Petition for Rulemaking Submitted on September 7, 2008: Ultrasonic Fuel Cleaning Under 50.59

Here is an update onNovember 3, 2008. NRC sent the following letter. It is logical. It will take me some time to respond.

And here, on November 3, 2008, I am posting 10 CFR 50.59:
§ 50.59 Changes, tests and experiments.
(a) Definitions for the purposes of this section:
(1) Change means a modification or addition to, or removal from, the facility or procedures that affects a design function, method of performing or controlling the function, or an evaluation that demonstrates that intended functions will be accomplished.
(2) Departure from a method of evaluation described in the FSAR (as updated) used in establishing the design bases or in the safety analyses means:
(i) Changing any of the elements of the method described in the FSAR (as updated) unless the results of the analysis are conservative or essentially the same; or
(ii) Changing from a method described in the FSAR to another method unless that method has been approved by NRC for the intended application.
(3) Facility as described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) means:
(i) The structures, systems, and components (SSC) that are described in the final safety analysis report (FSAR) (as updated),
(ii) The design and performance requirements for such SSCs described in the FSAR (as updated), and
(iii) The evaluations or methods of evaluation included in the FSAR (as updated) for such SSCs which demonstrate that their intended function(s) will be accomplished.
(4) Final Safety Analysis Report (as updated) means the Final Safety Analysis Report (or Final Hazards Summary Report) submitted in accordance with Sec. 50.34, as amended and supplemented, and as updated per the requirements of Sec. 50.71(e) or Sec. 50.71(f), as applicable.
(5) Procedures as described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) means those procedures that contain information described in the FSAR (as updated) such as how structures, systems, and components are operated and controlled (including assumed operator actions and response times).
(6) Tests or experiments not described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) means any activity where any structure, system, or component is utilized or controlled in a manner which is either:
(i) Outside the reference bounds of the design bases as described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) or
(ii) Inconsistent with the analyses or descriptions in the final safety analysis report (as updated).
(b) This section applies to each holder of an operating license issued under this part or a combined license issued under part 52 of this chapter, including the holder of a license authorizing operation of a nuclear power reactor that has submitted the certification of permanent cessation of operations required under § 50.82(a)(1) or § 50.110 or a reactor licensee whose license has been amended to allow possession of nuclear fuel but not operation of the facility.
(c)(1) A licensee may make changes in the facility as described in the final safety analysis report (as updated), make changes in the procedures as described in the final safety analysis report (as updated), and conduct tests or experiments not described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) without obtaining a license amendment pursuant to Sec. 50.90 only if:
(i) A change to the technical specifications incorporated in the license is not required, and
(ii) The change, test, or experiment does not meet any of the criteria in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(2) A licensee shall obtain a license amendment pursuant to Sec. 50.90 prior to implementing a proposed change, test, or experiment if the change, test, or experiment would:
(i) Result in more than a minimal increase in the frequency of occurrence of an accident previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(ii) Result in more than a minimal increase in the likelihood of occurrence of a malfunction of a structure, system, or component (SSC) important to safety previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(iii) Result in more than a minimal increase in the consequences of an accident previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(iv) Result in more than a minimal increase in the consequences of a malfunction of an SSC important to safety previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(v) Create a possibility for an accident of a different type than any previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(vi) Create a possibility for a malfunction of an SSC important to safety with a different result than any previously evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated);
(vii) Result in a design basis limit for a fission product barrier as described in the FSAR (as updated) being exceeded or altered; or
(viii) Result in a departure from a method of evaluation described in the FSAR (as updated) used in establishing the design bases or in the safety analyses.
(3) In implementing this paragraph, the FSAR (as updated) is considered to include FSAR changes resulting from evaluations performed pursuant to this section and analyses performed pursuant to Sec. 50.90 since submittal of the last update of the final safety analysis report pursuant to Sec. 50.71 of this part.
(4) The provisions in this section do not apply to changes to the facility or procedures when the applicable regulations establish more specific criteria for accomplishing such changes.
(d)(1) The licensee shall maintain records of changes in the facility, of changes in procedures, and of tests and experiments made pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. These records must include a written evaluation which provides the bases for the determination that the change, test, or experiment does not require a license amendment pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(2) The licensee shall submit, as specified in § 50.4 or § 52.3 of this chapter, as applicable, a report containing a brief description of any changes, tests, and experiments, including a summary of the evaluation of each. A report must be submitted at intervals not to exceed 24 months. For combined licenses, the report must be submitted at intervals not to exceed 6 months during the period from the date of application for a combined license to the date the Commission makes its findings under 10 CFR 52.103(g).
(3) The records of changes in the facility must be maintained until the termination of an operating license issued under this part, a combined license issued under part 52 of this chapter, or the termination of a license issued under 10 CFR part 54, whichever is later. Records of changes in procedures and records of tests and experiments must be maintained for a period of 5 years.
[64 FR 53613, Oct. 4, 1999, as amended at 66 FR 64738, Dec. 14, 2001; 72 FR 49500, Aug. 28, 2007]


As of today, October 2, 2008, the NRC has not acknowledged that it has received this PRM.

Subject:
Re: Petition for Rulemaking
Date: 9/7/2008 3:54:49 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time
From:
Bobleyse
Reply To:
To:
rulemaking.comments@nrc.gov

Secretary
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionWashington,
DC, 20555-0001
Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff
E-mail: rulemaking.comments@nrc.gov

Petition for Rulemaking

NRC must augment its regulations in order to halt the widespread misapplication of 10 CFR 50.59. For example, the process, ultrasonic fuel cleaning, has been effectively licensed at several nuclear power plants in the United States of America via licensee application of !0 CFR 50.59. Several sites have installed and operated the equipment and the sites have performed reviews under 50.59. The NRC has thus effectively licensed ultrasonic fuel cleaning via 50.59 as its site inspectors have ruled at several sites that the 50.59 documents are within the purview of the site license and that they have been satisfactorily prepared. It is also significant that NRC approval under 50.59 is an after-the-fact approval; the equipment may be installed and operated without the awareness of the NRC or its public.

This petitioner is concerned that ultrasonic fuel cleaning has been deployed at several sites without an in-depth review and acceptance by specialists at the NRC. Ultrasonic fuel cleaning is an involved process that is beyond the licensed capabilities of the sites to review and accept under 10 CFR 50.59. It is also likely that modifications of ultrasonic fuel cleaning will proceed without the necessary NRC oversight. This petitioner is not listing all of the potential areas of modification; however measures to speed up the process in the areas of fuel handling, chemical addition, waste disposal, and other changes appear likely within the present mode of licensing ultrasonic fuel cleaning.

It appears that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); the developer, patent assignee, and promoter of ultrasonic fuel cleaning, has succeeded in having its process deployed at several nuclear power plants as the sites have applied the 50.59 process. EPRI has promoted its ultrasonic fuel cleaning and has made its consulting services available to the sites as it has bypassed review of the ultrasonic fuel cleaning by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, the Office of New Reactors, the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research and the ACRS.

Robert H. Leyse
P. O. Box 2850
Sun Valley, ID 83353