[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 192 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53466-53467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26558]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-313 and 50-368; License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6]


Entergy Operations, Inc. (Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2); 
Confirmatory Order Modifying Post-TMI Requirements Pertaining To 
Containment Hydrogen Monitors

I

    Entergy Operations, Inc. (the Licensee), is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 issued by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50. 
The licenses authorize the operation of Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 
and 2 (ANO-1, ANO-2), located in Pope County, Arkansas.

II

    As a result of the accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2), 
the NRC issued NUREG-0737, ``Clarification of TMI Action Plan 
Requirements'' (November 1980). Generic Letters 82-05 and 82-10, issued 
on March 17, and May 5, 1982, respectively, requested licensees of 
operating power reactors to furnish information pertaining to their 
implementation of specific TMI Action Plan items described in NUREG-
0737. Orders were issued to licensees confirming their commitments made 
in response to the generic letters. Orders to the Licensee issued on 
March 14, 1983, require the Licensee to implement and maintain the 
various TMI Action Plan items, including Item II.F.1, Attachment 6 
pertaining to monitoring of hydrogen concentration in containment.
    Significant improvements have been achieved since the TMI accident 
in the areas of understanding risks associated with nuclear plant 
operations and developing better strategies for managing the response 
to potentially severe accidents at nuclear plants. Recent insights 
pertaining to plant risks and alternate severe accident assessment 
tools have led the NRC staff to conclude that some TMI Action Plan 
items can be revised without reducing, and perhaps enhancing, the 
ability of licensees to respond to severe accidents. The NRC's efforts 
to oversee the risks associated with nuclear technology more 
effectively and to eliminate undue regulatory costs to licensees and 
the public have prompted the NRC's decision to revise the post-TMI 
requirement related to establishing indication of hydrogen 
concentration in containment.
    The confirmatory Orders of March 14, 1983 imposed requirements upon 
the Licensee for having continuous indication of hydrogen concentration 
in the containment atmosphere provided in the control room, as 
described by TMI Action Plan Item II.F.1, Attachment 6. Information 
about hydrogen concentration supports the Licensee's assessments of the 
degree of core damage and whether a threat to the integrity of the 
containment may be posed by combustion of the hydrogen gas. TMI Action 
Item II.F.1, Attachment 6 states:

    If an indication is not available at all times, continuous 
indication and recording shall be functioning within 30 minutes of 
the initiation of safety injection.

    This requirement to have indication of the hydrogen concentration 
in containment within 30 minutes following the start of an accident has 
defined both design and operating characteristics for hydrogen 
monitoring systems at nuclear power plants since the implementation of 
NUREG-0737. In addition, the technical specifications of most nuclear 
power plants and NRC regulations at 10 CFR 50.44, ``Standards for 
combustible gas control system in light-water-cooled power reactors,'' 
require availability of hydrogen monitors.
    By letter dated March 2, 1998, Entergy Operations, Inc., requested 
relief for the two units at ANO from the requirement to have indication 
of hydrogen concentration in containment within 30 minutes of the 
initiation of safety injection. Specifically, the Licensee requested a 
90-minute limit for indication of hydrogen concentration in 
containment. The technical basis for this request was that the actions 
necessary to establish the hydrogen indication are a distraction for 
control room operators from more important tasks during the initial 
attempts to respond to an event and that information provided by the 
monitors is not used until later stages of responding to an accident.
    The Licensee's request of March 2, 1998, was made in conjunction 
with Task Zero of the Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Regulation Pilot 
Program, an initiative undertaken by the NRC and the Nuclear Energy 
Institute to improve the incorporation of risk-informed and 
performance-based insights into the regulation of nuclear power plants. 
Because the licenses for ANO-1 and ANO-2 were modified by the Orders of 
March 14, 1983, imposing TMI Action Plan Item II.F.1, Attachment 6, the 
staff informed the Licensee by letter dated July 22, 1998, that it was 
necessary to submit an application for an amendment to the operating 
licenses of ANO-1 and ANO-2 in accordance with 10 CFR 50.90 in order to 
modify the time limit for post-accident hydrogen monitoring. Upon 
further reflection, however, the NRC staff has decided that it could 
act upon this request more expeditiously by issuance of this Order.
    On the basis of the NRC staff's review of information provided by 
the Licensee, consideration of the lessons learned since the TMI-2 
accident pertaining to severe accident management and emergency 
planning, and in order to make NRC licensing and regulatory oversight 
more efficient, the staff concludes that the Licensee should have the 
flexibility and assume the responsibility for determining the 
appropriate time limit for indication of hydrogen concentration in 
containment, such that control room personnel are not distracted from 
more important tasks in the early phases of accident mitigation, and 
decisionmakers, mostly outside the control room, are able to benefit 
from having useful information on hydrogen concentration. Because the 
appropriate balance between control room activities and longer term

[[Page 53467]]

management of the response to severe accidents can best be determined 
by the Licensee, the NRC staff has determined that the Licensee may 
elect to adopt a risk-informed functional requirement in lieu of the 
current 30 minute time limit for indication of hydrogen concentration 
as imposed by the Orders dated March 14, 1983, and as described by TMI 
Action Item II.F.1, Attachment 6 in NUREG-0737. The applicable 
functional requirement is as follows:

    Procedures shall be established for ensuring that indication of 
hydrogen concentration in the containment atmosphere is available in 
a sufficiently timely manner to support the role of the information 
in the Arkansas Nuclear One Emergency Plan (and related procedures) 
and related activities such as guidance for severe accident 
management. Hydrogen monitoring will be initiated on the basis of 
(1) the appropriate priority for establishing indication of hydrogen 
concentration within containment in relation to other activities in 
the control room, (2) the use of the indication of hydrogen 
concentration by decisionmakers for severe accident management and 
emergency response, and (3) insights from experience or evaluation 
pertaining to possible scenarios that result in significant 
generation of hydrogen that would be indicative of core damage or a 
potential threat to the integrity of the containment building. 
Affected licensing-basis documents and other related documents will 
be appropriately revised and/or updated in accordance with 
applicable NRC regulations.

    The Licensee's technical specifications and 10 CFR 50.44 require 
the Licensee to maintain the ability to monitor hydrogen concentration 
in containment. However, the details pertaining to the design and 
manner of operation of the hydrogen monitoring system are determined by 
the Licensee.

III

    Following various discussions with the staff, the Licensee 
submitted a letter dated September 9, 1998, in which it provided a 
commitment to operate and maintain the containment hydrogen monitors 
for ANO-1 and ANO-2 in accordance with the applicable functional 
requirement described in Section II above. The Licensee stated that the 
adoption of the functional requirement statement would initially result 
in extending the time requirement for hydrogen monitors from 30 minutes 
to 90 minutes after the initiation of safety injection.
    I find that the Licensee's commitment as set forth in its letter of 
September 9, 1998, is acceptable and conclude that with this commitment 
the plant's safety is reasonably assured. In view of the foregoing, I 
have determined that public health and safety require that the 
Licensee's commitment be confirmed by this Order. During its 
discussions with the NRC staff, the Licensee agreed to waive its right 
to a hearing with respect to issuance of this Order.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 104b, 161b, 161i, 161o, and 
182 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, it is hereby ordered 
that:
    (1) NRC License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 are modified as follows:
    The Licensee may elect to either maintain the 30-minute time limit 
for indication of hydrogen in containment, as described by TMI Action 
Plan Item II.F.1, Attachment 6, in NUREG-0737 and required by the 
Confirmatory Orders of March 14, 1983, or modify the time limit in the 
manner specified in Sections II and III of this Order.
    (2) The licensee's commitments in its letter of September 9, 1998, 
see Section III, above, are confirmed.
    The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may, in 
writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon 
demonstration by the Licensee of good cause.

V

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than the Licensee, may request a hearing within 20 days of its 
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to 
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of 
time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-
0001, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. Any 
request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief, Rulemakings and Adjudications 
Staff, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Copies of the hearing request shall 
also be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; to the 
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement at the 
same address; to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, 611 Ryan 
Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011; and to Nicholas S. 
Reynolds, Esquire, Winston and Strawn, 1400 L Street, N.W., Washington, 
DC 20005-3502, attorney for the Licensee. If such a person requests a 
hearing, that person will set forth with particularity the manner in 
which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and will address 
the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
    If the hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and 
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered 
at such hearing will be whether this Confirmatory Order should be 
sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section IV above will be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section IV will be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of September 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-26558 Filed 10-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P