ML20154L294

Forwards TE Murley to Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy (Ocre) Ack Receipt of Petition Filed Under 10CFR2.206 of Commission Regulation & Responds in Negative Re All BWRs

ML20154L294
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	08/19/1988
From:	Mcdonald D Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Bird R BOSTON EDISON CO.
References
NUDOCS 8809260140
Download: ML20154L294 (2)

Text

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

, . September 19, 1988 Docket No. 50-293 Mr. Ralph G. Bird Senior Vice President - Nuclear Boston Edison Company Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station RF0#1, Rocky Hill Road Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360

Dear Mr. Bird:

Enclosed for your information is a copy of a letter dated August 26, 1988 from thc Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Re the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy (gulation to the Representative ofThe letter (1) ackno 0CRE).

receipt of a Petition filed by OCRE under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission's i regulations, (2) responds in the negative respect to all Boiling Water j Reactors (BWRs), and (3) states that the Petition is being treated under 10 l

CFR 2.206 of the Comission's regulations.

I l Please contact me if you have questions on this issue.

( Urigillal signed by:

Daniel G. Mcdonald, Project Manager Project Directorate I-3 Division of Reactor Projects I/II

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page Distribution:

Doo et File, NRC & Local PDRs PDI-3 r/f, RWessman, BBoger, MRushbrook, DFcDonald, OGC-Rockville EJordan BGrimes, Tech Branch, ACRS (10),

JWiggins Region I h

PD1 -3 PD!-3/DIR MRdshb[took CMcDonald RWessman Cy/cf88 K/\8}88 }lt <;l28 OGO9260140 scoeg9 ADocg o p w

{DR .

b Fo I

- - _ _ _ _ _ ant

e

\

Mr. Ralph G. Bird Boston Edison Company Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station i cc:

Mr. K. L. Hignfill Mr. Ralph G. Bird Station Director Senior Vice President - Nuclear Pilgrim Nuclear 4.cc Station Boston Edison Company RFD #1 Rocky Hi,' %dd Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360 PF0#1, Rocky Hill Road Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360 Resident Inspector's Office Mr. Richard N. Swanson, Manager U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Nuclear Engineering Department Post Office Box 867 Bostcn Edison Company Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360 25 Braintree Hill Park Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 Chairman, Board of Selectren 11 Lincoln Street Ms. Elaine D. Robinson s Plymcuth, Massachusetts 02360 Nuclear Information Manager Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Office of the Commissioner RF0 #1, Rocky Hill Road Massachusetts Department of Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360 Environmental Quality Engineering One Winter Street Charles V. Barry Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Secretary of Public Safety Executive Office of Public Safety Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place 1 Ashburton Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108 2 20th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02108

' Mr. Robert M. Hallisey, Director i Radiation Control Program

Massachusetts Department of Puu ic Health 150 Tremont Street, 2nd Floor i

Boston, Massachusetts 02111 i

Regional Administrator, Region !

l V. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission 475 Allendale Road l King of Drussia, Pennsylvania 19406 j Mr. James D. Keyes Regulatory Affairs and Programs Group Leader

Boston Edi' Coinpany 25 Brainti Hill Park Braintree, Massachusetts 02184

_ - - - __-_ _ .. .- n _

b a aseg'g UNITED STATES

[ e NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

& WAaHING TON, D. C. 30M4

, ,.= Auynst 26, it :

Ms. Sush. L. Hiatt Representative of Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc.

8275 Munson 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 BWA licensees to (1) place their l

reactors relating tointhe cold shutdown, (2) develop thermal-hydraulic instability and implement issues, sp(ecified procedures 3)demonstratethat -

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 6ecurring at LaSalle and out-of-phase power oscillations, (6) report to the NRC regarding all past incidents in which recir:ulation pumps have trippedand BWRs off,)(7) submit (8 submit to thetoNRC a report justification the NRC within onefor year continued operation of demonstrating compliancewithGLC12. You also request that the Comission reopen Generic Issues B-19, B-59, the ATWS rulemeling and reconsider the use of End-of-Cycle Recirculation Pump Trip on BWRs.

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

(1) Current tlWR Technical Specifications place restrictions on pour operation of the reactor under conditions of natural circulation or single reci culation loop cooling such that operation in regions of low thermal-hydraulic stability is limited to infrequent, short-term 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, ar.d 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.

y,w- 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 Inspection Team (AIT) for the March 9, 1988 LaSalle event reported that the amplitude of the heat flux oscillations during the event were estirsted 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 thermal-hydraulic instabilities and on the actions that should be taken to suppress sinh oscillations if they should occur. Most BWRs have implemented such methotis 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 CDC 12 are enforced by plant technical specifications.

(5) Compliance with the recomendations in NRC Bulletin No. 88-07 will ensure that any licensed reactor operator or shift technical advisor perfonning shif t duties at a BWR will have been thoroughly briefed regarding the LaSalle event; 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 inspections and take any necessary follow-up action to ensure that procedures and training programs acceptable to the technical staff have been put in place.

Your Petition is being treated under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Comission'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 stryice lists for facilities listed in Enclosure 2.

Sincerely, S C -

Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:

1

1. Federal .'.ts! ster Notice

2. List ot PC TTIIIes for cc i

F, b

, [7590-01]

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKETNO.50-374]

COMMONWEALTH E3ISON 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 irunediate 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 insnediate relief was .

denied because the allegations which form the basis of the Petition did not reveal any new operationai safety issues which pose an imediate safety concern for continued BWR operation.

l The Petition is being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the Consnission's l

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

A copy of the Petition is available for inspection in the Connission'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, Illinois Valley Coorrunity College, Rural Route One, Oglesby, Illinois 61348.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f fin Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regu a Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26 day of August, 1988 GM7 7 /. O  ?

jf

F.

. . = c-Susab L. Hiatt Enclosure 2 List of Facilities for cc BOSTON EDISON CO. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Docket No. 50-293)

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

CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING CO., ET AL. (Perry Nucletar Power Plant, Unit 1,DocketNo.50-440)

COMMONWEALTH EDISION CO. (Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, Units 2 & 3 Docket Nos. 50-237 4 50-249 ; (Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant, 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)

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

GEORGIA POWER CO. (Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2, Docket No. 50-321&50-356)

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

ILLINOIS POWER CO. (Clinton Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 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)

L0hG ISLAND LIGHTING CO. (Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, Docket No. 50-322)

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

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

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

NORTHEASTUTILITIES(Millstone, Unit 1DocketNo.50-245)

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

PENN3YLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. (Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 & 2, Docket No. 50-387850-388)-

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 07 THE STATE OF NEW YORK (James A. Fitzpatrick Station, DocketNo.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,and50-296)

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

WA W!NGTON PUBLIC POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM (WNP Unit 2 Docket No. 50-397)

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