IR 05000443/2011010
| ML120480066 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 03/26/2012 |
| From: | Christopher Miller Division of Reactor Safety I |
| To: | Freeman P NextEra Energy Seabrook |
| References | |
| G20120266, SECY-2012-0196 IR-11-010 | |
| Download: ML120480066 (22) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGU LATORY COMMISSION REGION I 475 ALLENDALE ROAD KING OF PRUSSIA. PA 19406.1415 l4arch 26, 2012 Mr. Paul Freeman Site Vice President, North Region Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC c/o Mr. Michael O'Keefe P.O. Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874
SUBJECT: SEABROOK STATION - NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000443/2011010 RELATED TO ALKALI-SILICA REACTION ISSUE IN SAFETY RELATED STRUCTURES
Dear Mr. Freeman:
On January 20,2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an inspection at Seabrook Station. The enclosed inspection report documents the inspection results, which were discussed at the exit meeting with you and other members of your staff.The inspection examined activities conducted under your license as they relate to safety and compliance with the Commission's rules and regulations and with the conditions of your license.The inspectors reviewed selected procedures and records, observed activities, and interviewed personnel.
In conjunction with the follow-up of two unresolved items, the focus of this inspection was a review of activities involving NextEra's analysis and evaluation related to addressing the Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) issue occurring in safety related and other important to safety concrete structures.
As a part of this inspection, we reviewed your original and revised Prompt Operability Determinations (POD) for certain affected structures.
During the exit meeting, Mr. Richard J. Conte, Chief Engineering Branch 1, summarized the findings and observations.
In addition, he discussed NRC observations regarding your planned correCtive actions and assumptions being made in the NextEra operability determinations.
The inspectors conctuded that these structures can currently perform their safety related functions despite the observed degradation due to ASR. However the NRC still has concerns associated with long term operability, therefore additional information is needed to determine:
1) how various characteristics of the concrete may be affected by ASR; 2) the related effects on other elements of the structures, such as rebar, due to groundwater in-leakage; and 3) the rate of progression of the ASR in structures at the site. lt is our understanding that these specific areas are being addressed in a comprehensive corrective action plan that was still being finalized by your organization at the end of the inspection.
Therefore, we request that you summarize your plans to address the above issues at a management meeting to be conducted April 23, 2012, at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD.At the meeting you should be prepared to focus on the following technical issues: 1) describe which applicable American Concrete Institute (ACl) 318 code relationships are affected by ASR and your plans to ensure the applicable licensing and design bases remain valid; 2) describe your comprehensive plans to understand the related effects and overall progression of ASR, its cause, and actions to correct and/or mitigate the issue; and, 3) provide a timeline for key actions, including those to address long term operability, how the degradation affects the design basis, and longer term management of the ASR issue. During the meeting we will discuss your overall corrective action plans, including the documents to be submitted to the NRC on the docket.Also, the report documents two NRC-identified findings of very low significance (Green) one of which involved a violation of NRC requirements, Because of the very low safety significance, and because they are entered into your corrective action program, the NRC is treating these findings as non-cited violations, consistent with Section 2.3.2 of the NRC Enforcement Policy. lf you contest any non-cited violations in this report, you should provide a response within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your denial, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN.: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001; with copies to the RegionalAdministrator, Region l; the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; and the NRC Resident lnspector at Seabrook Station. In addition, if you disagree with the cross-cutting aspect assigned to any finding in this report, you should provide a response within 30 days of the date of this inspection report, with the basis for your disagreement, to the Regional Administrator, Region l, and the NRC Resident Inspector at Seabrook.ln accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.390 of the NRC's"Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response (if any), will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of the NRC's document system, Agencyrvide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http:/lwww.nrc.govlreading-rmladams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Sincerely,,aA Christopher G. Miller, Director Division of Reactor Safety Docket No.: 50-443 License No.: NPF-86
Enclosure:
lnspection Report No. 050004431201 1010
w/Attachment:
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