[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]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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