ML080520223

Issuance of Amendment No. 275, Revise Limiting Condition for Operation for Technical Specification 3.1.3.4, Reactivity Control Systems CEA (Control Element Assembly) Drop Time

ML080520223
Person / Time
Site:	Arkansas Nuclear
Issue date:	03/05/2008
From:	Wang A NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIV
To:	Entergy Operations
Wang, A B, NRR/DORL/LPLIV, 415-1445
Shared Package
ML080520210	List: ML080520223 ML080520225
References
TAC MD6627
Download: ML080520223 (9)

Text

March 5, 2008 Vice President, Operations Arkansas Nuclear One Entergy Operations, Inc.

1448 S.R. 333 Russellville, AR 72802

SUBJECT:

ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT NO. 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE:

CONTROL ELEMENT ASSEMBLY (CEA) DROP TIME (TAC NO. MD6627)

Dear Sir or Madam:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 275 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-6 for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit No. 2 (ANO-2). The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) in response to your application dated August 30, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 5, 2007.

The amendment revises TS 3.1.3.4, Reactivity Control Systems CEA [Control Element Assembly] Drop Time, to change the individual rod drop time from the fully withdrawn position to 90 percent insertion from less than or equal to 3.5 seconds to less than or equal to 3.7 seconds.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Alan B. Wang, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-368

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 275 to NPF-6

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

Pkg ML080520210 (Amdt. ML080520223, License/TS Pgs ML080520225)

OFFICE NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/LA DSS/SRXB/BC OGC NRR/LPL4/BC NAME AWang JBurkhardt GCranston (*) MSmith, NLO THiltz DATE 3/5/08 2/26/08 2/12/2008 3/3/08 3/5/08 Arkansas Nuclear One (2/25/2008) cc:

Senior Vice President Section Chief, Division of Health Entergy Nuclear Operations Radiation Control Section P.O. Box 31995 Arkansas Department of Health and Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Human Services 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 30 Vice President, Oversight Little Rock, AR 72205-3867 Entergy Nuclear Operations P.O. Box 31995 Section Chief, Division of Health Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Emergency Management Section Arkansas Department of Health and Senior Manager, Nuclear Safety Human Services

& Licensing 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 30 Entergy Nuclear Operations Little Rock, AR 72205-3867 P.O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995 Pope County Judge Pope County Courthouse Senior Vice President 100 W. Main Street

& Chief Operating Officer Russellville, AR 72801 Entergy Operations, Inc.

P.O. Box 31995 Senior Resident Inspector Jackson, MS 39286-1995 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 310 Associate General Counsel London, AR 72847 Entergy Nuclear Operations P.O. Box 31995 Regional Administrator, Region IV Jackson, MS 39286-1995 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Manager, Licensing Arlington, TX 76011-8064 Entergy Operations, Inc.

Arkansas Nuclear One 1448 SR 333 Russellville, AR 72802

ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.

DOCKET NO. 50-368 ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT NO. 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 275 Renewed License No. NPF-6

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

A. The application for amendment by Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee), dated August 30, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated December 5, 2007, complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's 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 Commission's regulations; D. The issuance of this license 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 Commission's 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 2.C.(2) of Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-6 is hereby amended to read as follows:

(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 275, are hereby incorporated in the renewed license.

The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications

3. The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented prior to startup following the spring 2008 refueling outage.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Thomas G. Hiltz, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-6 Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: March 5, 2008

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 275 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-6 DOCKET NO. 50-368 Replace the following pages of the Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-6 and Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

Operating License REMOVE INSERT Technical Specifications REMOVE INSERT 3/4 1-23 3/4 1-23

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 275 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-6 ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.

ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET NO. 50-368

1.0 INTRODUCTION

By application dated August 30, 2007 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML072610630) (Reference 1), as supplemented by letter dated December 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073510407) (Reference 2), Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee), requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit No. 2 (ANO-2). The supplemental letter dated December 5, 2007, provided additional information that clarified the application, did not expand the scope of the application as originally noticed, and did not change the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's original proposed no significant hazards consideration determination as published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2007 (72 FR 57324).

The proposed changes would revise TS 3.1.3.4, Reactivity Control Systems CEA [Control Element Assembly] Drop Time, to change the individual rod drop time from the fully withdrawn position to 90 percent insertion from less than 3.5 seconds to less than 3.7 seconds.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

The proposed TS change is governed by Section 50.36, Technical Specifications, of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), related to General Design Criterion (GDC) 10, AReactor Design,@ and GDC 26, AReactivity Control System requirements for Reactivity Control Malfunctions.@ In addition, 10 CFR 50.46, AAcceptance Criteria for Emergency Core Cooling Systems for Light Water Nuclear Power Reactors,@ defines the limits to be satisfied regarding accident analyses requirements.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

In Reference 1, the licensee proposes to modify the limiting condition of operation (LCO) for TS 3.1.3.4 by changing the CEA drop time, by revising the individual CEA drop time from the fully withdrawn position to 90 percent inserted to less than or equal to 3.7 seconds from the current value of 3.5 seconds. The arithmetic average of the drop times for all CEAs will remain at less than or equal to 3.2 seconds.

The proposed change in the drop time is associated with the implementation of the next generation fuel (NGF) for Cycle 20 following the spring 2008 refueling at ANO-2 (WCAP-16500-P, Reference 3).

In ANO-2 Amendment No. 100 (Reference 4), the NRC staff approved the current TS LCO that the average CEA insertion time (compared to the slowest insertion time) is acceptable for accident analyses. The individual control rod drop time depends on the weight of the extension shaft and the CEA coolant flow resistance with all coolant pumps operating. The coolant flow resistance increases with lower drop times, however, this difference is negligible. The shaft weight, on the other hand, makes a sensible difference. This weight is higher at the center control rods (with the highest worth) and lower toward the periphery where the rods have lower worth. There are more rods located at or near the periphery than at the center of the core.

There are two notable comments made in the NRC staff=s approval of Amendment No. 100:

(1) if the reactivity insertion rate has a distribution of about an average value, the results are the same as for reactivity insertion with the average value, and (2) to assure that the individual rod drop times do not affect the average drop time, the NRC staff required that the average time be in the TS. For ANO-2, this value is 3.2 seconds.

The licensee reported measurements and analyses of rod drop times for ANO-2. The NGF retains the configuration of the CEAs and the length and weight of the extension shafts but increases somewhat the flow velocity, which increases the flow resistance, thus, increasing the rod drop time. The licensee reported that the maximum drop time increase is 0.20 seconds.

That increase appeared in the peripheral CEAs (lightest shaft smallest reactivity worth) but the average value, while it increased somewhat, remained below 3.2 seconds including uncertainties. The actual current value is lower than 3.2 seconds and the small increase due to the NGF did increase the average value but still it is lower than 3.2 seconds. The results of the average CEA drop time is less than 3.2 seconds and, therefore, it is acceptable.

The licensee submitted information and requested TS changes for ANO-2 to increase the maximum rod drop time in TS 3.1.3.4 from 3.5 to 3.7 seconds. However, the average CEA drop time, while it increases, still remains below 3.2 seconds. Therefore, the NRC staff finds this change acceptable because the results of the accident analyses for a reactor scram remain unchanged and within current limits.

4.0 STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the Arkansas 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. The NRC staff has determined that the amendment involves no significant increase in the 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 published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2007 (72 FR 57354). 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 Commission's 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 T.G. Mitchell Entergy Operations, Incorporated to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ALicense Amendment Request to Revise Technical Specification 3.1.3.4 CEA Drop Time,@ August 30, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072610630).

2. Letter from T.G. Mitchell Entergy Operations, Incorporated to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ASupplement to Amendment Request to Revise Technical Specification 3.1.3.4 CEA Drop Time,@ December 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073510407).

3. WCAP-16500-P, ACE 16x16 Next Generation Fuel Core Reference Report,@ Revision 0, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, February 2006.

4. Letter from C. Poslusny, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to T. Campbell, Arkansas Power & Light Company, Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2, Amendment 100, Modifying Control Element Assembly (CEA) Drop Time Requirements of TS 3.1.3.4, October 12, 1989 (ADAMS Accession No. ML021500377).

Principal Contributor: Lambros Lois Date: March 5, 2008