ML19224D485
| ML19224D485 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/09/1979 |
| From: | Levine S NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| To: | Gossick L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19224D486 | List: |
| References | |
| SECY-79-215, NUDOCS 7907120289 | |
| Download: ML19224D485 (7) | |
Text
b UNITED STATES j
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMisslON 5k
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WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 aasef gv j
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MEMORANDUM FOR:
Lee V. Gossick Executive Director for Operations FROM:
Saul Levine, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
SUBJECT:
WAIVER OF COMMISSION POLICY ON AVOIDANCE OF CONTRACTOR ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
REFERENCES:
(a) NRC General Statement of Policy Regarding the Avoidance of Contractor Organizational Conflicts of Interest (42 Fed. Reg. 21673, April 28, 1977)
(b) S. J. Chilk to L. V. Gossick memo dated September 1,1978, SECY-78-408, " Proposed BWR LOCA/ECCS Cooperative Program with EPRI and GE" ENCLOSURES:
(1) Organizational Conflicts of Interest: Waiver (2) Findings and Detemination Enclosure (1) is an " Organization of Conflict of Interest" waiver that was developed following the guidelines for reference (a) and with the assistance and concurrence of the Office of the E.:ecutive Legal Director and the Division of Contracts.
Enclosure (2) is a Findings and Determination prepared by the Division of Contracts.
I have reviewed enclosure (1) and concur that such a waiver is needed in awarding of a contract to the General Electric Company.
Furthemore, I have reviewed the Findings and Determination (enclosure (2)) and concur with the conclusions.
Saul Levine, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research cc:
See attached list Con ta ct :
T. E. vurley, R$R 42-72231 Ncte:
ACM and ELD nave concurred in :nis procosed waiver.
91 7907120287
_2-cc's to Memorandum dated H. K. Shapar, ELD J. W. Maynard, ELD E. L. Halman, Division of Contracts K. V. Morton, Division of Contracts
/
WAIVER OF COMMISSION POLICY ON AVOIDANCE OF CONTRACTOR ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST It is the policy of t' a Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC) to avoid organizational conflicts of interest in NRC research and technical assistance procurement actions. Consequently, the NRC normally will not award a contract where the contractor would be placed in a position where its judgement might be biased in relation to its work under the contract or where the award may provide the contractor with an unfair competitive advantage. This policy may be waived, however, in situations where the work to be perfomed under the proposed contract is vital to an NRC program; the work cannot be satisfactorily perfomed except by a contractor whose interests have given rise to a question of conflict of interest; and where contractual and/or technical review and supervision methods can be employed by NRC to protect against the conflict resulting in biased perfor-ace of the work to be perfomed.
See the Policy on Avoidance of Cor, actor Organizational Conflicts of Interest (Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 82, dated April 28,1977).
The NRC proposes to enter into a cost-sharing contract with the General Electric Company and the Electric Power Research Institute to address the themal-hydraulic behavior of most BWR plants (BWR 3 through 6) during the refill and reflood phases of postulated LOCAs on a generic basis. A central feature of these and related research efforts is the development and qualification of thermal hydraulic computer codes for realistic LOCA predictions of system and component behavior that are generally applicable to operating and planned BWR plants. Because the data to be generated in the perfomance of the contract may have a direct effect on the future design or operation of water moderated power reactors, the award of a contract involvi^g the General Electric Company, as a manufacturer of such reactors, would normally be precluded under the Commission's policy because of the contractor's potential self-interest in the results of the proposed study.
The Deterinination and Finding associated with the proposed award indicates that any alternative other than award of the contract to the General Electric Company would not be practical since GE is (a) the only supplier of boiling water reactors (SWR's) in the United Statcs, (b) the only firm available with the in-place full-scale test facility and the test apparatus required to perform the work, and (c) the only firm with the computer models necessary for the work.
A number of controls will be established to preclude the opportunity for introducing bias into the proposed study and to assure protection of the government's interest.
NRC staff and technical consultants will review work scope, program and task plaas, facility design, instrumentation type and location, data processing systems, error ana7ysis, and test matrices.
Soiling water reactor soecialists and other safety experts Oq?/. J Enclosare
_2 will comment on plans, designs, instrumentation, and test matrices through NRC review group msatings.
EG&G, the DOE prime contractor operating the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), with modeling assistance from GE, will perform selected pretest predic-tions and comparisons of predictions against results, and along with NRC staff, witness tests as required for the purpose of performing additional technical audits of the General Electric Company's performance.
INEL will perform this work under FIN No. A6039,
" Technical Surveillance for NRC/ Industry Cooperative Prcgrams."
Additionally, NRC will instruct EG&G to take part in formulating test matrices and selecting measurement types, desired accuracy, and measurement locations required for code assessment. Fil data generated in the study will be made publicly available.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research has recommended that the Commission's Policy on Avoidance of Contractor Organizational Conflicts of Interest be waived in this instance. Based on the foregoing and after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, I make the following determinations:
1 The work to be performed under the proposed cost-sharing contract with the General Electric Company and Electric Power Research Institute is vi+=1 to the NRC program in nuclear reactor safety reser 2.
The work cannot be satisfactorily performed except by the General Electric Company, whose interests give rise to a question of conflict of interest; 3.
Contractual and technical review and supervision methods can and will be employed by NRC to protect against the conflict resulting in biased performance of the work; and 4.
The public interest makes imperative a waiver of the Commission's policy on avoidance of contractor organizational conflicts of interest.
Pursuant to the waiver procedures specified in the Policy cn Avoidance of Contractor Organizational Conf 1'. of Interests, the policy of avoiding organizational conflicts of interest is waived for the orcoosed S'4R LOCA/ECCS Coccerative research program with the General Electric Ccccany and the Electric Power Research Institute as described in SECY-75 4C3, dated July 26, 1973.
Lee s. Gcssick Executive Director for Coeraticns Cated at Wasnington, D.C.
this day O.
1 3,ll
FINDINGS AND DETERPINATION
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Under Section 302(c)(10) of the Federa'. Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as Amended Findings In accordance with the requirements of Section 9-3 of the AEC Procure-ment Regulations, which incorporates by reference FPR Subpart 1-3, I make the following findings:
1.
The proposed effort, estimated at approximately $13.1 milion over a three-year period, is an extension of the current jointly sponsored program by the Commission, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the General Electric Company (GE). Under the current program, boiling water reactor (BWR) core spray systems have been the subject of extensive research.
Such systems are desigaed to inject emergency cooling sprays into the plenum above. the nuclear core during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA).
Flow of tne upper plenum spray water through the core and into the lower plenum o the reactor vessel can be impeded by the upflow of the stream formed in the core which can op;ose the downflow of the cooling water.
A countercurrent flow limiting (CCFL) phenomenon occurs when no liquid is allowed to fall.
2.
At this time it is proposed to broaden this research program to study the effects of larger facility dimensions on CCFL and the reflood I
behavior of BWR's. The General Electric Company has a full scale sector facility which it proposes to use which will allow a more realis-tic sirolation of the core spray, steam and water mixing and will expand the present work of reflood heat transfer investigations of o'JR core rod geometries with and without flow blockage, core flow durin3 reflood, steam generator thermal performance during reflood and certain system effects on reflood rate. The Contractor will provide monthly progress and cost reports, program plans, test plans, test data, test data analysis and evaluaticn reports and a final report. This effort would be accomplished under a new joint NRC/GE/EPRI cost-sharing, no-fee contract.
The estimated cost to NRC under this proposed cost-sharing contract is approximately $5 million but the final amount will depend on the ratio of percentages to be negotiated between the parties. It is anticipcted that 'he costs will be favorably shared by NRC/EPRI/GE on the basis of 38%, 34%, and 2S%, respectively.
3.
The NRC mission includes both licensing and research needs.
NPR's needs as related to the procosed contract have been formally identified with appropriate NRR and RES staff. The research needs involve the cevelcp-ment of "best estimate" medels which accurately predict the behavior of safety exceriments and which may ultimately be applied to large EU's.
By ccmcaring best estimate calculations against licensing model calcula-tions, an estimate of :ne degree of conservation may be oc:ainec.
.s e have, therefore, concludec :nat tne information to ce Octained is directly necessary to the NRC missicn.
-qC
2 4.
The magnitude of this effort requires a high level of analytical, theoretical, engi1eering design, quality control, quality c.ssurance, loop test operati:n, and data analysis and evaluation expertise and experience.
In addition, experience is required in specialized areas such as procurement and expediting, program management, instrumentation specification, design and installation, crafts such as piping, plumbing and electrical, data storage and retrieval, computer programming, computer operation. electronic design and repair, and technical reports preparation and publication.
The Contractor has been performing exten-sive safety research in this area under contract with NRC since October 1,1975.
Throughout this time period, the Contractor has advanced its technology in the tield ar.d has demonstrated the high level of research and development experience needed i.o provide the analytical, theoretical, and technical assistance required in the performance of the proposed contract.
The Cor. tractor's vast expericnce will permit a rapid technical response without the delays imposed by recruiting and training of personnel which would include such areas as intensive review of reports, test analysis data and results of the work accomplished to date, numerous orientation visits and meetings with NRC personnel and other Contractor personnel.
In addition to the basic facility that already exists, the Contractor has de'eicped needed special tooling and test equipment. These :tems are not avuil-able elsewhere in the industry.
5.
The Contractor (GE) is the only source available to perform this expanded BWR research program since it is (a) the only supplier in the United States of boiling water reactors (BWR's), (b) the only firm available with the required ia-place full-scale test facility and test apparatus required to perform the work, and (c) is the only firm with the computer modelsneeded for this performance of the work.
Procurement from another source would not be practical since continuity of effort on interrelated tasks is required and GE is the cnly organiza-tion with the trained in-place personnel possessing the experience and expertise needed in order to perform the required services.
6.
In the performance of this effort, Government funds are not being used as a substitute or replacement for private funds.
It is staff opinion that private funds could possibly be utilized in the future to perform some of the work contemplated under this contract.
Morever, it is doubted that an effort of this rragnitude would be succorted entirely by EpRI anc/or GE funds.
Frco NRC's coint of view, we consicer that the use of Government funds in the crocosed effort will assure Sublic availacility of tne data and will ber.efit both the licensing cr.d researcn effices of NR:.
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3 Determination 1.
Based upon the foregoing findings, I hereby determine within the r.eaning of Section 302(c)(10) of the Federal Property and Adminis-trative Services Act of 1949, as amended, that:
a.
It is neither feasible nor practicable to undertake the whole of the requirement describud herein in-house; b.
It is impracticable to secure ccmpetition by formal advertising because it is impossible to draft for an invitation for bic's, adequate specifications or any other adequately cetailed descrip-tion of the required services; Negotiation on a sole source basis with the General Electric c.
Company for continuaticn of this work is necessary as General Electric Company is the only known source available with the necessary background knowledge, expertise, and experience, coupled with the necessa-facilit.:es to accomplish this effort.
This Contractor is the ca, source who can meet the minimum needs of the Government in the requirement.
2.
Upon the basis of these findings and determination, I hereby autr. ire the negotiation of a contract with General Electric Ccmpany for the procurement of the work described herein pursuant to Section 302(c)(10) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, and is in accordance with the circumstances permitting negotia-tion contained in Part 9-3 of the AECPR and Section 1-3.210 of the FPR.
)2
' Mci d u_ g Keilogg VL Morton
'g Contracting Officer C
Date:
I As required by Paragrach 1-3.101(d) of the Federal Procurement Regulations, I have reviewed and Qapprovec ( ) disapproved the above described ncn-ccmcetitive procurement.
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