ML063380020

Issuance of License Amendment 192 Regarding TS 5.6.5, Core Operating Limits Report.

ML063380020
Person / Time
Site:	Diablo Canyon
Issue date:	12/20/2006
From:	Wang A NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIV
To:	Keenan J Pacific Gas & Electric Co
Wang A, NRR/DORL/LPL4, 301-415-1445
Shared Package
ML063380018	List: ML063380020 ML063550031
References
TAC MC9567
Download: ML063380020 (11)

Text

December 20, 2006 Mr. John S. Keenan Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

P.O. Box 770000

San Francisco, CA 94177-0001

SUBJECT:

DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT, UNIT NO. 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: TS 5.6.5, "CORE OPERATING LIMITS REPORT (COLR)," (TAC NO.

MC9567)

Dear Mr. Keenan:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 192 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-82 for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2. The

amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated January 13, 2006, as supplemented by letter dated September 29, 2006.

The amendment revises TS 5.6.5, "Core Operating Limits Report (COLR)," by adding Westinghouse Topical Report WCAP-16009-P-A, "Realistic Large-Break LOCA [Loss-of-

Coolant Accident] Evaluation Methodology Using the Automated Statistical Treatment of

Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM)," dated January 2005, as an approved analytical method for

determining the core operating limits for Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2. The licensee

performed the best-estimate LOCA analyses with an assumed core power level of 3,468 MWt in

order to bound any future potential increase in the license maximum core power associated with

a measurement uncertainty recapture power uprat

e. As stated in the Safety Evaluation, any future calorimetric power uprate for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2, will require a

separate license amendment for NRC staff review.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next regular biweekly Federal Register notice.Sincerely,/RA Alan Wang, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-323

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 192 to DPR-82

2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page December 20, 2006 Mr. John S. Keenan

Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

P.O. Box 770000

San Francisco, CA 94177-0001

SUBJECT:

DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT, UNIT NO. 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT RE: TS 5.6.5, "CORE OPERATING LIMITS REPORT (COLR)," (TAC NO.

MC9567)

Dear Mr. Keenan:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 192 to Facility Operating License No. DPR-82 for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2. The

amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated January 13, 2006, as supplemented by letter dated September 29, 2006.

The amendment revises TS 5.6.5, "Core Operating Limits Report (COLR)," by adding Westinghouse Topical Report WCAP-16009-P-A, "Realistic Large-Break LOCA [Loss-of-

Coolant Accident] Evaluation Methodology Using the Automated Statistical Treatment of

Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM)," dated January 2005, as an approved analytical method for

determining the core operating limits for Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2. The licensee

performed the best-estimate LOCA analyses with an assumed core power level of 3,468 MWt in

order to bound any future potential increase in the license maximum core power associated with

a measurement uncertainty recapture power uprat

e. As stated in the Safety Evaluation, any future calorimetric power uprate for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit No. 2, will require a

separate license amendment for NRC staff review.

A copy of the related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's next regular biweekly Federal Register notice.Sincerely,/RA/Alan Wang, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing

Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-323 DISTRIBUTION

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Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 192 to DPR-82RidsNrrDorl2. Safety EvaluationRidsNrrDorlLpl4 (DTerao)RidsOgcRp RidsNrrPMAWang RidsNrrLALFeizollahicc w/encls: See next pageRidsAcrsAcnwMailCenter RidsRegion4MailCenter

RidsNrrDorlDprPackage: ML063380018 KDesai, NRRACCESSION NO.: ML063380020TS: ML063550031OFFICENRR/LPL4/PMNRR/LPL4/LADSS/SPWB/BCOGC NLONRR/LPL4/BCNAMEAWangLFeizollahiJNakoskiBPooleDTerao DATE12/18/0612/18/0611/30/0612/13/0612/18/06OFFICIAL RECORD COPY PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-323 DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNIT NO. 2 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 192 License No. DPR-821.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:A.The application for amendment by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the licensee), dated January 13, 2006, as supplemented by letter dated

September 29, 2006, complies with the standards and requirements of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's

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 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 Facility

Operating License No. DPR-82.3.This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 90 days of issuance.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/David Terao, Chief Plant Licensing Branch IV

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Facility Operating License and

Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: December 20, 2006 ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 192 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-82 DOCKET NO. 50-323 Replace the following pages of the Facility Operating License and Appendix A Technical

Specifications (TSs) with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by

amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.

REMOVE INSERT License License- 3 - TS TS5.0-275.0-27 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 192 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. DPR-82 PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT, UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET NO. 50-32

31.0INTRODUCTION

By application dated January 13, 2006, as supplemented by letter dated September 29, 2006 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML060230052 and ML062860065, respectively), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (or the licensee) requested

changes to the Technical Specifications (Appendi x A to Facility Operating License No. DPR-82) for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), Unit No. 2.

The proposed amendment would revise Technical Specification (TS) 5.6.5, "Core Operating Limits Report (COLR)." Specifically, the proposed change would add Westinghouse Topical

Report (TR) WCAP-16009-P-A, "Realistic Large-Break LOCA [Loss-of-Coolant Accident]

Evaluation Methodology Using the Automated Statistical Treatment of Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM)," dated January 2005, to the list of approved analytical methods in TS 5.6.5.b for

determining the core operating limits for DCPP, Unit No. 2. The licensee used ASTRUM as an

approved methodology to perform large-break LOCA analyses to comply with paragraphs 50.46(a)(3) and 50.46(b) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) criteria.

The supplemental letter dated September 29, 2006, provided additional information that clarified the application, did not expand the scope of the application as originally noticed, and did not

change the staff's original proposed no significant hazards consideration determination as

published in the Federal Register on February 28, 2006 (71 FR 10076).

2.0REGULATORY EVALUATION

Paragraph 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(B) of 10 CFR requires that a TS limiting condition for operation be established for a process variable, design feature, or operating restriction that is an initial

condition of a design-basis accident or transient analysis that either assumes the failure of or

presents a challenge to the integrity of a fission product barrier. As such, a license amendment

is generally required for each fuel cycle to update t he values of cycle-specific parameter limits in the TSs. To eliminate the need for a license am endment to update the cycle-specific parameter limits for each fuel cycle while meeting 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(B) requirements, the NRC has

allowed licensees to use an alternative to incor porate the cycle-specific parameter limits in a COLR, which is a licensee-controlled document.

Generic Letter (GL) 88-16 provides the COLR implementation guidance that allows licensees to list in the TS the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-approved analytical methods used to determine the core operating limits.

The analytical methods referenced in the TS identify the TRs by number, title, and date, or

identify the staff's safety evaluation report for a plant-specific methodology by NRC letter and

date. The NRC staff used the guidance in GL 88-16 to review this license amendment request for the addition of TR WCAP-16009-P-A, "Realistic Large-Break LOCA Evaluation Methodology Using

the Automated Statistical Treatment of Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM)," dated January 2005, to

TS 5.6.5.b.

3.0TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Paragraph 50.46(a)(1) of 10 CFR specifies that the cooling performance of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) of a reactor plant must be calculated in accordance with an acceptable

evaluation model. Westinghouse TR WCAP-12945-P-A, "Westinghouse Code Qualification

Document for Best-Estimate Loss of Coolant Accident Analysis," is an NRC-approved best-

estimate (BE) large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) analysis methodology for

Westinghouse-designed 3- and 4-loop plants with cold-leg ECCS injection. The licensee uses

this BE methodology for the LBLOCA analyses of DCPP, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, to demonstrate

cooling performance of its ECCS, as well as certain LCOs, such as power peaking factor and

axial power distribution that are specified in the DCPP, Unit No. 2, COLR. Therefore, TR

WCAP-12945-P-A is included in DCPP, Unit No. 2, TS. 5.6.5.

Paragraph 50.46(a)(3) of 10 CFR specifies that when the licensee makes changes to its plant input model, or finds errors in the plant's acceptable evaluation model that are significant, the

licensee is required to report to the NRC within 30 days, including a proposed schedule for

providing a reanalysis of the plant's LOCA response or taking other actions as may be needed to

show compliance with the requirements. The reanalysis is usually done by repeating the plant's

LOCA analyses using a LOCA methodology approved for the plant, with changes and errors

updated if the base LOCA methodology remains the same. With LOCA methodologies covered

by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K, this reanalysis entails performing one LOCA calculation for each

case analyzed. However, using the BE LOCA methodologies described in WCAP-12945-P-A, several LOCA calculations are required. The licensee has requested to add WCAP-16009-P-A

as an approved code for determining core operating limits for DCPP, Unit No. 2.

WCAP-16009-P-A is a revised statistical approach for developing the peak clad temperature (PCT), maximum local oxidation (MLO), and core wide oxidation (CWO).

WCAP-16009-P-A describes the ASTRUM methodology, which requires the execution of 124 calculations to simultaneously bound the 95th percentile of the PCT, MLO, and CWO parameters with a 95 percent confidence level. The ASTRUM methodology would preserve the

characteristic plant-specific LBLOCA transient while implementing changes or correcting errors

in accordance with 10 CFR 50.46(a)(3). For future reanalyses, the ASTRUM methodology would

reduce the number of LOCA calculations needed to perform the reanalysis, and therefore reduce

unnecessary regulatory burden, while assuring plant safety. The ASTRUM evaluation model is

documented in WCAP-16009-P-A. By letter dated November 5, 2004 (ADAMS Accession

No. ML043100073), the NRC staff reviewed and approved WCAP-16009-P-A for referencing in

license applications (Reference 3). Accordingly, the licensee performed the plant-specific best-estimate LOCA (BELOCA) reanalysis using the ASTRUM methodology. Table 1 lists the results of the LOCA analyses. TABLE 1

LARGE BREAK LOCA RESULTSPARAMETERDCPP, Unit No. 210 CFR 50.46 LIMITS Peak Cladding1,872 oF< 2,200 o F TemperatureMaximum Local1.64 %< 17.0 %

OxidationMaximum Total0.17 %< 1.00 %

Core-Wide Oxidation The results of the LOCA reanalysis are in compliance with 10 CFR 50.46(b) criteria. The licensee has demonstrated that the ASTRUM methodology provides acceptable LOCA results.

In addition, the NRC staff has concluded that the analysis was performed in compliance with all

the conditions and limitations identified in the NRC safety evaluation. Therefore, the NRC staff

concludes that the Westinghouse ASTRUM methodology, as described in WCAP-16009-P-A, is

acceptable for use at the DCPP, Unit No. 2. Since the licensee used the NRC-approved

ASTRUM methodology to comply with 10 CFR 50.46(a)(3) and 10 CFR 50.46(b) criteria and

demonstrated that the ASTRUM methodology provided acceptable results at DCPP, Unit No. 2, the NRC staff has concluded that WCAP-16009-P-A can be added to TS 5.6.5.b for DCPP, Unit No. 2.

In addition, the NRC staff finds that the proposed TS change to add the NRC-approved TR WCAP-16009-P-A to TS 5.6.5.b is consistent with the COLR implementation guidance of

GL 88-16. The licensee performed BELOCA analyses with an assumed core power level of

3,468 MWt in order to bound any future potential increase in the license maximum core power

associated with a measurement uncertainty recapture power uprate. This analyzed core power

level represents a 1.7 percent increase with respect to the current DCPP, Unit No. 2, license

maximum power level of 3,411 MWt. However, the licensee has not requested, and therefore is

not implementing, any core power level change as part of this COLR license amendment. Any such calorimetric power uprate for DCPP, Unit No. 2, will require a separate license amendment

request for staff review. Based on the evaluation described above, the NRC staff concludes that

the proposed TS change is acceptable.

4.0STATE CONSULTATION

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, the California State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendment. The State official had no comments.

5.0ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes a requirement with respect to the 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

(71 FR 10076; published on February 28, 2006). 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.

6.0CONCLUSION

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.

7.0REFERENCES

1. David H. Oatley (PG&E) letter to USNRC, "Diablo Canyon Unit 2 License Amendment Request 06-02 Revision to Technical Specification 5.6.5, "Core Operating Limits Report (COLR)," dated January 13, 2006.2. WCAP-16009-P-A, Revision 0, Realistic Large-Break LOCA Evaluation Methodology Using the Automated Statistical Treatment of Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM), January

2005. (Westinghouse Proprietary) (Unit 2 Only). 3.Letter from H. N. Berkow (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to J. Gresham (Westinghouse Electric Company), "Final Safety Evaluation for WCAP-16009-P, Revision

0, 'Realistic Large Break LOCA Evaluation Methodology Using Automated Statistical

Treatment of Uncertainty Method (ASTRUM),' (TAC No. MB9483)," November 5, 2004.

Principal Contributor: K. Desai

Date: December 20, 2006 March 2006 Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 cc: NRC Resident Inspector

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

c/o U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

P.O. Box 369

Avila Beach, CA 93424 Sierra Club San Lucia Chapter ATTN: Andrew Christie

P.O. Box 15755

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 Ms. Nancy Culver San Luis Obispo

Mothers for Peace

P.O. Box 164

Pismo Beach, CA 93448 Chairman San Luis Obispo County

Board of Supervisors

1055 Monterey Street, Suite D430

San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 Mr. Truman Burns Mr. Robert Kinosian

California Public Utilities Commission

505 Van Ness, Room 4102

San Francisco, CA 94102 Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee

ATTN: Robert R. Wellington, Esq.

Legal Counsel

857 Cass Street, Suite D

Monterey, CA 93940 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Harris Tower & Pavillion

611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-8064 Richard F. Locke, Esq.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company

P.O. Box 7442

San Francisco, CA 94120 City Editor The Tribune

3825 South Higuera Street

P.O. Box 112

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-0112 Director, Radiologic Health Branch State Department of Health Services

P.O. Box 997414, MS 7610

Sacramento, CA 95899-7414 Mr. James D. Boyd, Commissioner California Energy Commission

1516 Ninth Street (MS 31)

Sacramento, CA 95814 Mr. James R. Becker, Vice President Diablo Canyon Operations

and Station Director

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

P.O. Box 56

Avila Beach, CA 93424 Jennifer Tang Field Representative

United States Senator Barbara Boxer

1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240

San Francisco, CA 94111