[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14504-14505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5383]
[[Page 14504]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-369]
Duke Power Company, LLC; Mcgure Nuclear Station, 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 74, Sec. 74.19(c), for Facility Operating
License No. NPF-9, issued to Duke Power Company, LLC (the licensee),
for operation of the McGuire Nuclear Station, Unit 1, located in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR
51.35 and 51.119, the NRC is publishing this environmental assessment
and finding of no significant impact.
Environmental Assessment
Background
Duke Power Company, LLC (the licensee) is the holder of Facility
Operating License No. NPF-9 which authorizes operation of the McGuire
Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (McGuire 1), located in Mecklenburg County,
North Carolina. The license provides, among other things, that the
facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), now or hereafter in effect.
In 1986, a fuel assembly (D03) was found to have been damaged, and
this resulted in fuel pellets being released from some of the
assembly's fuel rods. The licensee vacuumed the loose fuel pellets and
placed them, along with the vacuum filters, in a pellet-can. A metal
plate was placed on top of the filters, and the pellet-can was placed
into a storage cell in the McGuire 1 spent fuel pool (SFP).
At the time of the event, commercial containers were not available
to store the recovered material. As such, a container was constructed
onsite with readily available material. The container is approximately
12 feet in length. The bottom portion is constructed of metal plates
welded together in the form of a rectangular can. The top portion
consists of four right-angled metal bars welded to the bottom portion
of the pellet-can. These four right-angled metal bars extend the entire
length of the pellet-can. To close off the open area of the top portion
of the pellet-can, a steel mesh screen was tack-welded to the metal
bars. At the top of the pellet-can, two bolt studs were welded in
opposite corners. To move the pellet-can, two wire ropes are used to
snag the bolt studs.
Since the initial placement into the SFP in 1986, the pellet-can
has not been moved or lifted until the licensee conducted a physical
inventory in 2007. During the 2007 inventory, the pellet-can was moved
to a low dose area in the SFP in order to take radiation readings of
the pellet-can. Since the loose pellets in the pellet-can are not
visible, an underwater radiation detector was used to acquire dose rate
measurements as part of the 2007 physical inventory. The results of
this verification provided an indirect means of determining the
presence of fuel pellet material within the pellet-can. High dose rate
measurements provided confirmation of fuel pellet material within the
pellet-can. Although this method is not capable of precisely
determining the exact number of pellets, the results indicate multiple
pellets within the pellet-can. Depending on the exact location and
orientation, there are potentially as many as five or six fuel pellets
stored within the pellet-can.
In addition, the licensee conducted a video inspection of the
pellet-can which showed a plate and small segments of the filter medium
around the edges of the plate. This configuration appears consistent
with the description of the pellet-can contents as provided by
personnel involved with the 1986 incident and the station records from
that time. The loose pellets and fuel fragments within the pellet-can
have always been treated as Special Nuclear Material (SNM).
When moved during the 2007 physical inventory, degradation of the
pellet-can was observed. During handling, removal of the steel mesh
screen was necessary, since it was partially unattached, leaving the
top portion of the pellet-can open.
In order to take radiation readings of the pellet-can, the licensee
must again move the pellet-can to a low dose area in the SFP. Due to
both the method used to handle the pellet-can and the pellet-can's
degradation, there is a possible risk of dropping fuel pellets. Instead
of utilizing a radiation monitor, the licensee is requesting the use of
a video inspection of the interior of the pellet-can to verify that its
contents have not been disturbed since the previous inspection.
Identification of the Proposed Action
Per its letter of December 3, 2007, the licensee has requested an
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 74.19(c) to address the
physical inventory of loose fuel pellets stored in a container (pellet-
can) located in the McGuire 1 SFP storage racks. The licensee requests
the physical inventory of the pellet-can be limited to a video
inspection of the interior without disturbing the contents or requiring
the movement of the pellet-can. The licensee requested that this
exemption be granted and remain in effect until such time that the
pellet-can is placed into an appropriate container, planned no later
than December 31, 2010.
Section 74.19(c) requires that each licensee conduct a physical
inventory of all special nuclear material (SNM) in its possession at
intervals not to exceed 12 months. The requirement for a physical
inventory of all SNM mandates that a visual accounting of all
assemblies, rods, rod segments, rod pieces, and other structurally
discrete parts that contain SNM be performed. This would require the
loose fuel pellets and fuel fragments from Fuel Assembly D03 within the
pellet-can to be visually verified during a physical inventory.
The proposed action would be to grant the licensee's exemption
request as described above.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The NRC regulation 10 CFR 74.19(c) requires a licensee possessing
special nuclear material, at any one time and site location, in a
quantity greater than 350 grams of contained uranium-235, uranium-233,
or plutonium, or any combination thereof, to conduct a physical
inventory of all special nuclear material in its possession at
intervals not to exceed 12 months. The licensee would have to move the
pellet-can to a low dose area in the SFP in order to take radiation
readings of the pellet-can's contents with a radiation monitor. Given
the pellet-can's degraded condition and the means available to the
licensee to move the pellet-can, there is a possible risk of dropping
fuel pellets. The licensee is requesting that a video inspection of the
interior of the pellet-can be considered a sufficient basis to verify
that the contents have not been disturbed since the previous
inspection.
The licensee's past inventory practices were limited to a visual
verification that the pellet-can was in the location specified by the
SNM inventory record database. The loose pellets and fuel fragments
within the pellet-can were not visually verified. A physical inventory
in accordance with 10 CFR 74.19(c) of the loose pellets and fuel
fragments would require an effort to recover, separate and secure each
loose pellet and fuel fragment from within the pellet-can. Undertaking
this effort would impose a significant hardship and regulatory burden.
The effort to visually verify SNM requires the
[[Page 14505]]
development of specialized tools and processes. Moreover, this effort
may result in the potential spread of contamination within the SFP
water. The filters have degraded over time and any recovery attempts
may result in the possible discharge of fuel pellets or fuel fragments
into the SFP. Further, removal of the loose pellets and fuel fragments
from the container would be difficult as a result of this material
(fuel pellets) being entangled within the filter medium.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
NRC has completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and
concludes that the underlying purposes of 10 CFR 74.19(c) is to ensure
that SNM is properly accounted for, appropriately secured and
authorities are informed of any theft, diversion, or loss. Allowing the
licensee to address the physical inventory of the loose fuel pellets
within the pellet-can by the use of a video inspection of the interior
without disturbing the contents will assure that the SNM in the pellet-
can is accounted for. Limiting the movement of the pellet-can will
assure that, in its degraded condition, it will not fail and
potentially allow the fuel pellets to become lost in the SFP.
Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and safety.
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in
the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the licensee
approving the exemption to the regulation.
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 off site. Granting the proposed
exemption request will not result in a significant increase in the
amount of any effluent released off-site nor will it result in any
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 cause effects on any historic
properties. 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'' 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 ``Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 8
(Regarding McGuire Nuclear Station Units 1 and 2),'' NUREG-1437, dated
December 2002.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on March 10, 2007, the staff
consulted with the North Carolina State official, Dale Dusenbury of the
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
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 letter dated December 3, 2007. 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 send an e-mail to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of March 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Stang,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-5383 Filed 3-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P