ML22034A996

S. Morris Response to C. Langley-Questions About Moving SNF at San Onfre

ML22034A996
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre
Issue date:	02/02/2022
From:	Scott(Ois) Morris NRC Region 4
To:	Langley C Public Watchdogs
S. Morris
References
Download: ML22034A996 (2)

Text

From: Morris, Scott Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2022 10:47 AM To: 'Charles Langley' <langley@publicwatchdogs.org >

Subject:

RE: Questions about moving SNF at San Onofre

Dear Mr. Langley:

Thanks for your inquiry. I consulted with my staff in NRC Regio n IV, along with program office staff at NRC Headquarters, and offer the following answers to y our questions:

Question #1 Are the MPC-37's at SONGS damaged? I've been told that NRC reg ulations make it unlawful to move a "damaged canister," such as an Holte c MPC-37. Do the scratches and gouges on the MPC-37 cans at San Onofre constitute "damages " and a "damaged canister"

?

Answer: No, the canisters at SONGS are not considered to be damaged and continue to meet NRC requirements and license conditions for used fuel storage a nd transportation. NRC Inspection Report 07200041-2018/002 (ML191190A217) dated July 9, 2019, documents the NRCs conclusions that the SONGS MPC-37 canisters were designed and fabricated with a shell thickness 1/8 (0.125 inch) thicker than the standard Holtec canister (i.e., 0.50 nominal wall thickness), such that the SONGS canisters are 0.625 inch t hick. During canister visual inspections the maximum depth of all identified wear marks/scra tches was found to be 0.026 inches in depth, which is substantially less than the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Section III acceptance criteria (10% the nominal th ickness, or 0.0625 inch). The NRCs assessment of the licensee s visual inspections and evalu ations concluded that the canister scratches met ASME code acceptance criteria.

Question #2 Can the MPC-37 cans be shipped over existing rail lines that ru n past SONGS? My understanding is that the most viable way to ship Sa n Onofre's nuclear waste to a consolidated interim storage facility or a permanent repository is by rail. Can the spent nuclear fuel at San Onofre be shipped over existing rails?

Answer: Yes, the canisters can be transported by rail at SONGS. Belo w are listed two recent reports that address moving the spent fuel stored at SONGS by r ail:

Nuclear Power Plant Infrastructure Evaluations for Removal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (DOE/PNNL, April 2021, available here)

Action Plan for the Relocation of SONGS Spent Nuclear Fuel to an Offsite Storage Facility or a Repository (SCE/Northwinds, March 2021, available here)

The DOE report discusses the local rail and how it was refurbis hed to support reactor decommissioning. The SCE report (Volume III) provides the tran sportation certificate numbers for the storage canisters at SONGS.

I hope that you find this information responsive and useful.

Respectfully, Scott A. Morris Regional Administrator U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission / Region IV l E-mail: scott.morris@nrc.gov l Office: (817) 200-1225 l

From: Charles Langley <langley@publicwatchdogs.org>

Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2022 8:06 PM To: Morris, Scott <Scott.Morris@nrc.gov>

Subject:

[External_Sender] Questions about moving SNF at San Onofre

Scott,

Can you forward my two questions to someone who can answer relative to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, (SONGS)?

1) Are the MPC-37's at SONGS damaged? I've been told that NRC regulations make it unlawful to move a "damaged canister," such as an Holtec MPC-37. Do the scratches and gouges on the MPC-37 cans at San Onofre constitute "damages" and a "damaged canister" ?

2) Can the MPC-37 cans be shipped over existing rail lines that run past SONGS? My understanding is that the most viable way to ship San Onofre's nuclear waste to a consolidated interim storage facility or a permanent repository is by ra il. Can the spent nuclear fuel at San Onofre be shipped over existing rails?

Charles Langley, Executive Director Public Watchdogs (858) 384-2139 www.publicwatchdogs.org