[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6519-6520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3066]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-369 and 50-370]
Duke Power Company, McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2;
Exemption
1.0 Background
The Duke power Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-9 and NPF-17, for the McGuire Nuclear
Station, Units 1 and 2. The licenses provide, among other things, that
the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the
Commission now or hereafter in effect.
These facilities consist of two pressurized water reactors located
at the licensee's site in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
2.0 Request/Action
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) at subsection
(a) of 10 CFR 70.24, ``Criticality Accident Requirements,'' requires
that each licensee authorized to possess special nuclear material shall
maintain in each area where such material is handled, used, or stored,
a criticality accident monitoring system ``using gamma- or neutron-
sensitive radiation detectors which will energize clearly audible alarm
signals if accident criticality occurs.'' Subsection (a)(1) and (a)(2)
of 10 CFR 70.24 specify the detection, sensitivity, and coverage
capabilities of the monitors required by 10 CFR 70.24(a). Subsection
(a)(3) of 10 CFR 70.24 requires that the licensee shall maintain
emergency procedures for each area in which this licensed special
nuclear material is handled, used, or stored and provides (1) that the
procedures ensure that all personnel withdraw to an area of safety upon
the sounding of a criticality monitor alarm, (2) that the procedures
must include drills to familiarize personnel with the evacuation plan,
and (3) that the procedures designate responsible individuals for
determining the cause of the alarm and placement of radiation survey
instruments in accessible locations for use in such an emergency.
Subsection (b)(1) requires licensees to have a means to quickly
identify personnel who have received a dose of 10 rads or more.
Subsection (b)(2) requires licensees to maintain personnel
decontamination facilities, to maintain arrangements for a physician
and other medical personnel qualified to handle radiation emergencies,
and to maintain arrangements for the transportation of contaminated
individuals to treatment facilities outside the site boundary.
Subsection (c) exempts part 50 licensees (such as McGuire) from the
requirements of paragraph (b).
By letter dated February 4, 1997, as supplemented March 19, 1997,
Duke Power Company (the licensee) requested an exemption for all its
nuclear plants from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24. The staff
reviewed the licensee's submittal and determined that procedures and
design features made an inadvertent criticality in special nuclear
materials handling or storage at McGuire unlikely, in accordance with
General Design Criterion 62. Accordingly, the staff granted an
Exemption on July 31, 1997. Part of the basis for that exemption was
that the criticality parameter of k-effective (keff ) would
remain less than or equal to 0.95 when the spent fuel pool was filled
with unborated water. By letter dated April 18, 2002, as supplemented
on August 7 and October 9, 2002, and January 15, 2003, the licensee
submitted an application for revisions to the McGuire Technical
Specifications to address the spent fuel pool Boraflex degradation
issues. The analysis supporting this application proposed to take
partial credit for boron in the spent fuel pool water. Therefore, a
part of the technical basis for which the 10 CFR 70.24 exemption was
granted on July 31, 1997, has changed. The staff has reviewed the
licensee's application and continues to find that existing procedures
and design features make an inadvertent criticality in special nuclear
materials handling or storage at McGuire unlikely.
3.0 Discussion
Pursuant to section 70.17 of 10 CFR, ``Specific exemptions,'' the
Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its
own initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of the
regulations in this part as it determines are authorized by law and
will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security
and are otherwise in the public interest.
The staff concludes, on the basis provided above, that the licensee
has thus met the intent of 10 CFR 70.24 by the low probability of an
inadvertent criticality in areas where fresh fuel could be present, by
the licensee's adherence to General Design Criterion 63 regarding
radiation monitoring, and
[[Page 6520]]
by provisions for personnel training and evacuation.
4.0 Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
70.17, the exemption is authorized by law and will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Duke Power
Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a)(1), (2),
and (3) for McGuire, Units 1 and 2, on the bases as stated in Section
II above.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment (68 FR 5054).
This exemption is effective upon issuance and shall expire on
December 31, 2005.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of January.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 03-3066 Filed 2-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P