ML24172A137

Exemption

ML24172A137
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar, Browns Ferry
Issue date:	07/15/2024
From:	Bo Pham Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Jim Barstow Tennessee Valley Authority
Green K
Shared Package
ML24172A146	List: ML24172A134 ML24172A135 ML24172A136 ML24172A137 ML24172A138 ML24172A139 ML24172A140
References
EPID L-2023-LLE-0024, NRC-2024-0118
Download: ML24172A137 (6)

Text

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-390, 50-391, and 72-1048; NRC-2024-0118]

Tennessee Valley Authority;

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2;

Exemption

I. Background

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the holder of Facility Operating License

Nos. NPF-90 and NPF-96, and General License No. 72-1048, for operation of the Watts

Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, and an independent spent fuel storage installation

(Watts Bar site), respectively, located in Rhea County, Tennessee. The operating

licenses are subject to all applicable provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and to the

rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or

Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II. Request/Action

By letter dated September 28, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23271A063), as supplemented on

March 14, 2024 (ML24074A457), TVA requested an exemption from the requirement in

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 37, paragraph 37.11(c)(2) to

use a locked door or gate at the access control point to where radioactive waste that

contains category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material is stored.

The provisions of 10 CFR part 37 establish physical security requirements to

prevent the theft or diversion of risk-significant radioactive materials (i.e., category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material). As stated in NUREG-2155, Rev. 2,

Implementation Guidance for 10 CFR Part 37, Physical Protection of Category 1 and

Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material (ML22083A141), 10 CFR 37.11 exempts

radioactive wastes that contain category 2 quantities or greater of radioactive material

from the security requirements in subparts B, C, and D of 10 CFR part 37. Instead, the

radioactive waste is subject to the requirements in 10 CFR 37.11(c)(1) through (c)(4).

The regulation at 10 CFR 37.11(c)(2) requires that the licensee secure the radioactive

waste by a locked door or gate with monitored alarm at the access control point.

The Watts Bar site includes old steam generator storage facilities (OSGSFs) that

are used to store the contaminated old steam generators (OSGs). The OSGs exceed the

threshold for a category 2 quantity of radioactivity, as defined in 10 CFR 37.5, but do not

contain discrete radioactive sources, ion-exchange resins, or activated materials that

weigh less than 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds), as described in 10 CFR 37.11(c). As

such, the licensee is required by 10 CFR 37.11(c)(2) to have a monitored alarm at the

access control point to the OSGSFs where the OSGs are stored.

TVA describes the OSGSFs as robust structures that are closed with 10 stacked

precast concrete panels weighing approximately 17,237 kilograms (38,000 pounds)

each. The OSGSFs are located outside the Sequoyah protected area, but within the

exclusion area and site boundary. Removal of the concrete panels is the only access

point of sufficient size to remove an OSG and requires heavy lifting and rigging

equipment that cannot be staged or utilized quickly. Removal of the concrete panels is

an evolution that is easily observable over an extended period of time.

TVA has requested a permanent exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR

37.11(c)(2) to address a regulatory noncompliance that has resulted in the issuance of

minor violations at the Sequoyah site.

2 III. Discussion

Pursuant to 10 CFR 37.11(a), the Commission may, upon application of any

interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions from the

requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 37 as it determines are authorized by law

and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security, and are

otherwise in the public interest.

A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law.

The exemption would exempt the licens ee from the requirement to have a

monitored alarm at the access control point to the OSGSFs where the OSGs are stored.

As stated previously, 10 CFR 37.11(a) allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the

requirements of 10 CFR part 37. The NRC staff has determined that granting of the

exemption is permissible under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and other

regulatory requirements. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.

B. The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense

and Security.

The purpose of 10 CFR part 37 is to provide reasonable assurance of the security

of category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material by protecting these

materials from theft or diversion. As required by 10 CFR 37.11, each licensee that

possesses radioactive waste that contains category 1 or category 2 quantity of

radioactive material shall implement the following requirements to secure the radioactive

waste: (1) use continuous physical barriers that allow access to the radioactive waste

only through established access control points; (2) use a locked door or gate with

monitored alarm at the access control point; (3) assess and respond to each actual or

3 attempted unauthorized access to determine whether an actual or attempted theft,

sabotage, or diversion occurred; and (4) immediately notify the local law enforcement

agency (LLEA) and request an armed response from the LLEA upon determination that

there was an actual or attempted theft, sabotage, or diversion of the radioactive waste

that contains category 1 or category 2 quantities of radioactive material.

After issuance of the final part 37 rule, the NRC issued Enforcement Guidance

Memorandum (EGM) 2014-001, Interim Guidance for Dispositioning 10 CFR Part 37

Violations with Respect to Large Components or Robust Structures Containing Category

1 or Category 2 Quantities of Material at Power Reactor Facilities Licensed Under 10

CFR Parts 50 and 52 (ML14056A151), on March 13, 2014, to provide guidance to NRC

staff for dispositioning violations associated with 10 CFR part 37 with respect to large

components containing category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material

stored in robust structures at power reactor facilities licensed under 10 CFR parts 50 and

52. The EGM acknowledges that due to their size and weight, these large components

are not easily moved without cranes, rigging, and heavy equipment. In addition, these

large components are not easily concealed during loading or when they are in motion,

and the amount of time required to steal or divert these large components is such that it

is reasonable to expect that the licensee would detect these activities.

TVA has a written 10 CFR part 37 security plan for Watts Bar that identifies the

OSGs as large components and the OSGSFs as robust structures containing category 1

or category 2 quantities of radioactive material. The plan also identifies the security

measures that are adequate to detect, assess, and respond to actual or attempted theft

or diversion of stored materials from the OSGSFs. TVA provided a written analysis that

considers the time needed to accomplish these activities given the proximity and mobility

of the equipment available for the large components and robust structures supporting

4 the 10 CFR part 37 security plan. TVA also provided a written analysis documenting that

the measures for the protection of large components or robust structures containing

category 1 or category 2 quantities of material do not decrease the effectiveness of the

10 CFR part 73 security plan.

Because TVA has a security plan that contains measures to control access to the

radioactive waste, assess and respond to unauthorized access, and notify and request

an armed response by the LLEA, the NRC finds that the exemption will not endanger life

or property or the common defense and security.

C. The Exemption is in the Public Interest.

TVA stated that the exemption would preclude the expenditure of resources that

provide no additional security and protection for the OSGs. Granting of the exemption

would also allow TVA to address a regulatory noncompliance and avoid future violations.

As noted previously, the OSGs are large components that are stored in robust

structures that would require the use of heavy lifting and rigging equipment that cannot

be staged or utilized quickly. Requiring the use of a locked door or gate with monitored

alarm at the access control point is supplanted by the licensees security plan which

utilizes other means to detect unauthorized access, while the exemption would reduce

the regulatory burden on the licensee and the NRC staff. Therefore, the NRC staff

concludes that the exemption is in the public interest.

IV. Environmental Considerations

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.21, 51.32, and 51.35, an environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact regarding this exemption request was published in the

5 Federal Register on June 27, 2024 (89 FR 53665). Based upon the environmental

assessment, the Commission has determined that issuance of this exemption will not

have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.

V. Conclusions

Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 37.11(a),

the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or the common

defense and security, and is in the public interest.

Dated: July 15, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Bo Pham, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

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