PLA-6346, Main Steam Line Limit Curves
| ML081010545 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 04/01/2008 |
| From: | Mckinney B Susquehanna |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| PLA-6346 | |
| Download: ML081010545 (6) | |
Text
Britt T. McKInney PPL Susquehanna, LLC o
Sr. Vice President & Chief Nuclear Officer 769 Salem Boulevard*
0 V, 13 0 Berwick, PA 18"603 Tel. 570.542.3149 Fax 570.542.1504 btmckinney@pplweb.com C30- -
APR 0 12008 t
- TM U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Mail Stop OP 1-17 Washington, DC 20555 SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION UNIT 1 MAIN STEAM LINE. LIMIT CURVES Docket Nos. 50-387 PLA-6346 and 50-388
Reference:
"Unit I Operating License No. NPF-14, License Condition 2C.C(36) (b) 1,"
dated February 27, 2008.
The purpose of this letter is to submit Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 1 main steam line limit curves in response to a request from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). These curves are valid for operation up to 107% of 3489 MWT. However, they are not being used as acceptance criteria during the Unit I startup following the 2008 refueling outage.
As described in Reference 1, the dryer strain gauge acceptance limits for instrumentation mounted on the dryer and associated limit curves (provided therein) will be used as acceptance criteria for Unit 1 operation up to 107% of 3489 MWT. Main steam line limit curves Will be used above 107% of 3489 MWT. The Unit 1 main steam line limit curves that will be used for Unit 1 operation above 107% will be provided 45 days prior to operation above 107% (currently planned to: occur after the Unit 1 2010 refueling outage). contains GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC (GEH) proprietary,.
information. As such, GEH requests that the proprietary information be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 (a) 4 and 9.17 (a) 4. Attachment 2 contains the non-proprietary version of the information contained in Attachment 1. contains an affidavit supporting the GEH request for withholding from public disclosure.
If you have any questions or require additional information; please contact Mr. Michael H. Crowthers at (610) 774-7766.
Document Control Desk PLA-6346 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on:
-(-0 B. T. McKinney : Proprietary Version of the "Unit 1 Main Steam Line Limit Curves" : Non-Proprietary Version of the "Unit; I Main Steam Line Limit Curves" : GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC Affidavit Copy:
NRC Region I Mr. B. K. Vaidya, NRC Project Manager Mr. R. R. Janati, DEP/BRP Mr. F. W. Jaxheimer, NRC Sr. Resident Inspector to PLA-6346 GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC Affidavit
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC AFFIDAVIT I, Tim E. Abney, state as follows:
(1) I am Vice President, Services Licensing, Regulatory Affairs, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy-Americas LLC ("GEH"). I have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.
(2) The information sought to be withheld is contained in GEH letter, GE-SSES-AEP-349, MSL Limit Curves, GEH Proprietary and Non-proprietary, dated March 25, 2008. GEH proprietary information is identified by a dotted underline inside double square brackets
((This. sentence is an examp..)'1].
In each case, the superscript notation
, refers to Paragraph (3) of this affidavit, which provides the basis for the proprietary determination.
(3)
In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner or licensee, GEH relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.390(a)(4) for "trade secrets" (Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought also qualify under the narrower definition of "trade secret", within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 975F2d871 (DC Cir. 1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704F2dl280 (DC Cir. 1983).
(4) Some examples of categories of information which fit into the definition of proprietary information are:
- a.
Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEH's competitors without license from GEH constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies;
- b.
Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product;
- c.
Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future GEH customer-funded development plans and programs, resulting in potential products to GEH;
- d.
Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.
The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b. above.
Af GE-SSES-AEP-349.doc Affidavit Page I of 3
(5)
To address 10 CFR 2.390(b)(4), the information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GEH, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GEH, no public disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties, including any required transmittals to NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence. Its initial designation as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in paragraphs (6) and (7) following.
(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge, or subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH. Access to such documents within GEH is limited on a "need to know" basis.
(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist, or other equivalent authority for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements.
(8)
The information identified in paragraph (2) above is classified as proprietary because it contains results and details of structural analysis methods and techniques developed by GEH for evaluations of a BWR Steam Dryer and of other reactor internals, including separators. Development of these methods, techniques, and information and their application for the design, modification, and analyses methodologies and processes for the Steam Dryer Program and to the design and manufacturing of other BWR internal hardware was achieved at a significant cost to GEH, on the order of approximately several million dollars.
The development of the evaluation process along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GEH asset.
(9)
Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEH's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEH's comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost.
The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process. In addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.
Af GE-SSES-AEP-349.doc Affidavit Page 2 of 3
-9.
The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GEH.
The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial.
GEH's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GEH experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.
The value of this information to GEH would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GEH of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing and obtaining these very valuable analytical tools.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
Executed on this 25th day of March 2008.
Tim E. Abney GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC Af GE-SSES-AEP-349.doc Affidavit Page 3 of 3