Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Notices 9059

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Steven A. Varga,

Director, Division of Reactor Projects—I/II,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–3873 Filed 2–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

[Docket Nos. 50–237, 50–249 50–254, 50–

265]

Commonwealth Edison Co., Facility

Operating License

Exemption

In the Matter of Commonwealth Edison Co.

(Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and

3; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units

1 and 2).

I

Commonwealth Edison Company

(ComEd, the licensee) is the holder of

Facility Operating License Nos. DRP–19

and DRP–25, which authorize operation

of Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units

2 and 3, at a steady state power level not

in excess of 2527 megawatts thermal;

and Facility Operating license Nos.

DRP–29 and DRP–30, which authorize

operation of Quad Cities Nuclear Power

Stations, Units 1 and 2, at a steady state

power level not in excess of 2511

megawatts thermal. Dresden Station is

comprised of two boiling water reactors

at the licensee’s site located in Grundy

County, Illinois. Quad Cities Station is

comprised of two boiling water reactors

at the licensee’s site located in Rock

Island County, Illinois. These licenses

provide, among other things, that

Dresden and Quad Cities are subject to

all rules, regulations, and Orders of the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(the Commission) now or hereafter in

effect.

II

By letter dated October 4, 1994, the

licensee requested a revision to an

exemption from certain Type B (local

leak rate) testing requirements of

appendix J to 10 CFR part 50, for twoply containment penetration expansion

bellows at four reactor units. The

request was made because the licensee

has developed a set of alternative

approaches which can be applied to

ensure the intent of requiring a Type A

test, as part of the original exemption,

is met.

On February 6, 1992, the NRC issued

an Exemption from certain Type B

testing requirements of Appendix J. This

exemption stated upon completion of

the two-ply bellows testing program, a

Type A integrated leak rate test (ILRT)

will be performed to verify primary

containment integrity. The testing

program was intended to assure that at

least one ply of a two-ply bellows is

intact and that overall containment

leakage is within its allowable limit as

shown by Type A testing. The Type A

test was the only test available that

could properly quantify the bellows’

leakages, albeit not individually. The

Exemption also stated that if a method

is developed which ensures a valid

Type B test on one or more bellows

assemblies, those bellows will also be

excluded from the Exemption and will

be required to be tested in accordance

with the normal Type B test program.

III

The original Exemption allowed

ComEd to apply special testing

techniques in lieu of performing a test

which meets Type B requirements for

these bellows which, at that time, were

unable to be tested in strict conformance

to the appendix J criteria. The special

testing techniques included a sequence

of air and helium based local leak rate

tests (LLRT) for each affected

penetration and performance of a Type

A leak rate test upon completion of the

bellows testing during each refuel

outage.

Commonwealth Edison Company now

believes that the requirement to perform

a Type A test every outage is not

necessary to ensure that the bellows

assemblies are adequately tested and

leakage from any leaking bellows

assembly is adequately quantified.

Through testing of two-ply bellows at

Dresden Station and Quad Cities

Station, the licensee has developed the

following insights:

1. There is minimal probability for the

occurrence of a large leak in a two-ply

bellows;

2. the special testing program is

effective for identifying small leaks in

two-ply bellows;

3. the Type A test is ineffective for

identifying small leaks in two-ply

bellows; and

4. more cost effective alternative

methods have been developed for

quantifying leakage.

At the time of the original request for

an exemption, a Type A test was

required every outage in accordance

with the Technical Specifications (TS)

and appendix J criteria for

determination of ILRT test frequency.

Based on appendix J and the TS, ComEd

need not do a Type A test every refuel

outage if they have completed two

consecutive successful Type A tests.

Quad Cities has completed two

consecutive successful Type A tests.

However, as previously stated the

original exemption requires a Type A

test every outage to support the two-ply

bellows leakage testing.

The licensee has discovered very

small leaks using the special testing

techniques in some bellows and they

have subsequently been modified,

removed from the list described in the

original exemption and are not on a

Type B testing schedule.

The licensee has identified several

methods for conducting a valid Type B

test on bellows since the original

Exemption was issued. The first method

involves the addition of a bellows test

enclosure equipped with leaktight seals.

The second involves installation of a

rubber boot inside the drywell to form

a seal between the drywell atmosphere

and the bellows. The third is to weld a

cover plate inside the drywell to

provide a seal between the process pipe

and the drywell atmosphere. The

licensee also has the option to

implement a complete replacement of

the existing two-ply bellows assemblies

with a new testable two-ply bellows.

The licensee has proposed the

following revision to the approved

exemption for non-Type B testable

bellows. This proposal eliminates the

need but keeps the option to perform a

Type A test every refuel outage. The

licensee proposed to include the

following alternatives to the current

requirement in place of the existing

Section III.6 and .7 in the original

Exemption:

Upon completion of the two-ply bellows

special testing program, the following actions

shall be taken to address any two-ply bellows

which have been identified as leaking

through both plies:

(A) All bellows which leak through both

plies shall be tested in accordance with Type

B requirements to ensure license limits are

met prior to return to service, or

(B) A Type A ILRT test shall be performed

to verify primary containment integrity. All

two-ply bellows assemblies which

demonstrate leakage through both plies shall

be replaced or subjected to a valid Type B

test to demonstrate license limits are met

prior to return to service from the subsequent

refuel outage, unless ComEd provides

justification for continued operation greater

than one operating cycle.

The licensee states that the estimated

cost of a Type A test, as described in

NUREG–1493, ‘‘Performance-Based

Containment Leak-Test Program,’’ Draft

Revision 2, dated March 31, 1994, is

$1.89 million. Based on the number of

historical leaking bellows found at

Dresden and Quad Cities during the

refuel outages, the cost of the Type A

test per bellows ranges from $378k to

$1.89M. The licensee also states that the

Type A tests performed every outage

since approval of the current exemption

have never found a bellows leak which

was undetected by the special testing

program. The techniques of the special
9060 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 1995 / Notices

test program have the ability to detect

leaks smaller than would be detected by

the Type A test.

For a two-ply bellows that leaks

through both plies, this revised

exemption allows: (1) A valid Type B

test using one of various developed

alternatives to ensure compliance to

license limits, or (2) a Type A test as

required in the original exemption and,

before the return to power in a

subsequent refuel outage, replacement

of the bellows with a testable bellows

assembly or a valid Type B test to

ensure license limits are met.

The staff finds that the underlying

purpose of the regulation will be met in

that the proposed testing program will

detect bellows assemblies with

significant flaws and result in

replacement of flawed assemblies

within one operating cycle, or be tested

with a Type B test to ensure license

limits are met during which period

there is reasonable assurance that the

bellows assemblies will not suffer

excessive degradation. If the licensee

should propose to wait longer than one

cycle to replace any bellows assembly,

the staff must evaluate and approve the

request at that time.

IV

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a)(i) and (a)(2)(ii), that (1) the

Exemption from appendix J is

authorized by law, will not present an

undue risk to the public health and

safety, and is consistent with the

common defense and security, and (2)

application of the regulation in this

particular circumstance is not necessary

to achieve the underlying purpose of its

rule.

The Commission concludes that the

testing and replacement program for the

containment penetration bellows

assemblies is an acceptable alternative

to the existing appendix J testing

requirement. Accordingly, the

Commission hereby grants the

Exemption from appendix J.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this Exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (59 FR 64001).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 9th day

of February 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jack W. Roe,

Director, Division of Reactor Projects III/IV,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–3879 Filed 2–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

[Docket No. 50–213]

Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power

Co.; Notice of Issuance of Amendment

To Facility Operating License

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (Commission) has issued

Amendment No. 180 to Facility

Operating License No. DPR–61 issued to

the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power

Company (the licensee), which revised

the Technical Specifications for

operation of the Haddam Neck Plant

located in Middlesex County,

Connecticut. The amendment is

effective as of the date of issuance to be

implemented within 30 days of

issuance.

The amendment revises Technical

Specifications (TS) 3.1.1.3, ‘‘Shutdown

Margin,’’ and TS 3.3.3.9. ‘‘Boron

Dilution Alarm,’’ and their associated

Bases sections and add a new TS

3.1.1.4, ‘‘Shutdown Margin.’’ TSs

3.1.2.2, 3.1.2.4, and 3.1.2.6, will be

revised to reference TS 3.1.1.3 rather

than specify the required shutdown

margin at 200 ° F. In addition, editorial

changes will be made to a reference on

TS pages 3/4 1–13 and 14 to reletter

surveillance specification 4.5.1.c.3 to

4.5.1.b.3.

The application for the amendment

complies with the standards and

requirements of the Atomic Energy Act

of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the

Commission’s rules and regulations.

The Commission has made appropriate

findings as required by the Act and the

Commission’s rules and regulations in

10 CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in

the license amendment.

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of

Amendment and Opportunity for

Hearing in connection with this action

was published in the Federal Register

on September 28, 1994 (59 FR 49454).

No request for a hearing or petition for

leave to intervene was filed following

the notice.

The Commission has prepared an

Environmental Assessment related to

the action and has determined not to

prepare an environmental impact

statement. Based upon the

environmental assessment, the

Commission has concluded that the

issuance of the amendment will not

have a significant effect on the quality

of the human environment (60 FR 7799).

For further details with respect to the

action see (1) the application for

amendment dated September 7, 1994,

(2) Amendment No. 180 to License No.

DPR–61, (3) the Commission’s related

Safety Evaluation, and (4) the

Commission’s Environmental

Assessment. All of these items are

available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street

NW., Washington, DC, and at the local

public document room located at the

Russell Library, 123 Broad Street,

Middletown, Connecticut 06457.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day

of February 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Alan B. Wang,

Project Manager, Project Directorate I–4,

Division of Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–3874 Filed 2–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

[Docket No. 030–15139; License No. 37–

04594–11; EA No. 94–167]

Drexel University, Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania; Order Imposing a Civil

Monetary Penalty

I

Drexel University (Licensee) is the

holder of Byproduct Materials License

No. 37–04594–11 (License) issued by

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC or Commission) on October 31,

1979. The License authorizes the

Licensee to possess and use certain

byproduct materials in accordance with

the conditions specified therein at its

facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

II

An inspection of the Licensee’s

activities was conducted on July 22, July

27, and August 1, 1994, at the Licensee’s

facility located in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. The result of this

inspection indicated that the Licensee

had not conducted its activities in full

compliance with NRC requirements. A

written Notice of Violation and

Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty

(Notice) was served upon the Licensee

by letter dated October 17, 1994. The

Notice states the nature of the

violations, the provisions of the NRC

requirements that the Licensee had

violated, and the amount of the civil

penalty proposed for the violations.

The Licensee responded to the Notice

in two letters, both dated November 14,

1994, and a letter dated January 17,

1995. In its responses, the Licensee

denies Violations A.2 and A.6; denies in

part Violation B; admits Violations A.1,

A.3, A.4, A.5, C, D, and E; disagrees

with the classification of the violations

collectively at Severity Level III; and

requests mitigation of the penalty.

III

After consideration of the Licensee’s

response and the statements of fact,