Information Notice 1997-29, Containment Inspection Rule

Containment Inspection Rule

ML031060003
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant, Crane
Issue date:	05/30/1997
From:	Slosson M M Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-97-029, NUDOCS 9705290064
Download: ML031060003 (9)

K)UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONOFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001May 30, 1997NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 97-29: CONTAINMENT INSPECTION RULE

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to clarifyfor addressees the containment inspection rule in accordance with 10 CFR 50.55a(a), whichin part endorses Subsections IWE and IWL of Section Xl of the American Society ofMechanical Engineers' Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code). The rule becameeffective on September 9, 1996. It is expected that recipients will review the information forapplicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate. However, suggestionscontained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action orwritten response is required.

Description of Circumstances

In a Federal Register, dated August 8, 1996 (61 FR 41303), the NRC amended itsregulations (rule) to incorporate by reference the 1992 Edition and Addenda ofSubsections IWE and IWL of Section Xl of the ASME Code. Subsections IWE and IWL givethe requirements for inservice inspection (ISI) of Class CC (concrete containments), andClass MC (metallic containments) of light-water-cooled power plants. The amended rulebecame effective on September 9, 1996; it requires the licensees to incorporate the newrequirements into their ISI plans and to complete the first containment inspection within fiveyears (i.e., no later than September 9, 2001). Any repair or replacement (RIR) activity to beperformed on containments after the effective date of September 9, 1996, has to be carriedout in accordance with the respective requirements of Subsections IWE and IWL.Recognizing the potential industry concern related to the immediate implementation of therule for R/R activities, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) wrote a letter to NRC (Reference 1)indicating a general industry interpretation of the rule that all containment ISI activities,including R/R activities should be effective from September 9, 2001. The NRC responded tothe NEI letter (Reference 2) stating that all R/R activities within the scope of Subsections IWEand IWL of the code conducted after September 9, 1996, must be conducted in accordancewith these subsectio#WO°& l o9 7-O49 970t-S 10,004 6 1-M O Pll_________________l_ qC.-

IN 97-29May 30, 1997 Additionally, the staff stated (Reference 2) that 10 CFR 50.55a(3) permits the Director of theOffice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation at his discretion to grant relief from the requirements of10 CFR 50.55a to licensees who submit a justifiable need to use an alternative that providesan acceptable level of safety or who encounter extreme hardship or unusual difficulty withouta compensating increase in the level of quality or safety. In general, the staff stated that withproper justification, relief requests from compliance with the RJR requirements of SubsectionsIWE and IWL for a period of about one year from September 9, 1996, would appear to bereasonable.Although NEI sent the response from NRC to many of the addressees, the NRC staff isissuing this information notice to inform all addressees about the NRC staff position.DiscussionAs discussed above, addressees are required to implement the rule for all containment-related R/R activities to be conducted after September 9, 1996. Even though a licensee isable to demonstrate hardship or unusual difficulties in the immediate implementation of therule, the licensee has to demonstrate that other procedures utilized for R/R activities willensure adequate safety of the containments and that proper quality assurance requirementshave been implemented.In some of the relief requests that the staff has reviewed, licensees have reportedappropriate "hardship and unusual difficulties" reasons for postponing the implementation ofthe rule, but did not describe the effectiveness of the procedures they plan to use during therelief period. Without such information, the staff has no way of concluding that the qualityand safety of containment RIR activities are adequate.

K> IN 97-29May 30, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contacts listedbelow or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Marylee M. Slosson, Acting DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts: Seung Lee, NRR301-415-2737E-mail: sjl@nrc.govHans Ashar, NRR301-415-2851E-mail: hgaenrc.govReferences1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation ofAmended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated 09119/96 (Accession No. 9704180074).2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation ofContainment Inspection Rule," dated 11/06/96 (Accession No. 9611130161).Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Noticeskit C- i4"( & p a

AttachmentIN 97-29May 30, 1997 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUEDNRC INFORMATION NOTICESInformation Date ofNotice No. Subject Issuance Issued to97-2897-27Elimination of InstrumentResponse Time TestingUnder the Requirements of10 CFR 50.59Effect of IncorrectStrainer Pressure Dropon Available Net PositiveSuction HeadDegradation in Small-Radius U-Bend Regionsof Steam Generator Tubes05/30/9705/16/9705/19/97All holders of OLs or CPsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor light-water powerreactors, except thoselicensees who have per-manently ceased operationsand have certified thatfuel has been permanentlyremoved from the reactorvesselAll holders of OLs or CPsfor pressurized-waterreactors97-2687-10,Sup. 1Potential for WaterHammer During Restart ofResidual Heat RemovalPumpsDynamic Range Uncertain-ties in the Reactor VesselLevel Instrumentation05/15/9705/09/97All holders of OLs or CPsfor boiling-water reactorsAll holders of OLs or CPsfor Westinghouse pressurized-water reactors97-25OL = Operating LicenseCP = Construction Permit

IN 97-29May 30, 1997 IN 97-XXMay XX, 1997 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact the technical contacts listedbelow or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Marylee M. Slosson, Acting DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts:Seung Lee, NRR(301) 415-2737E-mail: sjl~nrc.govHans Ashar, NRR(301) 415-2851E-mail: hga~nrc.govReferences1. Letter from Alex Marion (NEI) to Brian Sheron (NRC), "Interpretation ofAmended 10 CFR 50.55a," dated 09/19/96 (Accession No. 9704180074).2. Letter from Gus Lainas (NRC) to Alex Marion (NEI), "Implementation ofContainment Inspection Rule," dated 11/06/96 (Accession No. 9611130161).Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesOFC PECB:DRPM ECGB:DE CIECGB:DE OGCNAME T. Greene* S. Lee* G. Bagchi* S. Treby*DATE 04/22/97 04/22/97 04/24/97 05/06/97See previous concurrenceOFC CIPECB:DRPM AD/DRPK 1NAME A. Chaffee6W M. Slosson XDATE ij/197 /97OFFICIAL RECORD 51 97DOCUMENT NAME: GATAGXINCONT

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