ML21183A151
| ML21183A151 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 07/13/2021 |
| From: | John Lamb Plant Licensing Branch II |
| To: | |
| Lamb, J. | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML21172A276 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2021-LRM-0059 | |
| Download: ML21183A151 (7) | |
Text
July 13, 2021 LICENSEE: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.
FACILITY: Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF JULY 1, 2021, PUBLIC MEETING WITH SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY, INC., REGARDING A PROPOSED LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO IMPLEMENT ALTERNATE SOURCE TERM AND TSTF-490 FOR VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 (EPID L-2021-LRM-0059)
On July 1, 2021, an Observation Public Meeting was held between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and representatives of Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC, the licensee). The purpose of the meeting was for SNC to describe its plan to submit a license amendment request (LAR) to implement alternate source term (AST) and Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF)-490-A, Deletion of E Bar Definition and Revision to RCS
[Reactor Coolant System] Specific Activity Technical Specification [TS], for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (Vogtle), Units 1 and 2).
A list of attendees is provided as an Enclosure.
On June 9, 2021 (Agencywide Document and Access Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No. ML21160A219), the meeting was noticed on the NRC public webpage.
The SNC presented slides contained in ADAMS Accession No. ML21172A131.
Introduction The NRC staff opened the meeting with introductory remarks and introduction of the attendees.
The SNC personnel discussed the following topics: (1) purpose, (2) submittal scope, (3) request exception to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.183, Alternative Radiological Source Terms for Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at Nuclear Power Reactors, Revision 0, July 2000 (ADAMS Accession No. ML003716792), linear heat generation rate (LHGR) limit, (4) recent industry submittals used to inform the Vogtle AST project, and (5) project schedule and key staff interactions.
Purpose SNC requested this pre-submittal meeting to communicate to the NRC staff that SNC intends to submit a LAR to implement AST at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2. In addition, SNC stated it will request approval of TSTF-490 with the AST LAR for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
Proposed LAR SNC stated it plans to submit to the NRC the mark-ups to TS pages and bases for the AST and TSTF-490 LAR for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2. SNC also said it plans to submit the full compliment of dose consequence analyses for the AST LAR for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, as specified in RG 1.183 to support peak rod burn-ups up to < 62 gigawatt-days per metric ton uranium (GWD/MTU).
SNC said that it would submit the following dose analyses: (1) large break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA), (2) fuel handling accident (FHA), (3) locked rotor accident (LRA), (4) control rod ejection (CRE), (5) steam generator tube rupture (SGTR), and (6) main steam-line break (MSLB).
SNC stated that the following TSs will be changed due to TSTF-490: (1) TS 1.1, Definitions, and (2) TS 3.4.16, RCS Specific Activity.
Request Exception to RG 1.183, Revision 0, LHGR Limit SNC stated that it intends to request with the AST LAR an exception to footnote 11 in RG 1.183 for LHGR limit of 6.3 kilowatt per foot (kw/ft). SNC said that it intends to submit the exception request for 40-percent of the rods in an assembly to be allowed to exceed the LHGR limit in footnote 11 in RG 1.183.
Recent Industry Submittals Used to Inform the Vogtle AST Project SNC stated that it used the below industry submittals to inform the Vogtle AST project.
DESCRIPTION ADAMS No. DATE Farley AST Safety Evaluation Report (SER) ML17271A265 December 20, 2017 Wolf Creek AST SER (Amendment 221) ML19100A122 May 31, 2019 TSTF-490 Revision 0 Traveler ML052630462 September 13, 2005 NRC Confirmation of Acceptability of ML18256A027 October 31, 2018 TSTF-490 R0 Traveler D.C. Cook AST and TSTF-490 SER ML16327A110 December 28, 2016 (Amendments 332 and 314)
Project Schedule and Key Staff Interactions SNC said that this pre-submittal meeting is the first SNC interaction with the NRC staff regarding the AST and TSTF-490 LAR for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2. SNC stated that it plans to request another pre-submittal meeting in the future. SNC said that it plans to submit the AST and TSTF-490 LAR for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, in the fourth quarter of 2022. SNC stated that it plans to request the NRC staff complete its review of the AST and TSFT-490 LAR in the fourth quarter of 2023, for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
NRC Questions to SNC The NRC staff read the following Footnote 11 in RG 1.183 for the convenience of the meeting attendees:
The release fractions listed here have been determined to be acceptable for use with currently approved LWR [light-water reactor] fuel with a peak burnup up to 62,000 MWD/MTU [measurement while drilling per metric ton uranium] provided that the maximum linear heat generation rate does not exceed 6.3 kw/ft peak rod average power for burnups exceeding 54 GWD/MTU. As an alternative, fission gas release calculations performed using NRC-approved methodologies may be considered on a case-by-case basis. To be acceptable, these calculations must use a projected power history that will bound the limiting projected plant-specific power history for the specific fuel load. For the BWR [boiling-water reactor] rod drop accident and the PWR [pressurized-water reactor] rod ejection accident, the gap fractions are assumed to be 10% for iodines and noble gases.
Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, have 193 fuel assemblies in a 17-inch by 17-inch (17x17) array, and there are 264 fuel rods per assembly. The overall length of the fuel assembly is approximately 14 feet. So, 40-percent of the 264 fuel rods per assembly is approximately 105 fuel rods per assembly.
The NRC staff questioned what is the LHGR kw/ft limit that SNC will request in the proposed LAR? SNC stated that the Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, LHGR kw/ft limit will be 7.5 kw/ft. SNC stated that other licensees have requested higher than 7.5 kw/ft. The NRC staff asked for SNC to provide the ADAMS Accession Nos. for those precedents.
The NRC questioned why is SNC going to request 40-percent of the rods in an assembly be allowed to exceed the LHGR limit in footnote 11 in RG 1.183 as opposed to 10-percent of the rods like other licensees?
On July 19, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16159A336), the NRC staff issued amendments to Catawba, McGuire, and Oconee regarding the use of an alternate fission gas gap release fraction. The amendments stated:
Specifically, the licensees request would increase the Table 3 non-LOCA gap fractions to allow LHGRs up to 7.0 kW/ft for rod burnup between 54 and 60 GWD/MTU and 6.9 kW/ft for rod burnup between 60 and 62 GWD/MTU. The licensees request limited the use of higher LHGRs to no more than 25 fuel rods per fuel assembly.
SNC stated that other licensees have requested up to 50-percent of the rods in an assembly be allowed to exceed the LHGR limit in footnote 11 in RG 1.183. The NRC staff asked for SNC to provide the ADAMS Accession Nos. for those precedents.
The NRC staff stated that an AST LAR is a substantial effort, especially when it will be coupled with a TSTF-490 LAR. The NRC stated the effort undertaken by the NRC staff to complete previous AST LARs and TSTF-490 LARs.
PLANT ACTION ADAMS No. Date ~HOURS DURATION (MONTHS)
Farley AST, TSTF-312, ML17271A265 12/20/17 884 13 TSTF-448 Wolf Creek AST ML19100A122 5/31/19 3596 28
TSTF-490 Revision ML052630462 9/13/05 ------- --
0 Traveler
NRC Confirmation ML18256A027 10/31/18 ------- --
of Acceptability of TSTF-490 R0 Traveler D.C. Cook Correction Letter - ML16327A110 12/28/16 -------- ------
AST and TSTF-490 D.C. Cook 1 & AST ML16242A111 10/24/16 2383 22 2
Summer AST ML102160020 10/4/10 1006 20 Point Beach 1 AST ML110240054 4/14/11 3118 28
&2 ANO Unit 1 AST ML092740035 10/21/09 1029 24 LaSalle 1 & 2 AST ML101750625 9/6/10 2056 23 Catawba, Alternate Fission ML16159A336 7/19/2016 486 12 McGuire, & Gas Gap Release Oconee Fraction Watts Bar TSTF-490 ML21099A246 5/14/21 140 9 South Texas TSTF-490 ML20253A046 9/29/20 193 12 Calvert Cliffs TSTF-490 ML19337D035 2/28/20 93 9 Ginna TSTF-490 ML16358A424 2/9/17 301 12 Palo Verde 1, TSTF-490 ML13294A576 11/25/13 82 11 2, & 3 Catawba, TSTF-490 ML120760079 6/25/12 113 30 McGuire, &
Oconee North Anna 1 & TSTF-490 ML093500400 3/3/10 325 15 2
Byron & TSTF-490 ML100690386 3/23/10 265 15 Braidwood TMI TSTF-490 ML100320493 3/11/10 300 15 The NRC staff questioned whether the AST LAR would impact operator actions, meteorological data, environmental qualification (EQ) of equipment, and mechanical structures as well as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) to the central control room (CCR). SNC stated that information regarding any potential impacts on operator actions from the LAR would be discussed in their submittal. SNC stated that the AST LAR would not adversely impact meteorological data, EQ of equipment, and mechanical structures as well as HVAC to the CCR.
In order to perform an efficient AST review, the NRC staff stated that it needs the type of information provided in the Enclosures of the SNC letter dated November 22, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16336A024), for the Farley AST LAR.
Public Questions to NRC There were no questions from the public. There were no members of the public in attendance.
Closing The NRC staff made no regulatory decisions during the meeting.
Once received, the NRC staff will perform a thorough review of the proposed LAR and make any regulatory decisions in writing in a timely manner.
Public Meeting Feedback forms were available, but no comments were received.
The meeting adjourned at 3:34 pm (Eastern time).
Please direct any inquiries to me at 301-415-3100.
/RA/
John G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch, II-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425
Enclosure:
List of Attendees cc: Distribution via Listserv
LIST OF ATTENDEES JULY 1, 2021, PUBLIC MEETING WITH SOUTHERN NUCLEAR COMPANY REGARDING A PROPOSED LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 ATTENDEE REPRESENTING John G. Lamb U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Mike Markley NRC Steve Jones NRC Chakrapani Basavaju NRC Jorge Cinton-Rivera NRC Samantha Platt NRC Joshua Miller NRC Justin Vazquez NRC Barbara Hayes NRC Charley Peabody NRC Diana Woodyatt NRC Kevin Quinlan NRC Sean Meighan NRC John Parillo NRC Ravi Grover NRC Ken Lowery Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC)
Jamie Coleman SNC Jason Douglass SNC William Evans SNC Tom Kindred SNC Butch Bornt SNC Matt Leonard SNC Sean Kinnas Westinghouse Kent Bonadio Westinghouse Enclosure
Package, ML21165A276 Meeting Notice, ML21160A219 Slides, ML21172A131 Meeting Summary, ML21183A151 OFFICE DORL/LPL2-1/PM DORL/LPL2-1/LA DSS/SNSB/BC DORL/LPL2-1/BC DORL/LPL2-1/PM NAME JLamb KGoldstein SKrepel MMarkley (JKlos for) JLamb DATE 07/02/2021 07/08/2021 07/06/2021 07/13/2021 07/13/2021