ML23094A099
| ML23094A099 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 08/02/2023 |
| From: | Bo Pham NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL2-1 |
| To: | Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23094A051 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2022-LLE-0022, NRC-2023-0093 | |
| Download: ML23094A099 (9) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425; NRC-2023-0093]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company;
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2;
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exem ption
in response to a request dated June 30, 2022, as supplemented b y letters dated
September 13, 2022, and January 20 and May 5, 2023, from Southe rn Nuclear
Operating Company to allow the use of lead test assemblies (LTA s) 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3,
and 7ST4, each with four fuel rods with a maximum nominal Urani um 235 (U-235)
enrichment of up to six percent by weight for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle
Electric Generating Plant, Unit 2, and to receive, inspect, and store the LTAs at Vogtle,
Units 1 and 2.
DATES: The exemption was issued on August 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0093 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-2023-0093. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; ema il:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the in dividual 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 ADA MS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.ht ml. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems wi th ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS ac cession number
for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is p rovided the first time that it
is mentioned in this document.
- NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appoint ment 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 throu gh Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-3100, email: John.Lamb@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.
Dated: August 2, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
John G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager, Licensing Plant Branch 2-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
2 Attachment - Exemption from 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) to Allow the Use of Lead Test Assemblies, 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4, each with four fuel rod s with a maximum nominal Uranium 235 (U-235) enrichment of up to six percent by weight for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle, Unit 2, and to receive, inspect, and store the LTAs at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket Nos. 50-424, and 50-425
Southern Nuclear Operating Company
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2
Exemption
I. Background.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC, the licensee) is the h older of
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-68, and NPF-81, for the Vog tle Electric Generating
Plant (Vogtle), Units 1 and 2, respectively. The licenses provi de, among other things,
that the licenses are subject to all rules, regulations, and or ders of the Commission now
or hereafter in effect.
The Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, consist of two pressurized-water rea ctors located at
the licensees site in Burke County, Georgia.
II. Request/Action.
By letter dated June 30, 2022 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML22181B156), as supplemented by l etters dated
September 13, 2022 (ML22256A198), and January 20 (ML23020A148) and May 5, 2023
3 (ML23125A269), SNC requested an exemption to title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, section 50.68, Criticality accident requir ements,
paragraph (b)(7) for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
Specifically, SNC requested an exemption from 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7 ) to allow the
use of lead test assemblies (LTAs) 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4 e ach with four fuel
rods with a maximum nominal Uranium 235 (U-235) enrichment of u p to six percent by
weight for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle, Unit 2, and allow receipt, inspection,
and storage of the LTAs at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
The regulation at 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) states, The maximum nomin al U-235
enrichment of the fresh fuel assemblies is limited to five (5.0 ) percent by weight.
III. Discussion.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may, upon application by any interested
person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the re quirements of
10 CFR part 50, including 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) when: (1) the exem ptions are authorized
by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health or safety, and are consistent
with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circ umstances are present.
Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), special circumstances include, among other things, when
application of the specific regulation in the particular circum stances would not serve, or
is not necessary to achieve, the underlying purpose of the rule.
A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law.
In accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may grant an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 50 if the exemption is authorized b y law. The exemption
4 requested in this instance is authorized by law, because no oth er prohibition of law
exists to preclude the activities which would be authorized by the exemption.
This exemption would allow the licensee to insert four LTAs eac h containing four
fuel rods with a maximum nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six percent by weight. A
specific nominal U-235 enrichment in 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) is at t he discretion of the
Commission consistent with its statutory authority. No statute required the NRC to adopt
this specification. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the Co mmission to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50. The NRC sta ff has determined
that granting of an exemption from 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) related t o nominal U-235
enrichment of up to six percent by weight will not result in a violation of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the
exemption is authorized by law.
B. The Exemption Presents no Undue Risk to Public Health and Sa fety.
SNC stated the following in its letter dated June 30, 2022:
The Vogtle reactors each contain 193 fuel assemblies. Each asse mbly consists of a matrix of 264 Zircaloy, ZIRLO TM[], or Optimized ZIRLO[TM]
clad fuel rods with an initial composition of natural or slight ly enriched uranium dioxide (UO2) as fuel material, not to exceed 5 wt% [we ight-percent] enrichment. The proposed change is to load four LTAs w ith advanced ATF [accident-tolerant fuel] features, including ADOPT fuel [2],
AXIOM cladding [3], chromium coating, and four rods per LTA wit h up to 6 wt% enrichment, in limiting core locations for up to two cycl es of operation.
This exemption will not present an undue risk to public health and safety.
The analysis performed in support of the enclosed LAR [license amendment request] addresses the safe storage of the LTAs. Thes e were evaluated using AOR [analysis of record] plant-specific models to determine that existing storage configurations can be used for storage of the LTAs, with restrictions (see Section 3 above and Section 3. 12 of Enclosure 1 [in letter dated June 30, 2022]). Thus, the grantin g of this exemption request will not pose an undue risk to public health and safety.
5 The licensees requested exemption to paragraph 50.68(b)(7) is for the fuel rods
enriched above 5.0 wt% U-235. Each LTA is limited to four rods at 6.0 wt% U-235.
Those four rods add about 0.015% more U-235 to the LTAs relativ e to the Vogtle new
fuel storage rack (NFSR) analysis of record (AOR) and the Vogtl e spent fuel pool (SFP)
AOR maximum enrichment of 5.0 wt% U-235. SNCs evaluation consi dered the fissile
material increase due to the higher enrichment and that due to the higher fraction of the
theoretical density of the ADOPT fuel. The licensee established Technical Specifications
to control the storage of the LTAs. The NRC staff has found that these controls provide
reasonable assurance that the four LTAs as described in SNCs a mendment and
exemption requests will meet 10 CFR 50.68(b)(2), 10 CFR 50.68(b)(3), and
10 CFR 50.68(b)(4). See the NRC staff evaluation (ML23093A028) for further details.
Thus, the NRC staff finds that the requested exemption does not result in any undue risk
to the public health and safety.
C. The Exemption is Consistent with the Common Defense and Secu rity.
The proposed exemption would allow the use of four LTAs, each w ith four fuel
rods with a nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six percent by we ight. This change to the
plant core configuration has no impact on security issues. Spec ial nuclear material in the
LTAs will continue to be handled and controlled in accordance w ith applicable
regulations. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by this
exemption.
D. Special Circumstances
Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(i i), are present
whenever application of the regulation in the particular circum stances would not serve
6 the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achie ve the underlying purpose
of the rule. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.68 is to provi de reasonable assurance
that an inadvertent criticality event will not occur during the storage or handling of special
nuclear material at 10 CFR part 50 licenses. The preamble for t he final rule promulgating
10 CFR 50.68 (Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 218 / Thursday, November 12, 1998 /
Rules and Regulations ((Page 63127))) indicated that increases to the enrichment limit of
5.0 wt% U-235 could be addressed in the future. In the safety e valuation (SE) contained
in ML23093A028 for the license amendment request, the NRC staff evaluated for Vogtle,
Units 1 and 2, four LTAs that demonstrated the acceptability of the nominal U-235
enrichment of up to six percent by weight of four fuel rods per LTA. The results showed
that the LTAs would not adversely affect subcriticality in the spent fuel pool or new fuel
storage racks. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that applicat ion of
10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) in this particular circumstance is not neces sary for the licensee to
achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
E. Environmental Considerations
With respect to its impact on the quality of the human environm ent, the NRC has
determined that the issuance of the exemption discussed herein meets the eligibility
criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c) (9). The NRC staffs
determination that all of the criteria for this categorical exc lusion are met is as follows:
The regulation 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9) states:
Issuance of an amendment to a permit or license for a reactor u nder part 50 or part 52 of this chapter that changes a requirement or iss uance of an exemption from a requirement, with respect to installation or u se of a facility component located within the restricted area, as defin ed in part 20 of this chapter; or the issuance of an amendment to a permit or license for a reactor under part 50 or part 52 of this chapter that changes an inspection or a surveillance requirement; provided that: (i) T he amendment or exemption involves no significant hazards consider ation; 7
(ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite; and (iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulat ive occupational radiation exposure.
Staff Analysis: The exemption is from requirements with respect to the
installation or use of facility components located within the r estricted area as defined in
10 CFR part 20. The criteria for determining whether an action involves a significant
hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed a ction involves
installed four LTAs. As stated in the evaluation in ML23093A028, the Commission has
previously issued a proposed finding that the amendments involv e no significant hazards
consideration, published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2022 (87 FR 67508),
and there has been no public comment on such finding.
The proposed action involves installing four LTAs, and as the N RC staff
evaluated under the SE contained in ML23093A028, this action do es not involve any
significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that
may be released offsite.
The proposed action involves installing four LTAs, and as the N RC staff
evaluated under the SE contained in ML23093A028, this action do es not involve any
significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational e xposure.
Based on the above, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed e xemption
meets the eligibility criteria for the categorical exclusion se t forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9).
Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or
environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with th e NRCs issuance of
this exemption.
8 IV. Conclusions.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the
exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and
safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also, special
circumstances, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present. Therefore, the NRC
hereby grants SNC an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) to allow
the use of LTAs 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4 each with four fuel rods with a nominal U-
235 enrichment of up to six percent by weight, for up to two cy cles of operation at
Vogtle, Unit 2, and allow receipt, inspection, and storage of t he LTAs at Vogtle, Units 1
and 2.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of August, 2023
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Bo M. Pham, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
9