Callaway
License
Renewal
By Sarah Kovaleski, Ameren Missouri.
Sarah Kovaleski
Sarah Kovaleski is the Director
of Engineering Design at Ameren
Missouri’s Callaway Energy Center.
She is the Design
Authority for the
site, and oversees
mechanical and
civil engineering
design, electrical
and instrumentation
& control (I&C)
engineering
design, reactor
engineering, safety
analysis, plant
license renewal,
and configuration
management
functions. Ms. Kovaleski has been at
Callaway for 8 years, and has worked
in the nuclear power industry since
1998. She holds a Master’s degree
in Radiological Health Engineering
from the University of Michigan,
and a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear
Engineering from the University of
Wisconsin.
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor of Nuclear Plant
Journal.
Callaway is a single-unit 4-loop
pressurized water reactor designed by
Westinghouse. The steam supply output
is 3,579 MWt and the electrical output
is 1,284 MWe. The plant site consists
of approximately 2,767 rural acres on a
plateau approximately 300 feet above the
Missouri River, which is about 5 miles to
the south. Callaway is located 10 miles
southeast of Fulton, Missouri.
Callaway is owned and operated by
Ameren Missouri.
1.
What was the top most environmental
issue presented by the public and how did
Ameren resolve the public’s concerns
about this issue?
There were two issues that received
notable attention during the environmen-
tal review associ-
ated with Callaway’s
License
Renewal
Application.
The
accident at Fuku-
shima Daiichi took
place during this
time, and members
of the public ques-
tioned whether the
Callaway
Energy
Center and other nu-
clear plants should
be required to make
changes to the fa-
cilities before being issued a renewed li-
cense. The industry has learned many les-
sons from the Fukushima Daiichi event,
and nuclear plants are making changes
to their facilities regardless of whether a
nuclear plant is pursuing license renewal.
Also during the review of Callaway’s ap-
plication, the NRC revised its waste con-
fidence rule (now called the Continued
Storage Rule). Members of the public
expressed the desire to understand how
Callaway safely stores spent nuclear fuel,
and how this will be accomplished during
the renewed licensing period. Callaway
complies with all regulations regarding
safe storage of nuclear fuel.
2.
What was the major environmental
enhancement project undertaken by Ameren
to satisfy the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51?
No enhancements were needed;
however, the environmental review of
Callaway’s license renewal application
provided us with the opportunity to
interact with numerous government
agencies. Over the next two years, Ameren
Missouri will be conducting a study to
demonstrate that operation of Callaway’s
river water intake structure on the
Missouri River does not jeopardize the life
cycle of the pallid sturgeon. The Missouri
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
has been leading the effort to restore this
endangered species, and Ameren Missouri
has worked closely with DNR to ensure
the study aligns with their goal.
3.
What is Ameren’s recommendation
to other utilities to have a “smooth
sailing” public hearing process and
challenge free USNRC review to satisfy
the environmental requirements for plant
license renewal?
Most reviews involve challenge of
one sort or another. It is important for
utility personnel to listen to the input and
concerns of their community members.
The process for members of the public
to provide input to the NRC is guided by
explicit rules; however, when there are
opportunities to communicate directly
with stakeholders, these opportunities
may prove to be mutually beneficial in
establishing trust and a collaborative
relationship.
4.
What equipment replacement or
retrofitting was needed by Callaway for
license renewal?
No equipment replacement or
retrofitting was needed for license
renewal. However, Callaway has been and
will continue to monitor equipment for
proactive replacement. As an example, the
reactor vessel head was replaced during
our last refueling outage in fall 2014.
This was not required for license renewal,
but the new reactor vessel head will last
through the period of extended operation.
5.
How did Callaway demonstrate the
availability of its systems, structures and
components life for an additional 20 years?
Each
system,
structure
and
component was evaluated to determine
what aging management actions were
needed in accordance with industry
guidelines in a document titled
NUREG-1801, Revision 2, “Generic
Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report,”
which has been endorsed by the NRC.
This process is called an Integrated
Plant Assessment. The outcome is that
every component affected by license
renewal is managed by at least one aging
18
NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, March-April 2015
