 Forked River, NJ 087310388 Tel 609-971-4000 September 14,1998 1940-98-20488 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk
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Washington DC 20555 i
Dear Sir:
Subject:
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Docket No. 50-219 Request for a Change to the Licensing Basis Response to a Request for Additional Information By letter dated May 5,1998, GPU Nuclear, Inc. requested a change to the Licensing Basis for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The requested change was for an increase in the assumed containment pressure following a design basis Loss of Coolant Accident. Subsequent
,to that submittal, a teleconference was held in which members of the NRC staff requested r.dditional information, in the form of eight questions. The information was provided to you by two letters dated August 3,1998.
1 On August 18,1998, a second teleconference was held, and a second request for additional information was made, in the form of five questions. The answer to question one has been determined to contain proprietary information [ pursuant to 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4),
2.790(a)(4), and 2.790(d)(1)] and is contained in Attachment I. It is requested that the contents of Attachment I be withheld from public disclosure. The affidavit attesting to the proprietary nature of this information has been included as Attachment II. The redacted version of this information (with the proprietary information removed) has been included as Attachment Ill. The answers to questions two through four are contained in Attachment IV and the answer to the last question has been included in Attachment V.
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A If any additional information or assistance is required, please contact Mr. John Rogers of my staff at 609.971.4893.
i Very truly yours, l
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1 Michael B. Roche Vice President and Director Oyster Creek MBR/JJR 1
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Administrator, Region I NRC Project Manager Senior Resident Inspector l
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1940-98-20488 Change to the Licensing Basis Attachment II GE Affidavit Concerning Proprietary Information In AttachmentI
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l General Electric Company I
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I I, George 11. Stramback, being duly sworn, depose and state as follows:
(1) I am Project Manager, Regulatory Services, General Electric Company ("GE") and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for
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its withholding.
i (2) The information sought to be withheld is comained in GE proprietary report GENE E-21-00143, ECCS Suction Strainer Hydraidic Si:ing Report, Revision 1, Class III
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I (GE Proprietary Information), dated March 31,1998. The proprietary infonnation is delineated by bars marked in the rnargin adjacent to the specific material.
I (3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner. GE relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act,18 USC Sec.1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), 2.790(a)(4), and 2.790(d)(1) for " trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential" (Exemption 4). The material for which i
exemption from disclosure is here sought is all " confidential commercial j
information", and some portions also qualify under the narrower definition of " trade secret", within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Enerny Proiect v. Nuclear Reculatory j
Commission. 975F2d871 (DC Cir.1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group
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- v. FDA,704F2dl280 (DC Cir.1983).
l (4) Some examples of categories of information which fit into the definition of proprietary information are:
Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting a.
data and analyses, where prevention ofits use by General Electric's competitors without license from General Electric constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies; b.
Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product; a
GBS-98 af suction strainer hydraulic oyster creek i 1. doc Affidavit Page I i
1 Information which reveals cost or price information, production capacities, c.
budget levels, or commercial strategies of General Electric, its customers, or its suppliers; d.
Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future General Electric customer-funded development plans and programs, of potential commercial value to General Electric; Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be e.
desirable to obtain patent protection.
The infonnation sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in both paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b., above.
(5) The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence.
The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GE, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GE, no publb disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties including any required transmittals to NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence. Its initial designation as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in paragraphs (6) and (7) following.
(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge. Access to such I
documents within GE is limited on a "need to know" basis.
(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist or other equivalent authority, by the manager of the cognizant marketing function (or his delegate), and by the Legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GE are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements.
(8) The information identified in paragraph (2), above, is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed application methodology including 1) hydraulic performance design methods and 2) unique procedures for calculation of hydraulic sizing for the optimized suction strainer, which GE has developed.
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v The development of this information and the methods was achieved at a significant cost, on the order of several hundred thousand dollars, to GE.
The development of the evaluation process along with the interpretation and application of the results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GE asset.
(9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GE's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availabi.fity of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GE's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost. The value of the technoiogy base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process. In addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.
The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GE.
The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial.
GE's competitive advantage will be lost ifits competitors are able to use the results of the GE experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.
The value of this information to GE would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GE of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing these very valuable analytical tools.
GBS-98 af suction strainer hydraulic oyster creek l 1. doc Affidavit Page 3
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA
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COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
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George B. Stramback, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
That he has read the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief.
Executed at San Jose, California, this / 4 day of 1998.
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Geofge B. St/ari1back General Electric Company Subscribed and sworn before me this M'72'dayof M//6#fT 1998.
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GBS-98 af suction strainer hydraulic oysier creek i1. doc Affidavit Page 4
1940-98-20488 Change to the Licensing Basis Attachment III Answer to Question 1 GE Information Non - Proprietary Version ECCS Strainer Hydraulic Sizing Report