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[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41101-41102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20190]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-369 and 50-370]

Duke Power Company; McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2; 
Environmental Assessment and; Finding of No Significant Impact

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an exemption from certain requirements of its 
regulations for Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-9 and NPF-17 issued 
to the Duke Power Company (the licensee), for operation of the McGuire 
Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Mecklenburg County, North 
Carolina.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would exempt the licensee from the requirements 
of 10 CFR 70.24, which requires a monitoring system that will energize 
clear audible alarms if accidental criticality occurs in each area in 
which special nuclear material is handled, used, or stored. The 
proposed action would also exempt the licensee from the requirements to 
maintain emergency procedures for each area in which this licensed 
special nuclear material is handled, used, or stored to ensure that all 
personnel withdraw to an area of safety upon the sounding of the alarm, 
to familiarize personnel with the evacuation plan, and to designate 
responsible individuals for determining the cause of the alarm, and to 
place radiation survey instruments in accessible locations.
    The proposed action is in response to the licensee's application 
dated February 4, 1997, as supplemented on March 19, 1997.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of 10 CFR 70.24 is to ensure that if a criticality were 
to occur during the handling of special nuclear material, personnel 
would be alerted to that fact and would take appropriate action. At a 
commercial nuclear power

[[Page 41102]]

plant the inadvertent criticality with which 10 CFR 70.24 is concerned 
could occur during fuel handling operations. The special nuclear 
material that could be assembled into a critical mass at a commercial 
nuclear power plant is in the form of nuclear fuel; the quantity of 
other forms of special nuclear material that is stored on site is small 
enough to preclude achieving a critical mass. Because the fuel is not 
enriched beyond 4.75 weight percent Uranium-235 and because commercial 
nuclear plant licensees have procedures and features designed to 
prevent inadvertent criticality, the staff has determined that it is 
unlikely that an inadvertent criticality could occur due to the 
handling of special nuclear material at a commercial power reactor. The 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.24, therefore, are not necessary to ensure 
the safety of personnel during the handling of special nuclear 
materials at commercial power reactors.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action 
and concludes that there is no significant environmental impact if the 
exemption is granted. Inadvertent or accidental criticality will be 
precluded through compliance with the McGuire Nuclear Station Technical 
Specifications, the design of the fuel storage racks providing 
geometric spacing of fuel assemblies in their storage locations, and 
administrative controls imposed on fuel handling procedures. Technical 
Specifications requirements specify reactivity limits for the fuel 
storage racks and minimum spacing between the fuel assemblies in the 
storage racks.
    Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 50, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear 
Power Plants,'' Criterion 62, requires the criticality in the fuel 
storage and handling system to be prevented by physical systems or 
processes, preferably by use of geometrically safe configurations. This 
is met at McGuire, as identified in the Technical Specification 
Sections 3/4.9 and 5.6 and in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report 
(UFSAR) Section 9.1, by detailed procedures that must be available for 
use by refueling personnel. Therefore, as stated in the Technical 
Specifications, these procedures, the Technical Specifications 
requirements, and the design of the fuel handling equipment with built-
in interlocks and safety features, provide assurance that it is 
unlikely that an inadvertent criticality could occur during refueling. 
In addition, the design of the facility does not include provisions for 
storage of fuel in a dry location.
    UFSAR Section 9.1.1, New Fuel Storage, states that new fuel is 
stored in the New Fuel Storage Racks located within a New Fuel Storage 
Vault at each McGuire unit. The new fuel storage racks are arranged to 
provide dry storage. The racks consist of vertical cells grouped in 
parallel rows, six rows wide and 16 cells long, which provide support 
for the new fuel assemblies and maintain a minimum center-to-center 
distance of 21 inches between assemblies. (Note that in none of these 
locations would criticality be possible.)
    The proposed exemption would not result in any significant 
radiological impacts. The proposed exemption would not affect 
radiological plant effluent nor cause any significant occupational 
exposures since the Technical Specifications, design controls 
(including geometric spacing and design of fuel assembly storage 
spaces) and administrative controls preclude inadvertent criticality. 
The amount of radioactive waste would not be changed by the proposed 
exemption.
    The proposed exemption does not result in any significant 
nonradiological environmental impacts. The proposed exemption involves 
features located entirely within the restricted area as defined in 10 
CFR Part 20. It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has 
no other environmental impact. Accordingly, the Commission concludes 
that there are no significant nonradiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Since the Commission has concluded that there is no measurable 
environmental impact associated with the proposed action, any 
alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact need not be 
evaluated. As an alternative to the proposed exemption, the staff 
considered denial of the requested exemption. Denial of the request 
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

    This action does not involve the use of any resources not 
previously considered in the ``Final Environmental Statement Related to 
the Operation of McGuire Nuclear Station Units 1, 2, and 3'' dated 
March 1972.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on July 12, 1997, the staff 
consulted with the North Carolina State official, Richard Fry of the 
Division of Radiation Protection, North Carolina Department of 
Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, regarding the environmental 
impact of the proposed exemption. The State official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes 
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission 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 February 4, 1997, and supplement dated March 
19, 1997, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room, The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., 
Washington, DC, and at local public document room located at the J. 
Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 
University City Boulevard, North Carolina.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of July 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter S. Tam,
Acting Director, Project Directorate II-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-20190 Filed 7-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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