Information Notice 2009-31, 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
Technical Contact:
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
Technical Contact:
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