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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2015
Life after...
Services...
license renewal for the 60-to-80 year
period, we’re going to be monitoring
closely to see how our new guidance
works and if there’s any changes that need
to be made in our guidance. We will also
be keeping close tabs on any additional
data that comes out of the research that
may apply to aging of the plants that have
not yet applied. So from our standpoint
it’s not a pilot project, but we’re a learning
organization, and we’re going to continue
to improve our guidance as we see more
of these applications. We have a team
that’s been working for the last couple of
months on how to change our guidance to
improve it so that we can more efficiently
review these applications. And after the
first few applications come in, we’ll feed
the lessons learned from those reviews
into the results of that project and ensure
that we continue to have an efficient
review process.
Bernhoft:
EPRI issued guidance
documents several years ago on how to
inspect reactor internals, what to expect
from the inspections, how to evaluate the
findings, and the requirement to share
those findings to the industry. In many
cases we submitted those to the NRC as
topical reports, and they were reviewed
and approved as the way to do internals
inspections for aging management. So
as the plants are going into their period
of extended operation right now, they are
gathering all that data using those EPRI
guidelines, and we’re gathering that data
from them as to what improvements or
changes may be needed to prepare for
the next round of applications. It’s a
continuous improvement process.
For the PWR inspection guidelines,
we have changes we want to make now
to prepare for the next wave of plants that
are going to need to do these inspections,
and we are actively sharing this
information with NRC. It’s a continuous
improvement process, collecting that data
from the inspections going on, any new
research that we find and improving those
guidelines, and we’re very transparent
with the NRC about how we are changing
the guidelines. We talk to them. We give
them the data. And then we process
the guidelines, and we submit them for
review and approval as necessary.
8.
Concluding comments.
Miller:
We are very appreciative of
the opportunity to informour stakeholders
of what we’re doing. We try to be open
and transparent about it, because we
want people to know what efforts we
are taking to maintain safety. Safety is
always primary, in whatever we do at the
NRC. And we take an independent look,
beyond the safety measures required of
the applicants and licensees. We are an
independent regulatory agency, and our
oversight helps make sure that applicants
for license renewal are providing adequate
justifications for safety in operating
plants beyond 40 years. We develop the
guidance so that applicants can submit the
appropriate information in a proper way,
but we have an independent look to make
sure that safety is being maintained. So
we look forward to sharing information
on our process. People can also look up
what’s happening regarding our license
renewal and subsequent license renewal
programs on our website,
Bernhoft:
The bottom line for EPRI,
as an independent researchorganization, is
to make sure that the information is there,
the data has been collected and analyzed,
and the guidelines are in place, to ensure
appropriate license renewal options are
open to our members. Ultimately, the
members will need to make the decision
whether or not to pursue life extensions.
EPRI’s efforts go to undertaking and
providing objective research, particularly
with regard to safety margin, and to make
sure we inform everybody of the findings
so their decisions can be well-informed
by technical analysis.
Contact: Scott Burnell, Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; telephone: (301)
WT Harris Blvd, Charlotte NC 28262-
2867; telephone: (704) 595-2740, email:
field of Emergency Monitoring and
Incident Management. Their specialist
systems and dedicated support team
provide unrivalled capability in system
design, applications knowledge, sensor
technology, emergency software, network
and infrastructure, and long-term service
support of a wide range of radiation
incident management networks.
Ultra’s emergency monitoring and
management systems primarily focus on
monitoring in a nuclear or radiological
emergency, however, the technology and
support capability has been adapted for
use in a host of emergency applications.
Contact: Andrew Gaunt, Ultra
Electronics, email: andrew.gaunt@
us.ultra-ncs.com.
Contracts
Head Assembly
AREVA
was recently awarded a
multimillion-dollar contract with South
Carolina Electric and Gas, a subsidiary
of SCANA Corporation, to fabricate and
to install the integrated head assembly
at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in
Jenkinsville, S.C.
The integrated head assembly is
scheduled to be installed during the
planned outage in 2017 and is being
customized specifically for the V.C.
Summer Nuclear Station.
The device replaces the existing
components above the reactor vessel
closure head and enables the entire
component to be removed during a
refueling outage in far fewer steps than
the current configuration. This integrated
head assembly will enhance the safety
and efficiency of outage operations.
AREVA has installed 10 integrated head
assemblies in the United States, most
recently at Ameren Missouri’s Callaway
Energy Center.
Contact: Curtis Roberts, AREVA,
Inc., telephone; (202) 374-8766, email:
