ML20205M824

Testimony of Kj Green Re Intervenor Rorem QA Subcontention 8.B Concerning Vulkene Wire.Related Correspondence

ML20205M824
Person / Time
Site:	Braidwood
Issue date:	04/11/1986
From:	Kimberly Green COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO., SARGENT & LUNDY, INC.
To:
Shared Package
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References
OL, NUDOCS 8604150390
Download: ML20205M824 (5)

Text

e At.l dt.U w.ut:.aunucrag April 11, 1986 i

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 00CMETED.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION USNRC BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD oo art 14 P2:15 In the Matter of ) 0FFICE Or Eci. .,s

) 00CMLTING A sav'U.

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY ) Docket Nos. 50-4)gANCH

) 50-457 (Braidwood Station Units 1 and 2) )

TESTIMONY OF KENNETH J. GREEN (ON ROREM Q.A. SUBCONTENTION 8.B)

(vulkene Wire)

Q.l. Please state your full name for the record.

A.l. Kenneth J. Green.

Q.2. Who is your employer and what is your occupation?

A.2. I am employed by Sargent & Lundy (S&L) as Project Manager for the Byron-2 Project. I have been employed by S&L since July 1976. My former position with S&L was Mechanical )

Project Engineer for Byron and Braidwood.

Q.3. What are your responsibilities with respect to the Braidwood Project?

l l A.3. Byron-2 is now the lead design plant for the Byron /

l Braidwood Stations. In my position as Project Manager and my former position as Project Engineer, I have, along with I

other responsibilities, overall responsibility for the 8604150390 e60411 PDR ADOCK 05000456 T PDR ,

Equipment Qualification Program.which is generic to both Byron and Braidwood.

• Q.4. Please state your educational background and professional experience.

A.4. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Old Dominion University. I have fourteen years experience in nuclear power design. This experience includes heat transfer, fluid flow, thermodynamics, shielding and radiological effects, safety systems analysis and design, and project management. I am a registered Professional Engineer in Illinois.

i 0.5. What is the purpose of your testimony?

1 A.5. My testimony explaint the basis for determining harsh '

environmental areas for the environmental qualification of switchboard wire used at Braidwood Station.

Q.6. What is a " harsh environment" as that term is used in the testimony of Messrs. Thorsell and Gieseker?

A.6. Areas of the Braidwood plant are identified as harsh environments if they are predicted to experience significantly more severe conditions from a postulated

accident than the normal conditions existing in those areas for routine operation.

0.7. Why is the consideration of harsh environments necessary in the design of Braidwood?

A.7. Certain materials, such as switchboard wire, are used in safety-related components and they may be degraded if exposed to high levels of temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation or chemical sprays. If this exposure occurs as a result of a design basis accident, there may be a potential for component failure because of material degradation which would then be a direct result of the initiating event.

Such failures could possibly violate the NRC's single failure criteria.

Q.8. How are plant areas at Braidwood that are potentially subject to harsh environments identified?

A.8. When design basis accidents nre evaluated, an assessment of the resulting environmental conditions and the areas affected is included in the evaluation. These conditions are tabulated and compared with the conditions anticipated in these areas during normal operation. If the environ-mental conditions calculated to result from design basis accidents are significantly more severe, the area is identified as a harsh environment. Safety-related

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equipment required to function after the postulated event is then qualified for the conditions.

0.9. How is the term "significantly more severe" quantified?

A.9. Generally, changes in environmental parameters resulting from design basis accidents are evaluated for significance on the basis of informed engineering judgment. For example, the Braidwood Safety Valve Rooms experience a significant change in temperature following a steam line break in the area. The temperature changes from a normal maximum of 122*F to temperatures greater than 300*F.

However, with respect to radiation exposure, a significantly more severe environmental condition is established whenever the radiation exposure at the location 4

of interest will exceed 1 x 10 rads.

Q.10. What is the basis for establishing 1 x 10 4 rads as the demarcation between harsh and non-harsh environments?

A.10. Many materials exhibit degraded properties after a cumulative radiation exposure. The exposure necessary to cause noticeable damage varies greatly depending upon the material. Wyle Laboratories has compiled an extensive data bank of the environmental effects on various materials.

This includes the effect of radiation on material l

properties. This data shows that most materials degrade, if at all, at much higher radiation levels than 1 x 10 4 .

However, 1 x 10 4 has been chosen as a conservative threshold above which the effects of radiation on materials should be evaluated.

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