[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34940-34941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17095]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278]


PECO Energy Company, (Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 
and 3); Exemption

I

    PECO Energy Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56, which authorize operation of 
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (PBAPS), Units 2 and 3. The licenses 
provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, 
regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of two boiling-water reactors at the 
licensee's site located in York County, Pennsylvania.

II

    Section 70.24 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
``Criticality Accident Requirements,'' requires that each licensee 
authorized to possess special nuclear material (SNM) shall maintain a 
criticality accident monitoring system in each area where such material 
is handled, used, or stored. Subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) of 10 CFR 
70.24 specify detection and sensitivity requirements that these 
monitors must meet. Subsection (a)(3) of 10 CFR 70.24 requires 
licensees to maintain emergency procedures for each area in which this 
licensed SNM is handled, used, or stored and provides that (1) the 
procedures ensure that all personnel withdraw to an area of safety upon 
the sounding of a criticality accident monitor alarm, (2) the 
procedures must include drills to familiarize personnel with the 
evacuation plan, and (3) the procedures designate responsible 
individuals for determining the cause of the alarm and placement of 
radiation survey instruments in accessible locations for use in such an 
emergency. Subsection (b)(1) of 10 CFR 70.24 requires licensees to have 
a means to identify quickly personnel who have received a dose of 10 
rads or more. Subsection (b)(2) of 10 CFR 70.24 requires licensees to 
maintain personnel decontamination facilities, to maintain arrangements 
for a physician and other medical personnel

[[Page 34941]]

qualified to handle radiation emergencies, and to maintain arrangements 
for the transportation of contaminated individuals to treatment 
facilities outside the site boundary. Paragraph (c) of 10 CFR 70.24 
exempts Part 50 licensees from the requirements of paragraph (b) of 10 
CFR 70.24 for SNM used or to be used in the reactor. Paragraph (d) of 
10 CFR 70.24 states that any licensee who believes that there is good 
cause why he should be granted an exemption from all or part of 10 CFR 
70.24 may apply to the Commission for such an exemption and shall 
specify the reasons for the relief requested.

III

    The SNM that could be assembled into a critical mass at PBAPS, 
Units 2 and 3, is in the form of nuclear fuel; the quantity of SNM 
other than fuel that is stored on site in any given location is small 
enough to preclude achieving a critical mass. The Commission's 
technical staff has evaluated the possibility of an inadvertent 
criticality of the nuclear fuel at PBAPS, Units 2 and 3, and has 
determined that it is extremely unlikely for such an accident to occur 
if the licensee meets the following seven criteria:
    1. Only three new fuel assemblies are allowed out of a shipping 
cask or storage rack at one time.
    2. The k-effective does not exceed 0.95, at a 95% probability, 95% 
confidence level in the event that the fresh fuel storage racks are 
filled with fuel of the maximum permissible U-235 enrichment and 
flooded with pure water.
    3. If optimum moderation occurs at low moderator density, then the 
k-effective does not exceed 0.98, at a 95% probability, 95% confidence 
level in the event that the fresh fuel storage racks are filled with 
fuel of the maximum permissible U-235 enrichment and flooded with a 
moderator at the density corresponding to optimum moderation.
    4. The k-effective does not exceed 0.95, at a 95% probability, 95% 
confidence level in the event that the spent fuel storage racks are 
filled with fuel of the maximum permissible U-235 enrichment and 
flooded with pure water.
    5. The quantity of forms of special nuclear material, other than 
nuclear fuel, that are stored on site in any given area is less than 
the quantity necessary for a critical mass.
    6. Radiation monitors, as required by General Design Criterion 63, 
are provided in fuel storage and handling areas to detect excessive 
radiation levels and to initiate appropriate safety actions.
    7. The maximum nominal U-235 enrichment is limited to 5.0 weight 
percent.
    By letter dated March 18, 1998, the licensee requested an exemption 
from 10 CFR 70.24.
    In this request the licensee addressed the seven criteria given 
above. The Commission's technical staff has reviewed the licensee's 
submittal and has determined that PBAPS, Units 2 and 3, meet the 
applicable criteria. Criteria 2 and 3 are not applicable to PBAPS, 
Units 2 and 3, since Technical Specification Section 4.3.1.2 
specifically states, ``The new fuel storage racks shall not be used for 
fuel storage. The new fuel shall be stored in the spent fuel storage 
racks.'' The reference to General Design Criterion (GDC) 63 was 
initially incorporated to ensure that licensees receiving an exemption 
to 10 CFR 70.24 would not erroneously view the exemption as the basis 
for removing from the spent fuel pool area radiation monitors that were 
meeting other monitoring requirements, such as those contained in GDC 
63. However, Criterion 63 is not applicable to PBAPS because the units 
were evaluated against the draft GDCs current when PBAPS was licensed 
rather than the current GDCs proposed in July 1967. Thus, even though 
PBAPS is not required to meet GDC 63, the staff has determined that it 
is extremely unlikely for an inadvertent criticality to occur in SNM 
handling and storage areas at PBAPS, Units 2 and 3. Additionally, 
PBAPS, Units 2 and 3, have area radiation monitors (ARMs) that meet the 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a)2, and function as a monitoring system 
capable of detecting criticality in the only area (the refuel floor) 
where accidental criticality is possible.
    The purpose of the criticality monitors required by 10 CFR 70.24 is 
to ensure that if a criticality were to occur during the handling of 
SNM, personnel would be alerted to that fact and would take appropriate 
action. The staff has determined that it is extremely unlikely that 
such an accident could occur. The low probability of an inadvertent 
criticality constitutes good cause for granting an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a).

IV.

    The Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 70.14, this 
exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or 
the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public 
interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants PECO Energy Company, 
an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a) for Peach Bottom 
Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the 
environment (63 FR 33735).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-17095 Filed 6-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P