UNITED STATES 


NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 


WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

April 17, 2012 

Mr. Paul Freeman 

Site Vice President, North Region 

Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant 

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC 

c/o Mr. Michael OKeefe 

P.O. Box 300 

Seabrook, NH 03874 

SUBJECT: 	 SEABROOK STATION, UNIT 1 -INFORMATION REQUEST IN SUPPORT OF 

THE APRIL 23,2012, PUBLIC MEETING RELATED TO ALKALI-SILICA 

REACTION CONCRETE DEGRADATION ISSUES 

Dear Mr. Freeman: 

On March 23, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff issued a public 

meeting notice (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) 

Accesssion No. ML 120870217) to discuss NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC's (NextEra's) plans 

and schedule regarding concrete degradation caused by alkali silica reaction (ASR) at Seabrook 

Station, Unit 1 (Seabrook). 

By letter dated March 26, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No.ML 120480066), NRC issued Inspection 

Report 05000443/2011010 related to the ASR issue in safety-related structures. The inspectors 

concluded that these structures can currently perform their safety-related functions despite the 

observed degradation due to ASR. However, the NRC indicated in the inspection report that it 

still has concerns associated with the long-term operability; therefore, additional information was 

requested in the inspection report. Enclosed are questions that the NRC staff requests that 

NextEra address during the upcoming meeting on April 23, 2012, at NRC Headquarters in 

Rockville, Maryland. 
P. Freeman -2­

If you have any questions, please contact John G. Lamb at (301) 415-3100 or e-mail 

John. Lamb@nrc.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Meena Khanna, Chief 

Plant licensing Branch 1-2 

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

Docket No. 50-443 

Enclosure: 

As stated 

cc w/encl: Distribution via Listserv 
Questions for Seabrook ASR Public Meeting on April 23, 2012 

1. 	 What buildings are affected by alkali silica reaction (ASR)? How do you plan to confirm 

ASR and what is your supporting basis? 

2. 	 When do you plan to update the operability determinations for all buildings affected by 

ASR and what key information do you plan to incorporate into them including key 

assumptions, bases for inputs, including material properties, and calculation methods 

used? 

3. 	 If you continue to use the empirical relationships in the American Concrete Institute 

(ACI) design basis code for operability determinations, what is the basis for use of those 

relationships, and what is the explanation regarding why these are appropriate for the 

degraded conditions in the building? 

4. 	 What are your ongoing or planned methods, analysis or testing that will be used to 

monitor/manage ASR affected structures? What is your knowledge of the ASR reaction 

rate, possible end point, and how it affects operability? 

5. 	 When will you submit to the NRC staff your Corrective Action Plan to address this issue? 

6. 	 When will you provide the technical details for the larger-scale testing planned at the 

contracted research and development facility? 

7. 	 When do you plan to complete the identification of all of the long-term aging effects of 

ASR on the affected structures? 

8. 	 When do you plan to submit an aging management program for the ASR-affected 

structures? 

Enclosure 
P. Freeman - 2 ­

If you have any questions, please contact John G. Lamb at (301) 415-3100 or e-mail 

John.Lamb@nrc.gov. 

Docket No. 50-443 

Enclosure: 


As stated 


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DISTRIBUTION: 

Public 

LPL 1-2 r/f 

RidsAcrsAcnw_MailCTR Resource 

RidsNrrDorl Resource 

RidsNrrDorlLpl1-2 Resource 

NSheehan, OPA RI 

MKhanna, NRR 

RidsNrrDeEmcb Resource 

ADAMS ACCESSION NO' ML121040102 

Sincerely, 

Ira! 

Meena Khanna, Chief 

Plant Licensing Branch 1-2 

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

RidsNrrOd 

RidsOgc Resource 

RidsRgn1 MailCenter Resource 

RidsOpaMail Resource 

RidsNrrLAABaxter Resource 

RidsNrrPMSeabrook Resource 

EDacus,OCA 

DMclntyre, NRR 

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*via email 

OFFICIAL RECORD COpy 

OFFICE NRR/LPL 1-2/PM NRR/LPL1-2/LA 

NAME JLamb SLittle* forABaxter 

DATE 04/16/2012 04/17/2012 

RI/DRS/BC RIIDRP/BC NRR/EMCB/BC NRR/LPL1-2/BC 

RConte* ABurritt* MMurphy* MKhanna 

04/17/2012 04/16/2012 04/17/2012 04/17/2012