ML20206S652

Informs That During 980708-10 ACRS 454th Meeting,Several Matters Were Discussed & Listed Repts & Letters Completed. Executive Director Also Authorized to Transmit Noted Memos

ML20206S652
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello, 05200003
Issue date:	08/18/1998
From:	Seale R Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
To:	Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
References
ACRS-SL-0463, ACRS-SL-463, NUDOCS 9905210191
Download: ML20206S652 (9)

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/ 4 UNITED STATES i l /  % NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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August 18,1998 The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

SUMMARY

REPORT - FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-FOURTH MEETING OF  ;

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS, JULY 8-i 10,1998, AND OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMllTEE l During its 454th meeting, July 8-10,1998, the Advisory Committee on Reactor l

Safeguards (ACRS) discussed several matters and completed the following reports and letters. In addition, the Committee authorized Dr. Larkins, Executive Director, to j transmit the memoranda noted below: '

l REPORTS Reoort on the Safety Asoects of the Westinghouse Electric Comoany Acolication for Certification of the AP600 Passive Plant Design (Report to Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated July 23, 1998)

Draft Sucolement i to NUREG-1552. Fire Barrier Penetration Seals in Nuclear Power Plants (Report to Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated July 20,1998)

Prooosed Revisions to CFR 50.59 (Changes. Tests and Exoeriments) (Report to Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated July 16,1998) l LETTERS

. General Electric Nuclear Enerov Extended Power Ucrate Prooram and Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant Power Level increase Recuest (Letter to L. I Joseph Callan, Executive Director for Operations, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated July 24,1998) [o

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The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 2 i

Prooosed Final Safetv Evaluation of the BWR Vessel and Internals Proiect. BWR Pressure Vessel Shell Weld insoection Recommendations (BWRVIP-05) Reoort (Letter to L. Joseph Callan, Executive Director for Operations, NRC, from R. L.

Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated July 21,1998) l l

MEMORANDA

. Draft Reaulatorv Guide DG-4005. "Preoaration of Sucolemental Environmental Reoorts for Acolications to Renew Nuclear Power Plant Ooerating Licenses" l (Memorandum to L. Joseph Callan, Executive Director for Operations, NRC, from John T. Larkins, Executive Director, ACRS, dated July 22,1998)

. Prooosed Revision to 10 CFR 50.65(a)(3) of the Maintenance Rule to Reauire Licensees to Perform Safety Assessments (Memorandum to L. Joseph Callan, ,

Executive Director for Operations, NRC, from John T. Larkins, Executive Direc- l tor ACRS, dated July 22,1998) l l

HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY ISSUES CONSIDERED BY THE COMMITTEE l

1. BWR Extended Power Ucrate Acolication l The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of GE Nuclear Energy (GENE), Northern States Power Company (NSP), and the NRC staff regrading the GENE extended power uprate program for operating boiling water reactors and the application by NSP for a power level increase of 6.3% for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. The extended power uprate program addresses power uprates greater than 5% and up to 20%

of rated core power, as compared to the initial power uprate program which addressed power uprates up to 5% of core power. Individuallicensees are to make decisions on the magnitude of power uprates. Monticello is the lead plant for the extended power uprate program. Although Monticello requested a power level increase of 6.3%, from 1670 MWt to 1775 MWt, it performed accident analyses using a core power level of 1880 MWt, which is twice the requested power level increase. The Committee provided several recommendations for staff consideration in reviewing the future power uprate applications.

Conclusion The Committee issued a letter to the Executive Director for Operations, dated July 24,1998, on this matter.

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The. Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 3

2. Proposed Revisions to CFR 50.59 (Chanoes. Tests and Exoeriments)

The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding proposed revisions to 10 CFR 50.59.

The Committee discussed the proposed rule language, statement of considerations, and regulatory analysis provided in the staffs May 21,1998

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rulemaking package. The Committee also discussed proposed industry guidance in NEl 96-07, " Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Safety Evaluations." The staff provided its draft Commission paper and revised rulemaking package to the ACRS subsequent to the Committee's decision with the staff on July 8,1998.

Consequently, the Committee.was not able to review these documents in detail.

Conclusion The Committee provided a report to Chairman Jackson, dated July 16,1998, on this matter. A proposal by ACRS member, Dr. Apostolakis for developing a risk-informed framework for 10 CFR 50.59 was attached to the ACRS report. The Committee plans to examine how such a framework might be incorporated in developing an improved 10 CFR 50.59 process.

3. AP600 Desian ,

The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and Westinghouse Electric Company concerning the AP600 design. Subjects discussed included information provided in response to ACRS concerns regarding the containment analysis methodology and the passive core cooling analysis; the inspections, tests, analyses, and >

acceptance criteria (ITAAC); the AP600 Adverse System Interaction Evaluation Report; the Level 1 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA); and modifications made to the security design. --

During the discussion of the proposed AC'RS report on the AP600 design, Dr. i Graham Wallis, ACRS member, informed Dr. Robert Seale, ACRS Chairman, j that he planned to abstain from voting on the ACRS report of the AP600 design i due to his lack of familiarity with the long history of the evaluation and insufficient I time to follow details of the paper trail.

Conclusion ,

The Committee issued a report to Chairman Jackson, dated July 23,1998,on this matter. l l

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.The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 4

4. Fire Barrier Penetration Raals and Ralated Matters The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with the representatives of the NRC staff, Nuclear Energy Institute.(NEI), and Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS) regarding Draft Supplement 1 to NUREG-1552, " Fire Barrier Penetration Seals in Nuclear Power Plants," a draft Information Notice, " inadequate Identification and Analysis of Required and Associated Electrical Circuits Resulting in the Potential Loss of Post-Fire Safe-Shutdown Capability, " and related matters. The staff stated that, on the basis of the reassessment of the fire barrier penetration seals, it concluded that the actions taken in 1988 and 1994 to alert licensees to potential penetration seal problems increased industry awareness of such problems and resulted in more comprehensive surveillance activities, maintenance practices, and corrective actions.

The staff also discussed a key issue raised by intervenor groups that the requirement for utilization of noncombustible materials for penetration seals included in Section Ill. M of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 should not be eliminated. On the basis of its evaluations, the staff recommended that the requirement in Section Ill.M of Appendix R that penetration seal designs should utilize only noncombustible materials be eliminated.

NIRS representatives stated that the NRC staff has not demonstrated a complete and adequate understanding of the formulation of the current regulation, particularly with regard to the recommendation to eliminate the noncombustibility requirement from the existing rule.

NEl expressed concern that issuance of an Information Notice and a Generic Letter for the associated circuit analysis is not necessary. However, industry plans to work with the staff to resolve this issue in a timely manner.

Conclusion The Committee issued a report to Chairman Jackson, dated July 20,1998, on this matter.

5. BWR Pressure Vessel Shell Weld Insoections The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff concerning the staffs review of the BWR Vessel l Internals Project (BWRVIP) report, "BWR Reactor Pressure Vessel Shell Weld l Inspection Recommendations (BWRVIP-05),"in which BWRVIP recommended l I

The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 5 that relief be granted from the regulatory requirement to conduct inservice inspections of 100 percent BWR reactor vessel circumferential welds. The staff's review included consideration of the results from event frequency and probabilistic fracture mechanics calculations. Based on its review of the BWRVIP-05 report, the staff recommended changes to the requirements that would allow licensees to be granted permanent relief from inservice inspection I requirements for volumetric examination of BWR pressure vessel circumferential welds if the licensee can demonstrate that the generic evaluation performed by the staff is applicable to its vessel.

l Conclusion l The Committee issued a letter to the Executive Director for Operations, dated July 21,1998, on this matter.

6. Ooeratina Plan for the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Reaulation l

l Mr. Sam Collins, Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR),

briefed the Committee on the NRR Operating Plan. The plan includes the reactor licensing program, inspection program, performance assessment

program, and environmental program. Mr. Collins discussed the following significant changes between FY 1998 and FY 1999 Plans

1 Rulemaking function has been transferred from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) to NRR.

Inspection program has been modified to be " task oriented"instead of l

" people oriented."

1 Reactor performance assessment activities proposed to be modified and merged into a single process.

I Mr. Collins stated that NRR is changing its focus to become product-oriented and restructuring the budget and organization accordingly. The budget is becoming the template for the operating plan. The operating plan will be the execution of the budget plan. NRR has used program managers, budget, and projections to interact with other offices including the ACRS. He said that one of the key elements of the Operating Plan is self-assessment.

Mr. Collins acknowledged the concerns expressed by some members regarding the poor quality of the Westinghouse AP600 Standard Safety Analysis Report.

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. . The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 6 Conclusion -

This briefing was for information only and was provided as part of periodic meetings with the Office Directors.

RECONCILIATION OF ACRS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Committee discussed the responses from the NRC Executive Director for Operations (EDO) to ACRS comments and recommendations included in recent ACRS reports:

The Committee discussed the EDO response dated June 11,1998, to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated May 11, 1998, concerning elevation of core damage frequency (CDF) to a fundamental safety goal and possible revision to the Commission's Safety Goal Policy Statement (SECY-98-101).

The Committee decided that it was satisfied with the EDO's response. The l

Committee plans to discuss the proposed revisions to the Safety Goal Policy  !

Statement when made available. '

The Committee discussed the EDO response dated May 4,1998, to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated April 9, 1998, concerning the draft Commission paper SECY-98-132, " Plans to increase Performance-Based Approaches in Regulatory Activities." The Committee also  ;

discussed SECY-98-144, " White Paper on Risk-Informed, Performance-Based j Regulation," related to SECY 98-132 and the EDO's response. i The Committee decided to continue its review of this matter following the public !

workshop /stakeholders meeting.  !

The Committee discussed the EDO response dated June 25,1998, to ACRS l comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated June 9, )

1998, concerning NRC participation in the CABRI reactor fuels research  !

program.

The Committee decided that it was se+4fied with the EDO's response.

OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE During the period from June 2 through July 7,1998, the following Subcommittee meetings were held:-

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The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson 7

. Thermal-Hvdraulic Phenomena - June 11-12,1998 The Subcommittee continued its review of the Westinghouse AP600 Test and Analysis Program (TAP)in support of the AP600 design certification. Its review was focused on the issues associated with the Passive Containment System.

. Advanced Reactor Designs - June 17-18,1998 and July 7,1998 The Subcommittee continued its review of the Westinghouse AP600 design, specifically the inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria, the AP600 Level 1 PRA, the Test and Analysis Program, and the staff's evaluation of Chapters 1,4,5,7,8,11,13, and 18 of the AP600 Standard Safety Analysis Report, as well as responses to issues previously identified by the members.

. Plant Ooerations - June 19,1998 The Subcommittee discussed proposed revisions to 10 CFR 50.59 (Changes, Tests and Experiments) and related matters.

. Planning and Procedures - July 7,1998 The Planning and Procedures Subcommittee discussed proposed ACRS activities, practices, end procedures for conducting Committee business and organizational and personnel matters relating to ACRS and its staff.

LIST OF FOLLOW-UP MATTERS FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS

. The Committee decided to review the proposed revision to 10 CFR 50.65,

" Requirements for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants," following reconciliation of public comments.

. The Committee discussed the EDO response dated May 4,1998, to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated April 9, 1998, concerning the draft Commission paper SECY-98-132, " Plans to increase Perforrnance-Based Approaches in Regulatory Activities." The Committee also discussed SECY-98-144, ' White Paper on Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Regulation," related to SECY 98-132 and the EDO's response.

The Committee decided to continue its review of this matter following the public workshop /stakeholders meeting.

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. The Honorable Shirley Ann J:ckson 8 I

1 Th'eCommittee plans to review the proposed revisions to the Safety Goal Policy Statement when made available.

Mr. Collins, NRR Director, agreed to provide the following to the ACRS:

l Examples of rulemaking activities re'sulting from the transfer of the  !

rulemaking function from RES to NRR that demonstrate the effectiveness of the transfer.

Examples of how to use Regulatory Guide 1.174 and the risk-informed  ;

approach for accident scenarios other than severe accidents.

Comments on the ACRS report to the Commission regarding the NRC l Safety Research program (NUREG-1635, Vol.1) dated June 1998. I PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR THE 455TH ACRS MEETING 1

The Committee agreed to consider the following during the 455th ACRS Meeting,  ;

September 2-4,1998:  ;

Power Level increase Reauest for Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant. Units 1 and 2 (Open/ Closed) The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNOC) and the NRC staff regarding the SNOC's application for a power level increase of 8% for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2. '

l Imoact of PRA Results and insights on the Regulatory Svstem (Open) The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff end the Nuclear Energy Institute regarding situation-specific cases where PRA results and insights have improved the existing regulatory system, and specific areas in which PRA can have a positive impact on the regulatory system.

Establishing a Benchmark on Risk During Low-Power and Shutdown Ooerations (Open)

The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding staff activities associated with establishing a benchmark on risk during low-power and shutdown operations, and related matters.

Emergencv Core Cooling System Strainer Blockage (Open) The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and BWR Owners Group regarding the NRC staff's safety evaluation of the BWR Owners Group Utility Resolution Guide for emergency core cooling system strainer blockage.

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a - The Hon:rtbl3 Shirley Ann hekson 9 Pronosed Resolution of Generic Safety Issue 171. "Enaineered Safety Feature Failure from Loss of Offsite Power Subseouent to a Loss-of-Coolant Aerident"(Open) The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the proposed resolution of Generic Safety lasue 171.

Meetina with the Director of the NRC Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Ooerational Data (AEODi (Open) The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with the AEOD Director regarding items of mutual interest, including:

1 e Long-term strategy for the Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) computer codes,

~ including criteria for accuracy, range of application, and treatment of uncertainty.

I e Methods for planning case studies; emphasis on risk information in the regulatory

~ process; and use in validating PRA methods.

e Strategy for encouraging greater use of AEOD studies within the NRC and within the larger reactor safety community.

e Whether AEOD should be collecting data, etc., outside the nuclear industry. For example, whether AEOD should collect data on the vulnerabilities of digital electronic systems and software encountered in other industries and applications.

e AEOD activities associated with evaiuating foreign event data.

Deoraded Auxiliarv Feedwater System Canability Durina a Ranid Downoower Event at the Catawba Nuclear Plant. Unit 1 (Open) The Committee will hear preserrtations by and hold and discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the May 7,1998 incident at Catawba, Unit 1 involving degraded auxiliary feedwater system capability.

Prioritiration of Generic Safety lasues (Open) The Committee will hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding ACRS members' comments on the priority rankings proposed by the staff for a group of Generic Safety lasues.

Sincerely, A.C R.L.Seale Chairman I