ML23114A015
| ML23114A015 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | South Texas  |
| Issue date: | 04/28/2023 |
| From: | Thomas Wengert NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL4 |
| To: | South Texas |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23114A014 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2023-LLE-0009 88 FR 27924; NRC-2023-0095 | |
| Download: ML23114A015 (1) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499; NRC-2023-0095]
STP Nuclear Operating Company;
South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption
in response to an April 13, 2023, request, as supplemented (replaced in its entirety) by
letter dated April 17, 2023, from STP Nuclear Operating Company that requested a one-
time exemption that would allow for the reporting of Radiation Exposure Information and
Reporting System data from South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2 (STP) to be extended
from the required date of April 30, 2023, until August 31, 2023.
DATES: The exemption was issued on April 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0095 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly
available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0095. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the
For Further Information Contact section of this document.
NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc. gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209,
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The request for the exemption
was submitted by letter dated April 13, 2023, as supplemented (replaced in its entirety)
by letter dated April 17, 2023, and are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML23103A432 and ML23107A251, respectively.
NRCs PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRCs PDR, Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR,
please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Galvin, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
telephone: 301-415-6256; email: Dennis.Galvin@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: April 28, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Thomas J. Wengert, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
2 Attachment - Exemption.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499
South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company
South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2
Exemption
I. Background.
STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC, the licensee) is the holder of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80, which authorize
operation of South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2 (STP), respectively. The licenses
provide, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and
orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or
hereafter in effect. The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors located in
Matagorda County, Texas.
II. Request/Action.
By application dated April 13, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23103A432), as supplemented
(replaced in its entirety) on April 17, 2023 (ML23107A251), STPNOC requested an
exemption from the reporting requirement in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) 20.2206(c). Specifically, the licensees requested one-time exemption would
allow for the reporting of Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS)
data from STP to be extended from the required date of April 30, 2023, until August 31,
2023. The licensee requested the exemption because its vendor that is processing the 2022 STPNOC dosimetry has not yet provided the data necessary for submittal of an
annual report of the results of individual monitoring in accordance with
10 CFR 20.2206(c) and the licensee does not have confidence that the vendor will
provide the data by April 30, 2023.
The regulation in 10 CFR 20.2206, Reports of individual monitoring, requires
the annual submittal to the NRC of a report of the results of radiation dose monitoring
conducted by licensees under the provisions of 10 CFR 20.1502, Conditions requiring
individual monitoring of external and internal occupational dose, covering the preceding
year; the report is to be submitted on or before April 30 of each year. The regulations in
10 CFR 20.1502 provide the conditions that require individual monitoring of external and
internal occupational radiation doses. The regulations in 10 CFR 20.2106, Records of
individual monitoring results, require, in part, that each licensee maintain records of
radiation doses received by all individuals for whom radiation dose monitoring was
required by 10 CFR 20.1502, and records of doses received during planned special
exposures, accidents, and emergency conditions.
III. Discussion.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2301 Applications for exemptions, the Commission
may, upon application by a licensee or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 20, Standards for Protection Against Radiation, if it
determines that the exemptions are authorized by law and would not result in undue
hazard to life or property.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law.
There are no provisions in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (or in any
other Federal statute) that impose a requirement for submitting reports of the results of
2 required radiation dose monitoring by April 30 of each year to the NRC; rather, this
requirement appears in 10 CFR Part 20, which also allows the NRC to issue exemptions
from those requirements. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there is no statutory
or regulatory prohibition on the issuance of the requested exemption and the NRC is
authorized to grant the exemption by law, upon finding that the exemption is otherwise
acceptable.
B. The Exemption Presents no Undue Hazard to Life or Property.
In determining that granting the exemption would not result in undue hazard to
life,1 the NRC staff conducted a risk-informed assessment of the impact of the exemption
on the purpose of the NRCs standards for protection against radiation, as stated in
10 CFR 20.1001(b). Specifically, the regulation in 10 CFR 20.1001(b) states, in part:
It is the purpose of the regulations in this part to control the receipt, possession, use, transfer, and disposal of licensed material by any licensee in such a manner that the total dose to an individual (including doses resulting from licensed and unlicensed radioactive material and from radiation sources other than background radiation) does not exceed the standards for protection against radiation prescribed in the regulations in this part.
This risk-informed assessment considered the impact of the exemption on reports of
exposure information to individuals and the NRC.
Reports to individuals
The regulation in 10 CFR 19.13, Notifications and reports to individuals,
provides requirements for notifications and reports of radiation dose data to individuals.
For example, 10 CFR 19.13(b) requires licensees to make records maintained under the
provisions of 10 CFR 20.2106 available to workers and to provide an annual report to
each individual monitored under the provisions of 10 CFR 20.1502 if the individuals
1 The NRC staff determined that the exemption as requested and evaluated by the NRC does not impact property.
3 occupational dose exceeds a total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) of 100 millirem
(mrem) (1 millisievert (mSv)), or 100 mrem (1 mSv) to any individual organ or tissue, or
upon request of the individual.
As stated in 10 CFR 20.1001, the ultimate purpose of the requirements in
10 CFR Part 20 are to ensure that doses to individuals do not exceed the NRCs
radiation protection standards. The monitoring, recording, and reporting of radiation dose
data for occupationally exposed individuals as required by 10 CFR Part 20 is essential in
ensuring that radiation protection standards are not exceeded for any individual worker,
because it allows licensees to track doses and, if necessary, take action before
applicable limits are exceeded. The recording of this information is also necessary to
ensure that workers who transition from one employer to another are adequately
protected in that the total annual dose to workers from all employers is kept within
applicable limits.
In its exemption request, the licensee described three methods of obtaining
personnel radiation dose data. First, doses from radiation exposures can be estimated
using information collected from electronic dosimeters that are issued to workers.
Second, the dose data can be determined by conducting exposure investigations. Lastly,
data from individually issued thermolumi nescent dosimeters (TLDs) can be obtained
from the licensees contracted dosimetry service provider. The first and second methods
are currently available to the licensee; how ever, the licensee prefers to submit TLD-
based data in part to remain consistent with previous years reports. This is consistent
with long-standing industry practice that passive dosimetry, like TLDs, are used as
dosimetry of legal record. However, the licensee states that the TLD-based data has not
yet been provided to the licensee by its contracted dosimetry service provider and the
licensee does not have confidence that it will obtain the data in time to meet the April 30
4 reporting deadline.
The licensee states that it is awaiting TLD-based data for over 800 personnel.
Conducting exposure investigations and rec onciling electronic dosimeter data to
establish a final record of doses for this magnitude of individuals is a resource intensive
activity that would impose an undue burden on the licensee to achieve before April 30.
Nor does there appear to be any safety benefit in assembling those data before the
contractor provides the dosimetry results. In this regard, the licensee reviewed the
electronic dosimeter data and determined that no individuals annual dose reached
regulatory limits, and no irregularities are expected between the electronic dosimeter
data and the final record data that is to be submitted.
The NRC staff expects that the reports required per 10 CFR 19.13(b)(1) will be
provided by the licensee to the applicable individuals, after the licensee establishes its
final record of doses, which is expected on or before August 31, 2023. However,
because the licensee maintains electronic dosimeter data and can perform exposure
investigations, it is able to satisfy the purpose of 10 CFR Part 20, to ensure that the
annual doses to individuals do not exceed the NRCs radiation protection standards.
Additionally, the licensee is able to meet its obligations per 10 CFR 19.13, to provide
exposure information to individuals upon request.
Reports to the NRC
The regulation in 10 CFR 20.2206(a) provides a list of categories of NRC
licensees that are required to provide reports of individual radiation dose monitoring to
the NRC. The regulation in 10 CFR 20.2206(b) states that licensees who fit a category
listed in 10 CFR 20.2206(a), such as STPNOC, shall submit to the NRC reports of the
results of individual radiation dose monitoring carried out by the licensee during the prior
year for individuals for whom monitoring was required by 10 CFR 20.1502. Additionally,
5 the regulation in 10 CFR 20.2206(c) requires that these reports, covering the preceding
year, be submitted on or before April 30 each year. The NRC collects radiation dose
data to support decision-making in its oversight of radiation protection performance of its
licensees. The preface to NUREG-0713, Volu me 42, Occupational Radiation Exposure
at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities 2020, dated September
2022 (ML22276A269), states that the NRC uses these data, in combination with other
information, to provide facts regarding routine occupational exposures to radiation and
radioactive material that occur in connecti on with certain NRC-licensed activities, for use
in making decisions that impact public health and safety. The Preface to NUREG-0713
provides examples of how the NRC uses these data, including:
- 1. The evaluation of trends, both favorable and unfavorable, from the viewpoint of
the effectiveness of overall NRC/licensee radiation protection and as low as is
reasonably achievable (ALARA) efforts by licensees.
- 2. The evaluation of the radiological risk associated with certain categories of NRC-
licensed activities and the comparative analysis of radiation protection
performance by country, reactor type, civilian/military, facility, and industry.
- 3. Use of the data in the NRC Reactor Oversight Process for inspection planning
and in the Significance Determination Process.
- 4. Use of the data in making evidence-based decisions regarding the radiation
exposure to transient individuals.
- 5. Use of the data to establish priorities for the use of NRC health physics
resources: research, standards development, regulatory program development,
and inspections conducted at NRC-licensed facilities.
- 6. Use of the data in answering Congressional and administrative inquiries as well
as responding to questions raised by the public.
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- 7. Use of the data to provide radiation exposure histories to individuals who were
exposed to radiation at NRC-licensed facilities.
- 8. Use of the data in conducting epidemiologic studies.
As may be seen in the above description, the NRCs use of radiation dose data
for occupationally exposed individuals serv es various long-term initiatives that
necessarily depend on data spanning multiple years in broad categories of licensees.
Therefore, while the continued collection of this data is essential to the NRCs mission as
it pertains to radiation protection, a licensees delay by several months in reporting the
data for its facility would have minimal impact on the NRCs ability to ensure adequate
protection of public health and safety, and would not impact individual worker safety
since the data pertaining to each worker would be readily available at the facility despite
the requested delay in reporting to the NRC. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that
granting the exemption would not result in undue hazard to life or property.
C. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff determined that the exemption discussed herein meets the
eligibility criteria for the categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and there
are no extraordinary circumstances present that would preclude reliance on this
exclusion. The NRC staff determined, per 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(B), that the
requirements from which the exemption is sought involve reporting requirements.
The NRC staff also determined that approval of this one-time exemption involves
no significant hazards consideration because it does not authorize any physical changes
to the facility or any of its safety systems and does not involve modifications that could
alter the manner in which facility struct ures, systems, and components are operated and
maintained.
There is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts
7 of any effluents that may be released offsite because this exemption does not affect the
types, characteristics, or quantities of effluents discharged to the environment. There is
no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation
exposure because this exemption does not affect limits on the release of any radioactive
material, or the limits provided in 10 CFR Part 20 for radiation exposure to workers or
members of the public. There is no significant construction impact because this
exemption does not involve any physical changes to the facility. There is no significant
increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents because the
exemption does not alter any of the assumptions or limits in the licensees safety
analysis. In addition, the NRC staff determined that there would be no significant impacts
to biota, water resources, historic properties, cultural resources, or socioeconomic
conditions in the region. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the
approval of the requested exemption.
IV. Conclusions.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2301,
the exemption is authorized by law, and will not present an undue hazard to life and
property. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants STPNOC a one-time exemption
from 10 CFR 20.2206 to delay the reporting of its REIRS data as required on April 30,
2023, until August 31, 2023.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27 th day of April 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Gregory F. Suber, Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
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