[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71155-71157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32881]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-271]
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation; Vermont Yankee Nuclear
Power Station Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-28,
issued to Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation, (the licensee), for
operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee),
located in Windham County, Vermont.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would modify the spent fuel pool (SFP) by
installation of additional rack modules. The additional rack modules
will increase the Vermont Yankee SFP capacity from 2870 to 3353 fuel
assemblies.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application for amendment dated September 4, 1998, as supplemented on
February 8, April 16, August 26, September 16, and November 17, 1999.
The Need for the Proposed Action
Vermont Yankee currently has full-core discharge reserve storage
capability in the SFP through the Spring 2001 refueling outage. Since
there are no immediate options for the shipment of spent fuel to a
permanent repository, the proposed action is required to maintain full-
core reserve discharge capability to the SFP through the Fall 2008
refueling outage.
[[Page 71156]]
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The Commission has completed its evaluation of the proposed action
and concludes there are no significant environmental impacts. The
factors considered in this determination are discussed below.
Radioactive Waste Treatment
Vermont Yankee uses waste treatment systems designed to collect and
process gaseous, liquid, and solid waste that might contain radioactive
material. These radioactive waste treatment systems are evaluated in
the Final Environmental Statement (FES) dated July 1972. The proposed
SFP expansion will not involve any change in the waste treatment
systems described in the FES.
Radioactive Material Released to the Atmosphere
The storage of additional spent fuel assemblies in the SFP is not
expected to affect the releases of radioactive gases from the SFP.
Gaseous fission products such as Krypton-85 and Iodine-131 are produced
by the fuel in the core during reactor operation. A small percentage of
these fission gases is released to the reactor coolant from the small
number of fuel assemblies which are expected to develop leaks during
reactor operation. During refueling operations, some of these fission
products enter the SFP and are subsequently released into the air.
Since the frequency of refuelings (and therefore the number of freshly
offloaded spent fuel assemblies stored in the SFP at any one time) will
not increase, there will be no increase in the amount of radioactive
material released to the atmosphere as a result of the increased SFP
fuel storage capacity.
The storage of additional fuel assemblies in the SFP will not
increase the SFP bulk water temperature beyond the existing design
temperature. Therefore, radioactive material airborne release rates due
to evaporation from the SFP are not expected to increase.
Solid Radioactive Wastes
Spent resins are generated by the processing of SFP water through
the SFP Purification System. The licensee does not expect the resin
change-out frequency of the SFP purification system to be permanently
increased as a result of the storage of additional spent fuel
assemblies in the SFP. In order to maintain the SFP water as clean as
possible, and thereby minimize the generation of spent resins, the
licensee will vacuum the floor of the SFP to remove any radioactive
crud and other debris before the new fuel rack modules are installed.
The staff does not expect that the additional fuel storage made
available by the increased storage capacity will result in a
significant change in the generation of solid radioactive waste.
Liquid Radioactive Wastes
The release of radioactive liquids will not be affected directly as
a result of the modifications. The SFP ion exchanger resins remove
soluble radioactive materials from the SFP water. When the resins are
changed out, the small amount of resin sluice water which is released
is processed by the radwaste system. As stated above, the licensee does
not expect the resin change-out frequency of the SFP purification
system to be permanently increased as a result of the storage of
additional spent fuel assemblies in the SFP. The amount of radioactive
liquid released to the environment as a result of the proposed SFP
expansion is expected to be negligible.
Radiological Impact Assessment
The staff has reviewed the licensee's plan for the modification of
Vermont Yankee spent fuel racks with respect to occupational radiation
exposure. For this modification the licensee plans to add three new
fuel rack modules to the SFP. A number of facilities have performed
similar operations in the past. On the basis of the lessons learned
from these operations, the licensee estimates that the proposed fuel
rack installation can be performed for between 1.6 and 3 person-rem.
All of the operations involved in the fuel rack installation will
utilize detailed procedures prepared with full consideration of ALARA
(as low as reasonably achievable) principles. The Radiation Protection
Department will prepare Radiation Work Permits (RWPs) for the various
jobs associated with the SFP rack installation operation. These RWPs
will instruct the project personnel in the areas of protective
clothing, general dose rates, contamination levels (including potential
exposure to hot particles), and dosimetry requirements. Each member of
the project team will attend an ALARA Pre-Plan meeting and each team
member will be required to attend daily pre-job briefings on the scope
of the work to be preformed. Personnel will wear protective clothing
and will be required to wear personnel monitoring equipment including
alarming dosimeters.
Since this license amendment does not involve the removal of any
spent fuel racks, the licensee does not plan on using divers for this
project. However, if it becomes necessary to utilize divers to remove
any interferences which may impede the installation of the new spent
fuel racks, the licensee will equip each diver with radiation detectors
with remote, above surface, readouts which will be continuously
monitored by Radiation Protection personnel. The licensee will conduct
radiation surveys of the diving area prior to each diving operation and
following the movement of any irradiated hardware. In order to minimize
diver dose, the licensee will use visual barriers (such as streamers
fastened to rope, nets, or enclosure) as much as practical. The
licensee will monitor and control personnel traffic and equipment
movement in the SFP area to minimize contamination and to ensure that
exposure is maintained ALARA.
On the basis of our review of the Vermont Yankee proposal, the
staff concludes that the Vermont Yankee SFP rack modification can be
performed in a manner that will ensure that doses to workers will be
maintained ALARA. The projected dose for the project of 1.6 to 3
person-rem is in the range of doses for similar SFP modifications at
other plants and is a small fraction of the annual collective dose
accrued at Vermont Yankee.
Accident Considerations
On April 25, 1986, Vermont Yankee submitted an amendment request to
increase the SFP capacity from 2000 to 2870. The staff approved that
amendment request on May 20, 1988. The staff's safety evaluation
supporting the issuance of that amendment concluded that the licensee's
fuel handling accident dose analysis was acceptable. For this amendment
request (3353 storage locations), the licensee concluded that analysis
was still valid because no parameters of the analysis were affected by
the increase in storage capacity. After reviewing the licensee's
current submittal and the 1988 safety evaluation, the staff agrees with
the licensee's conclusion. Because the proposed SFP modification at
Vermont Yankee will not affect any of the assumptions or inputs used in
evaluating the dose consequences of a fuel handling accident, it will
not result in an increase in the doses from a postulated fuel handling
accident.
Conclusion
The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability
or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of
any effluents that may be released offsite, and there is no significant
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there
are no significant radiological environmental
[[Page 71157]]
impacts associated with the proposed action.
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed
action does not involve any historic sites. It does not affect
nonradiological plant effluents and has no other environmental impact.
Therefore, there are no significant nonradiological environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action.
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to increasing the spent fuel storage capacity at
Vermont Yankee, the licensee considered shipment to another reactor
site or away-from-reactor storage facility, e.g. shipment of spent fuel
to a Federal fuel storage or disposal facility. This alternative was
determined not to be feasible due to the unavailability of an offsite
storage facility.
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative).
Denial of the application 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 for the
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on December 13, 1999, the
staff consulted with the Vermont State Official, William Sherman,
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State
official had no comments.
Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC 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 September 4, 1998, as supplemented on February
8, April 16, August 26, September 16, and November 17, 1999.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of December 1999.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard P. Croteau,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate I, Division of
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-32881 Filed 12-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
