ML051470347
| ML051470347 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | North Anna  |
| Issue date: | 06/15/2005 |
| From: | Stephen Monarque NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD2 |
| To: | Christian D Virginia Electric & Power Co (VEPCO) |
| Monarques, S R, NRR/DLPM, 415-1544 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML051720359 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC MC4213, TAC MC4214 | |
| Download: ML051470347 (13) | |
Text
June 15, 2005 Mr. David A. Christian Sr. Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Virginia Electric and Power Company Innsbrook Technical Center 5000 Dominion Blvd.
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060-6711
SUBJECT:
NORTH ANNA POWER STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 - ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS TO EXTEND THE INSPECTION INTERVAL FOR REACTOR COOLANT PUMP FLYWHEELS (TAC NOS. MC4213 AND MC4214)
Dear Mr. Christian:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment Nos. and to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-4 and NPF-7 for the North Anna Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2. The amendments change the Technical Specifications (TS) in response to your application dated August 30, 2004.
The amendments revise TS 5.5.6, "Reactor Coolant Pump Flywheel Inspection Program," to increase the inspection interval from 10 years to 20 years. A notice of availability for this TS improvement using the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process was published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2003 (68 FR 60422).
A copy of the Safety Evaluation is also enclosed. The Notice of Issuance will be included in the Commission's biweekly Federal Register notice.
Sincerely,
/RA by JHoncharik for/
Stephen Monarque, Project Manager, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 241 to NPF-4
- 2. Amendment No. 222 to NPF-7
- 3. Safety Evaluation cc w/encls: See next page
ML051470347 TS: ML051730448 NRR-058 OFFICE CLIIP LPM PDII-1/PM PDII-2/LA PDII-1/SC NAME WReckley JHoncharik for EDunnington EMarinos SMonarque DATE 05/20/05 05 / 24 /2005 05 / 24 /2005 06 / 14 /2005 VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-338 NORTH ANNA POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 241 Renewed License No. NPF-4
- 1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A. The application for amendment by Virginia Electric and Power Company et al.,
(the licensee) dated August 30, 2004, 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 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-4 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 241, are hereby incorporated in the renewed license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
- 3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Evangelos C. Marinos, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: June 15, 2005
VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY DOCKET NO. 50-339 NORTH ANNA POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 2 AMENDMENT TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 222 Renewed License No. NPF-7
- 1. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A. The application for amendment by Virginia Electric and Power Company et al.,
(the licensee) dated August 30, 2004, 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 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-7 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2) Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 222, are hereby incorporated in the renewed license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
- 3. This license amendment is effective as of its date of issuance and shall be implemented within 30 days of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Evangelos C. Marinos, Chief, Section 1 Project Directorate II Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to the Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: June 15, 2005
ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 241 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-4 LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 222 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-7 DOCKET NOS. 50-338 AND 50-339 Replace the following page of the Appendix "A" Technical Specifications with the enclosed page as indicated. The revised page is identified by amendment number and contains vertical lines indicating the areas of change.
Remove Page Insert Page 5.5-4 5.5-4
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION RELATED TO AMENDMENT NO. 241 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-4 AND AMENDMENT NO. 222 TO RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-7 VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY NORTH ANNA POWER STATION, UNIT NOS. 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-338 AND 50-339
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dated August 30, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML042440169), the Virginia Electric and Power Company (the licensee), requested changes to the Technical Specifications (TS) for the North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2. The proposed changes would extend the reactor coolant pump (RCP) motor flywheel examination frequency from the currently approved 10-year inspection interval to an interval not to exceed 20 years. These changes are based on Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) change traveler TSTF-421 (Revision 0) that has been approved generically for the Westinghouse Standard Technical Specifications (STS), NUREG-1431. A notice announcing the availability of this proposed TS change using the consolidated line item improvement process (CLIIP) was published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2003 (68 FR 60422).
2.0 REGULATORY EVALUATION
The function of the RCP in the reactor coolant system (RCS) of a pressurized-water reactor plant is to maintain an adequate cooling flow rate by circulating a large volume of primary coolant water at high temperature and pressure through the RCS. Following an assumed loss of power to the RCP motor, the flywheel, in conjunction with the impeller and motor assembly, provides sufficient rotational inertia to assure adequate primary coolant flow during RCP coastdown, thus resulting in adequate core cooling. A concern regarding the overspeed of the RCP and its potential for failure led to the issuance of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.14, "Reactor Coolant Pump Flywheel Integrity," Revision 1, dated August 1975. RG 1.14 describes a method acceptable to the NRC staff of addressing concerns related to RCP vibration and the possible effects of missiles that might result from the failure of the RCP flywheel. The need to protect components important to safety from such missiles are included in General Design Criterion 4, "Environmental and Dynamic Effects Design Basis," of Appendix A,
"General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants," to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, "Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities," which is applicable to plants that obtained their construction permits after May 21, 1971.
Specific requirements to have an RCP Flywheel Inspection Program consistent with RG 1.14 or previously issued relaxations from the RG are included in the Administrative Controls Section of the TS. The purpose of the testing and inspection programs defined in the TS is to ensure that the probability of a flywheel failure is sufficiently small such that additional safety features are not needed to protect against a flywheel failure. The RG provides criteria in terms of critical speeds that could result in the failure of a RCP flywheel during normal or accident conditions.
In addition to the guidance in RG 1.14, the NRC has more recently issued RG 1.174, "An Approach for Using Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Risk-Informed Decisions on Plant-Specific Changes to the Licensing Basis," which provides guidance and criteria for evaluating proposed changes that use risk-informed justifications.
A proposed justification for extending the RCP flywheel inspections from a 10-year inspection interval to an interval not to exceed 20 years was provided by the Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG) in topical report WCAP-15666, "Extension of Reactor Coolant Pump Motor Flywheel Examination," transmitted by letter dated August 24, 2001. The topical report addressed the proposed extension for all domestic WOG plants. The NRC staff accepted the topical report for referencing in license applications in a letter and safety evaluation (SE) dated May 5, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No. ML031250595).
3.0 TECHNICAL EVALUATION
TS 5.5.6, Reactor Coolant Pump Flywheel Inspection Program, reflects the licensee's previous adoption of a TS change that defined the allowable alternative to the inspections described in RG 1.14. The inspections are defined as in-place ultrasonic examination over the volume from the inner bore of the flywheel to the circle of one-half the outer radius or an alternative surface examination (magnetic particle testing [MT] and/or liquid penetrant testing
[PT]) of exposed surfaces of the removed flywheel. The allowable interval for these inspections was extended in the previous amendment to "approximately 10 year intervals coinciding with the Inservice Inspection schedule as required by ASME [American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code,] Section XI." The change proposed in this amendment application would revise the allowable inspection interval to 20-year intervals.
The justification for the proposed change was provided in WCAP-15666, which the NRC staff accepted for referencing in license applications by a letter and SE dated May 5, 2003. The topical report addresses the three critical speeds defined in RG 1.14: (a) the critical speed for ductile failure, (b) the critical speed for non-ductile failure, and (c) the critical speed for excessive deformation of the flywheel. The NRC staff found that the topical report adequately addressed these issues and demonstrated that acceptance criteria, for normal and accident conditions defined in RG 1.14, would continue to be met for all domestic WOG plants following an extension of the inspection interval. The topical report also provided a risk assessment for extending the RCP flywheel inspection interval. The NRC staff's review, documented in the SE for the topical report, determined that the analysis methods and risk estimates are acceptable when compared to the guidance in RG 1.174.
In conclusion, the NRC staff finds that the regulatory positions in RG 1.14 concerning the three critical speeds are satisfied, and that the evaluation indicating that critical crack sizes are not expected to be attained during a 20-year inspection interval is reasonable and acceptable. The potential for failure of the RCP flywheel is, and will continue to be, negligible during normal and accident conditions. The change is therefore acceptable.
The licensee also proposes to delete from TS 5.5.6 the statement that the provisions of SR 3.0.2 and SR 3.0.3 are applicable to the Reactor Coolant Pump Flywheel Inspection Program surveillance frequency. These provisions provide additional flexibility for most surveillances by allowing intervals to be extended by 25 percent and by delaying declaration of a limiting condition for operation not met in cases of missed surveillances. The NRC staff finds it appropriate to delete the note stating that these provisions are applicable to the RCP flywheel inspections.
4.0 STATE CONSULTATION
In accordance with the Commissions regulations, the Virginia State official was notified of the proposed issuance of the amendments. The State official had no comments.
5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
The amendments change a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 and change surveillance requirements. The staff has determined that the amendments involve 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 amendments involve no significant hazards consideration, and there has been no public comment on such finding (70 FR 12751). Accordingly, the amendments meet 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 amendments.
6.0 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 Commissions 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.
Principal Contributor: W. Reckley Date: June 15, 2005
North Anna Power Station, Units 1 & 2 cc:
Mr. C. Lee Lintecum Office of the Attorney General County Administrator Commonwealth of Virginia Louisa County 900 East Main Street Post Office Box 160 Richmond, Virginia 23219 Louisa, Virginia 23093 Senior Resident Inspector Ms. Lillian M. Cuoco, Esq. North Anna Power Station Senior Counsel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Dominion Resources Services, Inc. 1024 Haley Drive Building 475, 5 th floor Mineral, Virginia 23117 Rope Ferry Road Waterford, Connecticut 06385 Mr. Jack M. Davis Site Vice President Dr. W. T. Lough North Anna Power Station Virginia State Corporation Commission Virginia Electric and Power Company Division of Energy Regulation Post Office Box 402 Post Office Box 1197 Mineral, Virginia 23117-0402 Richmond, Virginia 23218 Dr. Robert B. Stroube, MD, MPH Old Dominion Electric Cooperative State Health Commissioner 4201 Dominion Blvd. Office of the Commissioner Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 Virginia Department of Health Post Office Box 2448 Mr. Chris L. Funderburk, Director Richmond, Virginia 23218 Nuclear Licensing & Operations Support Dominion Resources Services, Inc.
Innsbrook Technical Center 5000 Dominion Blvd.
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060-6711