ML20133E552
| ML20133E552 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07003011 |
| Issue date: | 06/12/1985 |
| From: | Crow W, Kodali K NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8507220545 | |
| Download: ML20133E552 (3) | |
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!4 8 7. NUCLEAR REGULATO~IY COMMISSION g g W ASMNO TON. D. C. 20666 l
%,*...*/ g Ip, g 00CKET NO : 70-3011 APPLICANT: PublicServiceElectricandGese06aSfdW8EM l Atlantic City Electric Company' FACILITY: Hope Creek Generating Station (YGS Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersev TIME FEautSTE8
SUBJECT:
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT - LICENSE APPLICATION TO RECEIVE NEW l FUEL
Background
i By letter dated November 13, 1985, and its revision dated May 23, 1985, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), acting on its own behalf and as agent for Atlantic City Electric Company applied for an NRC license to permit the l receipt, possession, inspection, and storage of special nuclear material in the
! form of unirradiated nuclear fuel assemblies. The fuel assemblies are for eventual use in HCGS. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC has prepared this assessment of the environmental impacts that may be caused by issuance of the requested license.
The Proposed Action The proposed action is issuance of a license pursuant to 10 CFR 70 that will authorize PSE&G to receive, possess, inspect, and store 764 fresh fuel assemblies at HCGS. The license has been requested by September 1985, and would be effective until it can be superseded by PSE&G's operating license under 10 CFR 50. The fuel assemblies contain uranium dioxide (UO 2) pellets that have a maximum uranium-235 enrichment of 3.80 percent by weight and are encapsulated in zircaloy tubing.
l Issuance of the license would result in the receipt, possession, inspection, and storage of the unirradiated fuel assemblies at HCGS. The transport of new fuel to HCGS will be the responsibility of the fuel fabricator. However, the proposed license would authorize the applicant to transport, or deliver to a carrier for transport, the assemblies in approved packages if this should become necessary (e.g., to return defective fuel to the manufacturer).
I Need for the Proposed Action l The applicant proposes to receive and store fresh fuel prior to issuance of the l Part 50 operating license in order to inspect the assemblies and to finalize l fuel preparation (e.g., add necessary hardware) needed to load the fuel into the reactor core vessel. Actual core loading, however, will not be authorized by the proposed Itcense. Early completion of this fuel handling will help avoid l delays in the HCGS startup once its operating license is issued.
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Alternatives to the Proposed Action and their Environmental impacts Alternatives to the proposed action include complete dental of PSE&G's application.
Assuming the operating license will eventually be issued, denial of the storage only license now would merely postpone new fuel receipt at HCGS. Such action, as well as any other alternative that can be imagined, would not present an environmental advantage because, as discussed below, no environmental impacts are expected to result from the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the proposed Action A Final Environmental Statement (NUREG-1074) associated with the full-scale operation of HCGS has already been issued by the NRC. Based on the evaluation in this statement, the environmental impacts of plant operation subject to proposed conditions for environmental protection are expected to be small. New fuel receipt and storage is only a small part of HCGS's overall operation that will eventually include handling of irradiated fuel which is significantly more hazardous.
Accordingly, the environmental impact from handling unirradiated fuel is expected to be very minor.
Once at HCGS, the nN fuel will be received in the Railroad Access Area of the i
Reactor Building. The shipping containers will then be surveyed for external contamination and inspected for damage. Assuming no external contamination is detected, the fuel is then removed from the container, surveyed, inspected, and transported to a storage location. The designated storage location for the new fuel assemblies will be the Spent Fuel Pool located in the Reactor Building.
The design of this storage facility combined with plant procedures will ensure acceptable protection of the fuel assemblies from excessive physical damage either under normal or abnormal conditions. If the new fuel cannot immediately be transferred to the Spent Fuel Pool for some reason, such as an equipment malfun, tion, the fuel may be temporarily stored in the Railroad Access Area.
Any fuel held in this interim storage area will be kept in its original shipping container. The presence of engineered-safety features and admintstrative controls minimize the likelihood of an accident situation occurring during fuel handling activities.
Only a small amount, if any, of radioactive waste may be generated during this handling (e.g., smear papers or contaminated package material). Any waste that is produced will be properly stored onsite until it can be shipped to a itcensed disposal facility.
In the event the applicant must return assemblies to the fuel fabricator, all packaging and transport of fuel will be in accordance with 10 CFR 71. The package will meet NRC approval requirements for normal conditions of transport and hypothetical accident conditions. No significant external radiation hazards are associated with the unirradiated assemblies because the radiation level from the clad fuel pellets is low and because the shipping packages must meet the external radiation standards in 10 CFR 71. Therefore, any shipment of unirradiated fuel by the applicant is expected to have an insignificant en-vironmental impact.
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3 JUN 121985 In the unlikely event that an assembly (either within or outside its shipping container) is dropped during transfer, the fuel cladding is not expected to rupture. Even if the fuel rod cladding were breached and the pellets were released, an insignificant environmental impact would result. The fuel pellets are composed of a ceramic UO that has been pelletized and sintered to a very high density. In this form, release of UO aerosol is highly unlikely except under conditions of deliberate grinding. Additionally, 00 is soluble only in acid solution so dissolution and release to the environment are extremely unlikely.
All fuel handling activities will be in accordance with approved procedures to assure nuclear criticality and radiation safety. Safety will be further assured by the presence of redundant engineering safeguards. Therefore, the proposed fuel handling and storage activities are critically safe (see the Safety Evaluation Report supporting this license) and no environmental impacts from an accidental criticality are expected.
Conclusion Based upon the information presented above, the environmental impacts associated with new fuel storage at HCGS are expected to be insignificant. Essentially no effluents, liquid or airborne, will be released and acceptable controls will be implemented to prevent a radiological accident. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31, a Finding of No Significant Impact is considered appropriate for this action.
$ AhN $ E$.t$4 Kishore K. Kodali Uranium Process Licensing Section Uranium Fuel Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety, NMSS Approved by: _
ht IN ii. T. Crow, Section Leader a
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