ML20155C746

Forwards NRR to Ocre Ack Receipt of Petition Filed Under 10CFR2.206 & Responding Negativelty to Request for Immediate Action Re All Bwrs,For Info

ML20155C746
Person / Time
Site:	Big Rock Point File:Consumers Energy icon.png
Issue date:	10/04/1988
From:	Scott W Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Berry K CONSUMERS ENERGY CO. (FORMERLY CONSUMERS POWER CO.)
References
2.206, NUDOCS 8810100209
Download: ML20155C746 (3)

Text

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October 4, 1988 {(n h /k Qocketflo. 50-155 l Mr. Kenneth W. Berry Director, Nuclear Licensing i Consumers Power Company ,

1945 West Parnall Road .

Jackson, Michigan 49201

Dear Mr. Berry:

j Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988, from l the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, to the Representative of the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy (OCRE). The letter (1) acknowledges i 1 receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations, (2) responds in the negative to the Petitioner's request for immediate action with respect to all Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and (3)

( states that the Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the -

i Commission's regulations. l 6

Please contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Sincerely, j CligIfrej Li*fddby

! Wayne E. Scott, Jr. , Project Manager

! ProjectDirectorateIII-1

Division of Reactor Projects - III, IV, V 1 2

& Special Projects t

Enclosure:

As stated cc w/ enclosure

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Docket No. 50-155 Mr. Kenneth W. Berry Director, Nuclear Licensing Consumers Power Company 1945 West Parnall Road Jackson, Michigan 49201

Dear Mr. Berry:

Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988, from the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, to the Representative of the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy (OCRE). The letter (1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations, (2) responds in the negativt to the Petitioner's request for immediate action with respect to all Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and (3) states that the Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations.

Plaase contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Sincerely, hyd ? -

Wayn6 E. Scott, Jri, roject Manager Project Directorate III-1 Division of Reactor Projects - III, IV, V

& Special Projects

Enclosure:

As stated cc w/ enclosure:

See next page i

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O Mr. Kenneth W. Berry Consumers Power Company Big Rock Point Plant cc:

Mr. Thomas A. McNish, Secretary Consumers Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 Judd L. Bacon, Esquire Consumers Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 4 Mr. Thomas W. E1 ward Plant Manager Big Rock Point Plant 10269 U.S. 31 North Charlevoix, Michigan 49720 Mr. Bud Heeres County Commissioner 303 Sheridan Charlevoix, Michigan 49720

, Office of the Governor Room 1 - Capitol Building Lansing, Michigan 48913 Rtgional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 799 Roosevelt Road Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137 Nuclear Facilities and Environmental -

Monitoring Section Office Division of Radiological Health P. O. Box 30035 Lansing, Michigan 48909 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Resident Inspector Office Big Rock Point Plant 10253 U.S. 33. North Charlevoix, Michigan 49720

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• g UNITED STATES f n NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i

g , t WBASHING) ON, D. C. 30004

%,..... August 26, 1988 Ms. Susan L. Hiatt Representative of Ohio Cittrens for Responsible Energy, Inc.

8275 Munson Road Mentor, CH 44060

Dear Ms. )lfatt:

This is in response to your Petition of July 22. 1988, requesting that the take 1sunediate Director, action with re Office pect toofBoiling NuclearWater Reactor ReactorsRegulation (BWRs) to re (Director),lieve what you allege to be undee risks to the public health and safety posed by the thermal hydraulic instability of boiling water reactors, as revealed by an event at LaSalle County Station Unit 2 on March 9,1988.

ThespecificreliefrequestedistoorderallBWRlicenseesto(1)placetheir reactors in cold shutdown, (2) develop and implement specified procedurts relating to the thermal-hydraulic instability issues, (3) demonstrate that certain specified training has been provided relating to these procedures, (4) demonstrate the capability of instrumentation related to power oscil-lations, (5) develop simulators capable of modeling power oscillations similar to those occurring at LaSalle and out-of-phase power oscillations, (6) report to the NRC regarding all past incidents in whic) recirculation pumps have trippedoff,)(7)submittotheNRCjustificationforcontinuedoperationof

• BWRs and(8 submit a report to the NRC within one year demonstrating compliancewithGDC12. You also request that the Commission reopen Generic Issues B-19, B-59, the ATWS rulemaking and reconsider the use of End-of-Cycle Recirculation Purp Trip on BWRs.

Your request for irtnediate relief is denied because the allegations which form the basis for your Petition do not reveal any new operational safety issues which pose an insnediate safety concern for continued BWR operation. The staff has determined that continued operation of BWRs is justified for the following reasons:

(1) Current BWR Technical Specifications place restrictions on power operation of the reactor under conditions of natural circulation or single recirculation loop cooling such that operation in regions of low thermal-hydraulic stability is limited to infrequent, short-tenn transient conditions following anticipated operational occurrences.

(2) Neutron flux oscillations are detectable with proper monitoring and can be easily suppressed by inserting control rods. If large oscillations should occur, and a manual scram is not initiated it is expected that the high xwer level, Average Power Range Monitor (APRM)scramprotection,w11chterminatedtheLaSalleevent,would provide backup protection as was the case during the LaSalle event.

,g W,,,p.V .

Susan l'. Hiatt .

(3) The magnitude of neutron flux oscillations induced by thermal-hydraulic instability is considerably higher than the oscillations in the average cladding heat flux because of inherent delay in the transfer of heat through the fuel rods. The NRC Augmented Ins section Team (AIT) for the March 9,1988 LaSalle event reported that tie amplitude of the heat flux escillations during the event were estimated to be less than 10% of the value for the neutron flux oscillations and that because of the smaller changes in heat flux, thermal limits for the fuel were not exceed 2d.

(4) General Electric Company has provided BWR Itcensees with guidance on the proper sethods to monitor for thermal-hydraulic instabilities and on the actions that should be taken to supsress such oscillations if they should occur. Most BWRs .1 ave implemented such methods in response to NRC Generic Letter 86-02 which provided for the technical resolution of Generic Issue B-19. The operating limita-tions which ensure compliance with GDC 12 are enforced by plant technical specifications.

(5) Compliance with the recocinendations in NRC Bulletin No. 88-07 will ensure that any licensed reactor operator or shift technical advisor perfonning shif t duties at a BWii will have been thoroughly briefed regarding the LaSalle eventi and that all BWR licensees will have adequate procedures and operator training prograns in place to address power oscillations, regardless of the results of any previous thermal-hydraulic stability analysis. The NRC will perform i

inspections and take any necessary follow-up action to ensure that arecedures and training

<1 ave been put in place. programs acceptable to the technical staff Your Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comnission's regulations. Appropriate action will be taken within a reasonable time. A copy of the notice that is being filed for publication with the Office of the

[ Federal Register is enclosed for your'*information. Copies of this letter are being sent to those named on the service lists for facilities listed in l Enclosure 2.

l Sincerely, n y Eh2-- .-

Thomas E. Murley, Director C'fice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:

1. Federal Reoister Notice

2. List of facilities for cc l

_ - - _ _ _ _ . , _ _ . - - - _ - ~ - - - - - - -

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[7590-01]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMIS$!ON

[DOCKETNO.50-374]

Co m0NWEALTH EDISON COMPANY (LaSalle County station, Unit 2)

RECEIPT OF PETITION FOR DIRECTOR'S DECISION UflDER 10 CFR 2.206 Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated July 22, 1988, Ohio .

Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc. requested the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to take innediate action with respect to Boiling Water Reactors to relieve what Petitioner alleged to be undue risks to the public health and safety posed by an event at LaSalle County Station, Unit 2, in Illinois on March 9, 1988. Petitioner's request for issnedtate relief was ,

denied because the allegations which form the basis of the Petition did not I

revaal any new operational safety issues which pose an innediate safety concern for continued BWR operation.

The Petition is being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's  ;

regulations. As provided by i 2.206, appropriate action will be taken on the -i Petition within a reasonable time. '

A copy of the Petition is available for inspection in the Cunnission's Public Document Room, 1717 H Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20555 and in the local public document room for LaSalle County station Unit 2 at Jacobs Memorial Library, i Illinois Valley Community College, Rural Route One, Oglesby, Illinois 61348.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY Com ISSION "n ch D T omas E. Murley  :

Office of Nuclear, Reactor DirectorRegu a .

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 36 day of August, 1988 l g.j, tj Q [ 'CM

,s. .

. L.

Susan L. Hiatt Enclosure 2 ,

, List of Facilities for cc BOSTON EDISON CO. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Docket No. 50-293)

CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT CO.

Docket Hos. 50-324&50-325(JBrunswick Station, Units 1 & 2 CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING CO., ET AL. (Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1,DocketNo.50-440)

COPHONWEiLTH EDISION CO. (Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, Units 2 & 3 Docket Nos. 50-237&50-249;(QuadCitiesNuclearPowerPlant, Units 1&2, Docket Nos. 50-254 & 50-265 ; (LaSalle County Station Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 50 373 & 50-374 CONSUMERS POWER CO. (Big Rock Point, Docket No. 50-155)

.- DETROITEDISONCO.(FerriUnit2,DocketNo.50-341)

GEORGIA POWER CO. (Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2 Docket No. 50-321?.50-366)

GULF STATES UTILITIES CO. (River Bend Stn. tion, Docket No. 50 458)

ILLINOISPOWERCO.(ClintonNuclearPlant,DocketNo.50-461)

IOWA ELECTRIC LIGHT & POWER CO. (Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant, Docket 50-331)

GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES (Oyster Creek Station, Docket No. 50-219)

LONGISLANDLIGHTINGCO.(ShorehamNuclearPowerPlant,DocketNo.50322)

MISSISSIPPI POWER & LIGHT CO. (Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Docket No. 50-416)

NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT (Cooper Ste+1on, Docket No. 50-298)

NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. (Nine Mile Point, Units 1 & 2 Docket Nos. 50-220&50-410)

NORTHEASTUTILITIES(Millstone,Uniti'DocketNo.50-245)

NORTHERN STATES POWER CO. (Monticello Nuclear Power Plant Docket No. 50-263)

PENNSYLYANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket No. 50-387&50-388).

PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC CO. (Peach Bottom Nuclear Station, Units 2 & 3. Docket No.

50-277 & 50-278); (Limerick Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1. Docket No. 50-352)

POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK (James A. Fitzpatrick Station.

Docket No. 50-333)

PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS CO. (Hope Creek Generating Station, Docket No. 50-354)

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (Browns Ferry Nuclear Station, Units 1,2, & 3 Docket Nos 50 259, 50-260, and 50 296)

VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR P0hER CORP. (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 50 271)

WASHIN*iTON PUBLIC POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM (WNP Unit 2 Docket No. 50 397)