ML20236N823

Informs That NRC Review of Application Identified Addl Info, Needed Before Final Action Can Be Taken on Request Re Paducah Certificate Amend Request for Product & Tails Withdrawal Criticality Accident Alarm Sys

ML20236N823
Person / Time
Site:	07007001
Issue date:	07/09/1998
From:	Horn M NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	John Miller UNITED STATES ENRICHMENT CORP. (USEC)
References
TAC-L32047, NUDOCS 9807150272
Download: ML20236N823 (2)

Text

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76L760/ l pm:0 ye l*, UNITED STATES j

• # E NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION '

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 0001 8 July 9, 1998 k . . . . . ,o Mr. James H. Miller Vice President, Production U. S. Enrichment Corporation 2 Democracy Center 6903 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20817

SUBJECT:

PADUCAH CERTIFICATE AMENDMENT P.EQUEST - PRODUCT AND TAILS WITHDRAWAL CRITICALITY ACCIDENT ALARM SYSTEM (TAC NO. L32047)

Dear Mr. Miiler:

This refers to your application dated September 15,1997, requesting an amendment to Certificate of Compliance GDP-1 for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to revise Technical Safety Requirement (TSR) 2.3.4.7, Required Action A1.5 to provide additional time to operate the withdrawal station in normal steady state operation should the criticality accident alarm system (CAAS) be declared inoperable. This would allow the plant to continue withdrawing product by filling the accumulators.

Our review of your application has identified additional information that is needed before final action can be taken on your request. This was discussed with Mr. Mark Smith and Mr. Steve Stout of your staff on June 26. Currently, the TSR would allow the in-progress cylinder to complete the filling cycle;it would not allow stopping and restarting of the filling process. As proposed, the TSR would allow stopping and/or restarting as necessary to complete the filling cycle. The staff is concemed that allowing stopping and restarting the process introduces human interactions and/or active engineered control input which would increase the probability a of maloperation. Please provide justification for why USEC believes it should be allowed to restart the cylinder filling operation once stopped. The staff has the same concem with normal" operation of withdrawai compressors, condensers, and accumulators. Please provide additional justification for why these operations can be stopped and restarted while the CAAS is inoperable.

The additional information chould be provided within 30 days of this letter. Please reference the j above TAC No. in future correspondence related to this request.

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- L fD5' o 9007150272 980709' l PDR ADOCK 07007001 C PDR L __ -- -------------------------9

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, o J. H. Miller, USEC 2 Please note that this amendment was scheduled to be complete on June 30. We anticipate completing the review within 30 days of receiving your response, if you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at (301) 415-8126.

Sincerely, Original Signed By Merri Hom, Project Manager Enrichment Section Special Projects Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, NMSS Docket 70-7001 Certificate GDP-1 cc: Mr. Howard Pulley, PGDP Mr. Steve Toelle, USEC DISTRIBUTION: (Control No. 320S) .

Docket 70-70o1 (NRC File CenterA PUBLIC Rill KO'Brien, Rill NMSS r/f FCSS r/f SPB r/t PHiland, Ritt PPatel p:raicprod.mh OFC SPB C' SFW ,h SPB NAME M rn:ij ~ y akin DATE 9 /9/98 98 7M98

- C = COVER - E = COVER & ENCLOSURE N = NO COPY OFFICIAL RECORD COPY I

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