Information Notice 2009-31, Non-Power Reactor Licensee Notifications to NRC During an Incident

Non-Power Reactor Licensee Notifications to NRC During an Incident

ML092680467
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/10/2009
From:	Mcginty T Division of Policy and Rulemaking
To:
Reed B, 415-2130, nrr/dpr/prta
References
IN-09-031
Download: ML092680467 (4)

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 December 10, 2009 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 2009-31: NONPOWER REACTOR LICENSEE

NOTIFICATIONS TO THE NRC DURING AN

INCIDENT

ADDRESSEES

All holders of operating licenses for nonpower (research or test) reactors under the provisions of

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Domestic Licensing of

Production and Utilization Facilities.

PURPOSE

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice (IN) to

distribute lessons learned from a recent emergency declaration at a nonpower reactor regarding

the appropriate NRC office to contact and the types of information that the NRC may request

from licensees at that time. Recipients should review the information for applicability to their

facilities and consider actions, as appropriate. The suggestions contained in this IN are not

NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.

DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES

On June 11, 2008, a tornado damaged the building housing the Kansas State University

research reactor, prompting the licensee to declare an Alert. The licensee appropriately notified

the Operations Officer at the NRC Headquarters Operations Center by telephone. However, in

subsequent conversations with other nonpower licensees, it became apparent that not all

licensees knew to call the NRC Headquarters Operations Center and not the respective region

or project manager during an incident.

DISCUSSION

Licensees emergency plans describe several emergency situations covering a spectrum of

emergency conditions that require the notification of the NRC. In addition, Appendix G of 10 CFR Part 73 requires licensees to contact the NRC for safeguard events. It is requested that

licensees refer to Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 20, Standards for Protection Against Radiation

for information on how to contact the NRC during an incident.

Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 20 consists of a table with the first column Region, under which is

a separate row for Region I, Region II, Region III, and Region IV, as well as a separate row for

NRC Headquarters Operations Center. The NRC staff requests that nonpower reactor

licensees make notifications by telephoning the NRC Headquarters Operations Center because

(1) although nonpower reactors are located throughout the country and in all four NRC Regions, all inspections, licensing, and operating licensing programs are centralized at NRC

Headquarters and (2) the NRC Headquarters Operations Center has equivalent capabilities for

contacting the Administrator any time day or night.

Table 1 lists the basic information that the NRC Headquarters Operations Officer may request

from the licensee during the initial emergency notification call.

Table 1 Information Given during the Initial Emergency Notification Call

Emergency classification

Description of what occurred

Safety status of the facility and reactor

Status of security posture

Status of event, any possibility of the event degrading

Response efforts

Contact information of facility personnel who will maintain communications with the NRC

Table 2 lists some questions the NRC is likely to ask.

Table 2 Topics the NRC Is Likely To Discuss with the Licensee

What are the licensees current top priorities for the facility?

Are there significant uncertainties about any aspect of the event (e.g., is the situation

improving or degrading)?

Does the licensee need help from the NRC or other Federal agencies?

Is the licensee having any communication or staffing problems?

The licensees primary responsibilities during an event are to mitigate the accident, secure the

facility, classify the event, and make notifications. Meeting these primary responsibilities takes

precedence over discussing the event with the NRC. If taking time to talk to the NRC would

interfere with its primary responsibilities, the NRC expects the licensees designated manager to

direct a subordinate to take the call. If this is not feasible, the NRC will inform the licensee when

the NRC Executive Team Director would like to speak with the licensees designated

representative.

CONTACT

This IN requires no specific action or written response. Please direct any questions about this

matter to the technical contact listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation (NRR) project manager.

/RA/

Timothy J. McGinty, Director

Division of Policy and Rulemaking

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Beth Reed, NRR

(301) 415-2130

E-mail: Elizabeth.Reed@nrc.gov

Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections.

CONTACT

This IN requires no specific action or written response. Please direct any questions about this

matter to the technical contact listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation (NRR) project manager.

/RA/

Timothy J. McGinty, Director

Division of Policy and Rulemaking

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Beth Reed, NRR

301-415-2130

E-mail: Elizabeth.Reed@nrc.gov

Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections.

ADAMS Accession Number: ML092680467 TAC No. ME1758 OFFICE PRTA:DPR TECH EDITOR* BC:PRTA:DPR PGCB:DPR PGCB:DPR BC:PGCB:DPR D:DPR

NAME EReed KAzariah-Kribbs KBrock DBeaulieu CHawes MMurphy TMcGinty

DATE 11/16/09 10/ 7/09 12/03/09 11/20/09 12/03/09 12/04/09 12/10/09 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY