ML050450455

February 22, 2005 - Proprietary Determination for Handouts for January 25 and 26, 2005, Meeting with Exelon Generation Company on Steam Dryer Analyses for the Quad Cities and Dresden Nuclear Power Stations

ML050450455
Person / Time
Site:	Dresden, Quad Cities
Issue date:	02/22/2005
From:	Rossbach L NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD3
To:	NRC
Rossbach L, 415-2863, NRR/DLPM
Shared Package
ML050450482	List: ML050450455 ML050450564
References
Download: ML050450455 (3)

Text

February 22, 2005 TO: File FROM: Lawrence Rossbach, Project Manager Project Directorate 3-2 /RA/

Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT:

PROPRIETARY DETERMINATION FOR HANDOUTS FOR JANUARY 25 AND 26, 2005, MEETING WITH EXELON GENERATION COMPANY ON STEAM DRYER ANALYSES FOR THE QUAD CITIES AND DRESDEN NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS By affidavit dated January 26, 2005, executed by Dave J. Robare of General Electric Company (GE), GE requested that the information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:

Steam Dryer Loading Analysis Technical Review, dated January 25-26, 2005.

A nonproprietary copy of this document has been added to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)

Public Electronic Reading Room at Accession Number ML050390467. A non-publicly available proprietary copy of this document has been placed in ADAMS at package Accession Number ML050390463.

The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:

It is information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEs competitors without license from GE constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies.

It is 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.

It is information that contains detailed results of analytical models, methods and processes, including computer codes, which GE has developed, and applied to steam dryer loading analysis for the boiling water reactor (BWR). The development of the steam dryer loading analysis for the BWR was achieved at a significant cost, in excess of a hundred thousand dollars, to GE. The development of the steam dryer loading analysis along with the interpretation and application of the analytical results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GE asset.

Public disclosure or the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEs competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEs 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.

The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GE.

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.

GEs competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GE 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 GE 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 GE of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing these very valuable analytical tools.

I have reviewed GEs affidavit and the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of GEs statements, have determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld from public disclosure.

Therefore, the version of the submitted information marked as proprietary will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.

Docket Nos. 50-254, 50-265, 50-237, and 50-249

Attachment:

GE affidavit dated January 26, 2005

ML050450455 Package Accession No.: ML050450482 OFFICE PM: PDIII-2 LA: PDIII-2 SC: PDIII-2 NAME LRossbach PCoates GSuh DATE 2 /22/2005 2/22 /2005 2 /22/2005