[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34320-34321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16611]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-334]
Duquesne Light Company, et al.; 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 No. DPR-66, issued to
Duquesne Light Company, et al. (the licensee), for operation of the
Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 1 (BVPS-1), located in Beaver
County, Pennsylvania.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would exempt the licensee from the requirements
of 10 CFR 70.24, which require 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 for use in
such an emergency.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application for exemption dated December 18, 1996, as supplemented by
letters dated April 10 and June 11, 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 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 a nominal 5.0 weight percent
Uranium-235 and because commercial nuclear plant licensees have
procedures and design features that prevent inadvertent criticality,
the staff has determined that an inadvertent criticality is highly
unlikely as a result of 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 BVPS-1 Technical Specifications
(TSs), 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. TSs 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 that the criticality in the fuel
storage and handling system be prevented by physical systems or
processes, preferably by use of geometrically-safe configurations. This
is met at BVPS-1, as identified in the TSs and the Updated Final Safety
Analysis Report (UFSAR). BVPS-1 TS 5.3.1.2 states that the new fuel
storage racks are designed and shall be maintained with a nominal 21-
inch center-to-center distance between fuel assemblies placed in the
storage racks. This spacing requirement ensures that keff
will be 0.95 if the loaded new fuel storage racks are
flooded with unborated water and that keff will be
0.98 if the loaded new fuel storage racks are moderated by
aqueous foam. UFSAR Section 9.12.1.1 (Preventation of Fuel Storage
Criticality) states that new fuel assemblies will be stored dry and
vertically in the new fuel storage racks with a minimum center-to-
center spacing of 21 inches.
The proposed exemption would not result in any significant
radiological impacts. The proposed exemption would not affect
radiological plant effluents nor cause any significant occupational
exposures since the TSs, design controls (including geometric spacing
of fuel assembly storage spaces) and administrative controls preclude
inadvertent criticality. The amount of
[[Page 34321]]
radioactive waste would not be changed by the proposed exemption.
Accordingly, the Commission concludes that the proposed action
would result in no significant radiological environmental impact.
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 non-radiological plant effluents and
has no other environmental impact. Accordingly, the Commission
concludes that there are no significant non-radiological environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action.
Alternative 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 for the
Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 1, dated July 1973.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on June 3, 1997, the staff
consulted with the Pennsylvania State official, Mr. Richard Janati of
the Bureau of Radiation Protection, Department of Environmental
Protection, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action.
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 December 18, 1996, as supplemented April 10 and
June 11, 1997, which is available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room, which is located at The Gelman
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public
document room located at the B. F. Jones Memorial Library, 663 Franklin
Avenue, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania 15001.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of June, 1997.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Chester Poslusny,
Acting Director, Project Directorate I-2, Division of Reactor
Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-16611 Filed 6-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
