ML040630732

Amendment 217 to License DPR-28 Revising Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio Values in Technical Specification 1.1.A.1 to Incorporate Results of cycle-specific Core Reload Analysis for Cycle 24 Operation

ML040630732
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee
Issue date:	03/22/2004
From:	Richard Ennis NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To:	Kansler M Entergy Nuclear Operations
Ennis R, NRR/DLPM, 415-1420
References
TAC MC1482
Download: ML040630732 (12)

Text

March 22, 2004 Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601

SUBJECT:

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1482)

Dear Mr. Kansler:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 217 to Facility Operating License DPR-28 for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), in response to your application dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004.

The amendment revises the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio values in Technical Specification 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 217 to License No. DPR-28

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page

Mr. Michael Kansler President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601

SUBJECT:

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: SAFETY LIMIT MINIMUM CRITICAL POWER RATIO (TAC NO. MC1482)

Dear Mr. Kansler:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 217 to Facility Operating License DPR-28 for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), in response to your application dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004.

The amendment revises the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio values in Technical Specification 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commissions biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-271

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 217 to License No. DPR-28

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION PUBLIC CRaynor FAkstulewicz CAnderson, RGN-I PDI-2 Reading REnnis THuang AHowe OGC TBoyce DRoberts ACRS GHill (2)

Accession No.: ML040630732 OFFICE PDI-2/PM PDI-2/LA SRXB/SC IROB/SC OGC PDI-2/SC(A)

NAME REnnis CRaynor FAkstulewicz TBoyce SLewis DRoberts DATE 3/3/04 3/3/04 3/4/04 3/4/04 3/10/04 3/21/04 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:

Regional Administrator, Region I Mr. Raymond N. McCandless U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Vermont Department of Health 475 Allendale Road Division of Occupational King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 and Radiological Health 108 Cherry Street Mr. David R. Lewis Burlington, VT 05402 Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge 2300 N Street, N.W. Manager, Licensing Washington, DC 20037-1128 Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC P.O. Box 0500 Ms. Christine S. Salembier, Commissioner 185 Old Ferry Road Vermont Department of Public Service Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 Resident Inspector Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Mr. Michael H. Dworkin, Chairman U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Service Board P.O. Box 176 State of Vermont Vernon, VT 05354 112 State Street Montpelier, VT 05620-2701 Director, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Chairman, Board of Selectmen ATTN: James Muckerheide Town of Vernon 400 Worcester Rd.

P.O. Box 116 Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Vernon, VT 05354-0116 Jonathan M. Block, Esq.

Mr. Michael Hamer Main Street Operating Experience Coordinator P.O. Box 566 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Putney, VT 05346-0566 320 Governor Hunt Road Vernon, VT 05354 Mr. John Kelly Director, Nuclear Safety Assurance G. Dana Bisbee, Esq. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Deputy Attorney General 440 Hamilton Avenue 33 Capitol Street White Plains, NY 10601 Concord, NH 03301-6937 Mr. Gary Taylor Chief, Safety Unit Chief Executive Officer Office of the Attorney General Entergy Operations One Ashburton Place, 19th Floor 1340 Echelon Parkway Boston, MA 02108 Jackson, MS 39213 Ms. Deborah B. Katz Box 83 Shelburne Falls, MA 01370

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station cc:

Mr. John Herron Mr. Ron Toole Sr. VP and Chief Operating Officer BWR SRC Consultant Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 605 West Horner Street 440 Hamilton Avenue Ebensburg, PA 15931 White Plains, NY 10601 Ms. Stacey Lousteau Mr. Dan Pace Treasury Department Vice President, Engineering Entergy Entergy Services, Inc.

Nuclear Operations, Inc. 639 Loyola Avenue, Mail Stop L-ENT-15E 440 Hamilton Avenue New Orleans, LA 70113 White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Michael Kansler Mr. Randall Edington President Vice President, Operations Support Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 440 Hamilton Avenue 440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. Raymond Shadis Director of Oversight New England Coalition Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Post Office Box 98 440 Hamilton Avenue Edgecomb, ME 04556 White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. James P. Matteau Mr. John M. Fulton Executive Director Assistant General Counsel Windham Regional Commission Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 139 Main Street, Suite 505 440 Hamilton Avenue Brattleboro, VT 05301 White Plains, NY 10601 Mr. William K. Sherman Mr. Jay K. Thayer Vermont Department of Public Service Site Vice President 112 State Street Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Drawer 20 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 P.O. Box 0500 185 Old Ferry Road Brattleboro, VT 05302-0500 Mr. Ken L. Graesser BWR SRC Consultant 38832 N. Ashley Drive Lake Villa, IL 60046 Jim Sniezek BWR SRC Consultant 5486 Nithsdale Drive Salisbury, MD 21801

ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE, LLC AND ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.

DOCKET NO. 50-271 VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 217 License No. DPR-28

1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:

A. The application for amendment filed by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensees) dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commissions rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I; B. The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C. There is reasonable assurance: (i) that the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations; D. The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and E. The issuance of this amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

2. Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and paragraph 3.B of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(B) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 217, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.

3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 60 days.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Darrell J. Roberts, Acting Chief, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 22, 2004

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 217 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-28 DOCKET NO. 50-271 Replace the following page of the Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised page. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains a marginal line indicating the area of change.

Remove Insert 6 6

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 217 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-28 ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE, LLC AND ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION DOCKET NO. 50-271

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated December 5, 2003, as supplemented on February 9, 2004 (References 1 and 2),

Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) submitted a request to amend the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS)

Technical Specifications (TSs). The supplement dated February 9, 2004, provided additional information that clarified the application, did not expand the scope of the application as originally noticed, and did not change the staffs original proposed no significant hazards consideration determination as published in the Federal Register on January 20, 2004 (69 FR 2741).

The proposed amendment would revise the Safety Limit Minimum Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) values in TS 1.1.A.1 to incorporate the results of the cycle-specific core reload analysis for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

As discussed in the VYNPS Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) Section 3.7, and the Bases for TS 1.1, the SLMCPR is a fuel design limit that is set to ensure that no fuel damage is calculated to occur if the limit is not violated. The SLMCPR is specified such that at least 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid boiling transition during the most severe abnormal operational transient, considering the power distribution in the core and all uncertainties. This method of selecting an operating limit is conservative because no fuel damage would be expected to occur even if a fuel rod experienced a boiling transition.

The SLMCPR values are determined using a statistical model that combines all the uncertainties in the operating parameters and the procedures used to calculate critical power.

The SLMCPR values are calculated prior to each plant operating cycle based on the plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters.

The construction permit for VYNPS was issued by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on December 11, 1967. As discussed in Appendix F of the VYNPS UFSAR, the plant was designed and constructed based on the proposed General Design Criteria (GDC) published by the AEC in the Federal Register (32 FR 10213) on July 11, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as draft GDC). The AEC published the final rule that added Appendix A to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants, in the Federal Register (36 FR 3255) on February 20, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as final GDC).

Differences between the draft GDC and final GDC included a consolidation from 70 to 64 criteria. As discussed in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)

Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-92-223, dated September 18, 1992 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML003763736), the Commission decided not to apply the final GDC to plants with construction permits issued prior to May 21, 1971. At the time of promulgation of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50, the Commission stressed that the final GDC were not new requirements and were promulgated to more clearly articulate the licensing requirements and practice in effect at that time. Each plant licensed before the final GDC were formally adopted was evaluated on a plant-specific basis, determined to be safe, and licensed by the Commission.

In order to determine the applicable regulatory acceptance criteria for the proposed amendment, the NRC staff reviewed the licensee's letters dated December 5, 2003 and February 9, 2004 (References 1 and 2). In addition, the staff reviewed NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan (SRP), dated April 1996, Section 4.4, Thermal and Hydraulic Design.

Based on a review of SRP Section 4.4, the NRC staff determined that final GDC 10 is applicable to SLMCPR changes. Attachment 2 to Entergy letter BVY 03-90, dated October 1, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No. ML032810447), provides a matrix of the draft GDCs versus the corresponding final GDCs. Based on Attachment 2 of letter BVY 03-90, final GDC 10 corresponds to draft GDC 6. The draft GDC requirements are as follows:

 Draft GDC 6, Reactor Core Design (Category A), requires that the reactor core be designed to function throughout its design lifetime, without exceeding acceptable fuel design limits which have been stipulated and justified. The core design, together with reliable process and decay heat removal systems, shall provide for this capability under all expected conditions of normal operation with appropriate margins for uncertainties and for transient situations which can be anticipated.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

3.1 Licensee's Proposed Changes The SLMCPR values, as currently specified in TS 1.1.A.1 are 1.10 for dual recirculation loop operation and 1.12 for single recirculation loop operation. For the next VYNPS operating cycle (Cycle 24), the licensee has proposed to change the SLMCPR values to 1.07 for dual recirculation loop operation and 1.09 for single recirculation loop operation.

3.2 NRC Staff Evaluation of Proposed Changes The Cycle 24 SLMCPR values are based on a full core of 368 fuel assemblies, of which there are 116 fresh GE14 fuel bundles, 128 once-burned GE14 fuel bundles, 104 twice-burned GE13 fuel bundles, and 20 GE9B bundles loaded in Cycle 17.

In Attachment 1 of Reference 1, the licensee states that the proposed SLMCPR values are based on analysis by Global Nuclear Fuels (GNF) using VYNPS plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters and NRC-approved methodologies. A proprietary summary of the GNF analysis was provided in Attachment 5, GNF Summary of Technical Basis for SLMCPR Values of Reference 1. A non-proprietary version of the GNF summary was provided in Attachment 6 of Reference 1.

The GNF analysis referenced the following NRC-approved methodologies:

 NEDC-32505P, Revision 1, R-Factor Calculation Method for GE11,GE12 and GE13 Fuel;

 NEDO-10958-A, General Electric Boiling Water Reactor Thermal Analysis Basis (GETAB);

 NEDC-32601P, Methodology and Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations;

 NEDC-32694P, Power Distribution Uncertainties for Safety Limit MCPR Evaluations; and

 Amendment 25 to NEDE-24011-P-A, General Electric Standard Application for Reactor Fuel (GESTAR II).

The NRC staff reviewed the licensees justification, in References 1 and 2, for the proposed change in the SLMCPR values from 1.10 to 1.07 for two recirculation loop operation, and from 1.12 to 1.09 for single recirculation loop operation, using the approach delineated in Amendment 25 to GESTAR II.

The GNF analysis summary in Reference 1 explained the overall reduction of the SLMCPR values for VYNPS Cycle 24 operation with respect to the SLMCPR values for Cycle 23 operation. Further information was provided by GNF in Reference 2. The calculated reductions in SLMCPR values from Cycle 23 to Cycle 24 are due to use of the NRC-approved revised power distribution model and its associated reduced power distribution uncertainties.

Based on the review of the GNF analysis, the NRC staff finds that: 1) the analysis results are based on NRC-approved methodologies using plant-specific and cycle-specific fuel and core parameters; and 2) the analysis results indicate that the proposed SLMCPR values are conservative (as shown in Tables 1 and 2 of Attachment 5 in Reference 1). Therefore, the staff concludes that there is reasonable assurance that the proposed SLMCPR values are specified such that at least 99.9% of the fuel rods in the core are expected to avoid boiling transition during the most severe abnormal operational transient, considering the power distribution in the core and all uncertainties, consistent with the requirements of draft GDC 6 regarding acceptable fuel design limits.

3.3 Technical Evaluation Conclusion Based on the considerations discussed in Safety Evaluation Section 3.2, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed amendment is acceptable.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Vermont State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and changes surveillance requirements. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in amounts, and no significant change in the types of any effluents that may be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The Commission has previously issued a proposed finding that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (69 FR 2741). Accordingly, the amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of the amendment.

6.0 CONCLUSION

The Commission has concluded, based on the considerations discussed above, that: (1) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commissions regulations, and (3) the issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.

7.0 REFERENCES

1) Letter from J. K. Thayer (Entergy) to NRC dated December 5, 2003, Technical Specification Proposed Change No. 264, Safety Limit Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR)

Change

2) Letter from J. K. Thayer (Entergy) to NRC dated February 9, 2004, Technical Specification Proposed Change No. 264 - Supplement 1, Safety Limit Critical Power Ratio (SLMCPR) Change - Response to Request for Additional Information Principal Contributors: T. Huang R. Ennis Date: March 22, 2004