ML20210D575

Requests That WCAP-13362, Westinghouse Fast Neutron Exposure Methodology of Pressure Vessel Fluence Determination & Dosimetry Evaluation Be Withheld (Ref 10CFR.2.790)

ML20210D575
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	05/29/1992
From:	Liparulo N WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC COMPANY, DIV OF CBS CORP.
To:	Murley T NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
Shared Package
ML18058A517	List: ML20210D575
References
CAW-92-311, NUDOCS 9206160352
Download: ML20210D575 (14)

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May 29,1992

CAW 92 311- 7

l. Document Control Desk US Nuclear Regulatory Commission l

l Washington, DC 20555 .

+h Attention: Dr. Thomas Murley, Director l APPLICATION FOR WITHHOLDING PROPRIETARY -

INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE -

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Subject:

WCAP 13362, ' Westinghouse Fast Neutron Exposure Methodology for Pressure Vessel Fluence Determination and Dosimetry Evaluation"-(Proprietary) .

Dear Dr. Murley:

The proprietary information for which withholding is being requested in the above referenced -

letter is further identified in Affidavit CAW 92-311 signed by the owner of the proprietary information, Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The affidavit, which accompanies this letter, sets forth the basis on which the information may be withheld from public disclosure by the Commission and addresses with specificity the considerations listed in paragraph (b)(4) of -

10 CFR Section 2,790 of the Commission's regulations.

Accordingly, this letter authorizes the utilization of the accompanying Affidavit by Consumers Power Company, l Correspondence with respect to the proprietary aspects of the application for withholding or L the Westinghouse affidavit should reference this letter,' CAW 92 311,' and should be.-

addressed to the undersigned.

. Very truly yours,.-

' N.) ipa lo', Manager Enclosures Nuclear Safety & Regulatory Actvities -

cc: M. P. Siemien, Esq.

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CAW-92 311 AFFIDAVIT COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA:

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COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY: ,

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Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared Nicholas J. Liparuto, who, being by me duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he is authorized to execute this Affidavit on behalf of Westinghouse Electric Corporation (" Westinghouse") and that the averments of fact set forth in this Affidavit are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief:

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Nicholas L Liparuto, Manager Nuclear Safety and Regulatory Activities Sworn to and subscribed before me this I d- day of 9 tout - ,1992 46 N.

Notary Public w seal -

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j 2- . CAW 92-311 s .-

I (1) I am Manager, Nuclear Safety and Regulator) Activities, in the Nuclear and Advanced Technology Division, of the Westinghouse Electric Corporat'.on and as such, I have been l

i specifically delegated the function of reviewing ti,e proprietary information sought to be withheld from public disclosure in connection with nuclear power plant licensing and f rulemaking proceedings, and am authorized to apply for its withholding on behalf of the i Westinghouse Energy Systems Business Unit.

l (2) I am making this Af6 davit in conformance with the provisions of 10CFR Section 2,790 of the l

- Conunission's regulations and in conjunction with the Westinghouse application for withholding accompanying this Af6 davit, l (3) I have personal knowledge of the criteria and procedures utilized by the Westinghouse Energy

Systems Business Unit in designating information as a trade secret, privileged or as conndential commercial or financial information.

(4) Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b)(4) of Section 2,790 of the Commission's .

regulations, the following is furnished for consideration by the Commission in determining whether the information sought to be withheld from public disclosure should be withheld.

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(i) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned and has been held in con 6dence by Westinghouse, (ii) The information is of a type customarily held in confidence by Westinghouse and not customarily disclosed to the public. Westinghouse has a rational basis for determining the types af information customarily held in confidence by it and, in that connection, utilizes a system to determine when and whether to hold certain types of information in confidence. 'Ihe application of dat system and the substance of that system constitutes Westinghouse policy and provides the rational basis required.

Under that system, information is held in confidence if it falls ;in one or more of several types, the release of which might result in the loss of an existing or potential-competitive advantage, as follows:

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CAW-92 31.1 (a) The information reveals the distinguishing aspects of a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.) where prevention of its use by any of Westinghouse's competitors without license from Westinghouse constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies.

(b) It consists of supporting data, including test data, relative to a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.), the application of which data secures a competitive economic advantage, e.g., by optimizauion or imprs red marketability.

(c) Its use 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 a similar product.

(d) It reveals cost or price information, production capacities, budget levels, or commercial strategies of Westinghouse, its customers or suppliers.

! (e) It reveals aspects of past, present, or future Westinghouse or customer funded development plans and programs of potential commercial value to Westingho e e.

(f) It contains patentable ideas, for which patent protection may be desirable.

! There are sound policy reasons behind the_ Westinghouse system which include the l

l following:

(a) The use of such information by Westinghouse gives Westinghouse a competitive advantage over its competitors. It is, therefore, withheld from disclosure to protect the Westinghouse competitive position.

(b) -It is information which is marketable in many ways. The extent to which such information is available to competitors diminishes the Westinghouse ability to sell products and services involving the use of the information.

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- CAW-92 311 '

6 (c) Use by our competitor would put Westinghouse at a competitive disadvantage by reducing his expenditute of resources at our expense.

(d) Each component of proprietary information pertinent to a particular comaetitive advantage is potentially as valuable as the total competitive advantage. If competitors acquire components of proprietary information, any j one component may be the key to the entire puzzle, thereby depriving l

Westinghouse of a competitive advantage, j (e) Unrestricted disclosure would jeopardize the position of prominence of l Westinghouse in the world market, and thereby give a market advantage to the i

competition of those countries.

l l (f) The Westinghouse capacity to invest corporate assets in research and development depends upon the success in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage.

(iii) The information is being transmitted to the Commission in confidence and, under the provisions of 10CFR Section 2.790, it is to be received in confidence by the Commission.

(iv) The information sought to be protected is not available in public sources or available information has not been previously employed in the same original manner or method ,

to the best of our knowledge and belief.

l (v) The proprietary information sought.to '.,e withheld in this submittal is that which is appropriately marked in Westinghouse Fast Neutron Exposure Methodology for Pressure Vessel Fluence Determination and Dosimetry Evaluation, WCAP 13362 (Proprietary), May,1992 for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, being transmitted by the Consumers Power Company letter and Application for Withholding Proprietary Information from Public Disclosure, Mr. G. B. Slade, Plant Manager, to the NRC Document Control Desk. The proprietary information as submitted for use by Consumers Power Company for the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant is expected to be applicable in other licensee submittals in response to certain NRC requirements for ouwu own .

5- CAW 92 311 justification of the definition of fast neutron exposure levels at depths within the vessel wall equal to 25 and 75 percent of the wall thickness.

This it' formation is part of that which will enable Westinghouse to:

(a) Accurately evaluate the neutron exposure of the materials comprising the beltline region of the reactor vessel.

(b) Establish the uns;ertainties associated with fast neutron exposure projections.

(c) Benchmark the analytical approach by comparison with power reactor

! surveillance data.

Further this information has substantial commercial value as follows:

(a) Westinghouse plans to sell the use of similar information to its customers for purposes of meeting NRC requirements for licensing documeitation.

3-(b) Westinghouse can sell support and defense of the technology to its customers.

Public disclosure of this proprietary information is likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of Westinghouse because it would enhance the ability of _

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. competitors to provide similar technical information and licensing defense services for commercial power reactors without commensurate expenses . Also, public disclosure of the information would enable others to use the information to meet-NRC requirements for licensing documentation without purchasing the right to use the information.

The development of the technology described in part by the information is the result i

of applying the results of many years of experience in an intensive Westinghouse.

effort and the expenditure of a considerable sum of money.

'In order for competitors of Westinghouse to duplicate this information, similar

! technical programs would have to be performed and'a significant manpower effort, _

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4 having the requisite talent and experience, would have to be expended for the development and analysis of similar methodology.-

Further the deponent saye'th not, i h

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Copyright Notice l

The rvports trar,smitted herewith each bear a Westinghouse copyright notice, The NRC is

! permitted to make the number of copies of the information contained in these reports which are necessary for its internal use in connection with generic and plant specific reviews and approvals as well as the issuance, denial, amendment, transfer, renewal, modification.

l suspension, revocation, or violation of a license, permit, order, or regulation subject to the-requirements of 10 CFR 2.700 regarding restrictions on public disclosure to the extent such information has been identified as proprietary by Westinghouse. copyright protection j notwithstanding. With respect to the non proprietary versions of these reports, the NRC is permitted to make the number of copies beyond those necassary for its internal use wh' h u,e necessary in order to have one copy available for public viewing in the:appropriete docket files in the public document room in Washington, DC and in local public documcat rooms as may be required by NRC regulations if the number of copies submitted is

! insufficient for this purpose. The NRC is not authorized to make copies for the personal use of members of the public who make use of the NRC public document rooms. Copies made by the NRC must include the copyright notice in allinstances and the proprietary notice if the original was identified as proprietary.

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- Proprietary Information Notice Transmitted herewith are proprietary and/or non proprietary vorsions of documents furnished -

to the NRC in connection with requeste for generic and/or plat.t specific review and approvalc .

j in order to conform to the requirements of 10 CFR 2.790 of the Commission's regulations--

concerning the protection of proprietary information so submitted to the NRC, the information ,

which is proprietary in the proprietary versions is contained within brackets,' and where the proprietary information has been deleted in the non proprietary versions, only the brackets .

remain (the information that-was contained within the brackets in the proprietary versions i

-i having been deleted). The justification for-claiming the_information so designated as' proprietary is indicated in both versions by means 'of lower case letters (a) through.(g)L -

contained within parentheses located as a superscript immediately following the brackets -

enclosing each item of information_being identified as proprietary or in the margin opposite; such information. These lower case letters refer to the types of information Westinghouse customarily holds in confidence identified in Sections (4)(ii)(a) through (4)(ii)(g) of the affidavit accompanying this transmittal pursuant to 10 CFR_2.790(b)(1).

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AFFIDAVIT PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 2.790 Combustion Engineering, Inc. )

State of Connecticut )

County of Hartford ) SS.:

I, S. A. Toolle, depose and say that I am the Manager, Nuclear Licensing, of Combustion Engineering, Inc., duly authorized to make this affidavit, and have reviewed or cauced to have reviewed the information which is identified as proprietary and referenced in the paragraph immediately below. I am submitting this affidavit in conformance with the provisions of 10 CFR 2.790 of the Commission's regulations in conjunction with Consumers Power Company for withholding this information.

The information for which proprietary treatment is sought is contained in the following document:

Projected RTns for the Palisades Reactor Vessel Beltline Materials, May 1992.

This document has been appropriately designated as proprietary.

I have personal knowledge of the criteria and procedures L utilized by Combustion Engineering in designating information as a I

trade secret, privileged or as confidential commercial or financial information.

Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b). (4) of Section-2.790 of the commission's regulations, the following is furnished for consideration by the Commission in determining whether the

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.t information sought to be withheld from public disclosure, included in the above referenced document, should be withheld.

1. The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure, which is owned and has been held in confidence by Combustion Engineering, is the fabrication process for reactor vessel welds.

2.

The information consists of test data or other similar data concerning a process, method or component, the application of which results in substantial competitive advantage to combustion Engineering.

3.

The information is of a type customarily held in confidence by Combustion Engineering and not customarily disclosed to the public. Combustion Engineering has a rational basis for determining the types of information customarily held in confidence by it and, in that connection, utilizes a system-to determine when and whether to hold certain types of information in confidence. The details of the aforementioned system were provided to the Nuclear Regulatory Com.'ssion via letter DP-537 from F. M. Stern to Frank Schroeder dated December 2,. 1974.

This system was applied in determining that the subject document-herein is proprietary.

, 4. The information is being transmitted to the commission in confidence under the provisions of 10 CFR 2.790 with the understanding that it is to be received in confidence by.the Commission.

5. The information, to the best of my knowledge and belief, is not available in public sources, and any disclosure to third parties has been made pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in.

confidence.

6. Public disclosure of the information is likely to cause '

substantial harm to the competitive position of. Combustion Engineering because:

a. A similar product is manufactured and sold by major pressurized water reactor competitors of Combustion Engineering,

b. Development of this information by C-E required thousands of manhours and hundreds of thousands of dollars. To the best of my knowledge and belief, a competitor would have to undergo similar expense in generating equivalent information,

c. In order to acquire such information, a competitor would also require considerable time- and -inconvenience to determine the proper fabrication process for reactor vessel welds.

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d. The information required significant effort and expense to obtain the licensing approvals necessary for application of the information. Avoidance of this expense would decrease a competitor's cost in applying the .information and marketing the product to which the information is applicable,

e. The information consists of the fabrication process for reactor vessel welds, the application of which provides a competitive economic advantage. The availability of such information to competitors would enable them - to modify their product to better compete with Combustion Engineering, take marketing or other actions to improve

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their product's position or impair the position of Combustion Engineering's product, and avoid developing similar data and analyses =in support of their processes, methods or apparatus,

f. In pricing Combustion Engineering's products and services, significant research, development, engineering, analytical, manufacturing, licensing, quality assurance and other costs and expenses must be included. The ability of Combustion Engineering's competitors to utilize such information without similar expenditure of resources may enable them to sell at prices reflecting significantly lower costs.

g. Use of the information by competitors in the-international marketplace would increase their ability to market nuclear steam supply systems by reducing the costs associated with

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, their technology- development. In addition, - disclosure would have an adverse economic impact on Combustion Engineering'9 potential for obtaining or maintaining-foreign licensees.

Further the deponent sayeth not.

A S. A. I S. A. Toel'le Manager Nuclear Licensing Sworntopeforemeday this -O d ofk]Av C

, 1992 8'

[ No lumary Pubi{c

> bt J My commission expires: 3!3/ 9

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