ML20210R727
| ML20210R727 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07001113 |
| Issue date: | 08/13/1999 |
| From: | Vaughan C GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20138A449 | List: |
| References | |
| CMV-99-039, NUDOCS 9908170199 | |
| Download: ML20210R727 (7) | |
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GE Nuclear Energy Generawcewt coiw, l'O Bux 7WJ Wimmytm NC2S402 910 E75 5210 August 13,1999 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555-0001
Dear Sir:
Subject:
General Electric Company Proprietary Information
Reference:
Docket 70-1113, SNM-1097 This letter contains General Electric Company Proprietary Information.
This letter is a written application to withhold the following specific information from the public, given to NRC inspector, Mr. Al Gooden during Inspection 99-05 at our facility.
The following information sought to be withheld is considered proprietary by GE as indicated in the attached affidavit (Attachment 1), and we hereby request that it be withheld from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of 10CFR2.790. contains the following documents:
- 1. GE Wilmington Practices and Procedures 40-22, Revision 10," Respiratory Protection Program", Dated 12/9/98
- 2. Safety Manual Procedure E-02, " Respiratory Protection", Dated 10/2/98
- 3. Nuclear Safety Instruction 0-1.0, Revision 30, " Respiratory Protection - Training and Fitting", dated 12/21/98 If you have any questions concerning this application, please call me at (910) 675-5656.
Sincerely, GE NUCLEAR ENERGY
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C.M.Vaughan Manager Facility Licensing 1
Attachments
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cc: CMV-99-039 9908170199 990813 PDR ADOCK 07001113
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0 Docum:nt Control Desk August 13,1999 Page 1 of 1 1
1 Affidavit of Proprietary Information l
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1 Docum:nt Control D:sk i
August 13,1999 Page 1 of 4 1
l GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY i
[G._E,1 AFFIDAVIT i
I, Glen A. Watford, being duly sworn, depose and state as follows:
1 (1)
I am the Manager, Nuclear Fuel Engineering, at the GE Nuclear Energy Production facility in Wilmington, N.C., and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph 2 which is sought to be w thheld, and have been authorized to apply i
for its withholding.
(2)
The information sought to be withheld is contained in our GE Wilmington Practices and Procedures, Safety Manual and Nuclear Safety Instructions. These documents have been identified as " GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY PROPRIETARY INFORMATION" and are attached to this transmittal as Attachment 2.
(3) in making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner, l
GE relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information act
("FOIA"),5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act,18 USC Sec.1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4) and 2.790(a)(4) for " trade secrets and commercial or l
financialinformation obtained from a person and privileged or confidential"(Exemption 4).
I The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought is all" confidential commercial information", and some portions also qualify under the narrower definition of
" trade secret", within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Enerav Project v. Nuclear Reaulatorv j
Commission. 975F2d871 (DC Cir.1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v.
FDA. 704F2d1280 (DC Cir.1983).
I (4)
Some examples of categories of information which fit intn the definition of proprietary information are:
a.
Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by General Electric's competitors without license from General Electric constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies; b.
Information whic h, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of resources or impove his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, instaUation, assurence of quality, or licensing of a similar product;
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' Docum:nt Control D;sk
. August 13,1999 Page 2 of 4 Information which reveals cost or price information, production capacities, c.
budget levels, or commercial strategies of General Electric, its customers, or its suppliers; d.
Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future General Electric customer-funded development plans and programs, of potential commercial value to General Electric; 1
Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be J
e.
desirable to obtain patent protection.
The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraph (4)b., above.
(5)
The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to the NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GE, and is in fact so held. Its initial designation as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in (6) and (7) following. The irJormation sought to be withheld has to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GE, no public disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties including any required transmit *als to the NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence.
(6)
Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in re!ction to industry knowledge. Access to such documents within GE is limited on a "need to know" basis.
(7)
The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist or other equivalent authority, by the manager of the cognizant marketing function (or his delegate), and by the Legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GE are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory l
provisions or proprietary agreements.
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Cocument Control D:sk r.ugust 13,1999 Page 3 of 4 1
1 (8)
The information identified in paragraph (2) is classified as proprietary because these procedure.s have been developed at considerable expense to GE and that discloses proprietary information about our activities.
The development of the procedures along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GE asset.
(9)
Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GE's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GE's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost. The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process. In addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.
The research, development, engineering, analytical, and NRC review costs comprise a substantialinvestment of time and money by GE.
The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial.
GE's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GE experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.
The value of this information to GE would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GE of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in development of these very valuable analytical tools.
p-w Docum:nt Control Desk August 13,1999 Page 4 of 4 l
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
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COUNTY OF NEW HANOVER
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Glen A. Watford, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
- That he has read the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief.
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Executed at Wilmington, North Carolina, this 13th day of August,1999.
Ab
' Glen A. V$nford General Electric Company
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Subscribed and swom before me this 13th day of August,1999.
Yt WMU Notaryfublic, Slate of North Carolina My commission expires:
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- Docum:nt Control Desk l-August 13,1999 -
Page 1 of 1
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egachment 2 1.'
GE Wilmington Practices and Procedures 40-22, Revision 10," Respiratory Protection Program", Dated 12/9/98 I
2.
Safety Manual Procedure E-02, " Respiratory Protection", Dated 10/2/98 3.
Nuclear Safety Instruction 0-1.0, Revision 30, " Respiratory Protection - Training and Fitting",
dated 12/21/98 I
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