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Category:CORRESPONDENCE-LETTERS
MONTHYEARML20216J9221999-09-28028 September 1999 Informs That DE Hughes,License SOP-10198-3,no Longer Working as Licensed Senior Reactor Operator with Penn State Univ, Effective 990731.Requests Appropriate Action to Remove Name from List of Active Licensees ML20248M0531998-06-0909 June 1998 Forwards Copy of Results of Operator Initial Exam Conducted at Pennsylvania State University on 980527-28.W/o Encl ML20203L3021998-02-27027 February 1998 Requests Addl Changes to Proposed Amend 32.Proposed Changes Are to Sections 3.4 & 3.5.Revised TS Amend Encl W/Changes & Repagination of Pages 12-22 & 42-44 ML20217R2911997-08-28028 August 1997 Informs That Pg Boyle License SOP-70072 No Longer Working as Licensed SRO W/Penn State Univ Breazeale Reactor Effective 970630 ML20198E9811997-08-0505 August 1997 Informs That Responsibility for Non-Power Reactor Insp Program Has Been Transferred from Regional Ofc to Nrr. Addresses Listed ML20137S4331997-04-0707 April 1997 Fulfills TS Requirement of Written Rept within 30 Days to NRC for Permanent Change in Facility Organization Involving Level 1 & 2 Personnel as Defined in Reactor Facility TSs ML20113E0761996-06-20020 June 1996 Forwards Results of Operator Initial Exam Conducted on 960610-11.W/o Encls ML20094P9041995-11-24024 November 1995 Advises That Aj Mclellan (SOP-70122) Has Resigned Position W/Penn State Univ Breazeale Reactor on 951110.Requests That NRC Take Appropriate Action to Remove Name from List of Active Licensees ML20090L2031992-03-10010 March 1992 Advises That Author Appointed to Position of Senior Vice President for Research & Dean of Graduate School,Effective 920301,replacing Cl Hosler ML20077J9091991-07-29029 July 1991 Notifies That on 910722 Facility Exhaust Sys Failed.Cause of Failure Was Breakdown of Insulation on Wiring That Supplies Power from Console Exhaust Sys Control Switches to Sys Relay Panel ML20076D8471991-07-25025 July 1991 Grants Permission to Issue Listed protected-proprietary Info in Support of 910708 Info Re Application for Amend to License R-2 ML20246P6181989-05-12012 May 1989 Forwards Safety Insp Rept 50-005/89-01 on 890501-02.No Violations Noted ML20154Q3321988-05-17017 May 1988 Forwards Description of Space Reassignment & Necessitated Changes to Physical Security Plan.Encl Withheld ML20154B3851988-05-0303 May 1988 Advises That Review & Evaluation of Pennsylvania State Univ Operator & Senior Operator Requalification Program Submitted on 871021 Completed & Acceptable.Request That Licensee Begin to Implement Approved Program Immediately ML20237H4851987-08-28028 August 1987 Forward Safety Insp Rept 50-005/87-03 on 870720-21.No Violations Noted ML20234A8141987-06-25025 June 1987 Forwards Exam Rept 50-005/87-02OL of Exam Administered on 870603-04 ML20198E5291985-10-18018 October 1985 Forwards Ltr of Transmittal for Rev to Security Plan Which Will Be Mailed on or About 851025.W/o Encl ML20098C8421984-09-21021 September 1984 Informs That Copies of NRC Approved Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor Emergency Preparedness Plan Mailed to All Members of Emergency Organization & State of PA Emergency Mgt Agency.Plan Fully Implemented ML20040D6901982-01-21021 January 1982 Forwards Twenty-Sixth Annual Progress Rept of PA State Univ Breazeale Nuclear Reactor for Period Jul 1980-June 1981 & Repts Minor Changes Made During 1981 ML20039C4901981-12-18018 December 1981 Informs of Violation of Administrative Policy Which Requires Senior Reactor Operator at Control Console for All Power Level Changes.Reactor Shutdown on 811211 W/Only Licensed Operator Present.Procedures Will Be Discussed W/Operators ML19341B1931981-01-23023 January 1981 Submits Info Re Cost of Providing Addl Criticality Monitoring Sys at Facility.Requests 2-yr Exemption from Code Requirements ML19339C3761980-11-13013 November 1980 Forwards Revised Page 24 of Security Plan.Page Withheld (Ref 10CFR2.790) ML19210D0181979-11-13013 November 1979 Forwards Executed Amend 15 to Indemnity Agreement E-10 Defining Course of Transportation ML20125A6291979-06-22022 June 1979 Forwards IE Info Notice 79-16, Nuclear Incident at Tmi. No Action Required ML19289F6651979-06-11011 June 1979 Forwards Executed Amend 14 to Indemnity Agreement E-10 1999-09-28
[Table view] Category:INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE
MONTHYEARML20216J9221999-09-28028 September 1999 Informs That DE Hughes,License SOP-10198-3,no Longer Working as Licensed Senior Reactor Operator with Penn State Univ, Effective 990731.Requests Appropriate Action to Remove Name from List of Active Licensees ML20203L3021998-02-27027 February 1998 Requests Addl Changes to Proposed Amend 32.Proposed Changes Are to Sections 3.4 & 3.5.Revised TS Amend Encl W/Changes & Repagination of Pages 12-22 & 42-44 ML20217R2911997-08-28028 August 1997 Informs That Pg Boyle License SOP-70072 No Longer Working as Licensed SRO W/Penn State Univ Breazeale Reactor Effective 970630 ML20137S4331997-04-0707 April 1997 Fulfills TS Requirement of Written Rept within 30 Days to NRC for Permanent Change in Facility Organization Involving Level 1 & 2 Personnel as Defined in Reactor Facility TSs ML20113E0761996-06-20020 June 1996 Forwards Results of Operator Initial Exam Conducted on 960610-11.W/o Encls ML20094P9041995-11-24024 November 1995 Advises That Aj Mclellan (SOP-70122) Has Resigned Position W/Penn State Univ Breazeale Reactor on 951110.Requests That NRC Take Appropriate Action to Remove Name from List of Active Licensees ML20090L2031992-03-10010 March 1992 Advises That Author Appointed to Position of Senior Vice President for Research & Dean of Graduate School,Effective 920301,replacing Cl Hosler ML20077J9091991-07-29029 July 1991 Notifies That on 910722 Facility Exhaust Sys Failed.Cause of Failure Was Breakdown of Insulation on Wiring That Supplies Power from Console Exhaust Sys Control Switches to Sys Relay Panel ML20076D8471991-07-25025 July 1991 Grants Permission to Issue Listed protected-proprietary Info in Support of 910708 Info Re Application for Amend to License R-2 ML20154Q3321988-05-17017 May 1988 Forwards Description of Space Reassignment & Necessitated Changes to Physical Security Plan.Encl Withheld ML20198E5291985-10-18018 October 1985 Forwards Ltr of Transmittal for Rev to Security Plan Which Will Be Mailed on or About 851025.W/o Encl ML20098C8421984-09-21021 September 1984 Informs That Copies of NRC Approved Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor Emergency Preparedness Plan Mailed to All Members of Emergency Organization & State of PA Emergency Mgt Agency.Plan Fully Implemented ML20040D6901982-01-21021 January 1982 Forwards Twenty-Sixth Annual Progress Rept of PA State Univ Breazeale Nuclear Reactor for Period Jul 1980-June 1981 & Repts Minor Changes Made During 1981 ML20039C4901981-12-18018 December 1981 Informs of Violation of Administrative Policy Which Requires Senior Reactor Operator at Control Console for All Power Level Changes.Reactor Shutdown on 811211 W/Only Licensed Operator Present.Procedures Will Be Discussed W/Operators ML19341B1931981-01-23023 January 1981 Submits Info Re Cost of Providing Addl Criticality Monitoring Sys at Facility.Requests 2-yr Exemption from Code Requirements ML19339C3761980-11-13013 November 1980 Forwards Revised Page 24 of Security Plan.Page Withheld (Ref 10CFR2.790) ML19210D0181979-11-13013 November 1979 Forwards Executed Amend 15 to Indemnity Agreement E-10 Defining Course of Transportation ML19289F6651979-06-11011 June 1979 Forwards Executed Amend 14 to Indemnity Agreement E-10 1999-09-28
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(814) 863-9580 i PENNSTATE Fax: (814) 863-9659 l
l Vice President for Research The Pennsylvania State University 207 Old Main l University Park, PA 16802-1503 l
l January 6,1997 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Contml Desk Washington, DC 20555 Re: Correction to a July 7,1995 Letter, Page 3, to the NRC for a Reponable Occurrence for the Penn State Breazcale Reactor License Number R-2, Docket Number 50-05
Dear Sir or Madame:
During NRC inspection 50-59601 by Mr. Marvin Mendonca of NRC Headquarters on fxecmber 10 to December 12,1996, Mr. Mendonca noted an error in a July 7,1995 letter to the commission . Hat Ictter fulfilled reporting requirements for a reportable occurrence involving reactor control rod calibrations. The paragraph entitled " Consequences of the Incident" on page three of that letter contained the error. He conclusion in that paragraph that the consequences of the excess reactivity being $.06 over the Tech Specs limit are within the accident analysis in the Safety Analysis Repon remains intact. However, the analysis was based on using the wrong reference in the Tech Specs conccming the pulse reactivity ($3.40 was used rather ,
than $3.00). A corrected paragraph for the paragraph in error of the 7/1/95 letter follows:
Corrected Paragranh of.Tulv 7.1995 Letter. Pace 3 Consequences of the Incident Here is a limiting condition for operation (LCO) which states that the maximum excess reactivity above cold, clean, critical plus samarium poison of the core configuration with experiments and experimental facilitics in place shall be 4.9% Ak/k (~$7.00). The basis is that by limiting the excess reactivity of the core to 4.9% Ak/k prevents the fuel temperature in the core from exceeding 1150 *C under any assumed accident condition as described in the Safety Analysis Repon,Section IX - Safety Evaluation (Technical Specification, Section 3.1.2-Reactivity Limitation).
On 7/6/94 the core excess reactivity was measured for the existing core (47) to be $6.03 using the rod calibration data taken that day; this is the normally desired excess. However,it has been shown that the rod worths measured that day were low. The rod calibration curves measured for the same core on 6/14/95 showed core excess reactivity to be $6.66. The core is worth an additional $0.26 against the heavy water tank (i.e. our most reactive experimental facility in place). During a cycle the core loses about $0.14 from bumup, making it conceivable that this LCO was violated early in the cycle by operating with an excess reactivity of
$7.06.
TM above LCO basis is the Reactivity Accident that is analyzed in part F of the Safety Analysis Report,Section IX. In this accident, it is assumed that the reactor is taken to a 1.15 MW power level with the transient rod inserted in the core and then the reactor is pulsed with a $3 reactivity insertion. His accident requires a violation of the PSBR Standard Operating Procedures, failure of the overpower scrams, and a failure of the interlock that prevents pulsing if the reactor power exceeds 1 kw.
l I I
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 2 January 6,1997 With the core operating at 1.15 MW, the measured fuel temperature in the B-ring (using extrapolated experimental data for core loading 47 with 95.5 elements ) would be 630 *C in the 12 wt% instrumented fuel element,1-15. Ec maximum fuel temperature during steady state will be slightly higher (no most than 10%),
but the fuel temperature near the cladding will be approximately half this temperature. To this steady state fuel temperature, the temperature increase due to the pulse must be added to determine the fuel temperatme for this case.
Ec maximum allowed core excess icactivity is $7. %c reactivity loss for core loading 47 (the loading that was in use during June 1994 to July 1995) would have been - $4.62 at 1.15 MW, leaving only $2.38 remaining reactivity for a pulse. If a $3.00 pulse had occurred while the reactor was at 1.15 MW, the measured fuct temperature would have risen from 630 *C to 1122 'C. His was calculated using the maximum measured $3.00 pulse temperature data for I 15 and core loading 47 (i.e. pulse #6404 with peak l measured fuel temperature of 492 *C).
In the case, when the core is pulsed from an initial power of 1.15 MW, the maximum fuel temperature is the I I
measured fuel temperature. His is because the temperature rise during a pulse has a different radial shape than that attained during steady state operation. During a pulse, the increase in fuel temperature is a maximum j near the edge of the fuel. Superimposing this shape of the fuel temperature on that attained at a steady state ;
I power of 1.15 MW produces, at the end of the pulse, a relatively nat radial temperature distribution of approximately 1122 'C. With the core loading that was in use from June 1994 to July 1995, the core scactivity excess would have had to have been $7.62 for there to be enough reactivity left to perform a $3.00 pulse. De maximum core reactivity excess possible from June 1994 to July 1995 was $7.06. De effect of )
being $0.06 over the limit was not significant because the consequences (if all of the assumptions were met i and the reactivity accident had occuned) would have been within the consequences of the accident as l analyzed. Namely the safety limit of 1150 C would not have been reached. l l
There are other mitigating circumstances which would have made the occurrence of such an accident evea 1 more unlikely. Administratively, if the reactor is operating above 900 kw all four control rods must be balanced. This implies that the transient rod would not be available for the $3.00 pulse. In addition, the Technical Specification icquired pulse interlock (section 3.2.4), which prevents imtiation of a pulse when reactor power is greater than 1 kw, will prevent the postulated accident. Also the Tecanical Specification required high power scrams will prevent operation at 1.15 MW.
Please replace the subject paragraph with the above information.
S' rely, l l
l Dr. Rodney A. Erickson Interim Vice President for Research RAE;TLF/DEH/WFW/ldb1001.97 pc. RegionI Administrator T. Flinchbaugh, PSBR Subscribed to the swom before me on this 4 Ab day of rW dW ,
1997, Notary Public in and for Centre County, Pc sylvania. # f
&f Notarial Seal Bonnie L Burris. Notary Public State College Boro. Contre County My Commission Spires Nov. 22.1999