ML103090566

Summary of Teleconference Held on September 22, 2010, Between the U.S. NRC and Energy Northwest, Concerning the Responses to the Request for Additional Information Pertaining to the Columbia Generating Station, License Renewal Application

ML103090566
Person / Time
Site:	Columbia
Issue date:	11/19/2010
From:	Gettys E License Renewal Projects Branch 1
To:	Energy Northwest
Gettys E, NRR/DLR, 415-4029
References
TAC ME3058
Download: ML103090566 (8)

Text

LICENSEE: FACILITY:

SUBJECT:

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 November 19 , 2010 Energy Northw est Columbia Generating Station

SUMMARY

OF TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL HELD ON SEPTEMBER 22 , 20 10 , BETWEEN THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AND E N ERG Y NORTHWEST , CONCERNING THE RESPONSES TO THE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL IN FOR MATION PERTAIN I NG TO THE COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION, LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (TAC NO. ME3058) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the sta ff) and representatives o f Ene rgy Northw est , held a t e lephone conference ca lion September 22, 2010, to discuss and clarify the re sponses to the NRC's request for addit ion a l inf ormation (RAI) concern ing the Columbia Generating Station , license renewal application.

E nclo s ure 1 provides a li st ing of the participants and Enclosure 2 contains a listing of the draft RAls discu sse d with the applicant , including a brief description on the s tatus of the items. The applicant had an opportunity to comment on this summa ry. Docket No. 50-397 Enclosures

A s stated cc w/encls: Distribution via Li stse rv E v e lyn H. Gettys , Project Manager Projects Branch 1 Div i sio n of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation PARTICIPANTS Evelyn Gettys Bryce Lehman Abdu l Sheikh Barry Naus Abbas Mostala Doug Ramey John Twomey Scott O'Connor Sing Chu TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION LIST OF PARTICIPANTS September 22 , 2010 AFFILIATIONS U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) NRC NRC Oak Ridge National Laboratory Energy Northwest (EN) EN EN EN AREVA ENCLOSURE 1

TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION September 22, 2010 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the staff) and representatives of Energy Northwest (the applicant), held telephone conference calls on September 22 , 2010 , to discuss the following follow-up reque sts for additional information (RAls) concerning the Columbia Generating Station (CGS), li cense renewal application (LRA). Follow-up RAI 8.2.34-1

Background:

In response to RAI B.2.34-1 , the applicant stated: a) " Additionally, the sand pocket drains are checked month l y (28 day frequency) for presence of water." b) "Based on plant-specific corrosion rates for carbon steel exposed to raw water (i.e., SW piping) the maximum average corrosion rate is 1.5 mils per year (mpy). Therefore , a corrosion of 1.5 mpy will be assumed for containmen t steel plate in the sand pocket region." c) "The 1.9 percent margin when applied to the thickness of the plate in th e sand bed region will result in a corrosion allowance of 27.5 mils." d) "The construction of the containment at Columbia utilized a polyurethane foam materia l in the annulus between the biological shie ld wall and primary containment vessel. Energy Northwe s t agrees this method of construction would inhibit, if not prevent , the free flow of moi s ture to the sand pocket regions and drain lines from the refueling bellows area." Issue: It is not clear to staff: a) How the sand pocket drains a re inspected for presence of water. b) How th e plant-specific corrosion rate of 1.5 mpy was es tablished.

c) How the corrosion rate in the sand bed region can be linearly proportional to the drywell thickness. In addition , presence of moisture in the polyurethane material ca n le ad to corrosion and localized pitting of the stee l con t a inm en t. The localiz ed co rrosion rate due to pitting can be higher than 1.5 mpy over the long term. Request: a) Provide details on h o w the sand pocket drains are inspected.

In add ition, does the plant pro cedures require vacuum of all of the eight sand pockets during inspection.

b) Provide the basis for the plant-specific corrosion rate of 1.5 mpy. ENCLOSURE 2 c) Justification for assuming that corrosion rate in sand bed region is linearly proportiona l to the drywell thickness.

d) P l ans (if any) for ultrasonic examination of a representative portion of the steel containment and sand pocket region to detect deg r adation of steel and confirm that corrosion rate is less than 1.5 mpy. Discussion

The staff will issue a formal RAI. Follow-up RAI B.2.34-3

Background:

In response to RA I B.2.34-3 , the applicant stated that the VT-3 examinations are performed in accordance with the plant procedures by certified VT -3 examiners.

The procedures and certification are in accordance with American Society of Mechanica l Engineers (ASME)Section XI. Issue: For Title 10 of the Code of Federa l Regulations (10 CFR) 50.55(a) which is referenced in the Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report XI.S1 states that VT-1 and VT-3 examinations must be conducted in accordance with IWA-2200. Per son nel conducting examinations in accordance with the VT-1 or VT-3 examination method shall be qualified in accordance with IWA-2300.

The "owner-defined" personnel qual i ficat i on provisions in IW E-2 330 (a) for personnel that conduct VT-1 and VT-3 examinations are not approved for use. I t i s not clear to the staff whether the persons performing the VT-3 examination at the CGS are qualified in accordance with the IWA-2300 requir e ments. Request: Provide the qualification requirements for the VT-3 examiners at the CSG. Specifically , the staff needs to know if the VT-3 examiners are qualifi e d in accordance with ASM E IWA-23 00. Discussion:

The staff will issue a forma l RA I. Follow-up RAI B.2.35-2

Background:

In its response to RA I B.2.35-2 , dated September 3 , 2010 , the applicant stated that no i nspect i o n frequency is specified when applying supplemental examinatio n s per IWF-3200. The applican t also s tated that when visual examinations detect conditions in the structural steel supports of the service water pond spray ring header requiring evaluation , these examinations may be supplemented with other examination methods to determine the characteristic of the f l aw. Supplement examinations , .if needed , are performed by either or both the surface and volumetric methods. The applicant further stated that the structural steel supports of the spray ring header are protected from corrosion by coating the structure and a sacrificial anode protective system. Th e effectiveness of the corrosion protection system is assessed periodically by performing above-water and below-water visual inspections of the structural supports.

Additionally, the operation of the anode protective system is verified periodi ca lly. The criterion to initiate the corrective action process , in accordance with plant procedures, is , " Identify any is s ue or condition that doesn't look as if it is right using the AR-CR process." Issue: The staff reviewed the applicant's re s ponse to RAI 8.2.35-2 and wa s concerned that the applicant did not provide the frequency of the periodic in spectio n of the se rvice water pond sp ray ring header supports and the anode protective systems. In a ddition , the criterion us e d to initiate the corrective action process was very subjective.

Request: The applicant is request e d to provide th e inspection frequency for the above and below water in s pection of se rvice water pond s pray header supports , and anode protection system. In ad dition, th e applicant to identify quantitative c riteria used to ini t i a te the co rrective action proc es s. The sta ff needs this information to co nfirm that the effects of aging on the intend e d function of the spray pond header will be adequately managed for the period extended operations in accordance with 1 OC FR 5 4.2 1 (c)(iii).

Discussion:

The staff will issue a form a l RAI. Follow-up RAls B.2.50-1, B2.50-2 , B.2.5 0-3

Background:

In re s ponse to RAls 8.2.50-1 , 82.50-2, 8.2.50-3 , the applicant s t a ted th a t the r eq uir e d en han ceme nt s to aging man a gement programs (AM Ps) w i ll b e implem en ted prior to the period of extended operation.

In addition , it is not clear from the re spo ns e which of the recommended enhancements will be adopted for the AMPs. I ss ue: The s taff is concerned that the required enhancements to the AMPs will not be implement e d until the period of extended operation whi c h begins De cember 2023. E a rly implementation of the enhancements is n eede d to es tabli s h a baseline f or monitoring and trending the aging of the s tructures during the period of extended op era tion. In addition , the applicant has not clearly identifi e d the r eco mmended enhancements that will be incorporat ed in the AMPs. Request: a) Clearly identify the enhancements that will be incorp ora ted into the AMPs. b) Provide a firm schedule for implementation of the r equired en hancem e nts , in order to establish a baseline prior to the period of extended operation. If no plans exist to impl e m en t the e nhan ce ments prior to the period of extended operation expl a in why early implementation is unnecessary and h o w an appropriate baseline will be established prior to entering the period of e xt e nded operation. Discussion:

The staff will issue a formal RAI. Follow-up RAI B.2.50-5

Background:

In re spo nse to RAI B.2.50-5 , the app li can t stated that tell tale drains are checked once per shift , during 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br /> shift , in accordance with plant procedures. The acceptance criterion is no flow through the drains. Should the operator find flow in the tell tale drains , th e even t would be entered into corrective action program (CAP). As o f August 2010 , no in stances of leakage through tell tale drains have been entered into CAP. Issue: The staff is concerned that tell tale drains may be blocked and prevent any l ea kage to be collected or observed at the drain valves. Request: Provide additional information that will demonstrate that tell tale dra ins a re not blocked. This could be boroscope in spection of the drains. Discussion:

The staff will issue a formal RAI.

November 19, 2010 LICENSEE:

Energy Northwest FACILITY:

Columbia Generating S t at i o n

SUMMARY

OF TEL EPH ONE CONFERENCE CALL HELD ON SEPTEMBER 22,2010, BETWEEN THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AND ENERGY NORTHWEST , CON CER NING THE RE SPO N SES TO T HE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE COLUMB IA GENERAT IN G S TATION, LI CENSE RENEWAL A PP LI C ATION (TAC NO. ME3058) Th e U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NR C o r the sta ff) and r eprese nt ati ves o f E n e rgy Northw es t, h e ld a tel ep h one confere n ce cal ion Septe mb e r 22 , 2010 , to discuss and clarify the r espo n ses to the NRC's request for add it io n a l information (RA I) concerning the Columbia Generating S tation, li ce n se renewal application.

Enclosure 1 provides a li sting of the participants and E n closure 2 contains a listing of the d ra ft RAls discussed with th e a ppli can t , including a brief description on the sta tus of the items. The appl icant had an opportunity to co mm e nt o n this s umm ar y. Docket No. 5 0-3 97

Enclosures:

As stated cc w/encls: Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION:

See n ex t page ADAMS Accession No* ML103090566 .. OFFICE LARPOB:D LR PM:RPB1 :DL R NAME IKing EGett y s DATE 11/10/10 11/11/10 IRA! Evelyn H. Gettys , Project Manag e r Pro j ects Branch 1 Division of License Renewal Office o f Nuclear Reactor Regulation BC: RPB1 :DLR PM:RPB1 : DLR BPham EGe ttys (Signature) 11/18/10 11/19/10 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY Memorandum to E nergy Northwe s t from Evelyn H. Gettys dated November 19 , 2010

SUMMARY

OF TELEPHON E CONFERENCE CALL HELD ON SEPTEMBER 22 , 2010 , BETWEEN THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AND ENERGY NORTHWEST , CONCERNING THE RESPONSES TO THE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE COLUMBIA GENERATING S TATION, LICEN SE RENEWAL APPLICATION (TA C NO. ME3058) DISTRIBUTION:

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