[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29587-29588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12708]



[[Page 29587]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0185]


Notice of Availability of Revised Model Proposed No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination for Plant-Specific Adoption of 
Technical Specifications Task Force Traveler TSTF-475, Revision 1, 
``Control Rod Notch Testing Frequency and SRM Insert Control Rod 
Action''

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Notice of Availability (NOA) for adoption of TSTF-475, 
Revision 1, using the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process 
(CLIIP), was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2007 (72 
FR 63935). The prior NOA followed the CLIIP and contained a model 
safety evaluation, a model license amendment application, and a model 
proposed no significant hazards consideration determination (NSHCD). 
The purpose of this NOA is to revise the model proposed NSHCD. 
Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) Traveler TSTF-475, Revision 
1, ``Control Rod Notch Testing Frequency and SRM Insert Control Rod 
Action,'' is available in the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Number ML071420428.
    Documents: You can access publicly available documents related to 
this notice using the following methods:
    NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and for a 
fee have copied publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1 
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
    NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain 
entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry W. Miller, Senior Project 
Manager, Licensing Processes Branch, Mail Stop: O-12 D3, Division of 
Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001; telephone 
301-415-4117 or e-mail at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of May 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael D. McCoppin,
Acting Chief, Licensing Processes Branch, Division of Policy and 
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Revised Model Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration 
Determination for Plant-Specific Adoption of Technical Specifications 
Task Force Traveler TSTF-475, Revision 1, ``Control Rod Notch Testing 
Frequency and SRM Insert Control Rod Action''

    Description of amendment request: [(1) The proposed amendment would 
change the frequency of control rod notch testing, as specified in 
technical specification (TS) surveillance requirement (SR) [3.1.3.2], 
from at least once per 7 days to at least once per 31 days. The purpose 
of this SR is to confirm control rod insertion capability which is 
demonstrated by inserting each partially or fully withdrawn control rod 
at least one notch and observing that the control rod moves. This 
ensures that the control rod is not stuck and is free to insert on a 
scram signal. (2) The proposed amendment would add the word ``fully'' 
to the Action for TS Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) [3.3.1.2] 
Required Action E.2 to clarify the requirement to insert fully all 
insertable control rods in core cells containing one or more fuel 
assemblies when the required source range monitor (SRM) instrumentation 
is inoperable. (3)] The proposed amendment would revise Example 1.4-3 
in Section 1.4 ``Frequency'' to clarify that the 1.25 surveillance test 
interval extension in SR [3.0.2] is applicable to time periods 
discussed in NOTES in the ``SURVEILLANCE'' column in addition to the 
time periods in the ``FREQUENCY'' column. The licensee stated that the 
proposed amendment is based on Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-
approved Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) change Traveler 
TSTF-475, Revision 1, ``Control Rod Notch Testing Frequency and SRM 
Insert Control Rod Action.'' The availability of this change to the 
Standard Technical Specifications (STS) was announced in the Federal 
Register on November 13, 2007 (72 FR 63935), as part of the 
consolidated line item improvement process.
    Basis for proposed no significant hazards consideration 
determination: As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), an analysis of the issue 
of no significant hazards consideration is presented below.

    1. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed change to SR [3.1.3.2] reduces the frequency of 
control rod notch testing. Changing the frequency of testing is not 
expected to have any significant impact on the reliability of the 
control rods to insert as required on a scram signal. The proposed 
change to the Required Action E.2 for LCO [3.3.1.2] merely clarifies 
the intent of the action. The proposed change to revise Example 1.4-
3 in Section 1.4 ``Frequency'' clarifies the applicability of the 
1.25 surveillance test interval extension. There are no physical 
plant modifications associated with this change. The proposed 
amendment would not alter the way any structure, system, or 
component (SSC) functions and would not alter the way the plant is 
operated. As such, the proposed amendment would have no impact on 
the ability of the affected SSCs to either preclude or mitigate an 
accident. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated.
    2. Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new 
or different kind of accident from any accident previously 
evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed amendment would not change the design function or 
operation of the SSCs involved and would not impact the way the 
plant is operated. As such, the proposed change would not introduce 
any new failure mechanisms, malfunctions, or accident initiators not 
already considered in the design and licensing bases. Therefore, the 
proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any previously evaluated.
    3. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction 
in a margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    The margin of safety is associated with the confidence in the 
ability of the fission product barriers (i.e., fuel cladding, 
reactor coolant pressure boundary, and containment structure) to 
limit the level of radiation to the public. There are no physical 
plant modifications associated with the proposed amendment. The 
proposed amendment would not alter the way any SSC functions and 
would not alter the way the plant is operated. The proposed 
amendment would not introduce any new uncertainties or change any 
existing uncertainties associated with any safety limit. The 
proposed amendment would have no impact on the structural integrity 
of the fuel cladding, reactor coolant pressure boundary, or 
containment structure. Based on the above considerations, the NRC 
staff concludes that the proposed amendment would not degrade the 
confidence in the ability of the fission product barriers to limit 
the level of radiation to the public. Therefore, the proposed change 
does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.


[[Page 29588]]


    Based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 
50.92(c) are satisfied and the requested amendment involves no 
significant hazards consideration.
[FR Doc. 2010-12708 Filed 5-25-10; 8:45 am]
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