ML20210Q249

Confirmatory Order Modifying License Effective Immediately. Order Confirms Gpu Nuclear,Inc Commitment as Stated in 990602,to Complete Implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 Fire Barriers Corrective Actions by 000630

ML20210Q249
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	08/11/1999
From:	Kane W NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP.
Shared Package
ML20210Q253	List: ML20210Q249
References
GL-92-08, NUDOCS 9908130193
Download: ML20210Q249 (5)

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7590-01-P i

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION in the Matter of

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GPU NUCLEAR INC., et al.

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Docket No. 50-289

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(Three Mile Island Nuclear Station,

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Unit 1)

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l CONFlRMATORY ORDER MODIFYING LICENSE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY l.

GPU Nuclear Inc. (GPUN or the Licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License No. DRP-50, which authorizes operation of Three Mile Island Nuclear StatioA Unit 1 located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

II.

The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissior, (NRC) has been concerned that i

i Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier systems installed by !;censees may not provide the level of fire i

endurance intended and that licensees using Thermo-Lag 3301 fire barriers may not be meeting regulatoiy requirements. During the time period 1992 - 1994, the NRC staff issued i

Generic Letter (GL) 92-08, "Thermo-Lag 330-1 Fire Barriers," and subsequent requests for I

additionalinformation that asked licensees to submit plans and schedules for resolving the I

Thermo-Lag issue. The NRC staff has obtained and reviewed corrective plans and schedules i

from alllicensees. The staff is concerned that some licensees may not be making adequate progress toward resolving the plant-specific issues, and that snme implementation schedules may be either too tenuous or too protracted. For example, several licensees informed the NRC i

9908130193 990811 PDR ADOCK 05000289 i

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g 4 staff that their completion dates would be delayed between 6 months and 3 year.. We NRe-staff has met with licensees of plots that have scheduled completion beyond 199

.o Jiscuss the progress of the licensees' corrective actions and the extent of licensee management attention regarding completion of Thermo-Lag corrective actions. In addition, the NRC staff discussed with licensees the possibility of accelerating their completion schedules.

At the meeting with GPUN, NRC staff reviewed the schedule of Thermo-Lag corrective actions described in the eight GPUN submittals to the NRC dated February 10, and December 5,1994; July 7,1995; August 16, November 5, and December 31,1996; and August 19, and November 23,1997, to complete implementation ci Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barriers corrective actions by December 31,1999, except for those corrective actions tnat were

. the subject of a pending exemption request dated December 31,1996, and supplemented by three letters dated July 31, September 8, and December 30,1997. On the basis of the information submitted by GPUN and presented during the meeting, t,he NRC staff concluded that the GPUN schedule was reasonable and issued a Confirmatory Order Modifying License on May 22,1998, with regard to that schedule.

Subsequently, the NRC staff denied portions of the Licensee's exemption request of December 31,1996, and the Licensee has commited in its letter of June 2,1999, to complete a'dditional Thermo-Lag corrective actions in areas which were the subject of those parts of the exemption request that was denied by June 30,2000. The staff has concluded that this schedule is reasonable. This concludon is based on (1) the amount of installed Thermo-La0 (2) the complexity of the plant-specific fire barrier configurations and issues, (3) the need to perform certain plant modifications during outages as opposed to those that can be performed while the plant is at power, and (4) integration with other significant but unrelated issues that GPUN is addressing at its plant. In order to remove compensatory measures such as fire watches, it has been determined that resolution of all Thermo-Lag corrective actions by GPUN

3-l must be completed by June 30,2000. By letter dated June 21,1999, the NRC staff notified GPUN of its plan to incorporate GPUN's schedule commitment with regcrd to issues which were the subject of the exemption request intn a requirement by issuance of an order and l

' requested consent from the Licensee. By letter dated July 1,1999, the Licensee consented to issuance of a Confirmatory Order.

Ill.

The Licensee's commitment as stated in its letter of July 1,1999, is acceptable and is necessary for the NRC to conclude that public health and safety are reasonab!y assured. To preclude any schedule delay and to assure public health and safety, the NRC staff has determined that the Licensee's commitment in its July 1,1999, letter be confirmed by this Order. The Licensee has agreed to this action. On this basis, and on the basis of the Licensee's consent, this Order is immediately effective upon issuance.

IV.

Accordingly, pursuant to sections 103,161b,161i,1610,182, and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, IT IS HEREb r~ ORDERED, effective imrnediately, that:

GPU Nuclear, Inc., et al. shall complete final implementation of Thermo-Lag 330-1 fire barrier corrective actions at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1, described in the GPU Nuclear, Inc.,

submittal to the NRC dated June 2,1999, by June 30,2000.

The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may relax or rescind, in writing, any provisions of this Confirmatory Order upon a showing by the Licensee of good cause.

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Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. Any request for a hearing must be submitted to the Secretary, U.S.

l Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attention: Chief, Rulemaking and AdiL1ications Staff, l

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Copies of the hearing request must also be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commulon, Washington, D. C. 20555-0001, to the Assistant General Counsel Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,475 Allendale Road., King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415, and to the j

Licensee, Mr. James W. Langenbach, Vice President and Director-TMl-1, GPU Nuclear, Inc.,

P.O. Box 460, Middletown, PA 17057. If such a person requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his/her interest is adversely affected by this Order and must address criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).

l If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission willissue an Order designating the time and place of any such hearing. If a

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hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be sustained.

1 in the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in

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i which to request a hearing, the provisions specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days j

l from the date of this Order without further Order or proceedings. If an extension of time for

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O requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this Order.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this ///I day of[lu [ 1999.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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d illiam F. Kanel cting Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation i