ML20155C391

Forwards Ltr Ack Receipt of Petition Filed by Ocre Under 10CFR2.206 Re Request for Immediate Action W/Respect to BWRs

ML20155C391
Person / Time
Site:	Clinton
Issue date:	09/28/1988
From:	Stevens J Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Holtzscher D ILLINOIS POWER CO.
References
NUDOCS 8810100023
Download: ML20155C391 (4)

Text

_ _ _ _

September 28, 1988 DISTRIBUTION.

Docket No.: 50-461 Docket nie EJordan NRC & Local PDRs BGrimes PDIII-2 r/f ACRS 10 Mr.

Dale L Holtzscher GHolahan MVirgilio Illinois Power Company LLuther DMuller Acting Manager - Licensing and Safety JStevens 0CG Clinton Power Station Mail Code V920 Clinton, IL 61726 Dear Mr. Holtzscher Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 from the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the Representative of the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc. (OCRE). Theletter(1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulation, (2) responds in the negative to the Petitioner's request for imediate action with respect to all Boiling Water Reactors (tlWRs), 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 any questions on this issue.

Sincerely, Janice A. Stevens, Project Manager Project Directorate III-2 Division of Reactor Projects - III, IV, V and Special Projects

Enclosures:

As stated cc: See next page l

PDIII-2 PDIII-2i(d PD '

Z LLuther JSteve Db}r 9/A f/88 9/pJ/88 9 g /88 p man P

88:st8%i

. September 28, 1988 DISTRIBUTION Docket No.: 50-461 Docket file EJordan NRC & Local PDRs BGrimes PDIII-2 r/f ACRS 10 Mr.

Dale L Holtzscher GHolahan MVirgilio Illinois Power Company LLuther DMuller Acting Manager - Licensing and Safety JStevens 0CG Clinton Power Station Mail Code V920 Clinton, IL 61726 Dear Mr. Holtzscher Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 from the Director, Office of Nuclear fieactor Regulation to the Representative of the OhioCitizensforResponsibleEnergy,Inc.(OCRE). Theletter(1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulation, (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 Comission's regul6tio.n.s.

Please contact me if you have any questions on this issue.

Sincerely, Janice A. Stavens, Project Manager Project Directorate III-2 Division of Reactor Projects - III, IV, V and Special Projects

Enclosures:

As stated cc: See next page PDIII-2 PDIII-2 M PQ ,

LLuther JSteve Of1 er 9/;1 7/88 9/pJ/88 9 /88

9 0 (*%q'o

• # UNITED STATES t -

8 ~ ,% NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION h' $ WASHINGTON, D. C. 20655

- September 28, 1988

%......o Docket No.: 50-461 Mr. Dale L Holtzscher  :

Illinois Power Company 1 Acting Manager - Licensing and Safety Clinton Power Station Mail Code V920  !

Clinton, IL 61727 1 Dear Mr. Holtzscher Enclosed for your infonnation is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 from the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the Representative of the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy Inc. (0CRE). Theletter(1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by 0CRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's l' regulation, (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 any questions on this issue, Sincerely, l l

4 h.

Janice A. Stevens, Project Manager Project Directorate III-2 Division of Redctor Projects - III, IV, V and Special Projects

Enclosures:

As stated ,

cc: See next page

. l Mr. Henry E. Bliss LaSalle County Nuclear Power Station Connonwealth Edison Company Units 1 & 2 cc: .  !

Philip P. Steptoe, Esquire l John W. McCaffrey i Sidley and Austin Chief Public Utilities Division One First National Plaza SOIC Chicago, Illinois 60603 100 West Randolph Street l Chicago, Illinois 60601 l Assistant Attorney General l 100 West Randolph Street I Suite 12 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Resident Inspector /LaSalle, NPS

, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Rural Route No. 1 P. O. Box 224 Marseilles, Illinois 61341 Chairman LaSalle County Board of Supervisors LaSalle County Courthouse Ottawa. Illinois 61350 Attorney General 500 South 2nd Street Springfield, Illinois 6270,1 Chairinan Illinois Comerce Comission Leland Building 527 East Capitol Avenue Springfield Illinois 62706 .

Mr. Michael C. Parker, Chief Division of Engineering l Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety  !

1035 Outer Park Drive, 5th Floor Springfield, Illinois 62704 l 1

Regional Administrator, Region III U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission 799 Roasevelt Road, Bldg. d4 Glen Ellyn Illinois 60137 l

/ g UNITED cTATES

! c NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3

,I wAsmoron. o. c. nosas

\..... August 26, 1988 Ms. Susan L. Hiatt Representative of Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy Inc.

8275 Munson Road Mentor, OH 44060

Dear Ms. Hiatt:

This is in response to your Petition of July 22, 1988, requesting that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (Director), take imediate 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 has 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-phase power oscillations, (6) report to the NRC regarding all past incidents in which recirculation pumps have tripped off,

. BWRs, and (8)(7) submit to the NRC justification for continued operation of submit a report to the NRC within one year demonstrating compliance with GDC 12. You also request that the Commission reopen Generic Istues B-19, B-59, the ATWS rulemaking and reconsider the use of End-of-Cycle Recirculation Pump Trip on BWRs.

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 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 low therml-hydraulic stability is limited to infrequent, short-term transient conditions following anticipated operational occurrences.

(2) Neutr0a 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 tenninated the LaSalle event, would provide backup protection as was the case during the LaSalle event.

~'

G ] 3 j. . I'!^ )

i .

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) General 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 su:h methods in response to NRC Generic Letter 86-02 which provided for the technical resolution of Generic Issue B-19. The operating limita-tions which ensure compliance with GDC 12 are enforced by plant technical specifications.

(5) Compliance with the recortunendations in NRC Bulletin No. 88-07 will ensure that any licensed reactor operator or shift technical advisor performing shift duties at a BWR will have been thoroughly briefed ,

regarding the LaSalle event; and that all BWR licensees will have  ;

adequate procedures and operator training programs in place to i address power oscillations, regardless of the results of any l previous thermal-hydraulic stability analysis. The NRC will perform inspections and take any necessary follow-up action to ensure that

>rocedures and training programs acceptable to the technical staff Save been put in place.

Your Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Co'rrnission'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. l l

Sincerely, l

m .-

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

[ DOCKET NO. 50-374]

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY (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 imediate 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 imed! ate safety concern for continued BWR operation.

The Petition 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.

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 I document room for LaSalle County Station Unit 2 at Jacobs Memorial Library, Illinois Valley Comunity College, Rural Route One, Oglesby, Illinois 61348.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY f.0MMISS10N

^^ ;up

, D T omas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regu a Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26 day of August,1988 W c c "o n

• 1 o a"_- L_'

fn r? - :) g)

~ l

$dsabL.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 Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1,DocketNo.50-440)

COMMONWEALTH EDISION CO. (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)

DETROIT EDISON CO (Fermi Unit 2, Docket No. 50-341)

GEORGIA POWER CO. (Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2, Docket Ho- 50-321&50-366)

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

ILLINOISPOWERCO.(ClintonNuclearPlant,DocketNo.50-461)

IOWA ELECTRIC LIGHT & POWER CO. (Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant, Docket 50-331) i GENERAL PUBLIC UTIL. TIES (0yster Creek Station, Docket No. 50-219)

LONG ISLAND LIGHTING CO. (Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, Docket No. 50-322)

MISSISSIPPI F0WER & LIGHT CO. (Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Docket No. 50-416)

NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT (Cooper Station, Dockat No. 50-298)

NIAGARA N0 HAWK POWER CORP. (Nine Mile Point, Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 50-220 & 50-410)

NORTHEAST UTILITIES (Millstone, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-245)

NORTHERNSTAiESPOWERCO.(MonticelloNuclearPowerPlant,DocketNo.50-263) l PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket No. 50-387&50-388).

PHILADEt.PHIA ELECTRIC CO. TPeach Bottom Nuclear Station, Units 2 & 3. Docket No.

50-277 4 50-278); (Limerick Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1. Docket No. 50-352)

POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK (James A. Fitzpatrick Station, Docket No. 50-333)

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

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (Browns Ferry Nuclear Station Units 1, 2, & 3, Docket Nos 50-259,50-260,and50-296)

YERMONTYANKEENUCLEARPOWERCORP.(VermontYankeeNuclearPlant,DocketNo.50-271)

WASHINGTONPUBLICPOWERSUPPLYSYSTEM(WNPUnit2,DocketNo.50-397)

- - , - . -