ML20154N318

Forwards Ack Receipt of Petition Filed by Ocre Under 10CFR2.206,responding Negatively to Petitioner Request for Immediate Action Re BWRs & Stating That Petition Being Treated Under 10CFR2.206,for Info

ML20154N318
Person / Time
Site:	Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png
Issue date:	09/23/1988
From:	Brown S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Leonard J LONG ISLAND LIGHTING CO.
References
2.206, NUDOCS 8809290270
Download: ML20154N318 (5)

Text

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r, September 23, 1988 Docket No. 50-322 Mr. John D. Leonard, Jr.

Vice President-Nuclear Operations Long Island Lighting Co.

Shoreham Nuclear Power Station P.O. Box 618, North Country Road Wading River, New York 11792

SUBJECT:

NRC LETTER Acre WLEDGING RECEIPT OF ?.206 DETITION REGARDING BWR STABILITY RE: SHOREH#i NUCL EAR POWER STATION Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 frem the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the Representative of the Ohio citizens for flesponsible Energy (OCRE). The letter (1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Conunission's regulations, (2) responds in the negative to the Petitioner's request for imediate action with respect to all Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and (3) states that the Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Coninission's regulations.

Please contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Sincerely,

/S/

Stewart Brown, Project Manager Project Directorate I-2 Division of Reactor Projects I/II i Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosure:

As stated

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[ 25:fC ogo UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3 E WASHINGTON, D. C. 20556 19,,,,,#s[ September 23, 1988 Docket No. 50-322 Mr. John D. Leonard, Jr.

Vice President-Nuclear Operations Long Island Lighting Co.

Shoreham Nuclear Power Station P.O. Box 618, North Country Road Wading River, New York 11792

SUBJECT:

NRC LETTER ACKNOWLEDGING RECEIPT OF 2.206 PETITION REGARDING BWR ,

STABILITY RE: SPOREHAM NUCLEAR POWER STATION Enclosed for your information is a copy cf a letter dated August 26, 1988 from the Director. Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the Representative of the Ohio citizens for Respensible Energy (OCRE). The letter (1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulations, (2) responds in the negative to the Petitioner's request for immediate action with respect to all Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and (3) states that the Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulations.

Please contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Sincerely, P

Stewart Brown, Project Manager Project Directorate I-2 Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation '

Enclosure:

1 As stated j cc: Servtce List l

l

Mr. John D. Leonard, Jr. Shoreham Nuclear Power Station Leng Island Lighting Company (list 1) cc:

Stephen B. Latham, Esq. Gerald C. Crotty, Esq.

John F. Shea, III, Esq. Ben Wiles. Esq.

Twomey, Lt. tham & Shea Counsel to the Governor Attorneys at Law Executive Chamber Post Office Box 398 State Capitol 33 West Second Street -Albany, New York 12224 Riverhead, New York 11901 Herbert H. Brown Esq.

Alan S. Rosenthal, Esq., Chairman Lawrence Coe Lanpher, Esq.

Atomic Safety & Licensing Aopeal Board Xarla J. Letsche, Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Washington, D.C. 20555 South Lobby - 9th Floor 1000 M Street, N.W.

W. Taylor Reveley, III, Esq.

Hunton & Williams Dr. Monroe Schneider Post Office Box 1535 North Shore Comittee 707 East Main Street Post Office Box 231 Richmond, Virginia 23212 Wading River, New York 11792 Howard A. Wilber Fabian G. Palomino, Esq.

Atomic Safety & Licensing Appeal Board Special Counsel to the Governor U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Executive Chamber - State Capitol Washington, D.C. 20555 Albany, New York 12224 Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel Anthony F. Earley, Jr., Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Pegulatory Comission General Counsel Washington, D.C. 20555 Long Island Lighting Company 175 East Old County Road Atomic Safety & Licensing Appeal Board Hicksville, New York 11801 Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Mr. Lawrence Britt Washington, D.C. 20555 Shoreham Nuclear Power Station Post Office Box 618 l Gary J. Edles Esq. Wading River, New York 11792 Atomic Safety & Licensing Appeal Board i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Martin Bradley Ashare. Esq. i Washington, D.C. 20555 Suffolk County Attorney I H. Lee Dennison Building Richard M. Xessel Veteran's Memorial Highway Chairman & Executive Director Hauppauge, New York 11788 New York State Consumer Protection Board Room 1725 Resident Inspector 250 Broadway Shoreham NPS New York, New York 10007 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Post Office Box B Jonathan D. Feinberg, Esq. Rocky Point, New York 11778 l New York State Department of Public Service Regional Administrator, Region !

Three Empire State Plaza U.S. Nuclear Pegulatory Comission 1 Albany, New York 12223 475 Allendale Road l King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 l

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l.ong Island Lighting Company Shoreham (1)

CC:

Robert Abrams, Esq. Town Attorney Attorney General of the State Town of Brookhaven of New York 3237, Route 112 ATTN: John Corwin, Esq. Medford, NY 11763 New York State Department of Law

. Consumer Protection Bureau 120 Rrnadway 3rd Floor New York, New York 10i>i Mr. William Steiger Plant Manager Shoreham Nuclear Power Statfore Post Office Box 628 Wading River, New York I179t MHR Technical Associates 1723 Hamilton Avenue - Suite K San Jose, California 951?S Ponorabia Peter Cohalan Suffolk County Executive County Executive / Legislative Building Veteran's Memoi al Highway l Hauppauge, New 'ork 11788 i Ms. Donna Ross New York State Energy Office Agenc.y Buildinq ?

Emoire State Plaza Albany, New York 12223 Ms. Nora 8 redes Shoreham Opponents Coalition 195 East Main Street Smithtown, New York 11787 Chris Nolin N.# York State Assembly Energy Committee 626 Legislative Office Building Albany, New York 17248 Peter S. Everett, Esq. i Hunton & Williams 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Vashington, D.C. 20036 l

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.. Q a .g 8 o,, UNITED STATES

! a NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION D E WASHINGTON, D. C. 20046

% , , , , .' August 26, 1988 l

Ms. Susan L. Hiatt Representative of Ohio Citizens for '

l Responsible Energy, Inc.  !

8275 Hunson Road i

Mentor, OH 44060 1

Dear Ms. Hiatt:

1988, re  !

This Director, is inOffice response of huclear to your Petition Reactor of July 22(Director)

Regulation questing

, take imeof ate that the I action with respect to Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) to relieve what you allege to be undue risks to the public health and safety posed by the thermal-hydraulic instability of boiling water reactors, as revealed by an event at LaSalle County Station Unit 2 on March 9,1988.

The specific relief requested is to order all BWR licensees to (1) place their reactors in cold shutdown, (2) develop and implement specified procedures

' relating to the thermal-hydraulic instability issues, (3) demonstrate that certain specified training hcs been provided relating to these procedures, (4) demonstrate the capability of instrumentation related to power oscil-lations, (5) develop simulators capable of modeling power oscillations similar to those occurring at LaSalle and out-of-Dhase power oscillations, (6) report to the NRC regarding all past incidents in which recirculation pumps have tripped off, (7) submit to the NRC justification for continued operation of BWRs and (8) submit a report to the NRC within one year demonstrating compliancewithGDC12. You also request that the Comission reopen Generic Issues B-19, B-59, the ATWS rulemaking and reconsider the use of End-of-Cycle Recirculation Pump Trip on BWP.;.

Your request for imediate relief is denied because the allegations which form

'. the basis for your Petition do not reveal any new operational safety issues which pose an imediate safety concern for continued BWR operation. The staff has determined that continued operation of BWRs is justified for the following l reasons:

(1) Current BWR Technical Specifications place restrictions on power operation of the reactor under conditions of natural circulation or single recirculation loop cooling such that operation in regions of l low thermal-hydraulic stability is limited to infrequent, short-term '

transient conditions following anticipated operational occurrences.

(2) Neutron flux oscillations are detectable with proper monitoring and can be easily suppressed by inserting control rods. If large oscillations should occur, and a manual scram is not initiated, it is expected that the high power level, Average Power Range Monitor (APRM) scram protection, which terminated the LaSalle event, would provide backup protection as was the case during the LaSalle event. g p f% ,,

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Susan L. Hiatt (3) The magnitude of neutron flux oscillations induced by thermal-hydraulic instability is considerably higher than the oscillations in the average cladding heat flux because of inherent delay in the transfer of heat through the fuel rods. The NRC Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) for the March 9, 1988 LaSalle event reported that the amplitude of the heat flux oscillations during the event were estimated to be less than 10% of the value for the neutron flux oscillations and that because of the smaller changes in heat flux, thermal limits for the fuel were not exceeded.

(4) Ger.eral Electric Company has provided BWR licensees with guidance on the proper methods to monitor for thermal-hydraulic instabilities and on the actions that should be taken to suppress such oscillations if they should occur. Most BWRs have implemented such methods in response to NRC Generic Letter 8C-02 which provided for the technical resolution of Generic Issue B-19. The operating limita-tiens which ensure compliance with GDC 12 are enforced by plant technical specifications.

(5) Compliance with the recorinendations in NRC Bulletin No. 88-07 will ensure that any licensed reactor operator or shift technical advisor performing shif t duties at a BWR will have been thoroughly briefed regarding the LaSalle event; and that all PWR licensees will have adequate procedures and operator training programs in place to -

address power oscillations, regardless of the results of any previous thermal-hydraulic stability analysis. The NRC will perform inspections and take any necessary follow-up action to ensure that procedures and training programs acceptable to the technical staff have been put in place.

Your Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations. Appropriate action will be taken within a reasonable time. A copy of the notice that is being filed for publication with the Office of the Federal Register is enclosed for your information. Copies of this letter are being sent to those named on the service lists for facilities listed in Enclosure 2.

Sincerely.

Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:

1. Federal Register Notice ,

2. List of Facilities for cc

[7590-01)

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[0OCKET NO. 50-374]

COMMONWEALTH EDISON C0MPANY (LaSalle County Station, Unit 2)

RECEIPT OF PETITION FOR DIRECTOR'S DECISION UNDER 10 CFR 2.206 Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated July 22, 1988, Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc. requested the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to take imedia.te action with respect to Boiling Water Reactors to relieve what Petitioner alleged to be undue risks to the public health and safety posed by an event at LaSalle County Station, Unit 2, in Illinois on March 9, 1988. Petitioner's request for imediate relief was .

denied because the allegations which form the basis of the Petition did not reveal any new operational safety issues which pose an imediate safety concern for continued BWR operation.

The Petitier. is being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulations. As provided by i 2.206, appropriate action will be taken on the Petition within a reasonable time. l A copy of the Petition is available for inspection in the Comission's Public Document Room, 1717 H Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20555 and in the local public document room for LaSalle County Station Unit 2 at Jacobs Memorial Library, l Illinois Valley Comunity College, Rural Route One, Oglesby, Illinois 61348. )

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMISSION

. C;=& W T..osas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regu a Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26 day of August, 1988

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l Susan L. Hiatt Enclosure 2 List of_ Facilities for cc BOSTON EDISON CO. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Docket No. 50-293)

CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Brunswick Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 50-324 & 50-325)

CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING CO., ET AL (Perry Nu: lear Power Plant, i Unit 1, Docket No. 50-440)

COMMONkEALTH EDISION CD. (Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, Units 2 & 3 Docket Nos. 50-237&50-249;(QuadCitiesNuclearPowerPlant, Units 1&2 Docket Nos. 50 254 & 50-265 ; (LaSalle County Station, Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. 50-373 & 50-374 CONSUMERS POWER CO. (Big Rock Point, Docket No. 50-155)

DETROITEDISONCO.(FermiUnit2,DocketNo.50-341)

GEORGIA POWER CO. (Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2, Docket No. 50-321&50-366)

GULF STATES UTILITIES CO. (River Bend Station, Docket No. 50-458)

ILLINOISPOWERCO.(ClintonNuclearPlant,DocketNo.50-461)

IOWAELECTRICLIGHT&POWERCO.(DuaneArnoldNuclearPowerPlant, Docket 50-331)

GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES (Oyster Creek Station, Docket No. 50-219)

LONGISLANDLIGHTINGCO.(ShorehamNuclearPowerPlant,DocketNo.50-322)

MISSISSIPPI POWER & LIGHT CO. (Grand Gul? i:eclear Station, Docket No. 50-416)

NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT (Cooper Statica, Docket No. 50-298)

NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. (Nine Mile Point, Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 50-220 & 50-410)

NORTHEASTUTILITIES(Millstone, Unit 1DocketNo.50-245)

NORTHERN STATES POWER CO. (Monticello Nuclear Power Plant, Docket No. 50-263)

PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units I & 2, Docket No. 50-387 & 50-388)-

PHILADELPHIAELECTRICCO.(PeachBottomNuclearStation, Units 2&3,DocketNo.

50-277 & 50-278); (Limerick Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-352) l POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF MEW YORK (James A. Fitzpatrick Station, DocketNo.50-333)

PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS CO. (Pppe Creek Generating Station, Docket No. 50-354)

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (Browns Ferry Nuclear Statfg . Units 1, 2, & 3 I Docket Nos 50-259,50-260,and50-296) l YERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORP (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 50-271)

WASHINGTONPUBLICPOWERSUPPLYSYSTEM(WNPUnit2,DocketNo.50-397)

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