Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc., et al.; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking

Résumé

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM-50-53) from Ms. Susan L. Hiatt on behalf of the Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc. (OCRE). The petition requested reopening of the rulemaking procedure that led to promulgation of 10 CFR 50.62, the ``Anticipated Transient Without Scram'' (ATWS) rule. The principal basis for the OCRE request was the possibility that the ATWS analyses that formed the underlying bases of the ATWS rule were invalid because they did not appropriately account for the effects of large power oscillations, such as those that occurred during the March 9, 1988, instability event at the LaSalle County Nuclear Station (Unit 2). The petition is being denied because the Commission has concluded, based on core stability analyses during hypothetical ATWS events, and based on recommended procedure changes at nuclear power plants, that large-amplitude power oscillations will not impact the core and containment response sufficiently to invalidate the assumptions and results of previous ATWS analyses that were the bases for the ATWS rule. The NRC has carefully considered the issues raised in the petition and has taken them into ac