NRC Rejects New York's Appeal, Upholds Easing Testing Mandate at Indian Point

The presidentially-appointed Commission that oversees the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied an appeal filed by the State of New York involving easing a testing requirement at Indian Point.

The state had challenged an earlier ruling by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, the quasi-judicial arm of the NRC that conducts licensing hearings, that turned down its request for a hearing on proposed changes to the frequency of Integrated Leak Rate Tests for Indian Point Unit 2.

The Commission turned down the appeal.

At question was the frequency of testing for the containment building. Nuclear power plants in the United States, like Indian Point, have containment systems that serve as “the principal barrier, after the reactor coolant pressure boundary, to prevent the release of quantities of radioactive material that would have a significant radiological effect on the health of the public.”

In part, the Commission wrote in its April 5 decision, "New York contended that Unit 2 has a 'specific history of structural and corrosive damage' revealed by recent inspections. The Board found this argument both 'factually and legally flawed.' Contrary to New York’s claims, the Board determined that New York’s argument was factually flawed because the license amendment request addressed observed corrosion or degradation of the Unit 2 containment liner. In its ruling, the Board noted that the documents New York provided in support of its contention actually contradicted its claims. Additionally, the Board found that New York’s challenge was legally flawed, calling it 'an improper attempt to graft a ‘historical event’ criterion onto the ‘performance criteria’ specified in Appendix J, Option B.'"

Here is more background, from the NRC:

NRC regulations require periodic testing of the containment buildings surrounding power reactors to check for leakage. This is accomplished by mechanically increasing pressure levels inside of the structure and then checking for air leakage. At Indian Point Unit 2, the containment building has walls that are approximately 4.5 feet thick, with a steel liner on the interior that varies in depth from a quarter-inch to three-quarters of an inch. The containment structure is designed to prevent the release of radioactivity to the environment in the event of a severe accident.

Plant owners are required to perform these Integrated Leak Rate Tests (ILRTs) once every 10 years. However, they are also permitted to seek five-year extensions based on performance-based monitoring of the containment building. Entergy submitted a license amendment request to the NRC on Dec. 9, 2014, asking for a five-year extension for Indian Point Unit 2. (A similar request for Indian Point Unit 3 was approved by the NRC in March 2015. Other plants have also received such extensions.) Entergy’s basis for the change included the historical leakage test results for Indian Point Unit 2 and Containment In-Service Inspection program results, supported by a plant-specific risk assessment. (The in-service inspections are visual examinations of the containment building conducted during refueling and maintenance outages, which are conducted at each plant every 18 months to two years.)

The last Integrated Leak Rate Test for Indian Point Unit 2 was completed in April 2006. The plant was scheduled to perform another ILRT in March, but the approval of the license amendment postponed that to March 2021.

After a thorough review of all of the information submitted by Entergy, including responses to follow-up questions posed by the agency, the NRC staff determined that the company had “adequately implemented its Containment In-service Inspection Program to periodically examine, monitor, and manage the condition of its containment structure. The results of past containment concrete and liner visual inspections demonstrate acceptable performance of the containment and demonstrate that the structural integrity of the containment structure is adequate. Thus, the staff finds that there is reasonable assurance that the containment structural integrity will continue to be maintained, without undue risk to public health and safety, if the current Type A (Integrated Leak Rate Test) interval is extended to 15 years.”

In May 2015, the New York State Attorney General’s Office sought a hearing on the license amendment request and urged the NRC to deny the request. In September 2015, an ASLB panel rejected the AG hearing request. In October 2015, the AG’s Office filed an appeal.