SU.S.NRC

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Protecting People and the Environment

NUREG-1872, Vol. 1

Final Environmental Impact

Statement for an Early Site

Permit (ESP) at the Vogtle

Electric Generating Plant Site

Final Report

Main Report

Office of New Reactors
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Protecting People and the Environment

NUREG-1872, Vol. 1

Final Environmental Impact

Statement for an Early Site

Permit (ESP) at the Vogtle

Electric Generating Plant Site

Final

Main

Report

Report

Manuscript Completed: July 2008

Date Published: August 2008

Office of New Reactors
Site Layout and Plant Description

3.2.1.2 Plant Water Treatment

Southern discusses plant water treatment systems in its ER (Southern 2008). The water quality

of effluents from any water treatment system would be regulated by the Georgia Department of

Natural Resources (GDNR) via a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

permit.

The potable water system would be supplied from groundwater wells, and one system may

supply both VEGP Units 3 and 4. A disinfection system would be used; however, it is not known

at this time if additional treatment systems, such as filtration or corrosion control, would be

needed (Southern 2008).

Water for the demineralized water system would be drawn from groundwater wells. The

groundwater would be treated via both reverse osmosis and an electro-deionization/mixed-bed

system to remove solids, salts, organic compounds, dissolved gaseous carbon dioxide, and the

majority of the ions in the water. These treatment processes would produce a stream of purified

water that would then be distributed to a number of plant systems.

Groundwater supplying the fire protection system would be filtered through strainers, as

needed, to prevent system fouling. Southern anticipates that the groundwater would be of

sufficient quality to not require straining, disinfection, or other treatment; however, treatment

needs would be evaluated and implemented as appropriate (Southern 2007a, 2008).

3.2.2 Cooling System

The following sections provide detailed descriptions of the operational modes and the

components of the cooling water systems for the proposed VEGP Units 3 and 4. These

descriptions were determined from the Westinghouse APIO00 Design Control Document

(Westinghouse 2005), and included site-specific characteristics (Southern 2008).

3.2.2.1 Description of Operational Modes

The following sections describe the cooling systems under normal operating conditions and

emergency/shutdown conditions for the proposed VEGP Units 3 and 4. A general diagram of

the cooling water flow is shown in Figure 3-3.

Circulating Water System

Waste heat is a by-product of normal power generation at a nuclear power plant. During normal

plant operation, the CWS of each unit would dissipate up to 7.55 x 109 Btu/hr of waste heat

(Southern 2008). The CWS comprises a closed-cycle wet cooling system to transfer heat from

the main condenser, the turbine building closed-cycle cooling water heat exchangers, and the

condenser vacuum pump seal water heat exchangers to one natural draft cooling tower per unit.

August 2008 3-5 NUREG-1872
Site Layout and Plant Description

Excess heat in the cooling water is then transferred to the atmosphere by evaporative and

conductive cooling in the cooling tower. During the heat dissipation process, evaporation of

water increases the concentration of dissolved solids in the cooling water system. To limit the

concentration of dissolved solids, a portion of the water is continuously discharged from the

system as blowdown. In addition to blowdown and evaporative losses, a small percentage of

water is also lost in the form of droplets (drift) from the cooling towers. Evporation

Cirulairnlagn

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Figure 3-3. General Cooling System Flow Diagram (Southern 2008)

Southern (2008) states that water pumped from the Savannah River would be used to make up

water lost to the system by evaporation, blowdown, and drift. Blowdown water would be

directed to a common CWS blowdown sump. Water from the blowdown sump would be

retained for a brief holdup period to allow dechlorination before the water is discharged to the

Savannah River (Southern 2008). Consistent with Vogtle Units 1 and 2 operation, no significant

total suspended solids impact is foreseen in cooling tower blowdown (Southern 2007a).

Southern (2008) provided the following normal operation water fluxes for the CWS (all values

assume two reactor units):

" The normal make-up water flow rate would be 2348.47 Us (37,224 gpm).

* The normal consumptive water use rate (evaporation and drift) would be 1761.73 Us

(27,924 gpm).

NUREG-1872 3-6 August 2008
Site Layout and Plant Description

e The normal blowdown rate would be 586.74 LUs (9,300 gpm).

Southern (2008) also provided the following bounding water fluxes for the CWS (all values

assume two reactor units):

" The maximum make-up water flow rate would be 3645.60 L/s (57,784 gpm).

" The maximum consumptive water use rate (evaporation and drift) would be 1823.56 L/s

(28,904 gpm).

* The maximum blowdown rate would be 1822.04 L/s (28,880 gpm).

Following publication of the draft EIS, Southern advised NRC staff (Southern 2007c) that based

on changes between Revision 15 and Revision 16 of the AP1000 DCD, some of these water

flux values would change. The staffs evaluation of the effect of these changes on the staff's

environmental impact conclusions is provided in Sections 5.3.3.1 and 7.3.1.1 of this EIS.

Service Water System

The non-safety-related SWS provides cooling water to the component cooling water heat

exchangers located in the turbine building (Southern 2008). The closed-cycle cooling system

uses mechanical draft cooling towers to dissipate waste heat during normal operations,

refueling, shutdown, and other operational events. Excess heat in the cooling water is then

transferred to the atmosphere. During the heat dissipation process, evaporation of water

increases the concentration of dissolved solids in the cooling water system. To limit the

concentration of dissolved solids, a portion of the water is continuously discharged from the

system as blowdown.

Southern (2008) states that groundwater would be used to make up water lost by the SWS to

evaporation, blowdown, and drift. Blowdown water would be directed to a common blowdown

sump, and water from the sump ultimately would then be discharged to the Savannah River. An

option also exists to discharge the SWS blowdown to the CWS basin (Southern 2008).

Southern provided the following normal operation water fluxes for the SWS (Southern 2008) (allvalues assume two reactor units):

" The normal make-up water flow rate from groundwater would be 33.88 LUs (537 gpm).

" The normal consumptive water-use rate (evaporation and drift) would be 25.43 L/s

(403 gpm).

" The normal blowdown rate would be 8.45 L/s (134 gpm).

Southern also provided the following bounding water fluxes for the SWS (Southern 2008) (all

values assume two reactor units):

* The maximum make-up water flow rate from groundwater would be 148.5 L/s (2353 gpm).

August 2008 3-7 NUREG-1872
Site Layout and Plant Description

* The maximum consumptive water-use rate (evaporation and drift) would be 76.26 L/s

(1177 gpm).

" The maximum blowdown rate would be 74.19 L/s (1176 gpm).

Following publication of the draft EIS, Southern advised NRC staff (Southern 2007c) that based

on changes between Revision 15 and Revision 16 of the AP1000 DCD, some of these water

demand values would change. The staff's evaluation of the effect of these changes on the

staff's environmental impact conclusions is provided in Sections 5.3.3.2 and 7.3.1.2 of this EIS.

Ultimate Heat Sink

The ultimate heat sink (UHS) cooling system is a tank filled with approximately 3.55 million L

(780,000 gal) of demineralized water (Southern 2008). The tank is situated on top of the

containment structure, so the water can be released to form a water film over the containment

dome and side walls should an accident occur. The water from the tank flows passively;

therefore, an active external safety-related UHS system is not needed to achieve safe shutdown

of the reactor. The tank has no other plant function and, once filled, requires only minimal

additions of demineralized water to compensate for minor evaporative losses.

3.2.2.2 Component Descriptions

The following sections describe the intake, cooling water treatment, discharge, and heat

dissipation systems for the proposed VEGP Units 3 and 4. Pursuant to Section 316(a) and

316(b) of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1251), an applicant for a CP or COL who references an

ESP for the site would be required to obtain approval from the GDNR by documenting the plant

design and conducting a site-specific analysis regarding impacts of the thermal discharges and

operation of the intake system on the aquatic environment of the-Savannah River.

Intake System

The proposed VEGP Units 3 and 4 would use a common river intake structure to obtain makeup water for the CWS. The proposed location of the intake structure, which is shown in

Figure 2-1, is located on the southeast bank of the Savannah River, just upstream of the

existing river intake. The intake canal would be approximately 73 m (240 ft) long and 52 m

(170 ft) wide, and would have an earthen bottom at an elevation of 21 m (70 ft) above mean sea

level (MSL) (Southern 2008). The intake structure would be located at the end of the intake

canal and would contain three pump bays for each unit. The maximum total pump rate for all

six pump bays would be 3645.6 L/s (57,784 gpm) (Southern 2008). The normal operation total

pump rate for all bays would be 2348.47 L/s (37,224 gpm) (Southern 2008). Each pump bay

NUREG-1872 3-8 August 2008
Site Layout and Plant Description

would contain one traveling screen and trash rack to prevent debris from entering the intake

pumps. Diagrams of the proposed intake structure are shown in Figures 3-4 and 3-5.

Following publication of the draft EIS, Southern advised NRC staff (Southern 2007c) that based

on changes between Revision 15 and Revision 16 of the AP1000 DCD, some of these water

demand values would change. The staff's evaluation of the effect of these changes on the

staff's environmental impact conclusions is provided in Sections 5.3.3.1 and 7.3.1.1 of this EIS.

Cooling Water Treatment System

Southern states in its ER that make-up water used in the CWS would be treated to control

biofouling, corrosion, scaling, and deposition of solids (Southern 2008). Biocides would be

injected at the intake structure, and other chemicals may be added to the cooling water basins.

Likewise, the SWS make-up water may also be treated; however, because this water originates

from groundwater sources, significant water treatment may not be necessary (Southern 2007a,

2008). The water quality of the effluents from either the CWS or SWS would be regulated by

the State of Georgia via an NPDES permit.

Discharge System

A common sump would collect wastewater from the CW blowdown, the SWS blowdown, and

the treated sanitary waste systems (Southern 2008). The collected waste would then be

discharged to the Savannah River approximately 120 m (400 ft) downstream of the existing

discharge pipe terminus (Southern 2008). Figure 2-1 shows the location of the discharge pipe;

diagrams of the discharge pipes are shown in Figures 3-6 and 3-7.

The normal operation flow rate from the new discharge pipe to the Savannah River would be

606.17 L/s (9608 gpm), with the CWS blowdown contribution being 586.74 L/s (9300 gpm)

(Southern 2008). The maximum flow rate from the new discharge pipe to the Savannah River

would be 1940.72 Us (30,761 gpm) (Southern 2008). The CWS blowdown water would be the

major contributor to the total discharge with a maximum flow rate of 1822.04 L/s (28,880 gpm)

(Southern 2008) and a maximum calculated discharge temperature to the Savannah River

would be 33.1°C (91.5 0F) (Southern 2008). The water quality of all effluents discharged to the

Savannah River would be regulated by the State of Georgia via an NPDES permit, and would

need to meet established discharge limits on both the quantity of the waste and the quality/

concentration of each constituent pollutant.

Following publication of the draft EIS, Southern advised NRC staff (Southern 2007c) that based

on changes between Revision 15 and Revision 16 of the AP1 000 DCD, some of these flow rate

values would change. The staff's evaluation of the effect of these changes on the staffs

environmental impact conclusions is provided in Sections 5.3.3.1 and 7.3.1.1 of this EIS.

August 2008 3-9 NUREG-1872
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Site Layout and Plant Description

Heat Dissipation System

The proposed VEGP Units 3 and 4 would have several different heat dissipation systems. The

largest heat load would be dissipated by the normal heat sink that cools the CWS. The heat

dissipation system would consist of one natural draft hyperbolic cooling tower per unit

(i.e., two cooling towers would be constructed for the proposed VEGP plant). The SWS waste

heat would be dissipated using mechanical draft cooling towers. The UHS for the proposed

ESP plant incorporates a passive design, so it does not require a cooling tower. Instead,

evaporated water exits the containment through a plenum located between the steel

containment and concrete wall of the shield building, and eventually exhausts to the atmosphere

via a shield building chimney (Southern 2008).

3.2.3 Radioactive Waste-Management System

Liquid, gaseous, and solid radioactive waste-management systems would be used to collect

and treat the radioactive materials produced as by-products of operating the proposed VEGP

Units 3 and 4. These systems would process radioactive liquid, gaseous, and solid effluents to

maintain releases within regulatory limits and to levels as low as reasonably achievable before

releasing them to the environment. Waste-processing systems would be designed to meet the

design objectives of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I ("Numerical Guides for Design Objectives and

Limiting Conditions for Operation to Meet the Criterion 'As Low as is Reasonably Achievable' for

Radioactive Material in Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactor Effluents"). Radioactive

material in the reactor coolant would be the primary source of gaseous, liquid, and solid

radioactive wastes in light-water reactors. Radioactive fission products build up within the fuel

as a consequence of the fission process. These fission products would be contained in the

sealed fuel rods, but small quantities escape the fuel rods and contaminate the reactor coolant.

Neutron activation of the primary coolant system would also be responsible for coolant

contamination.

The description of the radioactive waste management system provided in the ER is sufficient for

an environmental review of the ESP application; however, Southern did not identify specific

radioactive waste-management systems for the new units on the VEGP site, thus deferring

analysis of the radioactive waste-management system to the CP or COL stage. The description

provided by Southern is based on information in the AP1O00 Design Control Document

(Westinghouse 2005). Solid radioactive wastes produced from operating the proposed VEGP

Units 3 and 4 would be either dry or wet solids. The solid-waste-management system would

receive, collect, and store solid wastes prior to onsite storage or shipment offsite. Bounding

liquid and gaseous effluent releases were not provided by Southern; however, Southern did

provide information on normal liquid and gaseous effluent releases along with solid waste

activities (Southern 2008). The bounding total annual volume of solid radioactive waste shipped

NUREG-1872 3-14 August 2008