[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12219-12220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3337]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-348]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Joseph M. Farley Nuclear
Power Plant, Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for
Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' Section
III.G.2, for Facility Operating License No. NPF-2, issued to Southern
Nuclear Operating Company (SNC or the licensee), for operation of the
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant (FNP), Unit 1, located in Houston
County, Alabama. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is
issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no significant
impact.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would allow the use of fire-rated electrical
cable produced by Meggitt Safety System, Inc. (previously known as
Whittaker Electronic Resources Unit of Whittaker Electronic Systems),
for several cables in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042 associated with safe
shutdown (SSD) control circuits. The licensee proposes the use of these
fire-rated electrical cables in lieu of the alternatives specified in
Section III.G.2 of Appendix R. In summary, SNC has requested a
permanent exemption from 10 CFR Appendix R, Section III.G.2 to use 1-
hour fire-rated cable in lieu of a 1-hour rated fire barrier as
required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2 for protection
of safe shutdown control circuits located in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-
042. Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, provides fire
protection requirements for electrical cables located within the same
fire areas whose failure could cause the maloperation of redundant
trains of systems necessary to achieve and maintain hot shutdown
conditions. These areas are required to have protection features such
that one of the redundant trains will be free of fire damage in the
event of a fire. One method, described in Section III.G.2, for ensuring
compliance with this requirement is to enclose the cable and equipment
and associated non-safety circuits of one redundant train in a 1-hour
rated fire barrier. In addition, an area-wide automatic fire
suppression and detection system shall be installed in the fire area.
A postulated fire in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042 could cause loss of
offsite power since both fire areas contain cable bus ducts from the
startup transformers to both redundant trains of the 4 kilovolt (kV)
Appendix R SSD buses. A postulated fire in either of these fire areas
could also potentially impact the function of the Train B of the 4 kV
Emergency Diesel Generator 1B control circuitry. The majority of the
Train A onsite electrical power system components required for Appendix
R SSD are not located in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042. Certain Train A
onsite power system related SSD circuits located in Fire Areas 1-013
and 1-042 will be protected by a 1-hour fire-rated electrical cable
along with area-wide automatic fire suppression and detection.
Thus, the licensee's request for an exemption addresses the
situation wherein a 1-hour rated fire barrier as described in Section
III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R is not provided for certain
components. Instead, these credited Train A components will utilize
fire-rated electrical cables (Mineral Insulated (MI) cables). This
fire-rated electrical cable has been tested in accordance with American
Society for Testing Materials E-119, ``Standard Test Methods for Fire
Tests of Building Construction Materials.'' Further details of the NRC
staff's review of this issue, with respect to determining that the
fire-rated electrical cables would be capable of providing an
equivalent level of protection as would be provided by a 1-hour rated
fire barrier, are provided in a related safety evaluation.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated January 19, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated
June 9 (two letters) and November 18, 2005.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The exemption is needed to enable the licensee to utilize fire-
rated electrical cables (MI cables) for certain components in lieu of a
1-hour rated fire barrier, as described in Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR
Part 50, Appendix R, for FNP, Unit 1 Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes that the proposed exemption will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety. The details of the NRC staff's
safety evaluation will be provided in an exemption that will be issued
in a letter to the licensee. The action relates to revising the bases
for the adequacy of the fire protection program at FNP, Unit 1.
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in the types of
effluents that may be released offsite, and there is no significant
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there
are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action.
With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. It does
not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no other
environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action''
[[Page 12220]]
alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in
current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the
proposed action and the alternative action are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of any different resources than
those previously considered in the Final Environmental Statement
related to the operation of the FNP, Units 1 and 2, dated December
1974, and the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-
1437, Supplement 18), dated March 2005.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on February 14, 2006, the NRC
staff consulted with the Alabama State official, Kirk Whatley, of the
Office of Radiation Control, Alabama Department of Public Health,
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State
official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the
licensee's letters dated January 19, June 9, and November 18, 2005.
Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area
O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-
397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of March 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert E. Martin,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-3337 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P