ML20154N579

Forwards NRR to Ocre Ack Receipt of 10CFR2.206 Petition,Responding in Negative to Petitioners Request for Immediate Action Re BWRs & Stating That Petition Being Treated Under 10CFR2.206 of Commission Regulations

ML20154N579
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom, Limerick, 05000000
Issue date:	09/23/1988
From:	Clark R, Martin R Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Alden W PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC
References
2.206, NUDOCS 8809290345
Download: ML20154N579 (5)

Text

'

September 23, 1988 Docket Nos. 50-277/278 50-352/353 Mr. William Alden Director-Licensing Philadelphia Electric Con'pany Correspondence Control Desk P.O. Box 7520 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101

SUBJECT:

NRC LETTER ACKNOWLEDGING RECEIPT OF 2.206 PETITION REGARDING BWR STABILITY RE: PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 283 LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1&2 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 Comission's regulations, (2) responds in the negative to the Petitioner's request for irrmediate 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 Conmission's regulations.

Please contact me if you have questions on this isst '

Sincerely,

/S/

Robert E. Martin, Project Manager Project Directorate I-2 Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Original signed by l h!R O $ 77 Ric rd J. C1 rk, Project Manager P PNU Project Directorate 1-2 Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosure:

As stated cc: Service List i

l DISTRIBUTION

• Doctet me NRC PCR Local PDR S l

PDI-2 Reading SVarga/BBoger WButler j

. M0'Brien RMartin/RClark OGC [0,

! EJordan/EGrires ACRS(10) r - M PDI-2/P , PDI-2/D "

ar n:mr RClark WPutler f /WY88 0 9 /23 / 6 /q'388

< i

ora nouq jog UNITED STATES

[g g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C. 20655 E

5

1. September 23, 1988 t, * . . . . #

Docket Nos. 50-277/278 50-352/353 Mr. William Alden Director-Licensing Philadelphia Electric Cerrpany Correspondence Control Desk P.O. Box 7520 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101

SUBJECT:

NRC LETTER ACKNOWLEDGING RECEIPT OF ?.206 PETITION REGARDING BWR STABILITY

, RE: PEACH BOTTOM ATCMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2&3 LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNITS 182 Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 from i the Director, Office of Nuclear Raactor Reculation to the Representative of the Ohio citizens for Responsible Energy {0CRE). The letter (1) acknowledges receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR ?.206 of the Comission's regulations. (2) responds in tne negative to the Petitioner's reauest for irrnediate 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 Comission's regulations.

Please contact me if you have questions on this issue.

Sincerely.

i  %.

QRobet//

Project Directorate I-2

. M rti , Project Manager Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nucl ar Reactor Regulation

~

Clark, Project Manager roject D rectorate I-2 Division of Reactor Projects I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosure:

As stated cc: Service List

Nr. William M. Alden Limerick Generating Station Philadelphia Electric Company Units 1 & 2 cc:

Troy B. Conner, Jr., Esquire Mr. Robert Gramm Conner and Wetterhahn Senior Resident Inspector 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20006 P. O. Box 596 Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19464 Mr. Charles Menger: 57-1 Philadelphia Electric Company Mr. Ted Ullrich 2301 Market Street Manager - Unit 2 Startup Philadelpi.ia, Pennsylvania 19101 Limerick Generating Station P. O. Box A Mr. David Honan N2-1 Sanatoga, Pennsylvania 19464 Philadelphia Electric Company 2301 Market Street Mr. John Doering Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101 Superintendent-0perations Limerick Generating Station Mr. Grahm M. Leitch, Vice President P. O. Box A Limerick Generating Station Sanatoga, Pennsylvania 19464 Post Office Box A Sanatoga, Pennsylvania 19464 Thomas Gerusky, Directnr Bureau of Radiation Protection PA Dept. of Environmental Resources Mr. James Linville F. O. Box 2063 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Region I 475 Allendale Road Governor's Office of State King of Prussia, PA 19406 Planning and Development '

ATTN: Coordinator, Pennsylvania Mr. Thomas Kenny State Clearinghouse Senior Resident Inspector P. O. Box 1323 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102 P. O. Box 596 Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19464 Mr. Philip J. Duca Superintendent-Technical Mr. Joseph W. Gallagher Limerick Generating Station  !

Vice President Nuclear Services P. O. Box A Philadelphia Electric Company Sanatoga, Pennsylvania 19464 2301 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101 Mr. John S. Kemper Senior Vice President-Nuclear Philadelphia Electric Company 2301 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101 i

.Mr. William M. Alden Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Philadelphia Electric Company Units 2 and 3 cc:

Troy B. Conner, Jr. , Esq. Mr. R. A. Heiss, Coordinator 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Pennsylvania State Clearinghouse Washington, D.C. 20006 Governor's Office of State Planning and Development Philadelphia Electric Company P. O. Box 1323 ATTN: Mr. D. M. Smith, Vice President Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Route 1 P* 208 Mr. Thomas 'i. Gerusky, Director Delta , Pe- vivania 17314 Bureau of Radiation Protection Pennsylvania Department of H. Chris Schwem Environmental Resources Vice President, Production P. O. Box 2063 Atlantic Electric Harrisburg, Ponnsylvania 17120 P.O. Box 1500 1199 Black Horse Pike Mr. Albert R. Steel, Chairman Pleasantville, New Jersey 08232 Board of Supervisors Psach Bottom Township Resident Inspector R. D. #1 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Delta, Pennsylvania 17314 Peach Botten Atomic Power Statien P.O. Box 399 Pr. Gary Mock Delta, Pennsylvania 17314 P. O. Box 09181 Columbus, Ohio 43209 Regional Administrator, Region i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Delmarv6 rower and Light Company 475 Allendale Road cio Jack Urban King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 General Haneger, Fuel Supply 800 King Street Mr. Bryan W. Gorman P.O. Box 231 Manager - External Affairs Wilmington, DE 19999 Public Service Electric & Gas Company P.O. Box 236, N?8 Mr. Tom Magette Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey 08038 Power Plant Research Program Department of Natural Resources B-3 Tawes State Office Building Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Mr. Roland Fletcher Department of Environment 201 West Preston Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201

- / UNITED STATES

[ c n NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMlf.3lON

$ e WASHING TON, D. C. 20044

o .! August 26, 1988 Ms. Susan L. Hiatt Representative of Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc.

8275 Hunson Road Mentor, OH 44060

Dear Ms. Hiatt:

This is in response to your Petition of July 22, 1988, requesting that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (Director), take imediate action with respect to Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) to relieve what you allege to be undue 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.

The specific relief requested is to order all BWR licensees to (1) place their reactors in cold shutdown, (2) develop and implement specified procedures 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 which recirculation pumps have tripped off (7) submit to the NRC justification for continued operation of BWRs and (8) submit a report to the NRC within one year demonstrating compliancewithGDC12. You also request that the Comissich reopen Generic Issues B-19, B-59, the ATWS rulemaking and reconsider the use of End-of-Cycle Recirculation Pump Trip on CWRs.

Your request for inrediate relief is denied because the allegations which form the basis for your Petition do not reveal any new operational safety issues r which pose an imediate safety concern for continued BWR operation. The staff has determined that continued operation of BWR3 is justified for the following reasons:

(1) Current BWR Technical Specifications place restrictions on power i operation of the retetor under conditions of natural circulation or ,

j single recirculation loop cooling such that operation in regions of low thermal-hydraulic stability is limited to infrequent, short-term transient conoitions following anticipated operational occurrences.

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

%v n . a q' a.; l (e M

. . _ - - _ _ _ _ _ . _ , . . _ . - - - - - _ , . .- . . - - . , - , _ _ . _ . . + . - - , . , . _ , , , _ . - . , _ - - - , . , , . - - - . - - - - . _ - ,

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 Inspection Team (AIT) for the March 9, 1988 LaSalle event reported that the amplitude of the heat flux oscillations 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 exceeded.

(4) General Electric Company has provided BWR licensees with guidance on the proper methods to monitor for therinal-hydraulic instabilities and on the actions that should be taken to suppress such oscillations if they should occur. Most BWRs have 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- e tions which ensure compliance with GDC 12 are enforced by plant technical specifications.

(5) Compliance with the recorinendations in NRC Bulletin No. 88-07 will l ensure that any licensed reactor operator or shif t technical advisor performing shift duties at a BWR will have been thoroughly briefed regarding the LaSalle event; and that all BWR licensees will have adequate procedures and operatur training programs in place to address power oscillations, regardless of the results of any previous thermal hydraulic stability analysis. The NRC will perform inspections and take any necessary follow-up action to ensure that procedures and training programs at.ceptable to the technical staff l

have been put in place.

1 Your Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulations. Appropriate action will be taken within a reasonable tine. A copy of the notice that is being filed for publication with the Office of the Federal Register is enclosed for your inforration. Copies of this letter are being sent to those named on the service lists for facilities listed in Enclosure 2.

Sincerely, Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:

1. Federal Register Notice

2. List of Facilities for cc

[7590-01]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[ DOCKET NO. 50-374]

COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY (LaSalle County Station, Unit 2)

RECEIPT OF PETITION FOR DIRECTOR'S DECISION UNDER 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 imediate 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 imediate relief was .

denied because the allegations hhich form the basis of the Petition did not reveal any new operational safety issues which pose en imediate 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 O ken on the Petition within a reascnable time.

A copy of the Petition is available for inspection in the Comission's Public Document Roosi,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, Illinois Valley Coesmnity College, Rural Route One, Oglesby, Illinois 61348.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COP 911SS10N f W-T omas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regu a Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26 day of August, 1988

' t ';' i c c ,1 n :  ?

';l .$ j )l)

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

~

N SusagL.Hiatt Enclosure 2 List of Facilities for cc BOSTON EDISON CO. (PilgrimNuclearPowerStation,DocketNo.50-293)

CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Brunswick Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket Hos. 50-324 & 50-325)

CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING CO., ET AL. (Perry Nuclear Power Plant, UnitI,DocketNo.50-440)

COMMONWEALTH EDISION CO. (Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, Units 2 & 3, Docket Nos. 50-237 1. 50-249 ; (Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. S0-254 & 50-265 ; (LaSalle County Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 50-373 & 50-374 CONSUMERS POWER CO. (Big Rock Point, Docket No. 50-155)

DETROIT EDISON CO. (Fermi Unit 2, Docket No. 50-341)

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

GULF STATES UTILITIES CO. (River Bend Station, Docket No. 50-458)

ILLIN0ISPOWERCO.(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.50-322)

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

NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT (Cooper Station, Docket No. 50-298)

N!AGARA MOHAWK POWER CORP. (Nine Mile Point, Units 1 & 2, Docket Hos. 50-220 & 50-410) i NORTHEASTUTILITIES(Millstone, Unit 1DocketNo.50-245)

NORTHERNSTATESPOWERCO.(MonticelloNuclearPowerPlant,DocketNo.50-263)

PENNSYLVANIA 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) j POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK (James A. Fitzpatrick Station,.

DocketNo.50-333)

PUBLIC SERVICE ELECTRIC & GAS CO. (P,1pe 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)

! YERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORP. (Ver1nont Yankee Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 50-271)

WASHINGTONPUBLICPOWERSUPPLYSYSTEM(WNPUnit2,DocketNo.50397) l

- ._ _ _ - - _ - . _ _ _ - -