ML20236B075

Application for Amends to Licenses NPF-35 & NPF-52,changing Tech Specs to Increase Amount of Time That Containment Air Release & Addition Sys Valves May Be Open.Fee Paid

ML20236B075
Person / Time
Site:	Catawba
Issue date:	10/14/1987
From:	Tucker H DUKE POWER CO.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION & RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (ARM)
Shared Package
ML20236B079	List: ML20236B075 ML20236B089
References
NUDOCS 8710230330
Download: ML20236B075 (5)

Text

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~ DUKE POWER GOMI%NY P.O. BOX 33180 ORARLOTTE, N.o. 28242

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HAL D. TUCKER.

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October'14, 1987 1

.U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention:' Document. Control Desk Washington, D. C. 20555

Subject:

Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-413 and 50-414 Technical Specification' Amendment

-Containment Air Release and Addition (VQ) System Dea'r Sir:

This letter contains a proposed amendment to the Technical Specifications for Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-35 and NPF-52 for Catawba Units l'and 2.

The attachment: request' involves increasing the amount of. time from 2000 hours0.0231 days <br />0.556 hours <br />0.00331 weeks <br />7.61e-4 months <br /> per calendar to 3000 hours0.0347 days <br />0.833 hours <br />0.00496 weeks <br />0.00114 months <br /> in which the VQ valves may be opened. The present limit

of 2000 hours0.0231 days <br />0.556 hours <br />0.00331 weeks <br />7.61e-4 months <br /> will be achieved prior.to the end of this year, therefore, a timely

' review of this proposal is requested.

The attachment contains'the proposed change and a discussion of the justification and. safety analysis. -The analysis is included pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91 and it

' has been concluded that the proposed amendment does not involve significant hazards considerations.

This proposal involves one amendment request to Catawba's Technical Specifications. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 170.21 a check for $150.00 is enclosed.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91 (b) (1) the appropriate South Carolina State Official is l

being provided a copy of this amendment request.

Very truly yours i

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'Hal B. Tucker 8710230330 871014 PDR ADOCK 05000413 L

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xes: 'Dr.JJi Nelson Grace, Regional. Administrator

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- Atlanta,.. Georgia :30323 Lj Mr. Heyward_Shealy, Chief-l LBureau of Radiological; Health 40 South Carolina Department of; Health'&

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Mr. - P. K. Van LDoorn

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' Oct'obe r. 14, 1987 Page.Three l

HAL B. TUCKER,'being duly sworn, states that he is Vice President of Duke Power

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Company; that he is authorized on the part of said Company to sign and file with l

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-the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this revision to the Catawba Nuclear Station Technical Specifications, Appendix A to License'No. NPF-35 and NPF-52; and that l

.all statements-and matters set forth therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge.

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W llal B. Tucker, Vice President j

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. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th. day of October, 1987.

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o JUSTIFICATION AND DISCUSSION OF NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION The proposed change to Technical Specification 3.6.1.9 would increase the limit placed on the amount of time the Containment Air Release and Addition (VQ) System valves may be open during a calendar year. The current limit of 2000 hours0.0231 days <br />0.556 hours <br />0.00331 weeks <br />7.61e-4 months <br /> per calendar year would be raised to 3000 hours0.0347 days <br />0.833 hours <br />0.00496 weeks <br />0.00114 months <br /> per calendar year.

The Technical Specification's Bases state that the current limit was based on

".. anticipated need and operating experience".

The experience at Catawba Unit 1 is that the need to open these valves is quickly approaching the 2000-hour limit.

Unit 1 is scheduled to go into a refueling outage during the first week of October, 1987.

During the outage Specification 3.6.1.9 is not applicable.

This outage is scheduled to be completed, and the unit brought back to power operation during the last week in November.

It is anticipated that the 2000 hour0.0231 days <br />0.556 hours <br />0.00331 weeks <br />7.61e-4 months <br /> limit will be reached during the month of December.

The Bases also state that "Only safety-related reasons, e.g., containment pressure control... may be used to support the additional time requests". The VQ System is used to maintain containment pressure within the limits of Technical Specification 3/4.6.1.4 during normal plant operation.

Containment pressure increase may result from heatup of the containment atmosphere during start-up, leakage of air supplied to control and other air operated valves, or Nitrogen or Breathing Air System leakage.

Containment pressure decrease may result from overcooling during a unit shutdown.

An alarm is set off in the control room when the pressure inside the Containment has decreased to a set v;1ue. Air is purged into the Auxiliary Building if the valve were accidentally opened when the pressure inside the containment is positive.

Containment pressure fluctuations due to postulated accidents are mitigated by safety related systems other than the Containment Air Release and Addition System.

Isolation valves are located both inside and outside of the Containment on each containment penetration. These valves receive emergency diesel power with the valve inside the containment receiving power from a different train diesel than the valve outside the containment, and will close on a engineered safety feature (ESF) signal. The purge flow rate and Containment isolation valve closure time will limit the amount of Containment air escaping to the atmosphere if there is concurrent air release and loss of coolant accident so that the release is within the limits of 10 CFR 100. Since these valves are assumed to be open at the onset of an accident, relaxing the restriction on the amount of time they may be open will have no affect on the accident analysis.

Filters are provided on the air release lines to remove radioactive iodines and other radioactive particulate prior to discharge to the atmosphere.

The VQ valves have shown to be highly reliable and leak tight.

As discussed in the Duke Power Company letter to the NRC dated November 17, 1986, the VQ valves leak rate tests have shown that leakage through these valves is very small. More current tests have shown similar results.

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JUSTIFICATION AND DISCUSSION OF NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION (Cont.)

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Since'the VQ valves have proven to be leak tight, and close upon receipt of an ESF signal, there will be adequate assurance that the consequences of an accident 1

will not be increased by the granting of this amendment request.

10 CFR 50.97 states that a proposed amendment involves no significant hazards considerations if operation in accordance with the proposed amendment would not:

1 (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) Create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) Involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

The proposed amendment does not involve a significant increase in the probability or' consequences of any previously evaluated accident.

The probability of an accident is not increased since this proposal does not change the design or allow a different type of operation of any safety-related systems. Allowing the VQ valves to be opened an additional 1000 hours0.0116 days <br />0.278 hours <br />0.00165 weeks <br />3.805e-4 months <br /> per calendar year will allow the unit to remain at power and avoid having to shutdown. The consequences of an accident are not significantly increased because the VQ valves receive an ESF signal and their isolation capability has proven to be more than adequate.

This Technical Specification amendment will not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated since this proposal does not change the design or allow a different type of operation of any safety-related systems.

These changes do not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety since the VQ valves have proven to be leak tight and will automatically close upon receipt of an ESF signal to prevent containment air from being purged to the atmosphere during a loss of coolant accident or a steamline break accident.

For the reasons stated above, it is concluded that the proposed amendment does not involve significant hazards considerations.

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