ML23101A185

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC - Report on the Regulatory Audits Regarding the Renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-33

ML23101A185
Person / Time
Site:	Vallecitos Nuclear Center
Issue date:	04/13/2023
From:	Duane Hardesty NRC/NRR/DANU/UNPL
To:	Pedley C GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
References
EPID L-2020-RNW-0038
Download: ML23101A185 (4)

Text

April 13, 2023 Mr. Charles Pedley, Site Manager GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Vallecitos Nuclear Center 6705 Vallecitos Road Sunol, CA 94586

SUBJECT:

GE-HITACHI NUCLEAR ENERGY AMERICAS LLC - REPORT ON THE REGULATORY AUDIT REGARDING THE RENEWAL OF THE NUCLEAR TEST REACTOR FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-33 (EPID NO. L-2020-RNW-0038)

Dear Mr. Pedley:

By letter dated November 19, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML21053A071), as supplemented by letter(s) dated April 22, 2022, and September 15, 2022 (ML22112A237, ML22258A118, and ML23086C062 respectively),

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) applied for renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-33 for the GEH Nuclear Test Reactor. The requested licensing action would renew the facility operating license for a period of 20 years.

Enclosed is a report on the regulatory audit conducted by staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from July 28, 2021, to March 29, 2023, in connection with its review of the application. The audit report does not make any licensing conclusions or findings, but it is part of the administrative record of the NRC staffs review of the application and may provide information supporting the NRC staffs safety evaluation. The audit followed the plan provided by letter dated July 26, 2021 (ML21197A139), unless otherwise noted in the enclosed report.

We appreciate your support in providing the requested documentation and access to the necessary personnel and other materials that assisted in an efficiently conducted audit.

C. Pedley If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-3724 or by email to Duane.Hardesty@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Signed by Hardesty, Duane on 04/13/23 Duane A. Hardesty, Senior Project Manager Non-Power Production and Utilization Facility Licensing Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No.50-073 License No. R-33

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC Docket No.50-073 cc:

Jeffrey Smyly, Manager Regulatory Compliance GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Vallecitos Nuclear Center 6705 Vallecitos Road Sunol, CA 94586 Thomas McConnell, Manager Nuclear Test Reactor GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Vallecitos Nuclear Center 6705 Vallecitos Road Sunol, CA 94586 Scott Murray, Manager Facility Licensing GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy 3901 Castle Hayne Road Wilmington, NC 28401 Commissioner California Energy Commission 1516 Ninth Street, MS-34 Sacramento, CA 95814 California Department of Health ATTN: Chief Radiologic Health Branch P.O. Box 997414, MS 7610 Sacramento, CA 95899-7414 Test, Research and Training Reactor Newsletter Attention: Ms. Amber Johnson Dept of Materials Science and Engineering University of Maryland 4418 Stadium Drive College Park, MD 20742-2115

ML23101A185 NRR-106 OFFICE NRR/DANU/PM NRR/DANU/LA NRR/DANU/BC NRR/DANU/PM NAME DHardesty NParker JBorromeo (HCruz for) DHardesty DATE 4/12/2023 4/13/2023 4/13/2023 4/13/2023 OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION REGULATORY AUDIT REPORT REGARDING RENEWAL OF FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-33 GE-HITACHI NUCLEAR ENERGY AMERICAS LLC NUCLEAR TEST REACTOR DOCKET NO.50-073 Location: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Headquarters, Rockville, MD (Virtual)

Dates: July 28, 2021- March 29, 2023 NRC Audit Team Members: Duane Hardesty, Project Manager, Audit Leader and Technical Reviewer Geoffrey Wertz, Technical Reviewer Diane Woodyatt, Technical Reviewer Zachary Gran, Technical Reviewer Adam Rau, Technical Reviewer Elijah Dickson, Technical Reviewer Richard Clement, Technical Reviewer Emil Tabakov, Technical Reviewer Licensee Representative: David Heckman, GE-HITACHI Vallecitos Regulatory Affairs &

Licensing Lead Thomas McConnell, GE-HITACHI Nuclear Test Reactor Manager

Background

By letter dated November 19, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML21053A071), as supplemented, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) applied for renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-33 for the Nuclear Test Reactor (NTR). The requested licensing action would renew the facility operating license for a period of 20 years.

This report summarizes the regulatory audit conducted by staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from July 28, 2021, to March 29, 2023, in connection with its review of the application. This audit report does not make any licensing conclusions or findings, but it is part of the administrative record of the NRC staffs review of the GEH application and may provide information supporting the NRC staffs safety evaluation. The audit followed the plan provided by letter dated July 26, 2021 (ML21197A139), unless otherwise noted in this report.

Audit Activities The NRC staff conducted the audit through virtual video-teleconferences. The NRC audit team opened the audit with an entrance meeting conducted on July 28, 2021. The licensee provided Enclosure

requested information using an internet portal (BOX) which allowed only the NRC audit team members to view the information.

Requests for Supplemental Information The NRC audit team identified several documents that would need to be submitted on the docket as part of the license renewal application (LRA) to satisfy or demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirements. The NRC staff requested that the documents be submitted as supplemental information to the LRA. This request was discussed and agreed upon with David Heckman of your staff. The documents were provided, as listed below:

Supplemental Information Supporting GE Nuclear Test Reactor License Renewal Audit-Computer Files, July 30, 2021, ML21211A617.

GEH Supplemental Information Supporting GE Nuclear Test Reactor License Renewal Audit-Audit Questions and Responses, September 22, 2021, cover letter-ML21265A247; enclosure-audit questions, ML21265A249.

Response to Request for Additional Information for GE Nuclear Test Reactor License Renewal Application, April 22, 2022, cover letter- ML22112A237, enclosure 3-NTR Technical Specifications, Rev. 4-ML22112A240.

Response to Request for Public Docketing of Information Relating to GE Nuclear Test Reactor License Renewal Application, September 15, 2022, cover letter ML22258A118; enclosure 1-GEH Supplemental information (redacted version) ML23086C062; enclosure 2-VNC Radiological Emergency Plan, Rev. 1 (redacted version)

ML23086C063.

GE Nuclear Test Reactor Safety Analysis and Technical Specifications, March 24, 2023: cover letter, ML23086C024; enclosure 1-NTR license renewal audit questions, ML23086C025; enclosure 2-Technical Specifications for the Nuclear Test Reactor Facility R-33, Rev. 6, ML23086C026; enclosure 4-General Electric Nuclear Test Reactor Safety Report (Public) Rev. 5, ML23086C028.

Open Items There are no remaining open items for this audit.

Exit Briefing On March 29, 2023, the audit team leader (Duane Hardesty) held an exit briefing with the licensee representative (David Heckman), and other NRC and GEH staff. No disagreements were noted by the licensee.

Deviations from the Audit Plan No deviations from the audit plan were identified.