ML20195J479
| ML20195J479 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Haddam Neck File:Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co icon.png |
| Issue date: | 11/19/1998 |
| From: | Zimmerman R NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | CONNECTICUT YANKEE ATOMIC POWER CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20195J363 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9811240306 | |
| Download: ML20195J479 (10) | |
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- i. 7509-01-P UNITED STATES OF AMERICA i NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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i in The Matter Of )
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CONNECTICUT YANKEE ATOMIC ) Docket No. 50 213 POWER COMPANY )
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(Haddam Neck Plant) )
EXEMPTION l l.
Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company is the holder of Facility Operating -
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License No. DPR-61, which authorizes the licensee to possess the Haddam Neck Plant l
(HNP). The license states, among other things, that the facility is subject to all the rules, i i
regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor !
I located at the licensee's site in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The facility is permanently l
shut down and defueled, and the licensee is no longer authorized to operate or place fuel in j the reactor. j 1
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Section 50.54(w) of 10 CFR Part 50 requires power reactor licensees to maintain onsite property damage insurance coverage in the amount of $1.06 billion.
Section 140.11(a)(4) of 10 CFR Part 140 requires a reactor with a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts or more to maintain liability insurance of $200 million and to ]
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, participate in a secondary insurance pool.
NRC may grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 of the i
regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), (1) are authorized by law, will not present i
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an undue risk to public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security and (2) present special circumstances. Special circumstances exist when l '
l application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying l
purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule (10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii)). The underlying purpose of Section 50.54(w) is to provide sufficient property damage insurance coverage to ensure funding for onsite post-accident i recovery stabilization and decontamination costs in the unlikely event of an accident at a nuclear power plant.
NRC may grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 140 of the l
l regulations which, pursuant to 10 CFR 140.8 are authorized by law and are otherwise in l the public interest. The underlying purpose of Section 140.11 is to provide sufficient
,, liability insurance to ensure funding for claims resulting from a nuclear incident or precautionary evacuation.
111.
On October 7, i997, the licensee requested exemption from the financial protection requirement limits of 10 CFR 50.54(w) and '10 CFR 140.11. The licensee l
requested that the amount of insurance coverage it must maintain be reduced to $50 million for onsite property damage and $100 million for offsite financial protection. The l
, licensee stated that special circumstances exist because of the permanently shutdown and l
r l~ defueled condition of HNP.
l l The financial protection limits of 10 CFR 50.54(w) and 10 CFR 140.11 were established to require a licensee to maintain sufficient insurance to cover the costs of a i a-
- nuclear accident at an operating reactor. Those costs were derived from the consequences
- of a release of radioactive material from the reactor. Although the risk of an accident at an i
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!+ 3-l operating reactor is very low, the consequences can be large, in an operating plant, the high temperature and pressure of the reactor coolant system, as well as the inventory of relatively short-lived radionuclides, contribute to both the risk and consequences of an accident. In a permanently shutdown and defueled reactor f acility, the reactor coolant system will never be operated and contains no short-lived radionuclides, which eliminates the possibility of reactor accidents. A further reduction in risk occurs because decay heat from the spent fuel decreases over time, which reduces the amount of cooling required to prevent the spent fuel from heating up to a temperature that could compromise the ability of the fuel cladding to retain fission products.
Along with the reduction in risk, the consequences of a release decline after a reactor permanently shuts down and defuels. The short-lived radionuclides contained in the spent fuel, particularly volatile components such as iodine and noble gases, decay away, thereby reducing the inventory of radioactive materials that are readily dispersible and transportable in air.
Although the risk and consequences of a radiological release decline substantially after a plant permanently defuels its reactor, they are not completely eliminated. There are potential onsite and offsite radiological consequences that could be associated with the onsite storage of the spent fuelin the spent fuel pool (SFP). In addition, a site may contain a radioactive inventory of liquid radwaste, activated reactor components, and contaminated structural materials. For purposes of modifying the amount of insurance coverage maintained by a power reactor licensee, the potential consequences, despite very low risk, are an appropriate consideration.
In order to determine the insurance coverage sufficient for a permanently defueled f acility, the cost of recovery from potential accident scenarios must be evaluated. At the
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- 4 HNP, spent fuelis the largest source term on the site. The spent fuelis stored in the SFP, which uses water to cool the fuel. By letter dated September 26,1997, the licensee submitted an analysis of the heatup characteristics of the spent fuelin the absence of SFP water inventory. The analysis was based on storing the fuelin a configuration consistent with the analysis. By letter dated December 18,1997, the licensee stated that, as of October 23,1997, the spent fuel assemblies had been rearranged within the SFP to comply with the configuration used for the heat up analysis. The licensee concluded that air ,
1 cooling of the fuel would be sufficient to maintain the integrity of the fuel cladding. The staff independently evaluated the licensee's conclusion and found it acceptable. The staff concluded that the cost of recovering from a loss of SFP water would be bounded by other accidents.
In SECY 96-256, " Changes to the Financial Protection Requirements for Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors,10 CFR 50.54(w) and 10 CFR 140.11,"
dated December 17,1996, the staff estimated the onsite cleanup costs of accidents considered to be the most costly at a permanently defueled site with spent fuel stored in the SFP. The staff found that the onsite recovery costs for a fuel handling accident could range up to $24 million. The estimated onsite cleanup costs to recover from the rupture of l a large liquid radwaste storage tank could range up to $50 million. The licensee's proposed level of $50 million for onsite property insurance is sufficient to cover these estimated cleanup, costs.
The offsite cleanup costs of the accident scenarios discussed above are estimated l to be negligible in SECY 96-256. However, a licensee's liability for offsite costs may be significant due to lawsuits alleging damages from offsite releases. Experience at Three Mile Island Unit 2 showed that significant judgements against a licensee can result despite l
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. 5 negligible dose consequences from an offsite release. An appropriate level of financial liability coverage is needed to account for potential judgements and settlements and to protect the Federal government from indemnity claims. The licensee's proposed level of
$100 million in primary offsite liability coverage is sufficient for this purpose, i
The staff has determined that participation in the secondary insurance pool for l . offsite financial protection is not required for a permanently shut down and defueled plant after the time that air cooling of the spent fuelis sufficient to maintain the integrity of the i
fuel cladding. As noted above, the staff finds that the HNP SFP meets this criterion.
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1 The NRC staff has completed its review of the licensee's request to reduce l
l financial protection limits to $50 million for onsite property insurance and $100 million for L offsite liability insurance. On the basis of its review, the NRC staff finds that the spent l fuel stored in HNP's SFP is no longer susceptible to rapid Zircaloy oxidation. The requested l
reductions are consistent with SECY-96-256, " Changes to the Financial Protection L Requirements for Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors,10 CFR 50.54(w) and 10 CFR 140.11," dated December 17,1996. The Commission informed the staff by a l staff requirements memo dated January 28,1997, that it did not object to the insurance reductions recommended in SECY 96-256. The licensee's proposed financial protection limits will provide sufficient insurance to recover from limiting hypothetical events, if they occur. Thus, the underlying purposes of the regulations will not be adversely affected by i
.the reductions in insurance coverage.
Accordingly,' the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), an exemption to reduce onsite property insurance to $50 million is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with
.. 6 Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), an exemption to reduce onsite property insurance to $50 million is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Further, special circumstances are present, as set forth in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii). Therefore the Commission hereby grants an exemption from the requirement of 10 CFR 50.54(w).
In addition, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 140.8, an exemption to reduce primary offsite liability insurance to $100 million, accompanied by withdrawal from the secondary insurance pool for offsite liability insurance, is authorized by law and is in the public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 140.11(a){4).
'ursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of these exemptions will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (63 FR 50929).
These exemptions are effective upon issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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Roy P. Zibmerman, Acting Director
\ Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of November 1998.
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p 2 j NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20666-0001 Docket No.: 50-213 AMENDMENT TO INDEMNITY AGREEMENT NO. B-32 AMENDMENT NO.16 Effective Nov 19, 1998, indemnity Agreement No.B-32 between Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company and the Atomic Energy Commission, dated September 28,1966, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows:
Item 2a of the Attachment to the indemnity agreement is deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted therefore:
ltem 2- Amount of financial protection
- a. $1,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., September 28,1966, to 12 midnight, June 29,1967, inclusive)
$74,000.000 (From 12:01 a.m., June 30,1967, to 12 midnight, January 31,1969, inclusive)
$82,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., February 1,1969, to 12 midnight, February 29,1972, inclusive)
$95,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 1972, to 12 midnight, February 28,1974, inclusive)
$110,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 1,1974, to 12 midnight, March 20,1975, inclusive)
$125,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 21,1975, to 12 midnight, April 30,1977, inclusive)
$ 140,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., May 1,1977, to )
12 midnight, April 30,1979, inclusive)
$160,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., May 1,1979, to 12 midnight, June 30,1989) l l
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$200,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., July 1,1989, to 12 midnight, Nov. 19, 1998 inclusive) l $100,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., Nov 19,1998 )
L FOR THE UNITED STATES NUCLtEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 0
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Thomas H. Essig, Acting Chief GL Generic issues and Environmental Projects Branch Division of Reactor Regulation Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
' Accepted ,1998
'By Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company
- and, as of August 1,1977, the amount r silable as secondary financial protection .
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j NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20656-0001
% c Docket No.: 50-213 AMENDMENT TO INDEMNITY AGREEMENT NO. B-32 AMENDMENT NO.16 Effective Nov 19, 1998, indemnity Agreement No.B-32 between Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company and the Atomic Energy Commission, dated September 28,1966, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows:
Item 2a of the Attachment to the indemnity agreement is deleted in its entirety and the following is substituted therefore:
Item 2- Amount of financial protection
- a. $1,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., September 28,1966, to 12 midnight, June 29,1967, inclusive)
$74,000.000 (From 12:01 a.m., June 30,1967, to 12 midnight, January 31,1969, inclusive)
$82,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., February 1,1969, to 12 midnight, February 29,1972, inclusive)
$95,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 1972, to 12 midnight, February 28,1974, inclusive)
$110,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 1,1974, to 12 midnight, March 20,1975, inclusive)
$125,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., March 21,1975, to 12 midnight, April 30,1977, inclusive)
$ 140,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., May 1,1977, to 12 midnight, April 30,1979, inclusive)
$160,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., May 1,1979, to 12 midnight, June 30,1989)
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$200,000,000* (From 12:01 a.m., July 1,1989, to 12 midnight, Nov. 19, 1998 inclusive)
$100,000,000 (From 12:01 a.m., Nov 19, 1998)
FOR THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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f Thomas H. Essig, Acting Chief fn Generic issues and Environmental Projects Branch Division of Reactor Regulation Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Accepted ,1998 By Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company
- and, as of August 1,1977, the amount available as secondary financial protection I
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