[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51218-51220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18375]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-280 and 50-281 NRC-2016-0105]


Virginia Electric Power Company; Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 
and 2; Use of AREVA's M5[supreg] Alloy Fuel Rod Cladding Material

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption in response to a September 30, 2016, request from Virginia 
Electric Power Company (Dominion or the licensee) in order to use 
AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material at Surry Power 
Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (SPS).

DATES: The exemption was issued on July 27, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0105 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID: NRC-2016-0105. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen R. Cotton, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1438, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Dominion is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-32 
and DPR-37, which authorize operation of SPS. The licenses provide, 
among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, 
regulations, and orders of the NRC now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors (PWR) 
located in Surry County, Virginia.

II. Request/Action

    Pursuant to Sec.  50.12 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Specific exemptions,'' the licensee has 
requested, by letter dated September 30, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15282A036), an exemption from 10 CFR 50.46, ``Acceptance criteria for 
emergency core cooling systems [ECCS] for light-water nuclear power 
reactors,'' and 10 CFR part 50, appendix K, ``ECCS Evaluation Models,'' 
to allow the use of fuel rods clad with AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy. The 
regulations in 10 CFR 50.46 require that the calculated cooling 
performance following postulated loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) at 
reactors fueled with zircaloy or ZIRLOTM cladding conforms 
to the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 50.46(b). In addition, 10 CFR part

[[Page 51219]]

50, appendix K, requires, in part, that the Baker-Just equation be used 
to predict the rates of energy release, hydrogen concentration, and 
cladding oxidation from the metal/water reaction. The Baker-Just 
equation assumes the use of zircaloy or ZIRLOTM materials 
that have different chemical compositions from AREVA's M5[supreg] 
alloy. As written, these regulations presume only the use of zircaloy 
or ZIRLOTM fuel rod cladding and do not contain provisions 
for use of fuel rods with other cladding materials. Therefore, an 
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K, is needed to support the use of a different fuel cladding 
material. Accordingly, the licensee requested an exemption that would 
allow the use of fuel rods clad with AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy to be 
loaded into the SPS reactor cores as non-limiting lead test assemblies 
(LTAs) in up to eight locations.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by 
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when the exemptions are authorized 
by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and 
are consistent with the common defense and security. However, 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2) states that the Commission will not consider granting an 
exemption unless special circumstances are present as set forth in 10 
CFR 50.12(a)(2). Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances 
are present when application of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances would not serve, or is not necessary to achieve, the 
underlying purpose of the rule.

A. Special Circumstances

    Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), 
are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the 
rule. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K, is to establish acceptance criteria for ECCS performance to 
provide reasonable assurance of safety in the event of a LOCA. The 
special circumstance that necessitates the request for exemption to 10 
CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR 50, appendix K, is that neither of these 
regulations explicitly allows the use of AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel 
rod cladding material. The ultimate objective of 10 CFR 50.46 is to 
ensure that nuclear power reactors fueled with uranium oxide pellets 
within zircaloy or ZIRLOTM cladding must be provided with an 
ECCS that is designed to provide core cooling following a postulated 
LOCA. AREVA NP, in its NRC-approved Topical Report BAW-10227-A, 
``Evaluation of Advanced Cladding and Structural Material (M5) in PWR 
Reactor Fuel,'' February 2000 (ADAMS Accession No. ML003686365), has 
demonstrated that the effectiveness of the ECCS will not be affected by 
a change from zircaloy or ZIRLOTM clad fuel to fuel rods 
clad with AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy. Normal reload safety analyses will 
confirm that there is no adverse impact on ECCS performance.
    The objective of 10 CFR 50.46(b)(2) and (b)(3), and 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K I.A.5, is to ensure that cladding oxidation and hydrogen 
generation are appropriately limited during a LOCA and conservatively 
accounted for in the ECCS evaluation model. Appendix K of 10 CFR part 
50 requires that the Baker-Just equation be used in the ECCS evaluation 
model to determine the rate of energy release, cladding oxidation, and 
hydrogen generation. AREVA NP has shown in an appendix of Topical 
Report BAW-10227-A that the Baker-Just model is conservative in all 
post-LOCA scenarios with respect to the use of AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy 
fuel rod cladding material.
    Based on the regulatory review of the exemption request, the NRC 
staff concludes that the intent of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K, will continue to be satisfied for the planned operation of 
SPS with AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material used for 
non-limiting LTAs and the special circumstance required by 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii) for granting of an exemption exists.

B. Authorized by Law

    This exemption would allow the use of fuel rods clad with AREVA's 
M5[supreg] alloy in up to eight fuel assemblies at SPS. The regulations 
in 10 CFR 50.12 allow the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements 
of 10 CFR part 50 provided that the exemptions are authorized by law. 
The NRC staff determined that special circumstances exist to grant the 
proposed exemption and that granting the exemption would not result in 
a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Therefore, 
the exemption is authorized by law.

C. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The provisions of 10 CFR 50.46 establish acceptance criteria for 
ECCS performance. Topical Report BAW-10227-A contains the justification 
to use AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material, a 
proprietary variant of Zr1Nb, to replace Zircaloy-4 in the construction 
of fuel assembly components such as fuel rod cladding, guide tubes, and 
spacer grids. This justification is required to support the request by 
Dominion for an exemption to 10 CFR 50.46 to permit the use of AREVA's 
M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material, in addition to Zircaloy-4 
and ZIRLOTM. AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy is an AREVA NP 
proprietary material composed of 1.0 percent niobium, 0.125 percent 
oxygen, and the balance zirconium. AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod 
cladding provides improved performance in fuel cladding corrosion and 
hydrogen pickup.
    An AREVA NP LOCA evaluation showed compliance with 10 CFR 50.46. 
Topical Report BAW-10227-A has addressed all of the important aspects 
of AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material with respect to 
ECCS performance requirements, as follows:
     Since the material properties of AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy 
are similar to those of zirconium-based materials, the NRC staff found 
it appropriately conservative to apply the criteria in 10 CFR 50.46 and 
10 CFR part 50, appendix K.
     Material properties of AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy, including 
cladding thermal conductivity, cladding creep, clad swelling, rupture 
deformation, and temperature, were found to be very similar to those of 
Zircaloy-4.
     The retention of the Baker-Just equation for the 
calculation of metal-water reaction rate specified in 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K, is justified to be suitably conservative.
    Based on the NRC staff's evaluation of the exemption request, the 
staff concludes that the intent of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, 
appendix K, will continue to be satisfied for the planned operation of 
SPS, with AREVA's M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material used in 
up to eight non-limiting LTAs. The probability of postulated accidents 
is not increased. Also, based on the NRC staff's evaluation of the 
exemption request, the consequences of postulated accidents are not 
increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and 
safety due to using M5[supreg] alloy fuel cladding and fuel assembly 
material in up to eight non-limiting LTAs.

D. Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would allow the use of AREVA's M5[supreg] 
alloy fuel rod cladding material at SPS. This change to the plant 
configuration is adequately controlled by technical specification

[[Page 51220]]

requirements and is not related to security issues. Because the common 
defense and security is not impacted by this exemption, the exemption 
is consistent with the common defense and security.

IV. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to the public health and safety, is consistent with the common 
defense and security, and that special circumstances are present to 
warrant issuance of the exemption. Therefore, the Commission hereby 
grants SPS an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 
CFR part 50, appendix K, paragraph I.A.5, to allow the use of AREVA's 
M5[supreg] alloy fuel rod cladding material in up to eight non-limiting 
LTAs at SPS.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, an environmental assessment and finding 
of no significant impact related to this exemption was published in the 
Federal Register on May 31, 2016 (81 FR 34382). Based upon the 
environmental assessment, the Commission has determined that issuance 
of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of 
the human environment.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of July 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anne T. Boland,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2016-18375 Filed 8-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P