ML080370016

Issuance of Amendment No. 277, Revising Technical Specification (TS) 5.2.1, Fuel Assemblies, to Add Optimized ZIRLO-TM as Optimized Fuel Rod Cladding Material

ML080370016
Person / Time
Site:	Arkansas Nuclear
Issue date:	03/26/2008
From:	Wang A NRC/NRR/ADRO/DORL/LPLIV
To:	Entergy Operations
Wang, A B, NRR/DORL/LPLIV, 415-1445
Shared Package
ML080370014	List: ML080370016 ML080370017
References
TAC MD5377
Download: ML080370016 (10)

Text

March 26, 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:

USE OF OPTIMIZED ZIRLOTM FUEL ROD CLADDING (TAC NO. MD5377)

Dear Sir or Madam:

The Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 277 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-6 for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit No. 2. The amendment consists of changes to the Technical Specifications (TSs) in response to your application dated April 24, 2007.

The amendment changes TS 5.2.1, Fuel Assemblies, to add Optimized ZIRLOTM as an acceptable fuel rod cladding material.

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. 277 to NPF-6

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

Pkg ML080370014 (Amdt ML080370016, License/TS Pgs ML080370017) (*) SE input memo OFFICE NRR/LPL4/PM NRR/LPL4/LA DSS/SNPB/BC OGC - NLO w/comment NRR/LPL4/BC NAME AWang (**) JBurkhardt (**) AMendiola (*) MSpencer (**) THiltz DATE 3/5/08 3/5/08 1/17/08 3/21/08 3/26/08 Arkansas Nuclear One (2/25/08) 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. 277 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 April 24, 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. 277, 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 within 60 days from the date of issuance.

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 26, 2008

ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 277 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 5-1 5-1

SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 277 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 April 24, 2007 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML071220267), 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 5.2.1, Fuel Assemblies. Current TS 5.2.1 identifies, in part, Zircaloy or ZIRLOTM fuel rod cladding as the allowable fuel rod cladding material. The proposed change will add Optimized ZIRLOTM as an acceptable fuel rod cladding material.

2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION

Regulatory guidance for the review of fuel rod cladding materials and fuel system designs and adherence to applicable General Design Criteria (GDC) is provided in NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants (SRP),

Section 4.2, Fuel System Design. In accordance with SRP Section 4.2, the objectives of the fuel system safety review are to provide assurance that:

• The fuel system is not damaged as a result of normal operation and anticipated operational occurrences,

• Fuel system damage is never so severe as to prevent control rod insertion when it is required,

• The number of fuel rod failures is not underestimated for postulated accidents, and

• Coolability is always maintained.

In addition to licensed reload methodologies, an approved mechanical design methodology is utilized to demonstrate compliance to SRP Section 4.2 fuel design criteria. The U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has previously reviewed and approved Optimized ZIRLOTM cladding material for application in Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering (CE) fuel assembly designs (Reference 2).

The license amendment request involves adding Optimized ZIRLOTM as an acceptable fuel rod cladding material. The NRC staffs review of TS 5.2.1 will verify that Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel cladding material is applicable to the licensee and its implementation is done in accordance with established conditions and limitations.

3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION

3.1 Proposed Change to Technical Specification 5.2.1 The proposed change to TS 5.2.1, Fuel Assemblies, was provided in Attachment 2 of Reference 1. The proposed change consists of adding the text or Optimized ZIRLOTM within the sentence describing fuel rods. In Reference 2, the NRC staff had approved Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel cladding based on (1) similarities with standard ZIRLOTM, (2) demonstrated material performance, and (3) a commitment to provide irradiated data and validate fuel performance models ahead of burnups achieved in batch application.

The NRC staffs safety evaluation (SE) for Optimized ZIRLOTM (contained within Reference 2) includes ten conditions and limitations. The licensee has documented compliance with these ten conditions and limitations in Attachment 1 of Reference 1 and has committed to ensuring compliance for future reloads in Attachment 4 of Reference 1. With the exception of SE condition #6 and #7, the NRC staff has reviewed the licensees compliance with each of the ten SE conditions and limitations and finds each acceptable.

SE condition #6 and #7 relate to validating in-reactor performance and fuel performance models based on Lead Test Assembly (LTA) data ahead of batch application. In Attachment 1 of Reference 1, the licensee refers to a Westinghouse letter (Reference 3) to demonstrate compliance with these two SE conditions up through the projected burnup of the first cycle.

Citing the availability of more recent data, the NRC staff requested that the Westinghouse compliance letter be updated. The revised SER compliance letter (Reference 4) contains LTA pool-side measurements from more recent fuel outages.

In response to the above request, Westinghouse provided a revised LTA compliance letter (Reference 5) which added model predictions along with measured parameters. This information was necessary to confirm the adequacy of current fuel performance models. After reviewing the LTA data, the NRC staff finds that the licensee has demonstrated acceptable in-reactor performance and the adequacy of model predictions up through the first cycle burnup.

One of the main objectives of the ongoing Westinghouse creep program was to confirm the adequacy of the PAD creep models (same as FATES) for Optimized ZIRLOTM and verify that the steady state irradiation creep rate is the same in tension and compression. After review of the creep program measurements, the NRC staff is not convinced that these objectives were fulfilled. Based upon the profilometry data in Figures 3 through 6 of Reference 5, the NRC staff finds that the creep models are adequate for the first operating cycle where the fuel rod cladding is predominately in compressive creep. However, based upon the material in Section 3.3.2 of

Reference 5, the NRC staff has concerns with respect to tensile creep predictions and potential impacts on cladding liftoff pressure. Cladding liftoff is a concern toward end-of-life, but is of little concern during the first operating cycle. The licensee has committed to provide further demonstration of model accuracy prior to subsequent cycles. For the next reload, the licensee should scrutinize the tensile creep model predictions with respect to the latest creep program data in order to ensure that the underlying objectives of the Westinghouse creep program are fulfilled.

Based upon information contained in the revised compliance letter (Reference 5), the NRC staff finds the licensees compliance to SE conditions #6 and #7 acceptable. The licensee has committed to confirm that Westinghouse has provided confirmatory LTA data and validated fuel performance to the NRC prior to subsequent cycles. The licensee has proposed to add WCAP-12610-P-A and CENPD-404-P-A, Addendum 1-A, Optimized ZIRLOTM, July 2006, which contain SE conditions #6 and #7 to TS 6.6.5, Core Operating Limits Report (COLR). The addition of the WCAP to TS 6.6.5 will require that the SE conditions will be met by the licensee for subsequent refueling cycles.

Based upon the NRC staffs prior approval of Optimized ZIRLOTM and the licensees current and future compliance with the SE conditions and limitations, the NRC staff finds the proposed change to TS 5.2.1 acceptable along with the future use of Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel cladding material at ANO-2.

4.0 REGULATORY COMMITMENTS

1. The reload process for ANO-2 will ensure the conditions and limitations of the NRC SER for Optimized ZIRLOTM as addressed in Attachment 1 of the licensees April 24, 2007, letter are met when a batch of Optimized ZIRLOTM is implemented.

2. Entergy will confirm that Westinghouse will provide additional confirmatory data associated with LTA programs at other facilities prior to subsequent cycles of operation with Optimized ZIRLOTM fuel rod cladding. Confirmation will continue until average assembly burnup for the LTA programs at the other facilities reach the licensed average fuel rod burnup limit for ANO-2 (60 GWD/MT [gigawatt days per metric ton]).

5.0 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.

6.0 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 June 5, 2007 (72 FR 31099). 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.

7.0 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.

8.0 REFERENCES

1. Letter from Entergy to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ALicense Amendment Request to Allow the Use of Optimized ZIRLOTM Fuel Rod Cladding, Docket No.

50-368, 2CAN040703, April 24, 2007, ADAMS Accession No. ML071220267.

2. WCAP-12610-P-A and CENPD-404-P-A, Addendum 1-A, Optimized ZIRLOTM, July 2006, ADAMS Accession No. ML062080576.

3. Letter from Westinghouse to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ASER Compliance with WCAP-12610-P-A and CENPD-404-P-A, Addendum 1-A Optimized ZIRLOTM, LTR-NRC-07-1, January 4, 2007, ADAMS Accession No. ML070100389.

4. Letter from Westinghouse to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ASER Compliance with WCAP-12610-P-A & CENPD-404-P-A Addendum 1-A Optimized ZIRLOTM, LTR-NRC-07-58, November 6, 2007, ADAMS Accession No. ML073130562.

5. Letter from Westinghouse to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ASER Compliance with WCAP-12610-P-A & CENPD-404-P-A Addendum 1-A Optimized ZIRLOTM, LTR-NRC-07-58, Rev. 1, February 5, 2008, ADAMS Accession No. ML080390452.

Principal Contributor: P. Clifford Date: March 26, 2008