[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6519-6520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3066]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-369 and 50-370]


Duke Power Company, McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2; 
Exemption

1.0 Background

    The Duke power Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-9 and NPF-17, for the McGuire Nuclear 
Station, Units 1 and 2. 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.
    These facilities consist of two pressurized water reactors located 
at the licensee's site in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

2.0 Request/Action

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) at subsection 
(a) of 10 CFR 70.24, ``Criticality Accident Requirements,'' requires 
that each licensee authorized to possess special nuclear material shall 
maintain in each area where such material is handled, used, or stored, 
a criticality accident monitoring system ``using gamma- or neutron-
sensitive radiation detectors which will energize clearly audible alarm 
signals if accident criticality occurs.'' Subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2) 
of 10 CFR 70.24 specify the detection, sensitivity, and coverage 
capabilities of the monitors required by 10 CFR 70.24(a). Subsection 
(a)(3) of 10 CFR 70.24 requires that the licensee shall maintain 
emergency procedures for each area in which this licensed special 
nuclear material is handled, used, or stored and provides (1) that the 
procedures ensure that all personnel withdraw to an area of safety upon 
the sounding of a criticality monitor alarm, (2) that the procedures 
must include drills to familiarize personnel with the evacuation plan, 
and (3) that 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) requires licensees to have a means to quickly 
identify personnel who have received a dose of 10 rads or more. 
Subsection (b)(2) requires licensees to maintain personnel 
decontamination facilities, to maintain arrangements for a physician 
and other medical personnel qualified to handle radiation emergencies, 
and to maintain arrangements for the transportation of contaminated 
individuals to treatment facilities outside the site boundary. 
Subsection (c) exempts part 50 licensees (such as McGuire) from the 
requirements of paragraph (b).
    By letter dated February 4, 1997, as supplemented March 19, 1997, 
Duke Power Company (the licensee) requested an exemption for all its 
nuclear plants from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24. The staff 
reviewed the licensee's submittal and determined that procedures and 
design features made an inadvertent criticality in special nuclear 
materials handling or storage at McGuire unlikely, in accordance with 
General Design Criterion 62. Accordingly, the staff granted an 
Exemption on July 31, 1997. Part of the basis for that exemption was 
that the criticality parameter of k-effective (keff ) would 
remain less than or equal to 0.95 when the spent fuel pool was filled 
with unborated water. By letter dated April 18, 2002, as supplemented 
on August 7 and October 9, 2002, and January 15, 2003, the licensee 
submitted an application for revisions to the McGuire Technical 
Specifications to address the spent fuel pool Boraflex degradation 
issues. The analysis supporting this application proposed to take 
partial credit for boron in the spent fuel pool water. Therefore, a 
part of the technical basis for which the 10 CFR 70.24 exemption was 
granted on July 31, 1997, has changed. The staff has reviewed the 
licensee's application and continues to find that existing procedures 
and design features make an inadvertent criticality in special nuclear 
materials handling or storage at McGuire unlikely.

3.0 Discussion

    Pursuant to section 70.17 of 10 CFR, ``Specific exemptions,'' the 
Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its 
own initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of the 
regulations in this part as it determines are authorized by law and 
will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security 
and are otherwise in the public interest.
    The staff concludes, on the basis provided above, that the licensee 
has thus met the intent of 10 CFR 70.24 by the low probability of an 
inadvertent criticality in areas where fresh fuel could be present, by 
the licensee's adherence to General Design Criterion 63 regarding 
radiation monitoring, and

[[Page 6520]]

by provisions for personnel training and evacuation.

4.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
70.17, the exemption is authorized by law and will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the 
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Duke Power 
Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a)(1), (2), 
and (3) for McGuire, Units 1 and 2, on the bases as stated in Section 
II above.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that 
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (68 FR 5054).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance and shall expire on 
December 31, 2005.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of January.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-3066 Filed 2-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P