[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51564-51565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24815]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-302; License No. DPR-72]


In the Matter of Florida Power Corporation (Crystal River Unit 
3); Confirmatory Order Modifying Post-Three Mile Island Requirements 
Pertaining to Containment Hydrogen Monitors

I

    Florida Power Corporation (the Licensee), is the holder of Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-72 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 50. The license 
authorizes the operation of Crystal River Unit 3 (CR-3), located in 
Citrus County, Florida.

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. The Order to the Licensee issued on 
March 14, 1983, requires 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 Order 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. Subsequently, 
by letter dated January 18, 1984, the NRC approved an exception to this 
requirement which allowed the containment hydrogen monitor system 
(CHMS) indicator and the CHMS indicator-recorder to be located in the 
CR-3 emergency feedwater initiation and control room. 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 April 14, 1999, Florida Power Corporation requested 
relief for CR-3 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 risk-informed 
functional requirement for providing indication of hydrogen 
concentration in containment. The technical basis for this request was 
that a delay in providing indication of hydrogen concentration in 
containment would provide more margin for the operators to complete 
accident assessment and mitigation duties, before redirecting their 
attention to longer-term recovery actions. The licensee indicated that 
the delay would have a positive effect on the ability of operators to 
respond to an event by enabling them to concentrate on important 
immediate action steps. The licensee further indicated that there would 
be no negative effect, since the actions for which hydrogen monitoring 
would be used were not needed for more than 24 hours after an accident, 
and in addition, other indications would be available to the operators 
for use in recognizing and classifying emergencies and issuing 
protective action recommendations to offsite authorities.
    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 
management of the response to severe accidents can be best 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 Order dated March 14, 1983, and as described by TMI 
Action Item II.F.1, Attachment 6 in NUREG-0737. Other exceptions to 
Item II.F.6, recognizing the location of the CHMS indicator and 
indicator-recorder and phone used to initiate contact with the control 
room, shall remain part of the CR-3 licensing basis. The applicable 
functional requirement is as follows:

    Procedures have been 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 Crystal River Unit 3 Emergency Plan (and related procedures) 
and related activities. Hydrogen monitoring will be initiated based 
on the appropriate priority for establishing indication of hydrogen 
concentration within containment in relation to other activities in 
the control room. Affected licensing basis documents and other 
related documents will be appropriately revised and/or updated in 
accordance with applicable NRC regulations.

III

    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 herby ordered 
that:
    NRC License No. DPR-72 is modified as follows:


[[Page 51565]]


    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 Order of March 14, 1983, or modify the time limit 
in the manner specified in Section II of this Order.

    The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may, in 
writing, relax or rescind the above condition upon demonstration by the 
Licensee of good cause.

IV

    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, DC 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, DC 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, DC 20555-0001; to the 
Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement at the 
same address; to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW., Suite 23T85, Atlanta, Georgia 30303; and to R. Alexander 
Glenn, General Counsel, Florida Power Corporation, MAC-A5A, P.O. Box 
14042, St. Petersburg, Florida 33733-4042, 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 III 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 III will be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 16th day of September, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-24815 Filed 9-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P