ML091400030
| ML091400030 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oyster Creek |
| Issue date: | 05/27/2009 |
| From: | Collins S Region 1 Administrator |
| To: | Webster R Eastern Environmental Law Ctr |
| Barkley R | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML091400009 | List: |
| References | |
| EDATS:OEDO-2009-0223, G20090230 IR-09-006 | |
| Download: ML091400030 (6) | |
Text
May 27, 2009 Richard Webster, Esq.
Eastern Environmental Law Center 744 Broad Street, Suite 1525 Newark, NJ 07102
Dear Mr. Webster:
Thank you for your letter dated April 17, 2009. In that letter, you expressed disappointment with: (1) the response to your letter of March 24th, (2) the opportunities for public participation in the licensing process, and (3) the preliminary outcome of the latest Oyster Creek license renewal inspection. In addition, you raised several concerns regarding the three dimensional finite element analysis performed on the Oyster Creek drywell, as submitted by Exelon to the NRC.
Public involvement in the NRCs activities is a cornerstone of strong, fair, and transparent regulation of the nuclear industry. The NRC recognizes the publics interest in the appropriate regulation of nuclear activities and provides opportunities for citizens to make their opinions known. The NRC elicits public involvement early in the regulatory process so that safety, security, and environmental concerns that may affect a community can be resolved in a timely and practical manner. The NRC considers this process to be vital to assuring the public that the NRC is making sound, balanced decisions about nuclear safety.
Consistent with our policy of openness, the NRC has provided numerous opportunities for public participation in the Oyster Creek license renewal process. The open house held before the Oyster Creek Annual Assessment Meeting on May 28 will give the public an opportunity to ask the NRC questions regarding the NRCs license renewal decision, license renewal inspections, and other related issues. The exit meeting for the recent license renewal inspection with the licensee was attended by representatives of the State of New Jersey, in accordance with our Memorandum of Understanding with the State. The preliminary results of that inspection were sent to you as an attachment to the April 10th letter and the final results are contained in an NRC inspection report, dated May 18, 2009, that is provided as Enclosure 1 to this letter.
Your April 17 letter suggests that there are some technical issues that the NRC has not resolved, for example, the monitoring of any water intrusion into the drywell exterior bays and whether the three dimensional finite element analysis of the drywell shell meets Exelons (the licensee) commitments. The NRC reviewed the information provided in your letter and determined that the issues you raised were considered in our license renewal process. We also put certain conditions in the license that address ongoing actions by the licensee to ensure they continue to be addressed. NRC inspection reports (50-219/2006-07, 2006-013, 2008-07 & 2009-06),
available publicly through the Agency Document Access and Management System (ADAMS),
thoroughly address Exelons efforts going forward to manage the effects of aging on the drywell shell, including corrective actions to address the NRC and Exelon observations of the drywell monitoring program noted during the Fall 2008 outage. Inspection report 50-219/2009-06 provides a comprehensive summary of the actions taken to enhance the drywell monitoring program, including measures to better monitor water intrusion into the drywell exterior bays and examine the drywell exterior coating condition. We will continue to closely monitor Exelons
R. Webster, Esq.
2 aging management efforts regarding the drywell and evaluate any observations made during future nondestructive examinations of the drywell shell.
In response to the Commission direction that the NRC Staff should respond to your January 26, 2009, letter regarding the three-dimensional finite element analysis (3-D FEA) in their April 1, 2009, decision, I would direct you to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation letter to you dated May 18, 2009, and the Staff Assessment of the Oyster Creek 3-D Finite Element Analysis of the Drywell Shell, which is provided in the letter and is available in ADAMS. A complete discussion on the licensees proper use of the modified capacity reduction factor, and the sensitivity studies the licensee conducted, is provided in the assessment. Your April 17, 2009, letter stated that Becht Nuclear Services (Becht), the State of New Jerseys consultant, concluded that the 3-D FEA utilized an overly optimistic capacity reduction factor. However, Bechts review clearly stated that the capacity reduction factor introduced some negative conservatisms into the 3-D FEA that were more than compensated for by its very conservative treatment of the drywell shells imposed stresses. Of note, the Becht analysis concluded that the 3-D FEA presents a modern, up-to-date deterministic evaluation of the Oyster Creek drywell in accordance with ASME Section III, Subsection NE. The analysis demonstrates that Code requirements are satisfied for the drywell. Independently, the staffs analysis discussed in detail the basis for the conclusion that the 3-D FEA analysis was based on realistic, but conservatively biased, assumptions and that it was conducted using good engineering practices and judgment.
To address the Commissions instructions, which were based on the Boards recommendation that the staff should conduct a thorough examination of the 3-D FEA by appropriate technical expertise, the NRC engaged registered professional structural engineers on its staff to perform the assessment. One of the engineers has 35 years of structural engineering experience in nuclear power plant applications and the other engineer has 40 years of experience (37 years in nuclear power plant applications). Both engineers represent the NRC in a number of standards-developing organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME),
American Concrete Institute (ACI), and American Institute of Steel Construction. One of the engineers is a fellow member of the ACI and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Finally, the 3-D FEA was performed to provide more accurate quantification of the available margin above ASME Code requirements. Three independent assessments of Oyster Creeks drywell shell have been performed by GE, Sandia National Laboratories, and Structural Integrity Associates, as well as one independent review by Becht Nuclear Services. All the assessments and reviews concluded that the drywell shell meets the applicable ASME Code requirements.
Regarding the Asbury Park Press opinion piece, the associated editorial suggested the NRC had not performed a thorough review of the potential safety issues surrounding the Oyster Creek license renewal application, and that the NRC had not provided stakeholders adequate opportunity for public input into the process. Given that this was not an accurate characterization of the NRCs approach to, and level of engagement in, reviewing the Oyster Creek license renewal application, it was important to address this matter publicly. As noted in my opinion piece, the NRC completed an extensive review and concluded reasonable assurance exists that Oyster Creek can operate for an additional 20 years without endangering the health and safety of the public.
R. Webster, Esq.
3 I thank you for your interest in these matters. If you have any further questions, please contact Richard Conte of my staff at (610) 337-5183. Mr. Conte and several members of NRC staff will be available at the Annual Assessment Meeting and subsequent open house forum on May 28, 2009, to discuss these issues.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Samuel J. Collins Regional Administrator
Enclosure:
Oyster Creek License Renewal Inspection Report 50-219/2009-006, dated May 18, 2009 cc: See next page
R. Webster, Esq.
3 I thank you for your interest in these matters. If you have any further questions, please contact Richard Conte of my staff at (610) 337-5183. Mr. Conte and several members of NRC staff will be available at the Annual Assessment Meeting and subsequent open house forum on May 28, 2009, to discuss these issues.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Samuel J. Collins Regional Administrator
Enclosure:
Oyster Creek License Renewal Inspection Report 50-219/2009-006, dated May 18, 2009 cc: See next page Distribution w/encl:
R. Borchardt B. Mallett, DEDR M. Virgilio, DEDMRT E. Leeds, NRR D. Ash, DEDCM R. Schmidt, OCA V. Ordaz, AO U. Shoop, OEDO S. Campbell, OEDO S. Burns, OGC K. Cyr, OGC B. Holian, NRR L. Lund, NRR L. Regner, NRR R. Barkley, ORA S. Collins, RI M. Dapas, RI D. Roberts, DRS P. Wilson, DRA D. Lew, RI, DRP R. Bellamy, RI, DRP M. Ferdas, RI, DRP G20090230/EDATS: OEDO-2009-0223 ADAMS Package Accession No.:ML091400030 SUNSI Review Complete: rsb (Reviewer=s Initials)
DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\ora\\barkley\\Webster Letter with DEDR Comments.doc After declaring this document AAn Official Agency Record@ it will be released to the Public.
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy OFFICE RI/ORA RI/DRS RI/DRS NRR NAME
- RBarkley
- RConte
- DRoberts
- LLund DATE 05/13/09 05/15/09 05/18/09 05/19/09 OFFICE OGC DEDR RI/RA NAME
- B. Harris
- BMallett
- BMallett SCollins DATE 05/20/09 05/20/09 05/27/09 05/27/09 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
- see previous concurrence page for original signatures
- concurrence via email
R. Webster, Esq.
3 cc w/encl:
C. Crane, President and Chief Operating Officer, Exelon Corporation M. Pacilio, Chief Operating Officer, Exelon Nuclear T. Rausch, Site Vice President, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station P. Orphanos, Plant Manager, Oyster Creek Generating Station J. Barstow, Regulatory Assurance Manager, Oyster Creek J. Grimes, Acting Senior Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Operations K. Jury, Vice President, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs P. Cowan, Director, Licensing B. Fewell, Associate General Counsel, Exelon Correspondence Control Desk, Exelon Nuclear Mayor of Lacey Township P. Mulligan, Chief, NJ Dept of Environmental Protection R. Shadis, New England Coalition Staff E. Gbur, Chairwoman - Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch E. Zobian, Coordinator - Jersey Shore Anti Nuclear Alliance P. Baldauf, Assistant Director, NJ Radiation Protection Programs