ML23137A282
| ML23137A282 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Three Mile Island  |
| Issue date: | 05/17/2023 |
| From: | Devik T, Pell H TMI-2 Solutions |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Document Control Desk |
| References | |
| TMI2-RA-COR-2023-0011 | |
| Download: ML23137A282 (1) | |
Text
May 17, 2023 TMI2-RA -COR-2023 -00 11 10 CFR 20.2301 10 CFR 20, Appendix G U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555- 0001
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 2 (TMI-2)
Possession Only License No. DPR 73 NRC Docket No. 50-320
Subject:
Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E
In accordance with 10 CFR 20.2301, Applications for exemptions, TMI -2 Solutions, LLC (TMI -2S) requests an exemption from a requirement of 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E, Requirements for Transfers of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Intended for Disposal at Licensed Land Disposal Facilities and Manifests. This regulation requires, in part, that licensees investigate and report to the NRC when notification of receipt of a shipment, or part of a shipment, of low-level radioactive waste is not received within 20 days after transfer.
TMI-2S is requesting that the time period to receive acknowledgement that a shipment has been received by the intended recipient be extended from 20 days to 45 days for low-level radioactive waste shipments from the Three Mile Island Unit -2 (TMI-2) facility. The requested exemption would be applicable to shipments from TMI -2 by rail or by mixed transportation modes, such as a combination of truck/rail shipments.
provides an evaluation of the request, which includes a description and purpose of the request, as well as justification for granting the exemption.
TMI-2S anticipates increased low-level radioactive waste shipments as site decommissioning activities commence and progress. Therefore, TMI-2S is requesting NRC approval of this exemption request by December 1, 2023. The exemption request is not required to address an immediate safety concern. B ased on industry experience, it is reasonable to conclude that once shipping begins at TMI-2, there will be occurrences where the 20-day acknowledgement period will be exceeded. Approval of the exemption request will alleviate the need for licensee submittal and for NRC review of investigations into not receiving acknowledgement of receipt of a shipment.
There are no regulatory commitments contained in this letter.
TMI2-RA -COR-2023-0011 Page 2
If you have any questions concerning the contents of this letter, please contact Timothy Devik, TMI -2 Licensing Manager, at 603-384- 0239 or by email at trdevik@energysolutions.com.
Sincerely,
Acting for Timothy R. Devik TMI-2 Licensing Manager EnergySolutions, LLC
Attachment:
- 1. Exemption Request Evaluation for TMI-2
cc: Regional Administrator - NRC Region I NRC Lead Inspector - Three Mile Island Nuclear Station - Unit 2 NRC Project Manager - Three Mile Island Nuclear Station - Unit 2 Director, Bureau of Radiation Protection - PA Dept of Environmental Protection Chief, Division of Nuclear Safety, Bureau of Radiation Protection - PA Dept of Environmental Protection Chairman, Board of County Commissioners - Dauphin County Manager - Londonderry Township TMI2-RA-COR-2023- 0011
ATTACHMENT 1
Exemption Evaluation Request for TMI-2
6 Pages Follow EXEMPTION EVALUATION REQUEST FOR TMI-2
1.0 DESCRIPTION
In accordance with 10 CFR 20.2301, Applications for Exemptions, TMI -2S requests an exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 2 (TMI-2). 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Requirements for Transfers of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Intended for Disposal at Licensed Land Disposal Facilities and Manifests,Section III Control and Tracking, Subsection E, requires that any shipment, or part of a shipment, for which acknowledgement of receipt is not received within the times set forth in this section must:
(1) Be investigated by the shipper if the shipper has not received notification of receipt within 20 days after transfer; and
(2) Be traced and reported. The investigation shall include tracing the shipment and filing a report with the nearest Commission Regional Office listed in Appendix D to this part. Each licensee who conducts a trace investigation shall file a written report with the appropriate NRC Regional Office within 2 weeks of completion of the investigation.
TMI-2S is requesting that the period of time to receive acknowledgement that the shipment has been received by the intended recipient be extended from 20 days to 45 days for low-level radioactive waste shipments from TMI-2. The requested exemption would be applicable to TMI-2 shipments made by rail or by mixed transportation modes, such as a combination of truck/rail shipments.
2.0 BACKGROUND
As described in Section 4.0 below, industry experience from other decommissioning projects shipping large quantities of low level radwaste to offsite disposal facilities, has shown that rail and mixed mode shipments can routinely take longer than 20 days, resulting in an excessive administrative burden due to the required investigations and reporting. There are various reasons for these delays that cannot be anticipated or avoided and that are beyond the control of the shipper. Extending the time for receipt notification to 45 days before requiring investigation and reporting is a reasonable upper limit on shipment duration if a shipment is delayed, and does not create an undue hazard to life or property.
3.0 BASIS FOR EXEMPTION REQUEST
Due to the complex scheduling and congestion on the planned rail systems, delays beyond the estimated durations are often encountered after the waste leaves the site. Rail shipments may sit at a remote railyard waiting for clearance to depart or for maintenance of a railcar in need of repair; either of which creates delays that can extend shipment durations from TMI-2 and are outside of TMI-2S' control. Administrative processes at the disposal facility can add additional delays.
Based on the estimated number and duration of anticipated shipments, TMI-2S would be required to perform numerous investigations over the duration of the decommissioning and provide numerous reports to the NRC that notification of receipt was not received within 20 days of transfer for shipments, even though they would be tracked throughout transportation until they were received at their intended destination. Should notification of a shipments receipt not be
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received within 45 days of transfer, the investigation and reporting will be performed in accordance with Section III.E.
The criteria for granting a specific exemption to 10 CFR 20 regulations are specified in 10 CFR 20.2301. As stated in 10 CFR 20.2301, The Commission may, upon application by a licensee or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of the regulations in this part if it determines the exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or property. As discussed below, this exemption request satisfies the provisions of Section 20.2301.
(1) The Requested Exemption is Authorized by Law There are no provisions in the Atomic Energy Act, or in any other federal statute, that impose a requirement to investigate and report to the NRC low-level waste shipments that have not been acknowledged by the intended recipient within 20 days after transfer.
Therefore, there is no statutory prohibition on the issuance of the requested exemption, and the NRC is authorized to grant the exemption under law.
(2) The Requested Exemption Would Not Result in Undue Hazard to Life or Property The intent of 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E, is to require licensees to investigate, trace, and report low-level radioactive waste shipments that have not reached their destination within 20 days after transfer. For rail shipments from TMI-2, a tracking system will be utilized that allows daily monitoring of a shipments progress to its destination.
Shipping procedures prescribe the expectations for tracking and communications during transit. As a result of these controls that will remain in place during the extended time, granting an exemption to TMI-2S for shipments of low-level radioactive waste to disposal facilities or waste processors from 20 to 45 days will not result in an undue hazard to life or property.
4.0 TECHNICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EXEMPTION
10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E, requires that any shipment, or part of a shipment, be investigated by the shipper if the shipper has not received notification of receipt within 20 days after the transfer. It also requires that the shipment be traced and reported, and that a written report be filed with the appropriate NRC Regional Office within two weeks of completion of the investigation.
TMI-2S is beginning the process of active decommissioning of the TMI -2 facility. Inherent to the decommissioning process, large volumes of slightly contaminated debris are generated and require offsite land disposal. TMI-2S will be transporting low-level radioactive waste from the TMI-2 facility to distant locations such as the waste disposal facilities owned by Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah, and Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, TX. TMI-2 plans to ship most of the waste to these disposal facilities or intermediate processors by rail.
Based on ample industry decommissioning experience, TMI-2S anticipates the total transit time between when a waste shipment leaves the TMI -2 site until verification of receipt is received for the shipment at the waste disposal facility will, at times, exceed 20 days. The requested exemption is similar to several exemptions previously submitted and approved by the NRC for other decommissioning projects (References 2 - 6). Each of these licensees received NRC approval to extend the shipping receipt time from 20 days to 45 days.
2 The NRC documented in SECY 18 -0055, Enclosure 1, that, "operating experience indicates that, while the twenty (20)-day receipt notification window is adequate for waste shipments by truck, other modes of shipment such as rail, barge, or mixed-mode shipments, such as combinations of truck and rail, barge and rail, and barge and truck shipments, may take more than twenty (20) days to reach their destination due to delays in the route that are outside the shipper's control (e.g., rail cars in switchyards waiting to be included in a complete train to the disposal facility)" (Reference 1).
In addition, NRCs proposed rule for transition to decommissioning (Reference 7) includes allowing a 45-day window for notification of receipt of shipments of low-level radioactive waste (LLW). NRC states This increase from the current 20- day notification window is based on operating experience that shows that 45 days is an appropriate amount of time for notification of LLW shipments.
Therefore, TMI-2 is requesting an extension to 45 days for receipt notification for rail and mixed mode shipments from the disposal processing facility, consistent with that approved by other similarly situated decommissioning sites as stated above.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
S
Pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 51.21, Criteria for and identification of licensing and regulatory actions requiring environmental assessments, TMI -2S evaluated the requested exemption against the criteria for identification of licensing and regulatory actions requiring environmental assessments. It was determined that the requested exemption meets the eligibility criterion for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22, Criterion for categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring environmental review, paragraph (c)(25), as shown below. There is no significant hazards consideration.
(i) The exemption involves no significant hazards consideration
TMI-2S has evaluated the proposed exemption against the three standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.92(c) to determine whether a significant hazards consideration is involved as discussed below:
- 1. Does the proposed exemption involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
No. The proposed exemption involves changes to specific reporting requirements delineated in 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E. The proposed change has no effect on any facility structures, systems, and components (SSC) or their capability to perform design functions and, therefore, would not increase the likelihood of a malfunction of any facility SSC, or affect the performance of any SSCs relied upon to mitigate the consequences of an accident previously evaluated. The means by which SSCs are operated, maintained, modified, tested, or inspected are also not affected.
Therefore, the proposed exemption does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequence of an accident previously evaluated.
- 2. Does the proposed exemption create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
3 No. The proposed exemption does not involve a physical alteration of the facility, and no new or different types of SSCs will be installed, therefore, there are no physical modifications to existing equipment that could result from the exemption. The proposed exemption does not involve changes which could modify the manner in which facility SSCs are operated and maintained and does not result in any changes to parameters within which the facility is normally operated and maintained.
Therefore, the proposed exemption does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any previously evaluated.
- 3. Does the proposed exemption involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety?
No. The proposed exemption from certain reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E is unrelated to any facility operation. As such, the exemption would not affect any remaining equipment of the facility.
Therefore, the proposed exemption does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
Based on the above, TMI-2S has determined that the proposed exemption presents no significant hazards consideration under the standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.92(c), and, therefore, a finding of no significant hazards consideration is justified.
(ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite:
The requested exemption to certain reporting requirements specified in 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E will not result in any changes to any facility systems, structures, and components (SSCs) or design functions associated with monitoring or limiting the release of effluents. There are no expected changes in the types, characteristics or quantities of effluents discharged to the environment as a result of the exemption. The exemption would not introduce any materials or chemicals into the facility that could affect any of the amounts or types of effluents released offsite.
Therefore, there is no change in the types or increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite.
(iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure:
The requested exemption proposes to revise certain reporting requirements delineated in 10 CFR 20, and as such, does not influence or result in any change to the actual time the shipment takes to reach its proposed destination. Radiation exposure of all shipments will be maintained within the limits of the regulations. The proposed reporting requirements contained within this exemption request do not result in any physical changes to the facility or to shipping related SSCs, the manner in which they are operated or maintained, and does not involve a change to land use at the TMI-2 site.
Therefore, there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.
4 (iv) There is no significant construction impact:
The requested exemption involves a change to certain reporting requirements specified in 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E related to offsite shipping of low-level radioactive waste and does not result in any physical changes to the facility or the manner in which any physical changes to the facility during construction are performed.
Therefore, there is no significant construction impact.
(v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents:
This criterion is similar to that which is provided in the no significant hazards consideration discussed in item i) above.
Therefore, there is no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents.
(vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve, (B) Reporting requirements and (C) Inspection or surveillance requirements:
The purpose of the requested exemption is to modify the timeframe requirement in 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E, which requires that any shipment, or part of a shipment, be investigated by the shipper if the shipper has not received notification of receipt within 20 days after transfer. The required investigation includes tracing the shipment and filing an investigation report with the nearest Commission Regional Office.
The tracing of the shipment can also be considered a means of inspection or surveillance since a record review and inquiry, as well as the shipments physical condition, will be performed as part of the investigation.
Therefore, the requirement from which an exemption is sought involves reporting requirements.
Accordingly, TMI-2S has determined that the proposed exemption meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i) through (vi). Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment in accordance with Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act need be prepared in connection with the consideration of this exemption request.
6.0 PRECEDENT
As stated in Section 4.0 above, this requested exemption is similar to exemptions submitted and approved by the NRC for San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Fort Calhoun Station, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, LaCrosse Boiling Water Reactor, and ZionSolutions (References 2 - 6).
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7.0 CONCLUSION
The information provided meets the requirements outlined in 10 CFR 20.2301, specifically giving the NRC sufficient basis for determining that the requested exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or property. Under the exemption, TMI-2S would not be required to investigate and report a delayed shipment in accordance with 10 CFR 20, Appendix G, Section III.E unless a copy of the signed NRC Form 540 acknowledging receipt has not been received within 45 days of the shipments transfer (normally indicated by providing shipment documentation to the carrier). TMl2S will request daily updates be provided identifying the location of the shipment from the appropriate carrier. As a result, it will be unlikely that a shipment could be lost, misdirected, or diverted without the knowledge of the carrier or TMI-2S personnel.
8.0 REFERENCES
- 1. SECY-18- 0055, Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning, dated May 7, 2018 [ML18012A021].
- 2. NRC Letter from Amy M. Snyder to Mr. Albert Bates, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3 - Exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 20, Appendix G,Section III.E (EPID No. L-2020- LLE-0142), dated November 13, 2020
[ML20287A358].
- 3. NRC Letter from Jack D. Parrott to Ms. A my Fisher, Fort Calhoun Station, Unit 1 - Exemption from 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 20, Appendix G,Section III.E (EPID No. L-2020-LLE-0015), dated June 30, 2020 [ML20162A155].
- 4. NRC Letter from Jack D. Parrott to Mr. Corey R. Daniels, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station - Exemption from 10 Code of Federal Regulation Part 20, Appendix G,Section III.E (EPID No. L-2019-LLE-0026), dated February 5, 2020 [ML20017A069].
- 5. NRC Letter from Marlayna Vaaler to Mr. John Sauger, La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor -
Exemption from Certain Low-Level Waste Shipment Tracking Requirements of 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix G, Section III.E (CAC No. L53168), dated May 2, 2017 [ML17124A210].
- 6. NRC Letter from John B. Hickman to Mr. John Sauger, ZionSolutions - Exemption from Certain Low-Level Waste Shipment Tracking Requirements of 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix G, Section III.E (TAC Nos. L53042 and L53043), dated January 30, 2015 [ML15008A417].
- 7. Federal Register Notice 87 FR 12254 - Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning, dated March 3, 2022
[ML22063A463].
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