NL-04-0537, Supplement to Request for Relaxation of the First Revised NRC Order (EA-03-009) Establishing Interim Inspection Requirements for Reactor Pressure Vessel Heads at Pressurized Water Reactors

Supplement to Request for Relaxation of the First Revised NRC Order (EA-03-009) Establishing Interim Inspection Requirements for Reactor Pressure Vessel Heads at Pressurized Water Reactors

ML040960090
Person / Time
Site:	Farley
Issue date:	04/01/2004
From:	Stinson L Southern Nuclear Operating Co
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
EA-03-009, NL-04-0537
Download: ML040960090 (2)

Text

L M. Stinson (Mike) Southern Nuclear Vice President Operating Company, Inc.

40 Inverness Center Parkway Post Office Box 1295 Birmingham, Alabama 35201 Tel 205.992.5181 Fax 205.992.0341 S %OUTHERN April 1, 2004 COMPANY Energy to Serve Your Wo rld S Docket No.: 50-364 NL-04-0537 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, D. C. 20555-0001 Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant - Unit 2 Supplement to Request for Relaxation of the First Revised NRC Order (EA-03-009) Establishing Interim Inspection Requirements for Reactor Pressure Vessel Heads at Pressurized Water Reactors Ladies and Gentlemen:

In a letter dated March 25, 2004, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) requested relaxation of an inspection coverage requirement for specific penetration nozzles at Unit 2 of the Farley Nuclear Plant (FNP). This request was made in accordance with the requirements of Section IV.F of the February 20, 2004 Commission First Revised Order (EA-03-009) Establishing Interim Inspection Requirements for Reactor Pressure Vessel Heads at Pressurized Water Reactors.

In a March 31, 2004 telephone call with the staff, SNC was asked to supplement this relaxation request by explicitly committing to a contingency regarding crack growth analysis. This contingency was contained in the April 25, 2003 NRC letter which approved certain requested relaxations to the original Order and formed the basis for SNC's inspection plan for the FNP Unit 2 reactor pressure vessel (RPV) head.

Accordingly, SNC commits that if the NRC staff finds that the crack growth formula in industry report MRP-55 is unacceptable, SNC shall revise its analysis justifying relaxation of the Order within 30 days after NRC informs SNC of an NRC-approved crack growth formula. If SNC's revised analysis shows that the crack growth acceptance criteria are exceeded prior to the end of the current operating cycle, the relaxation is rescinded and SNC shall, within 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br />, submit to the NRC written justification for continued operation. If the revised analysis shows that the crack growth acceptance criteria are exceeded during the subsequent operating cycle, SNC shall, within 30 days, submit the revised analysis for NRC review. If the revised analysis shows that the crack growth acceptance criteria are not exceeded during either the current operating cycle or the subsequent operating cycle, SNC shall, within 30 days, submit a letter to the NRC confirming that its analysis has been revised.

Note that no subsequent operating cycle is planned for the FNP Unit 2 RPV head.

Replacement of the RPV head is scheduled at the next FNP Unit 2 refueling outage, in fall 2005.

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NL-04-0537 Page 2 SNC requests approval of the requested relaxation by April 2, 2004 in order to support the planned re-installation of the FNP Unit 2 RPV head.

If you have any questions, please advise.

Mr. L. M. Stinson states he is a Vice President of Southern Nuclear Operating Company, is authorized to execute this oath on behalf of Southern Nuclear Operating Company and to the best of his knowledge and belief, the facts set forth in this letter are true.

Respectfully submitted, SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY L. M. Stinson

,Vorn to andsubscribedbefor me this / day of e*~, 2004.

-- .I-- ~ ~ _y _

NoaryP lic

'H~M commiission expires: $4 LMS/DWD/daj cc: Southern Nuclear Operating Company Mr. J. B. Beasley, Jr., Executive Vice President Mr. D. E. Grissette, General Manager - Plant Farley RTYPE: CFA04.054; LC# 14003 U. S. Nuclear Regulatorv Commission Mr. L. A. Reyes, Regional Administrator (2 copies)

Mr. S. E. Peters, NRR Project Manager - Farley Mr. C. A. Patterson, Senior Resident Inspector - Farley Document Control Desk (3 copies)