ML17249A369

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Application to Amend License DPR-18,changing Tech Specs Re Mixed Oxide Fuel Assemblies in Fuel to Be Loaded for Cycle 10
ML17249A369
Person / Time
Site: Ginna Constellation icon.png
Issue date: 12/14/1979
From: WHITE L D
ROCHESTER GAS & ELECTRIC CORP.
To:
Shared Package
ML17249A368 List:
References
NUDOCS 7912280206
Download: ML17249A369 (34)
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UNITEDSTATESOFAMERICANUCLEARREGULATORY COMMISSION IntheMatterofRochester GasandElectricCorporation (R.E.GinnaNuclearPowerPlant,UnitNo.1))))DocketNo.50-244))APPLICATION FORAMENDMENT TOOPERATING LICENSEPursuanttoSection50.90oftheregulations oftheU.S.NuclearRegulatory Commission (the"Commission"

),Rochester GasandElectricCorporation

("RG&E"),

holderofProvisional Operating LicenseNo.DPR-18,herebyrequeststhattheTechnical Specifica-tionssetforthinAppendixAtothatlicensebeamended.ThisrequestforachangeinTechnical Specifications issubmitted asaresultofanalysisperformed indesigning Ginnafuelcycle10.ThenewfuelbeingloadedinCycle10includesfourmixedoxidefuelassemblies.

Theproposedtechnical specification changeissetforthinAttachment AtothisApplication.

Asafetyevaluation issetforthinAttachment B.Thisevaluation alsodemonstrates that)theproposedchangedoesnotinvolveasignificant changeinthetypesorasignificant increaseintheamountsofeffluents oranychangeintheauthorized powerlevelofthefacility.

Justification forclassification oftheamendment pursuantto10C.F.R.Section170.22isincludedasAttachment C.Acheckfortheappropriate feeaccompanies thisApplication.

-Attachment DpresentstheResearch, Demonstration, andDevelopment AspectsofProposedUseofMixedOxideFuelAssemblies.

(1'l VWHEREFORE, Applicant respectfully regueststhatAppendixAtoProvisional Operating LicenseNo.DPR-18beamendedintheformattachedheretoasAttachment A.Rochester GasandElectricCorporation ByL.D.White,Jr.UicePresident, ElectricandSteamProduction Subscribed andsworntobeforemeonthisISAdayofDecember1979.GARYL'pREISSNOTARYPUBLIC,StateofN.Y.MontoeCo.MyCommission ExpiresMereh30,epg/.

IP NOTETO:hiI:eCollins8DonLan!am,DSB,016)FROH:

SUBJECT:

RcbaDiaas,l.icenseFee!'anaaerien+

Branch,AD!'ROCESSING LETTERS'.IT!'H,CKSPECEIVEDDIRECLYBYTILELICENSEFEE!!,"NAGEI'aENT BPriNCHPleaseprocesstheenclnsedletterundertheapplicable docketandgivethefolio'.zing distribution undercodeBOOB:OriginalofltrtoRgulatoryDocketFileActionCyionic~ckto'.(.0.hiller,LFtlB(L-233)3cystoappli-able BranchofDORorDPI<'1toLABOR1toPDRIamretaining thecheckandthefolio.zing information isforyourrecords.CheckNo.:Amount:Date:Ltr.Date:Applicant:

DocketNo:SPlant:Thanks!RebaH.DiggsLicenseFeet!aementBranchOfficeofAdministration (IJ Attachment AReplacepage5.3-1withtheenclosedreplacement.

page.i~QIVrqI C'I0 ReactorDesinFeaturesReactorCorea.Thereactorcorecontainsapproximately 48metrictons'furaniumintheformofslightlyenricheduraniumdioxidepellets.Thepelletsare'encap-sulatedinZircaloy4tubingtoformfuelrods.Thereactorcoreismadeupof121fuelassemblies.

Eachfuelassemblycontains179fuelrods.b.Theaverageenrichment oftheinitialcoreisanominal2.90weightpercentofU-235.Threefuelenrichments are,usedintheinitialcore.Thehighestenrichment isanominal3.48weight,percentofU-235.c.Reloadfuelshallbesimilarindesigntotheinitialcore.Theenrichment ofreloadfuelwillbenomorethan3.5weightpercent,ofU-235oritsequivalent intermsofreactivity.

d.Burnablepoisonrodsareincorporated intheinitialcore.Thereare528poisonrodsintheformof8and12-rodclusters, whicharelocatedinvacantrodclustercontrolguidetubes.Theburnablepoisone.rodsconsistofboratedpyrexglasscladwithstain-lesssteel.Thereare29full-length RCCassemblies and4partial-lengthRCCassemblies inthereactorcore.Thefull-5.3-1PROPOSED (iI0 Attachment B!TheR.E.GinnaNuclearPlantwillberefueledinMarch1980.Thereloadwillconsistof36freshfuelassemblies, 32ofwhichwillbesuppliedbyExxonNuclearCorporation and4ofwhichwillbesuppliedbyWestinghouse ElectricCorporation.

Thebalanceofthecoreload,85previously exposedassemblies, iscomprised of13Region9assemblies fabricated byWestinghouse and72assemblies fabricated byExxon.The32freshExxonassemblies haveanenrichment of3.45w/owhilethe4freshWestinghouse assemblies aremixedoxideassemblies designedtobeequivalent toa3.10w/ouraniumoxideassembly.

tThefuelrodandfuelassemblydesignsoftheExxonassemblies areidentical topreviousreloads,including theCycle8reloadwhichwasreviewedandapprovedbytheNRCinlicenseamendment 19,datedMay1,1978.ThefuelrodandfuelassemblydesignoftheWestinghouse mixedoxidefuelassemblies isdescribed intheenclosedreport,"FuelandLOCAEvaluation ofR.E.GinnaMixedOxideFuelAssemblies".

Asdescribed inthatreport,theassemblymechanical designisidentical totheWestinghouse assemblies previously

employed, including Region9fuel.Thus,compatibility betweentheseWestinghouse assemblies andtheExxonfuelisassuredandhasbeenapprovedbytheNRCinamendment 19.Thecoreloadingpatternandanalysishasbeenperformed byExxon.Thenucleardesignandanassessment oftheplanttransients tanalysesaredescribed intheenclosedExxonreport,"R.E.GinnaNuclearPlantCycle10SafetyAnalysisReportwithMixedOxideAssemblies."

{'II TheExxonreportdemonstrates thatalltransients areboundedbythepreviousreference analysis.,

Thereference

analysis, "PlantTransient AnalysisfortheR.E.GinnaUnitNo.1NuclearPowerPlant"XN-NF-77-40, Rev.1,datedJuly3,1979isenclosedforNRCinformation.

~Revision1incorporated achangeintheCycle9boronworthanddemonstrated that,previously approvedmarginswerenotdecreased.

Thecoreanalysishasbeen.performed withthemixedoxidecomposition whichexistsat,thetimeofplantstartup.Ithasbeenrecognized andcarefully considered thatthecomposition ofthematerialchangesfromthetimeofinitialreprocessing totimeofuse,including thedecayofPutoAm.Itisof241241interesttocomparethePuloadingatthebeginning ofCycle10withthePucurrently inthereactor..

Thefourmixedoxidefuel,assemblies haveapproximately 47.2kgofPu.At.theendofCycle9,thetotalPuinventory inthereactorwillbeapproximately 285kg.Atthebeginning ofCycle10,thePuinventory ofthe117uraniumassemblies inthereactorwillbeapproximately 170kg.Thus,itcanbeseenthatthestandard"alluraniumcore"hasasignificant quantityofPuandthattheadditionofthefourmixedoxideassemblies attributes about29%ofthetotalPuloadingatthebeginning ofCycle10.Hence,itisthefactthatthePuisfabricated intofourdiscreteassemblies ratherthanthetotalguantitywhichisofsignificance.

ThereportpreparedbyExxonaddresses alltransients whichtmaybelimitingexcepttheevaluation ofthelossofcoolantaccident(LOCA).TheLOCAevaluation hasbeenperformed by l'I tWestinghouse andispresented intheWestinghouse report,"FuelandLOCAEvaluation ofR.E.GinnaMixedOxideFuelAssemblies".

Bycomparison, itisconcluded.

thattheresultsforthemixedoxidefuelassembl3:hs willbeboundedbyresultspreviously IobtainedforWestinghouse uraniumassemblies.

Whenitisnotedthat,themixedoxidefuelassemblies willbelocatedonthecoreperiphery fortheirfirst,fuelcycleandwilloperateatanassemblypowerwhich'isbelowcore'verage powerandsubstantially belowlicensedrelativepower,itbecomesapparentthatsignificant margintothelimitsof10CFR50.46 isbeingaffordedfortheseassemblies.

UponreceiptatGinnaStationthemixedoxidefuelassemblies twillbeunloadedfromtheshippingcontainers, inspected forshippingdamageandinsertedintostoragelocations inthespent,fuelpoolpendingloadingintothecore.Ananalysishas,there-fore,beenperformed toassurethat,thespentfuelpoolevaluation previously performed remainsvalid.Theonlydifference fromtheprevious

analysis, whichwassubmitted onJanuary30,1976withNRCapprovalissuedwithlicenseamendment lldatedNovember15,1976istheneutronics evaluation.

Therefore, theattachedreport,preparedbyPickard,LoweandGarrick,Inc.(PLG)andentitled"Addendum toCriticality AnalysesfortheGinnaNuclearPlantFuelStorageRackstoAddresstheStorageofMixedOxideFuelAssemblies" isprovided.

Theanalysis, whichhasbeenperformed withthesamemodelsandassumptions astheinitialanalysis, whichwasalsoperformed byPLG,demonstrates thatthetresultsformixedoxidefuelassemblies areboundedbythepre-viouslyapprovedresultsforuraniumassemblies.

Theresultant l

tmultiplication factor,including additional uncertainties whichhavebeenappliedduetothemixedoxidefuel,isbelowtheplantTechnical Specification limitof0.90andwellbelow0.95.Theeffectoftheinsertion offourmixedoxidefuelassemblies onthepreviously.

performed environmental impactassessments hasbeenreviewed.

Thisreviewhasincludedoccupational

exposure, offsiteimpactasaresultofnormaloperation, andoffsiteimpactasaresultofpostulated accidents.

Thereisaslightincreaseintheoccupational exposureasaresultofthefuelreceiptinspection whichisperformed atGinna.Thefourfuelassemblies havebeenestimated byWestinghouse tohaveacontactdoserateofapproximately 100mr/hr.Inspections typically tinvolvetwopeopleand30minutesperassembly.

Inaddition, handlingwillrequireanaverageof2peoplefor1hourperassembly.

Thus,onearrivesatatotaloccupational exposureof1.2person-rem assumingcontact.Inasmuchasallexposurewillnotbecontactexposure, theactualoccupational exposureisexpectedtobebelowthe1.2person-rem.

Thismaybecomparedwith551personremperyearaverageactuallyexperienced atGinnabetween1970and1978andanaverageof371person-rem peryearfor1977and1978.Oncethemixedoxidefuelisinthespentfuelpool,theincremental exposureisinsignificant duetothesubstantial shielding providedbythewaterinthepool.Thus,theimpactonoccupational exposures issmall.Theenclosedreportentitled, "Radiological ImpactofMixedtOxideFuelAssemblies",

addresses effluents fromnormaloperation andfrompostulated accidents.

Itisdemonstrated thatoperation withfourmixedoxidefuelassemblies hasonlyasmalleffecton 1

~~plantreleasesandthatallTechnical Specification andregulatory limitscontinuetobemet.Asdescribed intheWestinghouse report,thefuelintheformofrodsisin'storageat.Westinghouse facilities.

Therodswillbeloadedintotheassemblyskeletons atExxonNuclearfacilities usingWestinghouse fabricated skeletons andemploying Westinghouse acceptance criteriaforallfuelassemblymanufacturing parameters.

Exxonisperforming thistaskbecauseofthephysicalincapability oftheWestinghouse facilitytoliftthecompleted fuelassemblyuprightforqualitycontrolandassurance checks.Allshippinguntilthefuelassemblies arriveatGinnaistheresponsibility ofothersandRochester GasandElectricisnotseekinganyapprovals forthisaspectoftheprogram.Finalshippingfollowing fuelexposureisnotexpectedforseveralyearsfollowing finaldischarge, orat,leastuntilthemidtolate1980s,duetotheuncertainty surrounding thataspectofthefuelcycle.Shippingwillbeaccomplished inaccordance withthethenapplicable regulations.

thistime.Noapprovals arebeingrequested atTheevaluations described aboveandintheenclosures haveaddressed allaspectsofthedemonstration programtoloadfourmixedoxidefuelassemblies intothereactorbeginning withCycle10operation.

Theevaluations includedfuelroddesign,fuelassemblydesign,coredesign,planttransients evaluation, LOCA,fuelassemblystorage,transportation, andenvironmental impact.Theconclusion isthattheinsertion offourmixedoxidefueltassemblies, whileservingasademonstration programtoreduce f1I0 etheuncertainties surrounding theuseofmixedoxidefuelinIgeneralandintheGinnareactorinparticular, hasaverysmalleffectonoverallplantperformance and-impacts.

Ithasbeendemonstrated that.theinsertion offourmixedoxidefuelassemblies doesnotadversely affectpublichealthandsafety.

Ill Attachment CTheproposedamendment isdeemedtobewithinClassIVof10CFRgl70.22sinceit.involvesasinglecomplexissue:theacceptability oftheuseofmixedoxidefuelassemblies intheGinnareactor.Thisclassification isinaccordwiththeCom-mission's practiceofclassifying reloadapplications inClassIV.Anenvironmental appraisal hasbeenpreparedwhichdemonstrates thattheproposedactionwillnothaveasignificant, environmental impact.Theproposedamendment willnotrequiredACRSrevieworpreparation ofanenvironmental impactstatement.

Accordingly, acheckforthefeeof912,300isenclosed.

0 Ilt'I Attachment DRESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION ANDDEVELOPMENT ASPECTSOFPROPOSEDUSEOFMIXEDOXIDEFUELASSEMBLIES

~kdTheproposedinsertion offourmixedoxidefuelassemblies intotheGinnareactoristheculmination ofaResearch, Demonstra-tion,andDevelopment

("RDD")programthatwasactivelyinitiated oversixyearsago.RG&Eacquiredthematerialaspartofanequivalent materials optionunderitsreprocessing agreement withNuclearFuelServices, Inc.("NFS").Underthis-option, RG6EcouldrequireNFStoprovideuraniumandplutonium ofequivalent valuetothatcontained inspentfuelifNFScouldnot.reprocess spentfuelfromGinnaontheschedulerequested.

Following ship-mentoftheinitialcoreofspent,fuel(121assemblies) fromGinnainearly1973,RG&Ereceiveduraniumandsufficient plutonium forthefabrication offourmixedoxidefuelassemblies.

Theplutonium wasdelivered toWestinghouse inthesummerof1973,andfuelrodsforfourassemblies werefabricated byWestinghouse in1974andplacedinstorage.Inearly1974,RG&Einitiated aprogramtoinsertfourmixedoxidefuelassemblies intothecoreduringthe1975refueling outage.Aspartoftheprogram,Westinghouse preparedanevalua-tionofthetotalcapability oftheGinnareactortoutilizetmixedoxidefuel.Thestudyprovidedabandofrecyclecapability thatwasdependent oncoremanagement andcycleburnup.

lI.I Inlate1974,-alleffortsdirectedtowardusingmixedoxidefuelina1975reloadweredeferredduetotheperceived needtoconcentrate onotherlicensing effortstheninprogress.

Adecisionwasmadetodesignanadditional fourfuelassemblies, withthegoalofinserting eightassemblies intheGinnareactorat,the1976refueling outage.Thematerialrequiredfortheadditional assemblies wastohavebeenimported.

TheinformalreactionoftheNRCStafftoourproposedprogramofeightmixedoxidefuelassemblies wasnegative.

Inaddition, therewasasubstantial possibility ofopposition tothe,plantoimporttheadditional materialthroughNewYorkCity.Asaresult,thedecisionwasmadetocanceltheproposedimportandfurthertopostponethemixedoxideRDDproject.InJune1979,RG&EwasinformedthatWestinghouse wasgoingtocloseitsstoragefacilityandthat.thestoragecontractwouldnot,berenewed.Thisnotification ledRGGEtoreevaluate itspriordeferralofthemixedoxideRDDprogramandtoconclude-thattheprogramshouldbereactivated.

GinnaRDDProramDescritionTogoforwardwithitsmixedoxideRDDprogram,RGSEisrequesting NRCconcurrence forreceiptandtemporary storageoffourmixedoxidefuelassemblies, followedbyinsertion ofthoseassemblies intotheGinnareactorcoreandirradiation foratleastthreecyclesofnormalreactoroperation.

tThefollowing RDDwillbeperformed duringoperation withthefourmixedoxidefuelassemblies:

I1cI 1.Verification ofcurrentneutronic methodology appliedtomixedoxideassemblies throughcomparisons ofmeasuredandpredicted assemblypowers(radialandaxial).Thisisaseveretestinthatthecalculated diffusion lengthsinmixedoxideassemblies aresignificantly lessthanthoseofall-uranium assemblies.

2.Verification ofcurrentcapabilities tocalculate incoredetectorresponses inmixedoxideassemblies relativetoall-uranium assemblies.

3..Throughthecomparison ofmeasuredandpredicted mixedoxideassemblypowers,adegreeofconfidence canbeobtainedrelativetothecapability topredictmixedoxideassemblyreactivity andmigration areaasafunctionofburnup.4.Infuturecycles,themixedoxideassemblies couldbeplacedinroddedlocations toallowcomparisons ofcalculated andmeasuredcontrolrodworthsformixedoxideassemblies.

5.Duringeachrefueling outage,andfollowing discharge, avisualexamination ofthefourmixedoxidefuelassemblies willbeperformed todetermine ifthereareanydifferences inthoseassemblies, asopposedtotheall-uranium assemblies.

Duringthefirstburnupcycle,thefourmixedoxidefuelassemblies willbeplacedinlowpowerlocations ontheperiphery ofthecore.Inlightofitems1through4,thelocations havebeenspecifically selectedsothattwoofthefourassemblies willbetraversed bytheincoremovabledetectorsystem.ThiswillenableRG&Etorecordandcarefully assesstheactualpowertdistribution forthosetwoassemblies onaregularbasis.Analysis 0

eofthemeasurements sorecordedwillbeperformed bybothRGSEandExxon.ForExxon,thiswillresultinvalidation ofexistingPWRdesigncodesbycomparison withactualoperating data.Theothertwomixedoxidefuelassemblies willbemonitored byincorethermocouples.

Thethermocouples willbe,locatedat.thefuelassemblytopnozzle,whichistheexitforthewaterflowpath,andmaybeusedtoprovideadditional dataconcernin xngtheperformance ofthemixedoxidefuelassemblies.

Nospecificpost-irradiation RDDprogramisbeingproposedat,thistime.However,RG6Eispreparedtocooperate inthedevelopment ofaprogramforpost-irradiation examination byoneormoreGovernment entitiesorNationallaboratories.

AdvantaesofGinnaRDDProramTheproposedRDDprogramtobecarriedoutinconjunction withtheirradiation formixedoxidefuelassemblies atGinnaisexpectedtoproduceasubstantial advanceinstate-of-the-art knowledge concerning theperformance ofmixedoxidefuelincommercial nuclearreactors.

Theresearchconducted attheSouthernCalifornia EdisonCo.reactorSanOnofreUnitNo.1hasbeentheonlypriorresearchconcerning theuseofmixedoxidefuelinaU.S.Westinghouse commercial reactor.There,fourassemblies withunprepressurized zircaloy-clad fuelrodswereirradiated fortwofuelcycles.Theuseofmixedoxidefuelrodswasterminated prematurely becauseofconcernthattheremightbeexcessive fueldensification intheunprepressurized fuelrods.Inaddition, althoughthemixedoxidefuelirradiated at.SanOnofrewaszircaloyclad,thebalanceofthecorehadstainless steelclad.

c'I AtGinna,allthefuelinthecorewillbezircaloyclad.ITheuseofzircaloycladresultsinadifferent energyspectrumthanthatforstainless steelclad.DatareportedatGinnawill,therefore, bemoreiepresentative ofwhatcanbeexpectedfromtheuseofmixedoxidefuelinthemajorityofPWRs.Inaddition, themixedoxidefuelhereinvolvedhasbeenpressurized andfabricated withprocesses developed andapprovedfollowing theidentification offueldensification whereastheSanOnofrefuelwasfabricated priortothattime.Thisagainwillproducedatamorerepresentative ofcurrentreactoroperations.

Finally,themixedoxidefuelassemblies at.Ginnawillbeirradiated foratleastthreefuelcycles.Depending ontheirradiation historyoftahefuelforthethreecycles,oneormoreoftheassemblies maybeusedforafourthfuelcycle,therebyproviding additional data.Forallofthesereasons,theRDDprogramatGinnawill,provideinformation thatisnot,currently available andwilladvancethestateoftheart,withrespect,tofutureuseofmixedoxidefuelassemblies.

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