ML20113A011

Forwards Proprietary Rev 0 of NEDC-32540P, Giraffe Sbwr Sys Interactions Test Rept. Transmittal Satisfies Items 38 & 39 of GE Re Updated Status of Test Documentation Submittals.Encl Withheld (Ref 10CFR2.790)

ML20113A011
Person / Time
Site:	05200004
Issue date:	06/17/1996
From:	Quinn J GENERAL ELECTRIC CO.
To:	Quay T NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned), NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
Shared Package
ML20013A550	List: ML20113A011
References
MFN-080-96, MFN-80-96, NUDOCS 9606240011
Download: ML20113A011 (6)

Text

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

(

GENuclearEnergy L Na BW rogr$ 7 en Y165 San. Jose, CA 95125-1014 toe 925-1005 (phone) toe 925-3991 (tacsimile)

June 17,1996 MFN 080-%

Docket 52-004 Document Control Desk U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC 20555 Attention: Theodore E. Quay, Director Standardization Project Directorate

Subject:

SBWR - PROPRIETARY GIRAFFE SYSTEM INTERACTIONS TEST REPORT

Reference:

1. Letter from J.E. Quinn (GE) to T.E. Quay (NRC), SBWR - Updated Status of Test Documentation Submittals, MFN 125-95, July 24,1995 The attachment to this letter supplies the Proprietary Test Report for the GIRAFFE Systems Interactions Tests. This transmittal satisfies item numbers 38 and 39 of Reference 1.

Please note that this report contains information of the type which the General Electric Company (GE) and its associates maintain in confidence and withhold from public disclosure. The information has been handled and classified as proprietary to GE and its associates as indicated in the attached affidavit. We hereby request that this information be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with the provisions of 10CFR2.790.

The proprietary information is delineated by a "GE PROPRIETARY" stamp on the applicable pages and a line in the right hand margin to indicate the Proprietary material.

Should you have any questions concerning the attachments please contactJ. D. Duncan of our staff on 408-925- 6947.

~~

Sincepdv 0

a . Quinn f Oh 7 60'240011 6 960617 PDR ADOCK 05200004 g\

t A _..

PDR

~

~

GENuclearEnemy

Attachment:

Test Repon, NEDC-32540P cc: P. A. Boehnen (NRC/ACRS) (2 paper copies of letter & repon plus E-Mail)

I. Catton (ACRS) (1 paper copy ofletter & repon plus E-Mail)

S. Q. Ninh (NRC) (2 paper copies of letter & report plus E-Mail)

J. H. Wilson (NRC) (1 paper copy of letter & repon plus E-Mail)

D. Scaletti (NRC) (1 paper copy of letter & repon plus E-Mail)

A. Levin (NRC) (1 paper copy of letter & repon plus E-Mail) i i

t i

General Electric Company l

l AFFIDAVIT l

I, Joseph F. Quirk, being duly sworn, depose and state as follows:

(1) I am Joseph F. Quirk, Project Manager, ABWR Certification, General Electric Company l ("GE") and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.

(2) GE is an owner of the information sought to be withheld. This information is contained

-in the GIRAFFE SBWR Systems Interactions Test Report. The proprietary information is delineated by bars marked in the margin adjacent to the specific material. ,

(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information, GE claims to have an unrestricted right to dissemination of this information and has a royalty-free license to i any patent relating to this information, as defined in the contract with its associates. GE l

relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act '

("FOIA"), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act,18 USC Sec.1905, and l NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), 2.790(a)(4), and 2.790(d)(1) for " trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or l confidential" (Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here l sought is all " confidential commercial information", and some portions also qualify under the narrower definition of " trade secret", within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critien1 Mass Fnergy Project v. Nuclear Reenintnry Commincion. 975F2d871 (DC Cir.1992), and Public Citi7en Henkh Recenrch Group v. FDA,704F2d1280 (DC Cir.1983).

(4) Some examples of categories of information which fit into the definition of prop ietary information are:  !

I

a. Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GE's competitors without license from l GE constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies; l b. Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of i

resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product; j c. Information which reveals cost or price information, production capacities, budget

levels, or commercial strategies of GE, its customers, or its suppliers; l

f U:\sBWR-BBistdaffid. doc Affidavit Page 1

i .

d. Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future GE customer-funded development plans and programs, of potential commercial value to GE;

e. Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.

The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in both paragraphs (4)a., and (4)b, above.

(5) The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GE and its associates, and is in fact so held. The information sought to be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GE and its associates, no public disclosure has been made, and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties including any required transmittals to NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence. Its initial designation as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in paragraphs (6) and (7) following.

(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the component to whom the work was provided, the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge. Access to such documents within GE is limited on a "need to know" basis.

(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires  !

review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist or other equivalent authority, by the manager of the cogmzant marketing function (or his delegate), and by the legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GE are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements. l (8) The information identified in paragraph (2), above, is classified as proprietary because it I contains detailed results of the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) tests. GE is under contract to the Department of Energy (DOE) for development of the SBWR. This SBWR test program has been under development by GE and its associates for more than seven years at a total program cost of tens of millions of dollars. A substantial effort has been t

expended by GE and its associates to develop this information in support of DOE and the SBWR program.

I j (9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial l harm to GE's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit- ,

l making opportunities. The information is part of GE's comprehensive BWR technology I U:\SBWR-BB\stdaffid. doc Aflidavit Page 2 l

_ . _ = _ . . - . _ _ _ _ - _ . _. -_. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . . _ _ _ .

e -

base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost. The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process, i The research, development, engineering, and analytical costs comprise a substantial l investment of time and money by GE and its associates.

l The precise value of the expertise to devise testing and an evaluation process, and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial.

GE's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GE experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar -

conclusions.

The value of this information to GE would be lost if the information were disclosed to the l public. Making such information available to competitors without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GE of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing these very l valuable analytical tools, I

i l

l l

l i

l U:\SBWR-BB\stdaffid. doc Affidavit Page 3

i

, d STATE OF CALIFORNIA )

) ss:

COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA )

Joseph F. Quirk, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

That he has read the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief.

Executed at San Jose, California, this / day of 1996.

G

- eela f' Jo' h E1 Quirk L//

Ge ral Electric Company Subscribed and sworn before me this O day of 3NC V

1996.

j PAULA F. HUSSEY N g Q-l1%y i[. Notary Public, State of CaliforniaQ j

SANTA CLARA COUNTY My Comm. Empires DEC 1.1998 {y U:\SBWR-BB\stdaffid. doc Affidavit Page 4

-