[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 112 (Friday, June 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34105-34108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14425]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2011-0107; Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324]
Carolina Power & Light Company, Brunswick Steam Electric Plant
Units 1 and 2; Exemption
1.0 Background
Carolina Power & Light Company, et al. (the licensee), is the
holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-71 and DPR-62, which
authorize operation of the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant (BSEP), Units
1 and 2, respectively. The licenses provide, among other things, that
the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, Commission) now or hereafter
in effect.
The facility consists of two boiling water reactors located in
Southport, North Carolina.
2.0 Request/Action
By letter dated December 16, 2010 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML103630405, as supplemented by
letter dated January 27, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML110400193), and
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 26.9,
``Specific exemptions,'' the licensee requested an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c), ``Work hours scheduling,'' and (d),
``Work hour controls,'' during declarations of severe weather
conditions such as tropical storm and hurricane-force winds at the BSEP
site. Subsequent letters dated March 7 and April 13, 2011 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML110730275 and ML11110A021, respectively) provided
responses to the NRC staff's requests for additional information
(RAIs).
[[Page 34106]]
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's request using the
regulations contained in 10 CFR 26.205 and 10 CFR 26.207, and related
Statement of Considerations in the 10 CFR Part 26, ``Fitness for Duty
Programs'' Final Rule published in the Federal Register on March 31,
2008 (73 FR 16966-17235).
As stated in 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, ``Managing Fatigue,'' the
requirements in 10 CFR 26.205 apply to individuals identified in 10 CFR
26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5). These individuals' duties are: (1) Operating
or onsite directing of the operation of structures, systems and
components (SSCs) that a risk-informed evaluation process has shown to
be significant to public health and safety; (2) performing health
physics or chemistry duties required as a member of the onsite
emergency response organization's minimum shift complement; (3)
performing the duties of a fire brigade member who is responsible for
understanding the effects of fire and fire suppressants on safe
shutdown capability; (4) performing maintenance or onsite directing of
the maintenance of SSCs that a risk-informed evaluation process has
shown to be significant to public health and safety; and (5) performing
security duties as an armed security force officer, alarm station
operator, response team leader, or watchperson.
The regulations in 10 CFR 26.205(c) require that an individual's
work hours be scheduled consistent with the objective of preventing
impairment from fatigue due to the duration, frequency, or sequencing
of successive shifts.
Paragraph 26.205(d) of 10 CFR provides the actual work hour
controls, which include a maximum of 16 work hours in any 24-hour
period, 26 work hours in any 48-hour period, and 72 work hours in any
7-day period. This section also specifies the minimum break times
between work periods and the minimum number of days off that should be
provided by a licensee to the identified individuals.
Paragraph 10 CFR 26.205(b) provides the requirement and method to
calculate work hours and days worked. Paragraph 10 CFR 26.205(b)(3)
provides the requirement to include in the ``calculation period'' all
work hours performed for the licensee prior to beginning or resuming
duties subject to work hour controls.
Paragraph 10 CFR 26.207(d) provides an allowance for licensees to
not meet the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) during declared
emergencies, as defined in the licensee's emergency plan.
The licensee in its letter dated December 16, 2010, states that the
requested exemption applies to individuals who perform duties
identified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1) through (a)(5) who are designated by
BSEP as ``covered workers.'' The requested exemption is to support
effective response to severe weather conditions when travel to and from
the BSEP site may not be safe or even possible. During these times, the
licensee sequesters sufficient individuals, including covered workers,
to perform work as a member of the storm crew. The licensee staffs
those who will be sequestered onsite during the severe wind event to
perform two 12-hour shifts. The licensee states that the storm crews
are augmented by the emergency response organization (ERO) personnel
based on the severity category of the storm. Therefore, the exemption
request would also apply to members of the ERO who are subject to work
hour controls and who will also be sequestered on site during the
severe weather conditions. The exemption request specifies that the
exemption is not for discretionary maintenance activities.
The licensee requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
26.206(c) and (d) during the period of time defined by the following
entry and exit conditions.
Entry Condition: This is the start time when individuals designated
to the storm crew performing duties identified in 10 CFR 26.4(a)(1)
through (a)(5) will not have to meet the requirements of 10 CFR
26.205(c) and (d). This occurs when the site enters procedure 0AI-68,
``Brunswick Nuclear Plant Response to Severe Weather Warnings,'' and
senior plant management determines that travel conditions to the site
will potentially become hazardous such that storm crew staffing will be
required based on verifiable weather conditions. Verifiable weather
conditions are defined as when the site is located within the National
Hurricane Center 5-day cone of probability for predicted winds of
tropical storm or hurricane-force impact.
Exit Condition: This is the time when BSEP personnel must fully
comply with the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) following
severe weather involving tropical storm or hurricane force winds. This
date and time will be determined by senior plant management and will be
when sufficient personnel are available to meet the requirements of 10
CFR 26.205(c) and (d).
The licensee added that upon exiting the exemption the work hour
controls will be applied and that the affected individuals will be
provided a minimum of a 10-hour break prior to the start of the first
shift following exiting the exemption.
The licensee states that there is no need for an exemption for BSEP
covered workers during the period of declared emergency when the
sustained wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (mph), since,
in accordance with 10 CFR 26.207(d), licensees are not required to meet
the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) during a declared
emergency. The licensee indicated that the exemption will be applied
during the period defined by the entry and exit conditions, regardless
of whether BSEP enters the period of declared emergency. As a result,
there will be only one set of entry and exit conditions.
In its letter dated December 16, 2010, the licensee committed to
maintain the following guidance in a site procedure:
The entry conditions necessary to sequester site personnel
that are consistent with the conditions specified in the BSEP exemption
request.
Provisions for ensuring that personnel who are not
performing duties are provided an opportunity as well as accommodations
for restorative rest.
The condition for departure from the exemption, consistent
with conditions specified in the exemption request.
3.0 Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 26.9, the Commission may, upon application of an
interested person or on its own initiative, grant exemptions from the
requirements of 10 CFR part 26 when it determines the exemptions are
authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common
defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
Authorized by Law
The exemption being requested for BSEP would allow the site to
sequester specific individuals on site and to not meet the work hour
scheduling and control requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) prior
and subsequent to severe weather conditions such as tropical storms and
hurricanes. As stated above, 10 CFR 26.9 allows the NRC to grant
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 26. The NRC staff has
determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will not
result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and
is authorized by the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption
is authorized by law.
[[Page 34107]]
Will Not Endanger Life or Property or the Common Defense and Security
The fatigue management provisions found in 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart
I are designed as an integrated approach to managing both cumulative
and acute fatigue by the licensees and individuals employed at licensed
facilities. It is the responsibility of the licensees to provide
training to individuals regarding fatigue management. It is also the
responsibility of the licensee to provide covered workers with work
schedules that are consistent with the objective of preventing
impairment from fatigue due to duration, frequency or sequencing of
successive shifts. Individuals are required to remain fit for duty
while at work.
BSEP Units 1 and 2 are located in southeastern North Carolina, at
the mouth of the Cape Fear River. As such, the site can be impacted by
tropical storms and hurricane force winds, typically from June to
November. The proposed exemption would support effective response to
severe weather conditions when travel to and from the BSEP site may not
be safe or even possible. During these times BSEP plans to sequester
sufficient individuals to staff two 12-hour shifts to maintain the safe
and secure operation of the facility.
As a tropical storm or hurricane approaches landfall, high wind
speeds in excess of wind speeds that create unsafe travel conditions
may occur. The National Hurricane Center defines hurricane-force winds
as sustained winds of 74 mph or higher. Severe wind preparedness
activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force; a
tropical storm warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated
onset of tropical storm-force winds (39 to 73 mph). Lessons learned
that are included in NUREG-1474, ``Effect of Hurricane Andrew on the
Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station from August 20-30, 1992,''
include the acknowledgement that detailed, methodical preparations
should be made prior to the onset of hurricane-force winds. The NRC
staff finds the BSEP proceduralized severe weather actions are
consistent with the lessons learned.
The entry condition for the exemption can occur, even though the
wind speed necessary for the declaration of an unusual event (defined
in the licensee's emergency response plan as when sustained wind speed
is greater than 100 mph) is not reached. This circumstance may still
require sequestering a storm crew and a recovery period. Also, high
winds that make travel unsafe but that fall below the threshold of a
declared emergency, could be present for several days. After the high
wind condition has passed, with or without a declared emergency,
sufficient numbers of personnel may not be able to access the site to
relieve the sequestered individuals. An exemption during these
conditions is consistent with the intent of 10 CFR 26.207(d).
The exemption allows the licensee to sequester individuals, who are
needed to maintain the safe operation of the facility during storm
conditions, to staff two 12-hour shifts of workers consisting of
personnel from operations, maintenance, health physics, chemistry and
security and augmented by ERO individuals. Sequestered individuals will
be allowed a 12-hour break between successive work periods and no
worker will be scheduled to work more than 12 consecutive hours. The
BSEP site procedure 0AI-68 provides for the establishment of sleeping
areas (bunking facilities) that provide an accommodation for
restorative rest for the off-crew. A 12-hour break provides each
individual with an opportunity for restorative rest. However, the
accommodations and potentially stressful circumstances may not be as
restful as individuals would otherwise desire. Under the circumstances,
these actions are consistent with the acceptable practice of fatigue
management.
The exemption allows the licensee to provide for the use of
whatever plant staff and resources are necessary to respond to a plant
emergency and ensure that the BSEP units achieve and maintain a safe
and secure status and can be safely restarted. The exemption also
allows maintenance activities for structures, systems and components
that are significant to public health and safety to be performed, if
required. However, the exemption does not apply to discretionary
maintenance activities. The NRC staff finds the exclusion of
discretionary maintenance from the exemption consistent with the intent
of the exemption, since it supports the use of necessary plant staff
resources to respond to a plant emergency.
Following the severe weather event, BSEP will return to work hour
controls when senior plant management determines that sufficient
personnel are available to return to the site to make the reinstitution
of work hour controls possible. When this determination is made, full
compliance with 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) is again required.
When the exemption period(s) ends, the licensee is immediately
subject to the scheduling requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and the work
hour/rest break/days off requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(d), and must
ensure that any individual performing covered work complies with these
requirements. Paragraph 10 CFR 26.205(b)(3) requires the licensee to
``look back'' over the calculation period and count the hours the
individual has worked and the rest breaks and days off he/she has had,
including those that occurred during the licensee-declared emergency.
Hours worked must be below the maximum limits and rest breaks must be
above the minimum requirements in order for the licensee to allow the
individual to perform covered work. Days off and hours and shifts
worked during the licensee-declared emergency and the exempted period
before and after the declared emergency, would be counted as usual in
the establishment of the applicable shift schedule and compliance with
the minimum number of days off requirements.
Granting this exemption is consistent with the intent of 10 CFR
26.207(d) that allows the licensee to not meet the requirements of 10
CFR 26.205 (c) and (d) during declared emergencies as defined in the
licensee's emergency plan. The 10 CFR part 26 Final Rule (73 FR 17148)
states, ``Plant emergencies are extraordinary circumstances that may be
most effectively addressed through staff augmentation that can only be
practically achieved through the use of work hours in excess of the
limits of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d).'' The objective of the exemption is
to ensure that the control of work hours do not impede a licensee's
ability to use whatever staff resources may be necessary to respond to
a plant emergency and ensure that the plant reaches and maintains a
safe and secure status. The actions described in the exemption request
and submitted procedures are consistent with the recommendations in
NUREG-1474, ``Effect of Hurricane Andrew on the Turkey Point Nuclear
Generating Station from August 20-30, 1992.'' Consistent with NUERG-
1474, NRC staff expects the licensee would have completed a reasonable
amount of hurricane preparation prior to the need to sequester
personnel, in order to minimize personnel exposure to high winds.
The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 26.205(c) and (d) are to prevent
impairment from fatigue due to duration, frequency, or sequencing of
successive shifts. Based on the above evaluation, no new accident
precursors are created by the licensee maintaining the additional staff
on site necessary to respond to a plant emergency during a severe storm
to ensure that the plant maintains a safe and secure status; therefore,
the probability of postulated
[[Page 34108]]
accidents is not increased. Even though the licensee will utilize
whatever staff resources may be necessary during severe weather
preparation and storm crew activation, opportunities for restorative
sleep will be maintained. Also, the consequences of postulated
accidents are not increased because there is no change in the types of
accidents previously evaluated. Further, the exemption supports
sequestering enough essential security personnel to provide for shift
relief, which is necessary to ensure adequate protection of the plant
and personnel safety. Therefore, the exemption will not endanger life
or property or the common defense and security.
Otherwise in the Public Interest
The proposed exemption would increase the availability of the
licensee staff. The exemption would allow licensee staff to remain at
or return to the site and perform additional duties to ensure the plant
is in a safe configuration during the emergency. Therefore, granting
this exemption is in the public interest.
4.0 Conclusion
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
26.9, the exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Carolina Power
& Light Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 26.205(c)
and (d) for BSEP, Units 1 and 2 during periods of severe weather
conditions such as tropical storm and hurricane force winds at the
site.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment (76 FR 28481).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of June 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-14425 Filed 6-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P