Press Release-04-055, NRC Provides Update on Review Process for Vermont Yankee Uprate Request
| ML041260114 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/05/2004 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| References | |
| FOIA/PA-2004-0369 Press Release-04-055 | |
| Download: ML041260114 (6) | |
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No.04-055 May 5, 2004 NRC PROVIDES UPDATE ON REVIEW PROCESS FOR VERMONT YANKEE UPRATE REQUEST The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced it will utilize a new engineering assessment inspection as part of its review of Entergy Nuclears request to increase the power output of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant by 20 percent.
The NRCs intentions are discussed in the agencys reply to the Vermont Public Service Boards (PSB) request for assurances about Vermont Yankees reliability following an uprate.
Although the NRCs regulatory authority does not cover reliability specifically, the agency oversees many safety-related systems and functions that contribute to a plants reliable operation.
The agency remains committed to ensuring continued safe operation of Vermont Yankee. I have given the Governor my assurances on this, NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said.
In addition to its substantial uprate review process, the NRC has decided to also conduct a new engineering design inspection, which has been under development for several months to enhance the Reactor Oversight Process. The inspection will provide additional information for the NRC and be responsive to the PSBs concerns. The NRC staff considered a number of factors, including the Boards request for an independent engineering assessment, and concluded it is appropriate to conduct this engineering inspection at Vermont Yankee, Chairman Diaz said.
The NRC will use the new inspection to proactively identify any latent issues in a nuclear power plants design, focusing on those components and systems devoted to safety. The design inspection will include an evaluation of changes to the plants licensing basis to ensure safety margins remain adequate. At Vermont Yankee, the inspection process will involve three weeks of on-site inspections and more than 700 hours0.0081 days <br />0.194 hours <br />0.00116 weeks <br />2.6635e-4 months <br /> of direct inspection time.
The NRCs inspection team of approximately six will include experienced NRC inspectors, some of whom have not had recent oversight involvement with Vermont Yankee, and at least two contractors with experience in reactor design. The agency will share the inspection schedule with Vermont officials to facilitate state representative participation, as allowed by NRC regulation and policy.
The NRC will not approve the Vermont Yankee uprate, or any proposed changes to a reactors license, unless the agency can conclude the changes can be implemented safely. The full text of the NRCs letter to the PSB is provided.
Mr. Michael H. Dworkin, Chairman Vermont Public Service Board 112 State Street, Drawer 20 Montpelier, Vermont 05620-2701
Dear Mr. Dworkin:
I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letters dated March 15 and 31, 2004, regarding the request by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy), to amend the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station license to increase the power level of the facility. In those letters, the Vermont Public Service Board requested that the NRC conduct its review of the proposed power uprate in a way that would provide Vermont a level of assurance about plant reliability equivalent to an independent engineering assessment. The NRC has decided to conduct a detailed engineering inspection that we believe will be appropriate for addressing our oversight responsibilities and is also responsive to the Boards concerns. This inspection will be performed as part of a new engineering inspection program that the NRC has been developing to enhance the Reactor Oversight Process.
NRC regulations and its oversight process focus on ensuring nuclear safety, whether the facility is operating at power or shut down. The NRCs statutory authority does not extend to regulating the reliability of electrical generation. The NRC recognizes, however, that there is some overlap between attributes that result in safe operation and those that contribute to overall plant reliability.
The Commission understands that the Board is concerned about the reliability of Vermont Yankee following an increase in power level, especially in light of operational issues that have occurred at some other plants that have recently implemented extended power uprates. The NRC recognizes the importance of these issues and is taking steps to ensure that they are satisfactorily addressed to maintain safety. For example, in response to instances of steam dryer cracking at some boiling water reactors, outside technical experts are assisting NRC staff in performing an audit of General Electric's analyses related to steam dryer performance and specific issues related to Vermont Yankee. We continue to engage the industry to ensure resolution of these issues and will consider additional regulatory action, if needed.
The NRCs established review process for power uprate applications is independent, thorough, and comprehensive. A description of the review process is enclosed. Engineering assessments have always been an integral part of the NRCs safety activities. Under our current Reactor Oversight Process, NRC resident inspectors and regional specialists routinely evaluate the work performed by the licensees engineering organization to determine whether engineering analyses adequately support safe operation. Over the past several months, the NRC has been developing a new engineering inspection program which we intend to pilot at selected plants. The NRC staff considered a number of factors, including the Boards request for an independent engineering assessment, and concluded it is appropriate to conduct this engineering inspection at Vermont Yankee. This new engineering assessment inspection incorporates the best practices of the existing and past engineering inspections. The NRC will use this inspection to verify that design bases have been correctly implemented for a sampling of components across multiple systems and to identify latent design issues. The inspection process uses operating experience, risk assessment, and engineering analysis to select risk-significant components and operator actions, and will ensure that adequate safety margins exist. Although the specific sampling of components is still being developed, it will include components from multiple systems that are potentially affected by a power uprate such as the emergency core cooling systems, the containment system, power conversion systems, and auxiliary systems. The inspection will be performed by a team of approximately six inspectors, including some NRC inspectors who do not have recent oversight experience with Vermont Yankee and at least two contractors with design experience. Three weeks of on-site
inspection and over 700 hours0.0081 days <br />0.194 hours <br />0.00116 weeks <br />2.6635e-4 months <br /> of direct inspection time will be conducted. This level of effort exceeds that of the biennial safety system design inspection. The Commission believes it is appropriate for addressing the NRC's oversight responsibilities and is also responsive to the Boards concerns. The NRC staff will inform the State of Vermont of the schedule for this inspection to facilitate participation by State representatives, consistent with NRC policy.
The NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will also review the Vermont Yankee power uprate request. The ACRS is a statutory committee that reports directly to the Commission and is structured to provide a forum where experts representing many technical perspectives can provide advice that is factored into the NRCs decision-making process. The NRC staff will provide the results of its review efforts, including relevant inspection findings, to the ACRS for review. After the ACRS completes its review, it will make an independent recommendation regarding whether the proposed power uprate amendment should be approved.
The NRC will not approve the Vermont Yankee uprate, or any proposed change to a plant license, unless the NRC staff can conclude that the proposed change will be executed in a manner that assures the publics health and safety. In response to your request, the NRC staff has taken a close look at proposed inspections and technical reviews to ensure that they will identify and address potential safety concerns for operating at uprated power conditions. The staff has concluded that the detailed technical review, prescribed in the Extended Power Uprate Review Standard, coupled with the normal associated program of power uprate and engineering inspections, will provide the information necessary for the NRC staff to make a decision on the safety of operation of Vermont Yankee under uprated power conditions. The Commission believes that the results of NRC reviews and inspections, particularly the new engineering inspection, will assist in addressing the Boards concerns regarding the future reliability of Vermont Yankee. The NRC staff is prepared to meet with the Board to explain further our review process and scope, including the engineering assessment inspection.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Nils J. Diaz
Enclosure:
Established NRC Power Uprate Review Process
Established NRC Power Uprate Review Process The NRCs established review process for power uprate applications is independent, thorough, and comprehensive. A team of engineers with specialties in a minimum of 17 different technical areas will review the Vermont Yankee power uprate application. The NRC plans to expend about 4000 hours0.0463 days <br />1.111 hours <br />0.00661 weeks <br />0.00152 months <br /> to perform a comprehensive assessment of the engineering, design, and safety analyses related to the uprate. The NRCs Review Standard for Extended Power Uprates guides the staff in its review of the application. The Review Standard also provides guidance for determining when and what type of audits should be performed at the plant or vendor sites, as well as for performing our own confirmatory analyses and independent calculations to supplement the review.
The NRCs review of the power uprate application also includes on-site inspections. NRC inspections will review selected activities and modifications made to allow operation at higher power levels to verify that changes to plant systems will support safe plant operation and are in accordance with Vermont Yankees licensing and design bases. The NRC will use Inspection Procedure 71004, Power Uprates, as well as a number of our baseline inspection procedures to inspect issues specifically related to power uprate. These inspections will assess changes that could impact the integrity of barriers (e.g., higher flow rates which could increase vibration at specific support points),
safety evaluations, plant modifications, post maintenance and surveillance testing, heat exchanger performance, and integrated plant operation. Additionally, our other baseline inspection activities, while not specifically directed at power uprate activities, will provide additional information about Vermont Yankees ability to operate safely at a higher power level.
The NRC will adjust, as necessary, our technical review, audit plans, confirmatory analyses, or inspection activities if any issues are identified which may have a bearing on our decision on the Vermont Yankee power uprate application. For example, a recent examination of the steam dryer at Vermont Yankee identified cracks on both interior and exterior structures of the steam dryer. The steam dryer is an important component in the process for converting steam to electrical energy, but is not used to mitigate any accidents. The NRC is interested in steam dryer cracking because of the potential for parts to break loose and impact the performance of safety-related equipment. Entergy has indicated that the cracks are in low-stress, low-steam flow areas of the dryer and not in the areas where cracks were observed at other plants that implemented extended power uprates. NRC inspectors monitored Entergys steam dryer inspection activities, and we will thoroughly review Entergys follow-up actions as part of our evaluation of Vermont Yankees request to operate at a higher power level.
Assessment of engineering has always been an integral part of the NRCs safety mission. In the 1990s, the NRC performed extensive reviews at plants across the country to determine if licensees were operating plants in accordance with their design bases. As part of this review, two team inspections were conducted at Vermont Yankee in 1997. One of these inspections was led by staff from NRC headquarters and included six contractors. In 1998, the NRC conducted an engineering inspection, as well as a team inspection to address operability issues resulting from Vermont Yankees configuration improvement program. Under our current Reactor Oversight Process, NRC resident inspectors and regional specialists routinely evaluate the work performed by the licensees engineering organization to determine whether the engineering analyses adequately supports safe operation. Our inspectors conduct both routine engineering inspections, as well as an in-depth team inspection every two years. Since the Reactor Oversight Process was implemented in 2000, the NRC has conducted two such safety system design team inspections.
Enclosure