ML22138A325
| ML22138A325 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 06/24/2022 |
| From: | Kimberly Green Plant Licensing Branch II |
| To: | Jim Barstow Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Green K | |
| References | |
| EPID L-2021-LLA-0097 | |
| Download: ML22138A325 (12) | |
Text
June 24, 2022 Mr. James Barstow Vice President, Nuclear Regulatory Affairs and Support Services Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 4A-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
SUBJECT:
BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT NOS. 321, 344, AND 304 REGARDING SPENT FUEL POOL CRITICALITY SAFETY ANALYSIS (EPID L-2021-LLA-0097)
Dear Mr. Barstow:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment Nos. 321, 344, and 304 to Renewed Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (Browns Ferry), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively. These amendments are in response to your application dated May 29, 2021, as supplemented by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022.
The amendments expand the applicability of the spent fuel pool criticality safety analysis of record for Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design.
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. A Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions monthly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Kimberly J. Green, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 321 to DPR-33
- 2. Amendment No. 344 to DPR-52
- 3. Amendment No. 304 to DPR-68
- 4. Safety Evaluation cc: Listserv UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY DOCKET NO. 50-259 BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT UNIT 1 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 321 Renewed License No. DPR-33 1.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by the Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) dated May 29, 2021, as supplement by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Chapter I; B.
The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C.
There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations; D.
The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E.
The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.
2.
Accordingly, by Amendment No. 321, the license is amended to authorize the expansion of the applicability of the spent fuel pool criticality safety analysis of record for Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design, as described in the licensees application dated May 29, 2021, as supplemented by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, and the NRC staffs safety evaluation attached to this amendment.
3.
This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION David J. Wrona, Chief Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Date of Issuance: June 24, 2022 David J.
Wrona Digitally signed by David J. Wrona Date: 2022.06.24 15:18:15 -04'00'
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY DOCKET NO. 50-260 BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 344 Renewed License No. DPR-52
- 1.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) dated May 29, 2021, as supplement by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions rules and regulations set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Chapter I; B.
The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C.
There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; D.
The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E.
The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.
2.
Accordingly, by Amendment No. 344, the license is amended to authorize the expansion of the applicability of the spent fuel pool criticality safety analysis of record for Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design, as described in the licensees application dated May 29, 2021, as supplemented by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, and the NRC staffs safety evaluation attached to this amendment.
3.
This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION David J. Wrona, Chief Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Date of Issuance: June 24, 2022 David J.
Wrona Digitally signed by David J. Wrona Date: 2022.06.24 15:18:52 -04'00'
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY DOCKET NO. 50-296 BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 3 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 304 Renewed License No. DPR-68
- 1.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for amendment by Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) dated May 29, 2021, as supplement by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Chapter I; B.
The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C.
There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations; D.
The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E.
The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.
2.
Accordingly, by Amendment No. 304, the license is amended to authorize the expansion of the applicability of the spent fuel pool criticality safety analysis of record for Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3, to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design, as described in the licensees application dated May 29, 2021, as supplemented by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, and the NRC staffs safety evaluation attached to this amendment.
3.
This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days from the date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION David J. Wrona, Chief Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Date of Issuance: June 24, 2022 David J.
Wrona Digitally signed by David J. Wrona Date: 2022.06.24 15:19:41 -04'00'
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NOS. 321, 344, AND 304 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. DPR-33, DPR-52, AND DPR-68 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1, 2, AND 3 DOCKET NOS. 50-259, 50-260, AND 50-296
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By letter dated May 29, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21150A022), as supplemented by letters dated March 18 and April 28, 2022 (ML22077A576 and ML22122A160, respectively), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the licensee) submitted a license amendment request (LAR) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission). The requested change would expand the applicability of the spent fuel pool (SFP) criticality safety analysis (CSA) of record for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (Browns Ferry), Units 1, 2, and 3, to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design.
The supplements dated March 18 and April 28, 2022, provided additional information that clarified the application, did not expand the scope of the application as originally noticed, and did not change the NRC staffs original proposed no significant hazards consideration determination as published in the Federal Register (FR) on September 7, 2021 (86 FR 50188).
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The NRC staff reviewed the licensees application to determine whether (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) there is reasonable assurance that the activities proposed will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of the public. The NRC staff considered the following regulatory requirements, guidance, and licensing and design-basis information during its review of the proposed changes.
The NRC staffs review was performed consistent with the guidance in NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR
[Light-Water Reactor] Edition, section 9.1.1, Criticality Safety of Fresh and Spent Fuel Storage and Handling, Revision 3, March 2007 (ML070570006). The applicable regulations, as described in the SRP, are listed below, along with their applicability to Browns Ferry.
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, Appendix A, General Design Criteria [GDC] for Nuclear Power Plants, Criterion 62, Prevention of criticality in fuel storage and handling, requires that
[c]riticality in the fuel storage and handling system shall be prevented by physical systems or processes, preferably by use of geometrically safe configurations. The Browns Ferry units were designed and constructed based on the proposed GDC published by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on July 11, 1967. Appendix A of the Browns Ferry Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) (ML21286A200) identifies the AEC GDC and the UFSAR sections that describe the plants conformance to the GDC. Previously, the NRC staff determined that draft GDC 66 is equivalent to current GDC 62 (ML17032A120).
Section 50.68(a) of 10 CFR requires that a licensee must either: 1) maintain monitoring systems in accordance with 10 CFR 70.24 to reduce the consequences of a criticality accident, or 2) adhere to the requirements of 10 CFR 50.68(b) to reduce the likelihood that a criticality accident will occur. Section 10.3 of the Browns Ferry UFSAR (ML21286A471) states that Browns Ferry has chosen to comply with the criticality requirements specified in 10 CFR 50.68(b).
Paragraph 50.68(b)(1) of 10 CFR requires:
Plant procedures shall prohibit the handling and storage at any one time of more fuel assemblies than have been determined to be safely subcritical under the most adverse moderation conditions feasible by unborated water.
Paragraph 50.68(b)(4) of 10 CFR requires, in part:
If no credit for soluble boron is taken, the k-effective of the spent fuel storage racks loaded with fuel of the maximum fuel assembly reactivity must not exceed 0.95, at a 95 percent probability, 95 percent confidence level, if flooded with unborated water.
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
The NRC staff evaluated the licensees application to determine if the proposed changes are consistent with the guidance, regulations, and plant-specific design and licensing basis information discussed in Section 2.0 of this safety evaluation.
TVA stated that it intends to begin using ATRIUM 11 fuel in all three Browns Ferry units, beginning with Unit 2 in the spring of 2023. Therefore, it requested approval of the revised CSA so that fresh and exposed ATRIUM 11 fuel can be stored in the Browns Ferry SFP storage racks.
There is no comprehensive, NRC-approved generic methodology for performing CSAs for fuel storage and handling. The currently approved methodology for the CSA for fuel in the Browns Ferry SFPs is described in AREVA report ANP-3160P/NP, Revision 1, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1, 2, and 3, Spent Fuel Storage Pool Criticality Safety Analysis for ATRIUM' 10XM Fuel (ML15351A097), which was performed as part of the extended power uprate that the NRC approved by Amendment Nos. 299, 323, and 283 for licenses DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, respectively, on August 14, 2017 (ML17032A120). That analysis assumed the continued use of Framatome ATRIUM 10XM fuel as well as other previously utilized fuel types.
The current LAR seeks to expand the applicability of CSA to include the ATRIUM 11' fuel design. In support of the request, TVA submitted Framatome report ANP-3910P/NP, Revision 2, Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1, 2 and 3 Spent Fuel Storage Pool Criticality Safety Analysis for ATRIUM 11 Fuel (ML22122A160). The fuel change from ATRIUM 10XM to ATRIUM 11 is a change from a 10x10 lattice to an 11x11 lattice fuel assembly geometry. However, there are no significant changes in the overall enrichment fraction, or mass of fissile material per assembly.
TVA followed the same analysis approach as for ATRIUM 10XM that was previously approved by the NRC.
On February 16, 2022, the NRC staff issued a request for additional information (RAI)
(ML22047A161) regarding historical, current, and planned future use of blended low enriched uranium (BLEU) fuel at Browns Ferry. In its March 18, 2022, response (ML22077A576), the licensee stated that BLEU fuel was last utilized (reloaded) in fall 2018 and the plant has utilized commercial grade uranium since that time. TVA also indicated that it has no plans to utilize BLEU fuel in future reloads.
On April 12, 2022 (ML22103A247), during a meeting between NRC staff and TVA, the licensee notified the NRC staff that Framatome had identified non-conservatisms in ANP-3910P, Revision 2. Specifically, there were errors in the inputs to the reference bounding lattice (RBL) used to create ANP-3910P. The analysis was revised and ANP-3910P/NP, Revision 3 was submitted to the NRC on April 28, 2022 (ML22122A160) as the revised CSA of record to be used in the review and approval of this LAR.
After reviewing the RAI response, the NRC staff determined that ANP-3910P, Revision 3 appropriately accounts for Browns Ferrys current spent fuel pool inventory, active fuel utilization of ATRIUM 10XM fuel, as well as the planned future utilization of ATRIUM 11 fuel assemblies.
After reviewing ANP-3910P, Revision 3, the NRC staff finds that changes in the RBL inputs are consistent with the specifications of the ATRIUM 11 fuel and are similar in evaluation methodology to the current fuel geometries utilized at Browns Ferry and analyzed in ANP-3160P, Revision 1. The results for allowable enrichment levels were slightly reduced from the previous ANP-3910P, Revision 2 to maintain the spent fuel pool criticality requirements of 10 CFR 50.68(b)(4).
The analysis in ANP-3910P, Revision 3, follows a similar analytical methodology as in ANP-3160P, Revision 1, which established the CSA of record for the Browns Ferry SFP, while incorporating software and code version updates made since the methodology in ANP-3160P was approved as part of the extended power uprate that the NRC approved by Amendment Nos. 299, 323, and 283 for licenses DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, respectively, on August 14, 2017 (ML17032A120). ANP-3910P, Revision 3, also details code updates made since the previous CSA and conducts a benchmarked validation between the code versions used in ANP-3160P, Revision 1 and ANP-3910P Revision 3, respectively.
The NRC staff reviewed both the analysis and the validation. ANP-3910P, Revision 3, reduces the ATRIUM 11 fuel materials into a simplified bundle geometry that is bounding from a criticality standpoint following a similar process as ANP-3160P, Revision 1, did for ATRIUM 10XM fuel. ANP-3910P then models the simplified geometry to determine a bounding k-effective value and compares it against administrative and regulatory acceptance criteria. The NRC staff finds that the SFP k-effective value was correctly determined and meets the acceptance criteria of 10 CFR 50.68(b)(4) of 0.95 at 95 percent probability and 95 percent confidence.
As updated, ANP-3910P, Revision 3 replaces the Browns Ferry SFP CSA methodology previously approved in Amendments 299, 323, and 283 for the transition to ATRIUM 11 fuel.
The NRC staff finds that the calculations documented in ANP-3910P, Revision 3 demonstrate that the ATRIUM 11 reference bounding assembly design is equivalent to or more reactive in an in-rack configuration than any current or past fuel assembly designs used at Browns Ferry.
Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the analysis in ANP-3910P, Revision 3 provides reasonable assurance of continued compliance with GDC-62, and 10 CFR 50.68(b)(1) and (b)(4) requirements while the licensee is storing ATRIUM 11 fuel in the SFP.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Alabama State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendments on February 17, 2022. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendments change a requirement with respect to the installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. The NRC staff has determined that the amendments involve no significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types, of any effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The NRC has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendments involve no significant hazards consideration in the Federal Register on September 7, 2021 (86 FR 50188), and there has been no public comment on such finding. Accordingly, the amendments meet the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendments.
6.0 CONCLUSION
The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) there is reasonable assurance that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributor: C. Peabody, NRR Date: June 24, 2022
ML22138A325 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPLII-2/PM NRR/DORL/LPLII-2/LA NRR/DSS/SNSB/BC NAME KGreen RButler SKrepel (SHaider for)
DATE 05/23/2022 05/23/2022 05/10/2022 OFFICE OGC - NLO NRR/DORL/LPLII-2/BC NRR/DORL/LPLII-2/PM NAME BAyersman DWrona KGreen DATE 06/21/2022 06/24/2022 06/24/2022