ML20214K776

Affidavit of Tj Maiman Supporting Util Request for Authorization for Fuel Loading & Precritical Testing. Rj Slember Unexecuted Affidavit Encl.W/Certificate of Svc

ML20214K776
Person / Time
Site:	Braidwood
Issue date:	08/18/1986
From:	Maiman T COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
To:
Shared Package
ML20214K728	List: ML20214K725 ML20214K737 ML20214K761 ML20214K776
References
OL, NUDOCS 8608220092
Download: ML20214K776 (10)

Text

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE-THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

~In the Matter of: )

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY- )

) Docket Nos. 50-456

) 50-457 (Braidwood Station, -)

Units 1 and 2) )

AFFIDAVIT OF THOMAS J. MAIMAN-I, Thomas J. Maiman, being duly sworn, depose and state:

1. I am Vice President and Manager of Projects for Commonwealth Edison Company. As Manager of Projects, I have overall responsibility for the engineering, budgeting, scheduling, construction, testing and startup of Commonwealth Edison's nuclear construction projects, _ including Braidwood.

2. I have been employed by Commonwealth Edison since 1965 and have held engineering, operating and maintenance positions at various levels of responsibility, including Department Head. Most recently, I have been an Assistant Vice President of Engineering and then the Division Vice President and General Manager of the Fossil Stations Division.

I was made Manager of Projects in 1984 and was elected a Vice President of Commonwealth Edison in 1986.

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3.. I received'a Bachelor of. Science degree in Electrical--Engineering from the. University.of Illinois in 1962,.and I received a Master'ofLBusiness' Administration-idegreeLfrom Loyola: University in'1972.

4. I-am submitting this affidavit ~in support of '

Commonwealth Edison's request for authorization to' load fuel-

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in-Braidwood Unit 1 and to conduct-precritical. testing-of the unit. The precritical. test sequence consists of about 30 individual' test procedures which will verify the satis-factory operation ofJvarious plant systems. During-this r

, - test sequence,:the. plant will be taken from the cold shutdown 4 condition to'no-load operating pressure and temperature.

All'of these various plant systems-will satisfy the operability I ~

requirements defined in the Braidwood Unit 1. Technical Specifications prior to bringing the reactor critical, i 5. -The affidavit of Kenneth D. Brienzo describes several special-measures that Commonwealth Edison will 4 implement throughout:the course of-the fuel loading and precritical testing activities.for which we are seeking i authorization. In particula , he explains that the boron l-E concentration in the reactor coolant system and the makeup water system will be maintained at 2000 parts per million (ppm). .

He also explains that these systems will be manually sampled and tested to verify this boron concentration.

t j Finally, he explains that nonborated water sources will 4

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- be mechanically isolated from the reactor coolant system to preclude inadvertent dilution'of.the boron concentration. I hereby commit, on behalf of Commonwealth Edison Company, that the special measures described in Mr. Brienzo's affidavit will be implemented.

Further affiant sayeth'not.

AM Thomas J. Ma SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN-TO before me this - /7 day of August, 1986.

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4 ATTACHMENT C

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of: ) *

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COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY ) Docket .o s . 50-456

) 50-457 (Braidwood Station, Units )

1 and 2) )

AFFIDAVIT OF RICHARD J. SLEMBER I, Richard J. Slember, being duly sworn, depose and state:

. 1. I am General Manager of the Nuclear Fuel Divi-sions Business Unit of Westinghouse. I have been responsible for nuclear fuel and reactor safety and engineering activities for over thirty years. I joined Westinghouse in 1955 at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory where I was responsible for designing reactor cores for the nuclear navy. From 1963 to 1971, at United Nuclear Corporation, I managed the design of reload nuclear fuel for various nuclear systems, including those supplied by Westinghouse. From 1971 to the present, I have managed a succession of technical activities for ,

Westinghouse, encompassing nuclear fuel design, testing and fabrication; reactor safety analysis and testing; and plant systems engineering.

2. I am a 1955 graduate of Cooper Union with a BME degree. I later earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. I have taught i

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courses in the-Bettis Laboratory Reactor Engineering School, and graduate programs at.the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

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3. I am submitting this affidavit in support of i

Commonwealth Edison Company's Motion for Authorization of Fuel Loading and Precritical Testing. As explained in the affi-davits of Thomas J. Maiman and Kenneth D. Brienzo, Commonwealth 1

Edison will operate Braidwood Unit 1 under the authority being requested in a manner such that the concentration of boron within the reactor vessel will be maintained at or above 2000 parts per million (ppm) throughout the fuel loading process and precritical testing sequence without relying on the proper functioning of any electrical systems or circuitry. The purpose of my affidavit is to show that if this concentration of boron is maintained there will be no physical means of the reactor core becoming critical, and therefore no electrical systems or circuitry will be required under accident and transient conditions.

4. The reactor core becomes critical when the number of neutrons generated in the core is in equilibrium with the number of neutrons absorbed or lost. The reactor remains ,

subcritical when more neutrons are absorbed or lost than generated. Neutrons that are lost cannot thereafter affect criticality. There are two forms of neutron absorbers--

control rods and dissolved boron in the reactor coolant. The effect of the neutron absorbers is influenced by changes in the

reactor coolant system temperature. Standard design calcula-tions taking into account these temperature effects have demonstrated that with all control rods withdrawn from the core, the boron concentration would have to be reduced to lenc than 1200 ppm for the core to become critical over the range of reactor coolant system temperatures which will occur during the precritical testing sequence. These standard criticality calculations are part of the core design for Braidwood and were performed by nuclear core design engineers within my area of responsibility.

5. For the core to become critical, the excess neutron absorbers would have to be removed. This can only be done by withdrawing control rods and/or reducing the boron concentration. Given the Commonwealth Edison commitment to maintain the concentration of boron in the reactor coolant system at or above 2000 ppm, substantially above the 1200 ppm shown necessary by the Westinghouse calculations, the with-drawal of all of the control rods cannot cause the reactor to become critical. Only dilution of the boron concentration in the reactor coolant could cause the reactor to become critical. Such dilution will be precluded by the measures ,

discussed in the affidavit of Kenneth D. Brienzo.

6. The generation of neutrons is dependent upon the presence of reactor coolant (water). If reactor coolant is lost from the core, both the neutron generation capability of the fuel and the neutron absorption capability of the boron I

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dissolved in the water will be reduced. Evaluations performed by Westinghouse under my area of responsibility show that the effect on neutron generation dominates the effect on neutron absorption, making the core even more subcritical. In addi-tion, a loss of heat removal capability from the core is unimportant under the limited operation contemplated by Commonwealth Edison because the reactor core will never become critical and is therefore not a heat source.

7. In conclasion, under the conditions that Commonwealth Edison will maintain, Braidwood Unit 1 will remain in a subcritical state under accident and transient conditions without any reliance on electrical systems or circuitry.

l Maintaining the boron concentration in the reactor coolant system at or above-2000 ppm alone will assure the suberitical

. state of the reactor. It follows, of course, that because the reactor will never become critical during either the fuel loading process or precritical testing, no fission product l source term will be generated; and consequently, no question will arise as to the protection of the public health and safety.

Further affiant sayeth not.

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Richard J. Slember l SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this day l of , 1986.

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NOTARY PUBLIC

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,9 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In tho Matter oft )

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY )

) Docket-Nos. 50-456

) 50-457 (Braidwood Station, )

Units 1 and 2) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Peter Thornton, one of the attorneys for Commonwealth Edison Company, certify that copies of Applicant's Motion for Authorization of Fuel Loading and Precritical Testing and the attached affidavits of Messrs. Brienzo, Maiman and Slember have been served in the above-captioned matter on all persons listed on the attached Service List by

, Federal Express overnight delivery this 18th day of August, 1986 except where service has been made as otherwise noted.

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, Peter Thornton ISHAM, LINCOLN & BEALE Suite 5000 Three First National Plaza Chicago, Illinois 60602 (312)558-7500 Dated: August 18, 1986

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SERVICE LIST-

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' Herbert _Grobsman, Esq Mr. William L. Clements schairma,n Chief, Docketing and Services Administrative Law Judge- United States. Nuclear Regulatory Atonic Safety and Licensing Commission Board Office of the Secretary L United States Nuclear Regulatory Washington, DC 20555 Commission

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WashlagLon, DC 20555 *Ms. Bridget Little Rorem 117 North Linden Street Dr. Richard F. Cole .P.O. Box 208 Administrative Law Judge Essex, IL 60935 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission- Douglass W. Cassel, Jr.

Washington, DC 20555 Timothy W. Wright III BPI Dr. A. Dixon Callihan 109 North Dearborn Street Administrative Law Judge Suite 1300 1911 Parkview Street Chicago, IL 60602 Huntington, West Virginia 25701 Charles Jones, Director Stuart Treby, Esq. Illinois Emergency Services Elaine I. Chan, Esq. and Disaster Agency Office of the Executive Legal 110 East Adams Director Springfield, IL 62705 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission William Little, Director Washington, DC 20555 Braidwood Project Region III Atomic Safety and Licensing United States Nuclear Regulatory Board Panel Commission United States Nuclear Regulatory 799 Roosevelt Road Commission Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 Washington, DC 20555 Ms. Janice A. Stevens

' Atomic Safety and Licensing United States Nuclear Regulatory Appeal Board Panel Commission United States Nuclear Regulatory 7920 Norfolk Avenue Commission Phillips Building Washington, DC 20555 Bethesda, MD 20014 (For ADDRESSEE ONLY)

• • Robert Guild 314 Pall Mall-Columbia, So. Carolina 29201 George L. Edgar, Esq.

Thomas A. Schmutz, Esq.

• Service by United States Newman & Holtzinger, P.C.,

mail, postage prepaid. 1615 "L" Street, N.W.

Suite 1000

• • Service by hand. Washington, DC 20036

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