ML060830023

Arkansas Nuclear One, License Amendment, Modification of Technical Specification 3.1.1.5, Minimum Temperature for Criticality, MC8539

ML060830023
Person / Time
Site:	Arkansas Nuclear
Issue date:	05/30/2006
From:	Holland D G NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLG
To:	Forbes J S Entergy Operations
Holland D G, NRR/DORL, 415-1436
Shared Package
ML060830026	List: ML060830023 ML061500260
References
TAC MC8539
Download: ML060830023 (9)

Text

May 30, 2006Mr. Jeffrey S. Forbes Site Vice President Arkansas Nuclear One Entergy Operations, Inc.

1448 S. R. 333 Russellville, AR 72802

SUBJECT:

ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT 2 (ANO-2) - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTRE: MODIFICATION OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 3.1.1.5, MINIMUMTEMPERATURE FOR CRITICALITY (TAC NO. MC8539)

Dear Mr. Forbes:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 264 to RenewedFacility Operating License No. NPF-6 for ANO-2. The amendment consists of changes to theTechnical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated September 19, 2005.

The amendment changes the current Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) for TS 3.1.1.5 byraising the minimum temperature for criticality from the current value of 525 oF to 540 oF, tochange the current Action statement for LCO 3.1.1.5 to reflect this change, and to replace thecurrent statement in Surveillance Requirement 4.1.1.5 with wording consistent withNUREG-1432, "Standard Technical Specifications-Combustion Engineering Plants." A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will beincluded in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.Sincerely,/RA/Drew Holland, Project ManagerPlant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-368

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 264 to NPF-6 2. Safety Evaluationcc w/encls: See next page May 30, 2006Mr. Jeffrey S. Forbes Site Vice President Arkansas Nuclear One Entergy Operations, Inc.

1448 S. R. 333 Russellville, AR 72802

SUBJECT:

ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT 2 (ANO-2) - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTRE: MODIFICATION OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION 3.1.1.5, MINIMUMTEMPERATURE FOR CRITICALITY (TAC NO. MC8539)

Dear Mr. Forbes:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 264 to RenewedFacility Operating License No. NPF-6 for ANO-2. The amendment consists of changes to theTechnical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated September 19, 2005.

The amendment changes the current Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) for TS 3.1.1.5 byraising the minimum temperature for criticality from the current value of 525 oF to 540 oF, tochange the current Action statement for LCO 3.1.1.5 to reflect this change, and to replace thecurrent statement in Surveillance Requirement 4.1.1.5 with wording consistent withNUREG-1432, "Standard Technical Specifications-Combustion Engineering Plants." A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will beincluded in the Commission's next biweekly Federal Register notice.Sincerely,/RA/Drew Holland, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-368

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 264 to NPF-6 2. Safety Evaluationcc w/encls: See next pageDISTRIBUTION

PUBLICRidsOgcRpRidsNrrDorlDpr LPLIV ReadingRidsAcrsAcnwMailCenterGHill (2)RidsNrrDorlLplgRidsNrrDirsItsbYOrechwa RidsNrrPMDHollandRidsRgn4MailCenter (DGraves)RidsNrrLADJohnson Accession Nos.: (Amd) ML060830023 (TS)ML061500260 (Pkg)ML060830026 OFFICENRR/LPL4/PMNRR/LPL4/LAOGCNRR/LPL4/BCNAMEDHollandDJohnsonPMoulding (NLO w/cmts)DTeraoDATE5/25/065/25/065/26/065/30/06OFFICIAL RECORD COPY ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.DOCKET NO. 50-368ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT NO. 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSEAmendment No. 264 Renewed License No. NFP-6 1.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:A.The application for amendment by Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee) dated September 19, 2005, 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 theAct, and the rules and regulations of the Commission;C.There is reasonable assurance (i) that the activities authorized by thisamendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public, and (ii) that such activities will be conducted in compliance with theCommission's regulations;D.The issuance of this license amendment will not be inimical to the commondefense 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 theCommission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied. 2.Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications asindicated in the attachment to this license amendment, and Paragraph 2.c.(2) of Renewed Facility Operating License NFP-6 is hereby amended to read as follows:(2)Technical SpecificationsThe Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised throughAmendment No. 264 , are hereby incorporated in the renewed license.

The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the TechnicalSpecifications. 3.The license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implementedwithin 30 days from the date of issuance.FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION/RA/David Terao, ChiefPlant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Attachment:

Changes to the Technical SpecificationsDate of Issuance: May 30, 2006 ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 264 RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-6DOCKET NO. 50-368Replace the following page of the Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attachedrevised page. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains marginal lines indicating the areas of change. RemoveInsert3/4 1-63/4 1-6 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATIONRELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 264 TORENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-6ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET NO. 50-36

81.0INTRODUCTION

By letter dated September 19, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management SystemAccession No. ML060680651), Entergy Operations, Inc. (the licensee), requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit No. 2 (ANO-2). The proposed changes would revise TS 3.1.1.5, "Minimum Temperature for Criticality." Therequest proposes to change the current Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) for TS 3.1.1.5by raising the minimum temperature for criticality from the current value of 525 oF to 540 o F,to change the current Action Statement for LCO 3.1.1.5 to reflect this change, and to replacethe current statement in Surveillance Requirement (SR) 4.1.1.5 with wording consistent withNUREG-1432, Standard Technical Specifications-Combustion Engineering Plants. Changeswill be made to the ANO-2 TS Bases in accordance with the TS Bases Control Program(ANO-2 TS 6.5.14).

2.0REGULATORY EVALUATION

There are no accident analyses that dictate the minimum temperature for criticality, but all lowpower safety analyses must assume an initial temperature limit. The regulatory requirement for the specification of a reactor coolant system (RCS) minimum temperature for criticality is set forth in 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii) Criterion 2. In accordance with 10 CFR 50.91(a)(1), the licensee's license amendment request provides the NRC with the licensee's analysis regardingthe issue of no significant hazards with regard to the proposed changes. The applicable criteria for demonstrating that the proposed amendment involves no significant hazards considerationsare stated in 10 CFR 50.92(c)(1)-(3).

3.0TECHNICAL EVALUATION

In support of this amendment, the licensee provided its evaluation of the technical implicationsof the proposed change to the minimum temperature for criticality at ANO-2. The minimum temperature for criticality represents the limiting temperature at which the core design is verifiedto satisfy the limits on the most positive moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) specified in the TS/core operating limits report. These MTC limits, specified as TS LCO 3.1.1.4 and TS LCO 3.2.6 in the ANO-2 TS, would not change as a result of the proposed change to the minimum temperature for criticality. The NRC staff concludes that because the proposed TSchange of minimum temperature for criticality does not affect the NRC-approved analyticalmethods used to determine core operating limits, and because the MTC will conti nue to beverified over the appropriate temperature range, the current transient analyses results are bounding and remain valid. Furthermore, the reactor protective instrumentation will conti nue tofunction within its normal operating range and accuracies.

The change to the Action Statement for LCO 3.1.1.5 affects only the value at which the action isinitiated, namely at 540 oF rather than 525 oF. The action remains the same.The current SR does not require that the minimum temperature for criticality be monitored aftercriticality is achieved, unless the temperature drops below 535 oF. The proposed addition of afrequency to monitor the temperature after the reactor is critical is consistent with the frequency in SR 4.2.6, which requires the RCS cold leg temperature to be monitored at least once per 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br />. The 12 hour1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br /> frequency takes into account the indications and alarms that are continually available in the Control Room to the Operator. This change is consistent with theRevised Standard TSs for Combustion Engineering Plants contained in NUREG-1432, and theNRC staff concludes that it is acceptable.Therefore, with the proposed change, the requirement in the current SR 4.1.1.5 to checktemperature at least once per 30 minutes when the reactor is critical and the RCS Tavg is less than 535 oF is no longer applicable. If RCS Tavg were to fall below the TS limit of 540 oF, theAction Statement for LCO 3.1.1.5 would require restoration of the temperature to within its limitor shutdown of the reactor.Furthermore, the current SR 4.1.1.5 to monitor temperature within 15 minutes prior to achievingcriticality is redundant, because standard operating practice includes verification that TSs are satisfied prior to entering the Mode of applicability. The current Mode of applicability is M ode 1and 2 with keff greater than or equal to 1.0. Prior to entering Mode 2 and becoming critical, theminimum temperature for criticality limit (as now proposed 540 oF) has to be met. Currently,administrative controls are in place to verify the temperature every 15 minutes during the approach to criticality.The NRC staff therefore concludes it is acceptable to replace the current requirement of theANO-2 SR as proposed. Changes will be made to the ANO-2 TS Bases in accordance with theTS Bases Control Program (ANO-2 TS 6.5.14).

4.0STATE CONSULTATION

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

5.0ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

The amendment changes a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facilitycomponent 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 nosignificant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types, of any effluents thatmay be released offsite, and that there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. The Commission has previously issued a proposed findingthat the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, and there has been nopublic comment on such finding (70 FR 72672, December 6, 2005). 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 isreasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered byoperation in the proposed manner, (2) such activities will be conducted in compliance with theCommission's regulations, and (3) the issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to thecommon defense and security or the health and safety of the public.Principal Contributor: Y. Orechwa Date: May 30, 2006 September 2005Arkansas Nuclear One cc: Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Entergy Operations, Inc.

P. O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995Director, Division of Radiation Control and Emergency Management Arkansas Department of Health 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 30 Little Rock, AR 72205-3867Winston & Strawn1700 K Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20006-3817Senior Resident InspectorU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

P. O. Box 310 London, AR 72847Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-8064County Judge of Pope County Pope County Courthouse Russellville, AR 72801Vice President, Operations SupportEntergy Operations, Inc.

P. O. Box 31995 Jackson, MS 39286-1995Wise, Carter, Child & Caraway P. O. Box 651 Jackson, MS 39205