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W 3I 1991 MEMORANDUM FOR:
Robert D. Martin, Regional Administrator Region IV
.I FROM:
Glen L. Sjoblom, Deputy Director-i Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS
SUBJECT:
FINAL 1991 NATIONAL PROGRAM REVIEW REPORT REGION IV Enclosed is the 1991 National Program Review (NPR) report for Region IV.
This report covers the period between our last two NPR team visits (roughly April 1990 through March 1991).
For the second year, the report includes not only all regional activities under NMSS' oversight authority, but also the enforcement activities related to these licensees, as reviewed by the Office of Enforcement.
3 NMSS circulated a draft version of this report to the region's Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards.
These comments have been incorporated into thi.s final version of the NPR report, as appropriate.
As always, we appreciate the efforts of your regional staff throughout the year and we welcome any additional thoughts you might have that might lead to further improvements in our review process.
Original Signd b Glen L Sjoblom Glen L. Sjoblom, Deputy Director Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NHSS
Enclosure:
As stated DISTRIBUTION:
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY RIV FINAL NPR 9309150142 930830 PDR STPRQ ESQQ
d REPORT OF NMSS NATIONAL PROGRAM REVIEW AT NRC REGION IV, AND THE URANIUM RECOVERY FIELD OFFICE FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 1, 1991 1 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This report provides the results of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) review of Region IV programs under the Headquarters responsi-bility of NMSS.
The Headquarters team participating in this review consisted of three persons from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety of NMSS, two persons from the Division of Low Level Waste Management and Decommissioning, one from the Program Management, Policy Development and Analysis Staff, one from the Division of Safeguards and Transportation, and one person from the Office of Enforcement.
In addition, one person from Region II was a; member of the team (Attachment 1).
A separate three person team visited the Uranium Recovery Field Office (URFO) earlier that week.
Additional input from other elements of NMSS and the Office of Enforcement was used in the preparation of this report.
The principal regional activities are primarily under the responsibility of the Region IV Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards (DRSS).
A January 25, 1991 memorandum from Richard Cunningham listed the areas to be covered and transmitted a questionnaire to the regions.
Region IV responses to the questionnaire are shown as Attachment 2.
The National Program Review (NPR) is based not only on the visit to the Region, but also on the collective Regional / Headquarters interfaces throughout the year, through review of some licensing casework, inspection reports, accompaniments of region-based inspectors, review of casework and inspection statistics, resource utilization, technical assistance and coordination, and the question-4 naire.
It is intended to provide a review of effectiveness of both the Region 1
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d and Headquarters activities insofar as they relate to Region IV activities and to identify suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the joint efforts of NMSS, DE and Region IV. The emphasis relates to achieving two goals:
technical quality and timely completion of licensing casework and inspections, on the basis that both elements contribute to assuring the safety and safeguards of operations involving NRC licensed activities.
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The report is organized so as to present an integrated summary in each of the following areas:
1.
Background and Purpose 2.
Licensing 3.
Inspections 4.
Enforcement 5.
Training 6.
Initiatives 7.
Interfaces of Region / Headquarters 8.
Resource Utilization 9.
Recommendations / Suggestions j
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2 LICENSING 2.1 Materials Safety In FY90, Region IV completed 547 licensing actions, as compared against an unadjusted Operating Plan Target of 515 (106 percent).
They received 565 cases during this timeframe.
Through February 28, 1991, the Region had completed 220 cases, or 42 percent of the FY91 goal.
This puts them on schedule to meet the goal of 520 cases by the end of the fiscal year.
The Region continues to follow NMSS guidance in terms of prioritization of casework.
New applications and license amendments are worked on before renewals.
Because of heavy receipts, the backlog of older cases had reached 45 at the time of the review.
Nearly all of the backlogged cases were license renewals.
The Region has historically spent over 3 FTE per year in the materials licensing area, with two full-time reviewers and a Licensing Assistant.
Both reviewersi handle all types of licensing casework and the Licensing Assistant is used very effectively in reviews for which she is qualified.
The Region is to be commended for its initiative in use of the Licensing Assistant, and for its development of an effective training program for her.
This has taken much of the load off the two lead reviewers, although a brief analysis of recent expenditures suggests that additional full or part-time assistance may be necessary in the future if the backlog is to be reduced.
The Headquarters staff reviewed a fraction of completed material licensing actions prior to the visit.
The licensing actions reviewed were found to be in accordance with Standard Review Plans and other guidance documents.
Headquarters staff notes that regional reviewers contact Headquarters technical staff, as appropriate, to obtain guidance on technical issues.
Technical assistance requests are forwarded to Headquarters in a timely manner.
The Region has continued its program to improve licensing procedures to increase i
the efficiency of licensing activities.
It makes an extra effort to meet with prospective new licensees in order to determine whether or not 3
they are capable of meeting NRC's regulatory requirements.
This effort often takes the form of pre-licensing site visits, which are labor-intensive, but can lead to a reduced probability of licensee problems at later dates.
The Region also has taken the time to enter all of its licenses on word processors, which allows it to issue amendments and renewals more efficiently.
The Region has been effective in planning its licensing activities.
Its efforts to anticipate the impacts of the 1990 decommissioning rule change and its advance review of upcoming renewals are two examples.
In general, the Region, because of its own initiative, has taken the time to interact more frequently with its licensees, and to assure their awareness and understanding of license responsibilities.
The Regional licensing staff expressed concern that maintiinance of the licensing docket files should continue to be performed by the docketing staff
- to reduce the administrative burdens on the licensing staff and Licensing Assistant.
A large aspect of Region IV's materials program relates to its oversight of the U.S. Air Force's master license.
During calendar year 1990, Region IV communicated frequently, at times daily, with the Air Force Radioisotope Committee staff on matters of regulation, licensing, inspection, and Air Force events.
Region IV requested and generally obtained assist inspections by other Regions, and performed six inspections within Region IV.
The Region issued two license amendments authorizing one-time exemptions.
2.2 Uranium Recovery In FY90, URF0 completed 95 uranium recovery licensing cases, which exceeded the budgeted goal of 68 cases by 40%.
This goal was achieved despite a staffing shortfall of 1.4 FTE, through prioritization of the casework and use of overtime.
Through February 28, 1991, URF0 had completed 62 new and amendment 1
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l cases, exceeding the FY91 annual goal.
URF0 has also completed the review of all UMTRCA TITLE I documents submitted by DOE.
The number of UMTRCA TITLE I projected receipts is significantly below the FY91 budgeted goal of 22 cases.
Therefore, URF0 has placed a greater emphasis on completing backlogged TITLE II cases.
Overall URF0 licensing performance has been of high quality.
URF0 continues to work towards the performance goals established by Region IV for licensing reviews working to attain high technical quality and completions in a timely URF0 staff routinely reviews licensees' activities to assure that manner.
i licensing actions are performance based.
A high priority was established on review of reclamation plans for four New Mexico mills.
To date, sureties have been placed for 3 of these mills, and they expect to place the surety for the fourth mill during the year.
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- 2. 3 Low-Level Waste Licensing i
There were no low-level waste licensing actions in Region IV for the review period.
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3 INSPECTIONS 3.1 Materials Inspections In FY90, 362-materials safety inspections were completed compared to a goal of 350.
Through January 1991, the Region had completed 85 inspections. The pro-jected annual goal is 373, so the Region was slightly behind this target.
How-ever, a more important indicator of program performance is the number of past due inspections.
At the time of the team's visit, only two licensees, both low priority, were overdue. This is a very low number for a region with about 800 licensees.
Members of the NHSS review team had suggested that Region IV submit a formal Operating Plan revision request to adjust for the expected number of inspections that will be done this fiscal year (320 based on a Region IV estimate).
However, with the subsequent return of about 130 Idaho licenses to the Region in April, this is probably no longer necessary.
Headquarters' review of inspection notices of violation indicated no problems; with the quality and documentation of inspections.
The region has implemented a program of following each medical inspection with a letter to the licensee administrator; no NRC 591's are used.
The Region hopes that this will heighten licensees' attention to NRC's regulatory program.
Overall, internal communications in the Region appears to be excellent.
The inspectors seemed well informed of Regional goals and generic issues such as implementation of enhanced medical inspections.
A Headquarters staff member accompanied a Region IV inspector on several inspections in FY91.
The inspector did an excellent job and no problems were noted.
The Region is encouraging safety-oriented, performance-oriented inspections that audit the licensees' implementation of the safety program rather than stressing a detailed review of complianco items.
In particular, inspectors are instructed to assure that the enforcement letter addresses safety performance whether covered in an NOV or not.
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The Region placed extra emphasis on broad scope medical licensees in the past year.
Its efforts with the San Diego Veterans' Administration, Oklahoma Medical Center, and Syncor are recent examples.
Region IV is in the process of re-scheduling a workshop for its medical licensees in Wy'oming.
This workshop was tentatively scheduled for the fall of 1990 but was postponed because of travel budgetary restrictions.
The Region's overall policy to interact frequently with its licensees is also evident in several inspection initiatives.
It is increasing the number of field inspections of radiographers, and it intends to devote more effort to performing reciprocity inspections of Agreement State licensees operating in Region IV.
It also makes a concerted effort to increase correspondence with licensees following inspections to provide accurate and prompt evaluations of licensee performance.
NMSS did emphasize that Region IV should assure that its inspection letters to licensees contain relevant messages and that they not e
become administrative burdens on the staff.
NHSS also recommended that Region IV consider developing an automated system for scheduling inspections.
3.2 Uranium Recovery Inspections Overall, the URF0 inspection program is well designed, effectively implemented, and appears te be accomplishing the desired purposes.
URF0 completed 35 facility inspections during FY 1990 which was 100% of the goal. During the first four months of FY 1991, they have completed seven inspections against a goal of 35 or 20% of the planned.
Most inspections are done during the late spring, summer, and early fall, to avoid bad weather and thus, do not run uniformly during the year.
Discussions were held with several employees concerning their inspection program and eight inspection reports were evaluated as probably representative examples.
The reports were uniformly well-written, concise, followed the approved format, and were produced on a timely basis after the inspections.
All but two of the inspections included more than one inspector, in some cases three.
This was in P
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part because of training new employees in inspection techniques and partially because of the URF0 stated position that two inspectors were more efficient and cost effective than one. 'It was noted that one staff member performed inspections by himself which raised the issue as to the need for multiple inspectors on a routine basis.
It'is recommended that Region IV study whether there is a need for two or more URF0 staff to routinely make inspection visits to the inactive UR licensed facilities.
There was a high degree of consistency among the inspections in addressing problems, although there appeared to be a certain amount of variation in determining whether the items are categorized as open issues or violations.
This is apparently related to differences in wording of license provisions.
i While this does not appear to be a major problem, NHSS/LLWD will review URF0 inspection reports and license provisions over the next year.
Any recommendations resulting from the review will be addressed with Region IV and URFO.
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3.3 Fuel Cycle Inspections In order to balance the regional workload and better utilize resources, on January 1, 1990, the inspection function for the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation (SFC) facility was transferred from the Uranium Recovery Field Office (URFO) to the Division of Radiation Safety & Safeguards, Region IV.
During the review period, considerable resources were expended on SFC by Region IV for inspections, meetings, and processing escalated enforcement actions.
More than six incidents requiring reports to the NRC occurred and at least seven incidents not requiring NRC reports occurred.
The reported incidents included:
(1) a spill of approximately 14,000 lbs. of depleted uranium tetrafluoride onto the floor; (2) significant amounts of uranium seeping into an excavation pit, and (3) release of depleted uranium hexafluoride.
Meetings with SFC included an enforcement conference on March 16, 1990, and management meetings on November 13 and 27, 1990.
Inspections included an augmented inspection team (AIT) inspection during September 1990 and 7 day-a-week coverage between September 14 and December 21, 1990.
Escalated enforcement actions included an Order Modifying License on September 20, 1990, and a Demand for Information on November 20, 1990.
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Region IV still has concerns about SFC's management controls and effectiveness, organizations) effectiveness, internal and external communications, and lack of understanding of NRC's requirements and expectations.
As a result, Region IV is performing weekly inspections and a team inspection on or about September 1991.
A review of inspection reports determined that the reports generally communicated well the results of the inspections and were in accordance with Manual Chapter 0610.
The average report issuance time was 32 days compared to the goal of 21 days for routine reports and 30 days for non-routine reports after the last day of the inspection.
The longest issuance time was 47 days and the shortest time was 13 days.
The review of the inspection reports also determined that numerous unresolved items were identified.
From discussions with Region IV staff, it was determined that there are no formal mechanisms for tracking these unresolved items.
Since a hearing is scheduled, it was recommended that a tracking system be established for these unresolved items to assure that they are resolved appropriately.
6 A review of the fuel facility inspector's qualifications determined that he has not completed all of his training in accordance with Manual Chapter 1245 for fuel cycle facility inspectors.
However, this individual was previously assigned to the materials program and he has met most of the requirements in this area.
It is recommended that this inspector complete his training and certification as a fuel facil.cy inspector as soon as possible, consistent with inspection workload.
During the review period, NMSS staff members participated in three fuel cycle inspections, and the regional inspectors were found to be conscientious and well prepared.
In addition, the inspections were complete and consistent with NRC policy and guidance.
Both NMSS and Regional staff consider NMSS inspection participation to be beneficial.
3.4 Transportation Safety Inspection Program Region IV conducts inspections of transportation activities as part of its materials, reactor and fuel cycle program activities.
The appropriate inspection modules 9
e are used by inspectors.
Review of Region IV's program shows that inspections are being conducted generally by inspectors who are knowledgeable of and experienced in the transportation regulations.
During the review, it was noted that inspectors had appropriate reference material available, such as Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Parts 100-177, Transportation.
New reference materials will be sent to Region IV as these materials become available.
3.4.a Materials Inspection During FY90 approximately 362 inspections were conducted in which transportation activities were reviewed.
59 items of noncompliance were indicated of which 2 Severity Level III, 41 Severity Level IV, and 16 Severity Level V items were noted.
For materials safety inspections, the field note format was used.
These field notes were consistent with inspection module 86740.
During the review, several inspection reports were examined.
The inspections were thorough and the quality of the inspections appears to be satisfactory.
Documented violations included failure to maintain Type A package and special form evaluation docu-ments, failure to perform external radiation levels and contamination surveys, failure to label packages properly and failure to properly place shipping papers in the vehicle.
3.4.b Fuel Facility The major fuel facility in Region IV is Sequoyah Fuels.
Because of significant inspection efforts related to environmental and radiological protection issues at this plant, no inspections were performed in FY90 in the area of transporta-tion.
A 1991 inspection will include a review of transportation activities.
3.4.c Reactors (Power and Nonpower)
During FY90, transportation activities at power reactors were performed according to the SALP inspection frequency for the plant.
Inspection modules 86721 and 86740 were used.
Two items of noncompliance were noted.
For these inspections, 10
an excellent and comprehensive field note format is being used to improve the review of all aspects of the transportation inspections.
Nonpower reactors are inspected at 2 year intervals.
Three inspections were performed with no items of noncompliance being noted.
3.5 Low-Level Waste Inspections Region IV Low-Level Waste (LLW) inspection activities at reactor, materials, and fuel facilities were reviewed through interviews with the Regional supervisory staff, discussions with the personnel responsible for LLW inspections, and examination of the inspection files.
In the area of reactor inspections, all of the power and non power reactors in the Region were inspected at least at the designated SAlp frequency (based on an assessment of overall plant performance), and in most cases were inspected at least once a year.
The Region currently maintains three inspectors who d
participate in reactor inspections.
One inspector is a recent addition to the LLW reactor inspection group.
Supervisory accompaniments were performed with both of the inspectors experienced in reactor LLW inspections.
An additional inspection is scheduled with the new LLW reactor inspector for the upcoming year.
Region IV has developed an extensive set of field notes which are used in the preparation and conduct of low-level waste inspections.
Review of these field notes and discussions with the Region IV inspectors indicate that the inspectors are adequately covering this area.
Inspectors are aware of current inspection guidance and knowledgeable about transportation-waste inspections.
No violations or escalated enforcement actions have been issued since the last evaluation period.
A review of selected inspection reports indicated that most inspection reports were completed within 30 days and met the manual chapter requirements for clarity and format.
Discussion with reactor inspection management indicated that the Region is aware of the new solid waste inspection module (86750),
has used it in at least one inspection and at this time believes the module is adequate.
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O Only a small number of material facilities ship waste to a disposal facility subject to 10~ CFR Part 61 waste generator requirements.
Review of material inspector field notes indicates that material inspectors are adequately covering this area.
The only fuel facility in Region IV is Sequoyah Fuels.
Very little if any waste from this facility is being shipped to disposal.
The inspector for this facility is familiar with Part 61 requirements.
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4 ENFORCEMENT Issues Discussed:
For Severity Level III enforcement cases to be issued by the Region under the Delegation of Authority, the process that is being used to provide early notice to OE concerning the facts of the case and to provide OE the opportunity for verbal input Use of a statement to indicate the " regulatory concern" in letters that accompany a Notice of Violation (NOV).at Severity Level IV or V Maximizing the use of Form 591 Experience with non-cited violations Adequacy of licensees' responses to Notices of Violation at Severity A
Level IV and V Use of personal computers (PC) and standard paragraphs for the preparation of Notices of Violation and related enforcement documents Findings:
The Enforcement Officer performs a review of a selected sample of inspection reports and related NOV's for consistency with the Enforcement Policy.
For non-escalated enforcement actions, the Enforcement Officer agreed to include in that review whether or not a concise statement of the " regulatory concern" was included in the cover letter and if not, whether such a statement would have been appropriate.
The standard format in the Enforcement Manual for non escalated enforcement actions currently requires such a statement; however, OE is revising the standard format to indicate that the " regulatory concern" should be included if appropriate.
Region IV intends to prepare a series of numbered standard paragraphs that can 13
be used electronically to construct inspection reports for specific types of licensees, such as radiographers.
The appropriate numbers would be provided by the inspector to a secretary or used via PC to create the draft document.
For escalated enforcement cases to be processed under the delegation of authority, Region IV has a process in place to inform OE concerning the facts of the case and provide OE with the opportunity to provide early verbal input.
Prior to the Enforcement conference, the Enforcement Officer contacts OE by telephone and provides OE with a copy of the draft NOV, inspection report, and related documents (in either draft or final form as time allows).
Region IV has set a very high standard for its written communications with licensees concerning non-cited violations (NCV's), violations, inspector obser-vations, and licensee corrective action.
This standard exceeds the advice and recommendations of the program office as well as OE.
The Section Chief and some inspectors believe that the additional resource expense to achieve this standard is minimal and that the benefit returned exceeds the expenditure.
Form 591 is not used for entire classes of licensees such as radiographers, medical licensees, large manufacturers, etc.
Cover letters routinely contain a detailed description of the regulatory concern as well as inspectors' observations.
When licensee responses detailing corrective action are not adequate, a follow-up letter is routinely written as opposed to just a telephone call.
Non-cited violations are routinely documented in the field notes and in the letters to the licensee, even though inspectors are generally aware that they may choose not to identify the NCV in the field notes, which also eliminates the need to document the NCV in the letter to the licensee.
Discussions indicate that inspectors do check to determine that licensees are receiving Information Notices.
Inspectors do not always receive the NMSS newsletter in a timely fashion, and the inspector sometimes encounters licensee questions about specific articles before the inspector has had a chance to review the article.
NMSS is changing the mailing procedure to provide more timely delivery.
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i Discussions with the inspectors, as well as a review of pre-selected inspection i
reports and related documents, indicate that inspectors have adequate written guidance concerning non-cited violations and that they understand and use the non-cited. violation process.
The licensee responses to Severity Level IV and V violations are carefully reviewed in the Region.
As high as 50% of the initial licensee responses require additional information before they can be closed out.
The Section Chief tracks the timely issuance of Severity Level IV and V enforcement actions on a tracking system set up on the 5520. While this system does not allow the same manipulations of data that a specific software program would, it does serve as an adequate management tool to accomplish the task.
The timeliness goal is 20 days.
Discussions with the Section Chief as well as a review of the current report generated by the 5520 indicate that the Region is currently meeting this goal.
A Inspectors are making full use of the standard citations put out by OE. Inspectors are knowledgeable concerning the NRC Enforcement Manual, and some individual inspectors believe that it is advantageous to have their own copies of the Manual.
Discussions, as well as a review of pre-selected cases, indicate that Region IV is identifying repeat violations in both the Notice of Violation and the associated cover letter.
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I 5 TRAINING The region continues its aggressive training program for all of its recently i
hired materials inspectors, license reviewers, and Licensing Assistant.
Region IV staff interviewed by the team expressed appreciation for the Region's dedica-tion to staff development.
It is obvious from a review of the training records that the Region understands the importance of training and qualifying its DRSS staff.
Those members of the Region IV staff hired in the last three years have moved quickly to become qualified inspectors or well-trained license reviewers.
The Region places special emphasis on having staff complete the Well-logging course because of the large number of licensees its regulates in this area.
This training is considered a required course for Region IV inspection personnel.
The Licensing Assistant has been trained to perform licensing reviews and has played an important part in the high completion rate of the licensing actions.
Two senior reviewers provided the initial training, but the Licensing Assistant has now reached the point at which her licensing casework can be completed more independently and the senior reviewers are used to provide technical counsel if needed.
One of these reviewers pointed out the importance Region IV attaches to site visits in the training process for new reviewers.
This comment was useful to the NMSS team member who was incorporating this item in new training guidance for license reviewers.
There are three items that Region IV will need to monitor with respect to training; (1) they should attempt to schedule available reviewers and inspectors in the upcoming OSHA Orientation course in Atlanta, since the course is not expected to be offered again in the near future, (2) a number of the RIV staff should attend the next offering of course H-312, "Whole Body Counting and Internal Dosimetry", and (3) a new reactor inspector was identified as potentially needing transportation / low-level waste generator requirements training.
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6 INITIATIVES BY THE REGION The following Region IV initiatives were underway throughout the year:
Region IV increased its regulatory attention to broad-scope medical licensees.
The Region IV staff has performed in an aggressive and professional manner during the review period to meet the demands required in its regulatory oversight of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation. Many individuals have worked long hours and spent considerable time at the SFC facility.
The Region continued its aggressive program to identify potentially unqualified or untrustworthy applicants.
This included researching the legal identity and licensing history of applicants.
The R:gion worked closely with its licensees to assure their awareness A
and understanding of new NRC regulatory requirements.
The Region sought out licensees who were affected unnecessarily by the decommissioning rule and took actions to revise licenses to make reporting unnecessary.
This put them in an excellent position with minimal implementation problems once the rule became effective in July 1990.
The Region has been effective in using personal computers to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the licensing program.
The Region continues to increase its effort to perform field inspections of radiographers, including those working under reciprocity arrangements with Agreement State licenses.
The Region continues to make effective use of its Licensing Assistant in reviewing materials casework.
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The Region has initiated a number of items, as discussed in the Enforcement Section of this report, to maintain its high standard of communication with its licensees.
INITIATIVES BY URF0 The following URF0 initiatives were underway throughout the year:
URF0 completed a major recruiting effort by which it obtained a high quality technical staff and provided the appropriate training opportunities to integrate the new staff into the URF0 organization.
URF0 provided a management atmosphere that has generated high morale among the URF0 staff and a noticeable increase in productivity based on voluntary overtime.
URF0 is taking major steps to bring the URF0 operations more in line with Region IV policy and procedures.
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7 HEADQUARTERS / REGION IV INTERACTIONS Interactions between the respective staffs of Region IV and NMSS in such matters as incidents, inspections, and escalated enforcement actions has generally been good.
There have been some differences of opinions over the appropriate enforcement actions in specific cases, but these have been resolved in a professional manner.
The Region suggested that NHSS should schedule a Section Chief counterpart meeting.
A meeting has since been scheduled in Rockville from September 17-19, 1991.
Interactions between the respective staffs of NHSS, Region IV and URF0 have been generally good.
NMSS, Region IV and URF0 recognize the importance of close coordination on groundwater issues as well as insuring consistency between Title I and Title II reclamation actions with DOE and licensees.
This is especially critical with the new hydrogeologists that LLWD is currently A
hiring.
Rotational assignments between URF0 and NHSS/LLWD will be arranged to continue this close coordination.
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8 RESOURCE UTILIZATION The table below shows Full Time Equivalent (FTE) allocations for FY90 and FY91 through January 1991.
In FY90, the Region exceeded the budgeted allotment for materials licensing by 65 percent and was 32 percent below the budget allocation for materials inspection.
In FY91 through January, staff effort for materials licensing has continued to exceed the budgeted allotment (+38%) while not fully consuming the budgeted allotment for materials inspections (-37%).
The realignment of resources is attributed to more effort to licensing actions as a result of the decommissioning rule, a higher number of receipts than projected, and pre-licensing visits for certain priority 1, 2 and 3 category licenses.
In fact, from July 1990 through April 1991,.587 licensing cases were received.
Fuel facility inspections resource expenditures were below the budgeted allocation during FY90.
This year, the opposite trend is occurring, as a i
result of problems at Sequoyah Fuels and the considerable time expended by Region IV and URF0 staff.
As of January 31, 1991, 1.2 FTE has been expended as compared to the FY91 budget allocation of 1.1 FTE.
The materials program staffing level was two below the FY91 budget at the time of the review.
Two positions had been posted to hire inspectors for each section.
In FY92, the materials budget will increase allowing one or two additional positions.
NHSS recommends that at least one of the new hires be trained to perform licensing reviews in order to reduce the backlog of older renewals.
In FY90, URF0 exceeded the budgeted allotment for Uranium Recovery Licensing and did not fully expend its budgeted allotment for UMTRAP Title I actions as a result of fewer receipts from DOE and efforts to reduce the backlog of Title II casework.
In FY91, URF0 does not expect to expend the budgeted resources for Title I licensing since receipts from DOE have been significantly lower than projected.
Therefore, these resources have been utilized to complete Title II license amendments, and to conduct inspections at Sequoyah.
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9 One major organizational change that took place in FY90 concerned the abolishment of Branch Chiefs positions throughout the Region.
A few weeks before the NHSS visit, representatives from the Office of the Controller visited each region to review overhead-related functions.
Their findings should discuss the impacts, if any, of this change.
HMSS notes the different approach being taken in Region V which abolished the DRSS Section Chief positions rather than the Branch Chiefs.
Although the review team observed no significant programmatic impacts, some of the Region IV staff did feel the additional workload burdens because of the abolishment of several supervisary and managerial positions.
Other important staffing issues that concern the region relate to the return of the Idaho program, which will increase the licensing workload by about 80 cases a year, and the inspection program goals by 50-60 a year, and the need for Region IV to identify an additional individual to serve as a backup for the region's Emergency Preparedness Specialist.
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REGION IV RESOURCE UTILIZATION The following table shows FTE allocations and expenditures for the review period FY91 FY90 ANNUAL BUDGET EXPENDEO PROGRAM ACTIVITY BUDGET EXPENDED BUDGET OCT-JAN OCT-JAN Materials Licensing 2.3 3.8 165 2.4
- 0. 8 1.1 Materials Inspection 6.95 4.7 68 7.3 2.4 1.5 Fuel Facility Inspection
- 1. 2 0.9 75 1.1 0.4 1.1 Event Evaluation 1.2 0.9 75 1.5 0.5 0.3 SG Fuel Facility Lic.
0 0
0 0
0 0
SG Fuel Facility Insp.
0 0
0 0
0 0
SG Transportation Insp.
0.06 0
0 0.04 0.01 0.07
& Plans LLW Inspection 0.15 0
0.25 0.08 0
Reactor Decomm.
0.1 0
0.1 0.03 0
Material Fac. Decomm.
0.1 0.1 100 0.2 0.07 0.04 Uranium Recovery Lic.
- 6. 2 6.5 105 4.8
- 1. 6
- 1. 7 A
UMTRAP 1.5 1.1 73 3.0
- 1. 0 0.4 Uranium Recovery Insp.
- 1. 9
- 1. 2 63
- 1. 9
- 0. 6 0.5 TOTAL 21.7 19.2 88 22.6
- 7. 5 6.7 89
)
NOTE:
FY90 expenditures from regional input provided in response to FYP/ Green Book update in 01/91.
The following table shows program support funds allocations and obligations for the review perod.
FY90 FY91 PROGRAM ACTIVITY BUDGET OBLIGATED %
BUDGET OBLIGATED %
Uranium Rec. Lic.
100 100 0
0 NOTE:
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4 9 RECOMMENDATIONS a.
For Region IV Monitor the materials licensing backlog situation.
As new resources are made available in the inspection area, continue to cross-train new inspectors to provide additional support to the licensing program.
Develop a formal system for tracking unresolved fuel cycle facility items.
Complete the training and certification of the fuel facility inspector consistent with mission requirements.
Continue using the docketing staff to maintain the licensing files and avoid a burden on the Licensing Assistant and licensing staff.
e Region IV should continue its pre-licensing initiatives, such as expanded pre-licensing inspections, to assure that recipients of new materials licenses are reliable and committed to compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
Region IV should monitor its practices concerning inspection corre-respondence to determine whether some resources might be saved in this area.
It may be more appropriate for Region IV to use the Form 591 based on the type and number of violations rather than the type of licensee.
Region IV should identify an additional individual to serve as backup support for its emergency preparedness specialist.
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It is appropriate to include inspector observations concerning licensee l
1 l
performance in the inspection cover letter to the licensee.
- However, general descriptions of the program in positive terms should not be included.
The standard language is preferable, i.e., "Within the scope of this inspection, [no] violations were identified." Observations concerning the size of the program, number of procedures, area served, etc., which are not relevant to safety performance, would be better left to the field notes since they primarily benefit the next inspector.
I b.
For Headquarters NMSS should review the Region IV budgeting to reconcile the fuel cycle imbalance, the materials program expenditures on licensing casework, and the possible impacts of Region IV receiving approximately 135 Idaho licenses. [ NOTE: These actions were completed in April during FY93 budget formulation process and additional resources were provided].
NHSS is changing the distribution of the NHSS Newsletter to assure prompt distribution within NRC, especially the Regional Offices.
There continues to be need for NMSS/LLWD to place high priority on providing guidance to Region IV in two areas: (1) disposal of non-11e byproduct material; and (2) disposal of alternative feedstock material.
NHSS/LLWD will redirect staff resources to address these needs.
c.
For URF0 There are six NRC licensees that have reclamation plans that were approved prior to the promulgation of 10 CFR 40 Appendix A.
URF0 staff has requested information from four of these six licensees on modifying their reclamation plans to bring them into compliance with J
Appendix A.
It is recommended that action be taken on the remaining NRC licensees that are not in compliance with Appendix A.
Furthermore, it is recommended that firm action be taken with all these licensees to ensure that timely compliance with Appendix A is achieved.
As a first step, it is suggested that URF0, in consultation with Region IV and Headquarters, develop a plan to achieve these objectives.
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Region IV Review Teams - Denver, Colorado and Arlington, Texas John W. N. Hickey, Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NHSS
- John J. Surmeier, Chief, Uranium Recovery Branch, Division of Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning, NMSS William E. Cline, Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards Branch, Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards, Region II George J. Deegan, Sr. Program Analyst, Operations Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NHSS Edwin D. Flack, Sr. Health Physicist, Fuel Cycle Safety Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS Michael Wangler, Sr. Transportation Specialist, Transportation Branch,
.l Division of Safeguards and Transportation, NHSS Leroy S. Person, Project Manager, Operations Branch, Division of Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning, NMSS l
l Clare V. DeFino, Program Analyst, Program Analysis Branch, NMSS Allan Mullins, Project Manager, Uranium Recovery Branch, Division of Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning, NHSS i
l Joseph R. Delmedico, Sr. Enforcement Specialist, Office of Enforcement
- Team Leader in Arlington, Texas
- Team Leader in Denver, Colorado i
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