ML20057B931
| ML20057B931 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/01/1993 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-93-247, WIR-930827, NUDOCS 9309240162 | |
| Download: ML20057B931 (33) | |
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,4 INFORMATION REPORT September 1, 1993 SECY-93-247 f_qr:
The Commissioners From:
James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO Sub.iect:
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING AUGUST 27, 1993 Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B
Nuclear Regulatory Research C
Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D
General Counsel E*
Administration F
Information Resources Management G
Controller H+
Personnel I
Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization & Civil Rights J*
Enforcement K
Consolidation L
State Programs M
Policy Planning N*
Public Aff airs 0*
International Programs P
Congressional Affairs Q*
Regional Offices R
Executive Director for Operations S
Meeting Notices T
- No input this week.
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23() 0 L C',
ames t. Blaha ssistant for Operations, OEDO
Contact:
NOTE:
TO BE MADE PUBLICLY JNAILADLE J. Mitchell, OEDO IN 10 WORKING DAYS FROM THE 504-1727 DATE OF THIS PAPER j
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9309240162 930901 i
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1 PDR COMMS NRCC I,
WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR
3 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2 A delegation from the United Kingdom will be meeting with various agencies, t
including NRC (Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards), and National Laboratories during the last week of September to discuss physical protection and security issues. A site visit to Calvert Cliffs has been arranged for September 28, 1993. Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E) will provide a presentation of the safeguards and security activities at the plant site including the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The presentation will be followed by a tour of the site security facilities and the ISFSI area.
Mr. Christian Poindexter, Chairman of the Board and CEO for BG&E, issued a letter to all BG&E's employees indicating that:
- 1) the company's operating and maintenance expenditures will be reduced in 1994 by about 7%,
approximately 546 million below the 1993 levels; 2) functions and positions, which will not sacrifice performance in critical areas, will be eliminated; and 3) a market based compensation system will be created by restructuring pay grades and job evaluation plans by 1995.
In addition, subject to approval by the Board of Directors, further labor reductions will be achieved by offering a voluntary early retirement program February 1,1994. Mr. Poindexter noted that a reduction in the workforce is necessary, but a target number for the labor reductions was not being set at this time.
Both units are currently operating at 100% power with no significant problems.
Meetino at Wyle Laboratories to discuss EPRI motor-operated valve tests On August 19 and 20, 1993, T. Scarbrough of EMEB/NRR and R. Steele of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL is an NRC contractor) attended a meeting at the Wyle Laboratories in Huntsville, AL, to discuss the testing performed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in support of its Motor Operated Valve Performance Prediction Program. Representatives of the Nuclear Management and Resources Council (NUMARC) and two valve manufacturers also attended the meeting.
EPRI has completed testing of 35 gate, globe and butterfly valves in 63 sequences at its test loop facilities.
EPRI will be performing a small number of additional tests at its test loop facility in Huntsville.
EPRI plans to obtain test data from an additional 30 valves to be tested in nuclear power plants.
EPRI has also contracted Kalsi Engineering to test a butterfly valve i
i with multiple disc designs.
EPRI stated that its tests demonstrated valve friction coefficients for gate valves as follows:
0.3 to 0.6 for cold water pumped flow, with values of 0.75 and 0.9 for two valves; 0.34 to 0.41 for hot water pumped flow; 0.35 to 0.80 for hot water blowdown; and 0.25 to 0.64 for steam blowdown. They reported that valve friction tends to decrease for particular gate valves with increasing differential pressure which lends support for linear extrapolation ENCLOSURE A AUGUST 27, 1993
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2 of differential pressure test results. EPRI reported that several valves were i
damaged during testing with consequent high thrust requirements to close, Most valve vendors used a valve factor of 0.3 for flexible wedge gate valves and 0.2 for parallel disc gate valves in sizing motor operators. Therefore, the EPRI test results indicate that the thrust recuired to operate cate valves could be three times areater than the thrust credicted by the valve vendors.
The EPRI testing confirms the limited testing program conducted by INEL for the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research in 1989.
EPRI stated that its testing showed the thrust required to operate globe valves to be generally consistent with the valve factor used by valve manufacturers. They also stated that their testing revealed torque requirements to operate butterfly valves are bounded by vendor predictions.
The staff will be meeting with EPRI, NUMARC and participating licensees on October 6 and 7, 1993. Among the topics to be addressed are (1) the delay in the completion of the EPRI test reports, (2) the damage to some gate valves when closing under blowdown conditions which could result in unpredictably high thrust requirements, (3) test results that indicated some globe valves have thrust requirements greater than predicted by the valve vendor, and (4) resolution of staff comments provided to EPRI in December 1992.
Meetina with NUMARC NRC staff met with representatives of the Nuclear Utilities Management and Resources Council (NUMARC) on August 19, 1993, to discuss NRC concerns with NUMARC's Thermo-Lag test program. These concerns were documented in the McCracken August 6, 1993, latter to A. Marion of NUMARC. The meeting served to provide a forum for the NRC and NUMARC to explain respective positions on NUMARC's test program, focusing on technical bases. Although NUMARC representatives provided a response to each issue presented in the August 6, 1993, letter, they reiterated the intention to continue with the test program without modifications.
NUMARC recognizes that their program will have
" limited" generic applicability which will require additional work by individual utilities and the NRC.
Palisades Cycle 11 Core Redesian 50.59 Safety Evaluation On August 18-21, 1993, S. Wu and E. Kendrick of the Reactor Systems Branch (SRXB) participated in an audit of the Palisades Cycle 11 reload revised core design 50.59 safety evaluation, in support of the Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) follow-up activities. The audit team was led by A. Hsia, Palisades Project Manager and included J. Davis of the Materials and Chemical Engineering Branch. After the Plant Review Committee approved the Cycle II redesign on August 18, the team performed a technical and administrative evaluation of the licensee's 50.59 process. The SRXB technical evaluations covered core physics and thermal-hydraulic characteristics affected by the bundle reconstitution and core redesign.
Chapter 15 DNB margins are slightly J
improved for five out of the eight events re-analyzed, relative to the l
reference Cycle 11 design.
Cross-flow effects due to mixed bundle types and vibration effects in bundles adjacent to baffles were qualitatively evaluated i
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE A
3 by the licensee and Siemens, the fuel vendor, to the extent that suspected fuel failure root causes are minimized or mitigated by the redesign.
Burnup concerns were addressed by limiting the burnup of the three-cycle resident i
bundles selected for reconstitution. A preliminary analysis of the pressure vessel weld fast fluence values for the revised core configuration indicates that the design criteria established in Cycle 9 will be met.
Reconstitution concerns identified in Generic Letter 90-02, Supplement 1, were discussed with Palisades engineering staff and management and emphasized during the exit meeting on August 21. No major startup issues were identified, other than the disposition of the Cycle 10/11 failed fuel material and impact on future operation of the root cause resolution. The audit team has drafted a report for Region III use in the AIT corrective action and restart issue evaluations j
currently being conducted.
ITAAC Review Team The Reactor Systems Branch ITAAC review team has completed its review of CE System 80+ ITAAC submittals. Comments were sent to projects on August 25.
The review included the Nuclear fuel System, the Reactor Coolant System, the Shutdown Cooling System, the Safety Depressurization System, and the Safety injection System. The team found the submittals to be generally short of detail in the Design Descriptions, but found that system figures and ITAAC
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items warranted fewer comments than similar ABWR sections. Comments were generated based upon generic staff guidance and were consistent with the level of detail requested of GE in the ABWR ITAAC review.
NUMARC Maintenance Rule implementation Worksho.p Charles Rossi, Division of Reactor Inspection and Licensee Performance, Gary Zech and Richard Correia of the Performance and Quality Evaluation Branch (RPEB), Jack Heltemes of Research, and other RPEB and regional representatives attended the NUMARC Maintenance Rule implementation Workshop in St. Louis, M0 from August 23-25, 1993. The workshop provided commercial nuclear power plant utility attendees with sessions on the maintenance rule (10 CFR 50.65), the maintenance rule regulatory guide (RG 1.160) and the NUMARC implementation guidelines (NUMARC 93-01).
Licensees are expected to have fully implemented the maintenance rule by the effective date of July 10, 1996. This was the second workshop, the first was held in Atlanta, GA on August 4-6, 1993.
Participation in the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Annual Seminar On August 23, 1993, the Chief of the Safeguards Branch (PSGB), gave a presentation at a session of the ASIS annual seminar. The presentation covered regulatory activities associated with reconsideration of requirements for the insider threat and protection at sites against land vehicle threats.
The annual seminar was held at the Washington Convention Center and included an extensive exhibit on current security technology. A number of PSGB staff toured the exhibits.
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE A
t Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards i
Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Coordination of Safeauards Support to Kazakhstan On September 13-14, United St.
JRC and DOE), United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Kazakhstan, and IAEA representatives will meet in London to further develop an overall plan to provide safeguards support to Kazakhstan. The participants will review a draft plan that is being prepared by the Swedish representative. This meeting is a follow-up to a June 1993 coordinators meeting in Alma Ata.
Intearated Safety Analysis (ISA) Workshop An outline for a guidance document on methods of performing an integrated safety analysis of a fuel cycle facility has been received from the contractor (Westinghouse Savannah River Company). As previously announced, a public meeting with industry to discuss the completed outline and to obtain industry input on methods for performing ISAs was held August 27, 1993.
Inspection of Ferret Exploration Company's Dam at Crow Butte facility During the week of August 23, 1993, a representative from the Division of low-level Waste Management and Decommissioning and the Uranium Recovery Field Office accompanied Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dam inspectors to the Ferret Exploration Company's Crow Butte facility near Crawford, Nebraska. The inspection is part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Dam Safety Program being conducted on the evaporation ponds' embankments under a technical assistance contract with FERC.
Update on Site Decommissionina Manaaement Plan Sites -- Cabot Corporation's Sites at Revere and Readina. Pennsylvania On August 18, 1993, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff met with representatives of the Cabot Corporation regarding plans for remediating two Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) sites located in Revere and Reading, Pennsylvania. Cabot is licensed to possess source material at these two sites pending completion of decommissioning and a third site in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, where source material processing continues. The meeting also included discussions about licensing matters pertaining to the Boyertown site, including processing of sludge stored on site to recover metals and remove the uranium and thorium contamination. A representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources also participated. During the meeting, the licensee described plans for completing site characterization and remediation of the Revere site by May 1994. The licensee also described plans to complete remediation of portions of the Reading site, but did not commit to a specific schedule. With respect to potential remediation of the slag dump at the Reading site, the licensee expressed reservations about committing to any schedule for addressing the contamination in the dump and indicated a preference for delaying remediation of the dump until after NRC completes the Enhanced Participatory Rulemaking for Radiological Criteria for AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE B
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Decommissioning. The staff is currently'considering appropriate follow-up actions in accordance with the SDMP Action Plan.
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Deoartment of Enerav Acceptance of Commercial Mixed Waste for Disposal A panel session at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Second International Symposium on Mixed Waste focused almost exclusively on the l
Department of Energy (DOE) acceptance of commercial mixed waste for disposal.
i The panel session was held as a plenary session on the first day of. the symposium on August 17, 1993, in Baltimore, Maryland. Panel members included i
l representatives from DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Southwest Compact. DOE is actively considering acceptance of commercial mixed waste as part of its response to the federal Facilities Compliance Act'of 1992. Although several issues remain to be resolved with such a proposal, panel members agreed that the fundamental issue is to develop an equitable solution among the states that would host the 00E disposal facilities.
Panel members stated that DOE has tentatively decided against accepting commercial mixed waste for treatment because DOE lacks adequate treatment for its own wastes and DOE does not want to compete l
against private sector development of treatment capacity.
In fact, DOE is evaluating the use of commercial facilities for treating its mixed waste.
l In a separate session at the Symposium, several participants strongly urged Congressional reevaluation of the burdens associated with joint regulation of j
mixed waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the l
Atomic Energy Act. These participants also denounced the joint guidance i
documents developed by NRC and EPA as being worthless because they fail to recognize the fundamental inconsistencies between the two statutory programs.
NRC, EPA, and DOE representatives present stated that no inconsistencies between the two regulatory programs have been identified to date that could not be resolved using the flexibilities already built into the two programs.
In addition, agency representatives stated that if an inconsistency were identified, the Atomic Energy Act requirements would only prevail in the limited area of the. inconsistency and the rest of the operation would continue to be subjected to joint regulation under the two statutes. A large number of the participants appeared to support elimination of joint regulation of mixed waste. Among the options discussed were regulation of mixed waste only for 4
its radiological properties (i.e., eliminate regulation under RCPA of most I
mixed waste).
2 ENCLOSURE B AUGUST 27, 1993
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 THI-2 Lower Head Temperature Peer Review A meeting was held in Rockville on August 26, 1993, for three expert consultants to discuss their review and findings of the work done by the TM1-VIP program contractors to determine the temperature experienced by the TMI-2 reactor vessel lower head during the April 1979 accident. The Peer Review was 1
conducted to add confidence to the assessment that the lower vessel head reached a temperature of about 1100 C for about 30 minutes at the time of the molten core relocation onto the lower head. The Peer Review Consultants were Prof. Robert Bohl of the University of Illinois; Mr. Dick Gaydos, Republic Steel, retired; and Dr. George Vander Voort, Carpenter Steel.
The consultants had previously visited Argonne National Laboratory where they were briefed on the experimental metallographic work by the researchers who had conducted the work for NRC, and had the opportunity to study some of the samples first-hand.
They all concurred in the methodology used to determine the temperature, and agreed with the overall conclusion of temperature reached during the accident.
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE C
Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Diaanostic Evaluation and Incident Investiaation Branch (DEIIBl.
The Quad Cities Diagnostic Evaluation Team (DET) arrived at the Quad Cities station on August 23 to begin the initial two weeks of evaluation of licensee performance.
Incident Response Branch (IRB_1 On August 25, NRC participated in a full scale Grand Gulf Nuclear Station exercise.
The exercise included staffing of the Operations Center along with the Region II Incident Response Center (Base Team) and the deployment of the initial NRC Site Team to the Grand Gulf site. The states of Mississippi and Louisiana also participated.
During the past week, representatives from GTI and ConferTech trained IRB staff on the operation of the newly procured telephone switch and conferencing syster.
This system will be used in the NRC Operations Center.
Peactor Operations Analysis Branch (ROAB)
The 16th Reactor Operations International Topical Meeting took place August 16-18, 1993, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Melville, LI, NY. On Tuesday, August 17th, E. Trager presented a paper title " Studies of Human Performance in Operation Events," which described some results of the AE00 human performance study program. He also participated as a panelist in a session entitled " Human Reliability Analysis: Broadening the Horizon."
Preliminary Notifications PNO-I-042, Long Island Lighting Co. (Shoreham 1), Media Interest in a.
Shoreham Fuel Transfer Activities.
b.
PNO-I-93-043, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co. (Haddam Neck I)
Unplanned Shutdown Greater Than 48 Hours.
PN0-I-93-044, Wheaton Glass, Damaged Level Gauge in Millville, c.
d.
PN0-I-93-044A, Wheaton Glass, Damaged Level Gauge in Millville, New Jersey, PNO-I-93-045, Ground Engineering & Testing Service, Inc., Stolen / Lost e.
Portable Nuclear Density Gauge.
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PNO-II-93-037, Virginia Power Co. (Surry I), Unscheduled Shutdown in Excess of 72-Hours.
9 PHO-II-93-038, Duke Power Co. (Maguire I), Shutdown Due to Steam Generator Tube Leak.
ENCLOSURE D AUGUST 27, 1993
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PNO-II-93-039, Duke Power Co. (0conee 1), Reactor Trip Due to Loss of Power to Vital Panelboard.
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Pf 3 'I-93-040, Florida Power & Light Co. (Turkey Point 4), Contractor r,p;0yees Struck by Lighting.
h.
- J-IV-93-024, Colorado Agreement State Licensee, Therapeutic iissadministration.
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ENCLOSURE D AUGUST 27, 1993
l Office of Administration Items of Interest.
Week Ending August 27, 1993 Purchase Order for Traffic Control-l On August 23,'1993 the utvision of Contracts and Property Management awarded a purchase order to Parking Control Systems to install pedestrian and vehicular traffic controls in the 0WFN P-1 level garage area. - These controls will i
regulate the vehicular traffic in and out of the OWFN garage, as well as the l
pedestrian traffic through the garage to TWFN.
Contract Award A contract was awarded to Parameter, Inc., on August 25, 1993 for " Technical
-l Assistance in support of Nuclear Power Reactor Design and Inspection Services." The award is a task ordering contract with a base amount of
$7,618,565 and two options for a total estimated cost plus fixed fee of
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$11,175,258.
Naval Reactors Seawolf Procram Division of Security (SEC) representatives have met with the NRR Project Manager for NRC's review of Naval Reactors Seawolf Program to discuss various securit.v aspects of the program. On August 26, 1993 SEC provided appropriate security. awareness briefings and equipment demonstrations to all individuals
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involved in this project.
-t Access Authorization Fee Schedule for Licensee Personnel A final rule that revised the fee schedule for background investigations of i
licensee personnel who require access to National Security Information or Restricted Data and access to or control over Special Nuclear Material was published in the Federal Register on August 23, 1993 (58 FR 44435). The final rule reflects changes in the rates charged the NRC by the Office of Personnel Management for conducting investigations. The final rule becomes effective September 22, 1993.
Withdrawal of Below Reaulatory Concern Policy Statements
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The.NRC formally announced the withdrawal of its Below Regulatory. Concern (BRC) Policy Statements in a document published in the Federal Register on August 24, 1993 (58 FR 44610). Specifically, this action removes the BRC~
Policy issued on July 3,1990 (55 FR 27522) and the BRC Policy concerning the submittal of petitions for disposal of radioactive waste streams below regulatory concern that were set out in the Commission's regulation at Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 2 (51 FR 30939; August 29,1986). This action was necessary to comply with provisions of the Energy-Policy Act of 1992 that revoked these policy statements.- This action became effective August 24, j
1993.
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE F
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Radioactive Waste Below Reaulatory Concern: Generic Rulemakina. Withdrawal The NRC formally withdrew an advance notice of proposed rulemaking concerning a generic rulemaking for the disposal of radioactive waste below regulatory concern in a document published in the Federal Register on August 24, 1993 (58 FR 44620). This action was taken to conform with the Commission's formal withdrawal of the BRC Policy concerning the submittal of petitions for disposal of radioactive waste streams below regulatory concern that were set out in the Commission's regulation at Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 2 (51 FR 30939; August 29,1986).
Sianificant F0IA Reauests Received by the NRC For 5-Day Period of Avaust 20 -
Auaust 26. 1993 Request for a list of Region I licensees holding a Broad Scope License.
(Ronald Amoling, Children's Hospital - Boston, F01A-93-461)
Request for records regarding groundwater drilling activities.
(Christine Reimer, National Ground Water Association, F01A-93-464)
Request for lists of (1) records related to nuclear plant aging phenomena during the last two years, and (2) NRC Bulletins, Information Notices, Generic letters and NUREG documents during the last two years.
(Tsutomu Une, F01A 465)
Request f(r records regarding the material license for Pyramid Diagnostics, Inc. of Tt:nnessee.
(Stephen Curet, F01A-93-466)
Request for records regarding the 1992 incidents at the Indiana Regional Cancer Center and the Greater Pittsburgh Cancer Center.
(Dorothy Davis of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, F01A-93-467)
Request for copies of the proposals for contract No.'s NRC-33-91-219 and NRC-33-93-176.
(Roy Dickan, Kathpal Technologies, Inc., F01A-93-468)
Request for records regarding solicitation No. RS-AED-92-268.
(Patrick Small, FOI Services, Inc., F01A-93-469)
Request-for copies of all exercise evaluation reports issued to the NRC by FEMA for the period 1992 to date.
(Ophelia Williams, J/R/A Associates, F0IA-93-470)
Request for copies of SECY-92-165 and a July 1,1992 memorandum from James Taylor to Commissioner Curtiss.
(Patricia O'Toole of Perkins Cole, F01A 471)
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE F
Office of Information Resources Management Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Voice Mail Almost 600 mailboxes have been created for voice mail users on the new OCTel System; this includes users at One White Flint North, Nicholson Lane, and Bethesda. Approximately 300 users of the old system remain to be placed on the new system.
Training classes are currently available for new users.
Trouble calls have been few and users have expressed great satisfaction with the new system.
NUDOCS Public User Survey A survey form requesting information from NUDOCS (Nuclear Documents System) public users was mailed on August 23, 1993.
Responses are due within 30 days.
The access ids of users who do not respond to the survey will be deleted.
Relocation of NUDOCS Contractor Site Preparations for the relocation of the NUDOCS Document Processing and User Support contractor from its current 7101 Wisconsin Avenue (Ford building) site to its new Rockville address are in progress.
The move is scheduled for the weekend of October 9th.
Network Manaaement The Office of Information Resources Management has developed a transition plan and training schedule for assigning additional responsibilities to Nuclear Regulatory Commission Local Area Network Managers. A meeting will be held this i
week with representatives from the Offices of the General Counsel, Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Research, and Nuclear Reactor Regulation to discuss the plan and schedule. Training is tentatively scheduled to begin on September 15, 1993.
Office of Nuclear Reaulatory Research The last 5 of the 95 486-class desktop computers requested by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) to upgrade their computing capability for project management and financial management will be installed this week. These computers are operating with the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface to Agency Upgrade of Technology for Office Systems (AUTOS), developed for use in RES and elsewhere in the agency as appropriate. This delivery and installation will complete RES' migration to AUTOS.
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE G
Office of Personnel Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Society for Acolied Learnino Technolooy Conference Attended Carolyi Bassin, Organizational Development and Training, attended the Society for Applied Learning Technology Annual Conference entitled " Interactive Systems for Training, Education and Job-Performance Improvement" in Washington, D.C., August 25-27. Attended by the corporate and government training community, the conference featured the use of multimedia technologies for training.
Arrivals BELL, Michael CHIEF, LLW MANAGEMENT BRANCH (PFT)
NMSS Departures NONE P
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l AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE I
Office of Enforcement Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Sionificant Enforcement Action An Order Imposing Civil Penalty in the amount of $6,000 has been issued on August 24, 1993 to Mayo foundation, Rochester, Minnesota. The action was based on the willful failure of a researcher to perform contamination surveys when working with phosphorous-32. As a result, contamination was spread offsite to a church, private automobiles, clothing, and homes. A second violation involved inadequate surveys to detect the extent of off-site contamination. The Licensee responded to a Notice in letters dated June 30 and July 1,1993, and admitted the violations. However, the Licensee objected to the characterization of the first violation as willful and requested mitigation of the civil penalty. After careful consideration of the Licensee's responses, the staff has concluded that the Licensee did not provide a sufficient basis for mitigation of the civil penalty.
(EN 93-056A)
Civil Penalties Paid Siemens Power Corporation paid the civil penalty in the amount of $12,500.
The action was based on several violations identified as a result of a spill of about 124 kilograms of low enriched uranium powder on February 7.1993.
The violations involved the installation and unauthorized bypass of an interlock switch, the failure to perform a required criticality safety analysis (CSA) and the failure to identify and maintain adequate moderator exclusion controls. The violations were aggregated as a Severity Level III problem because of the potentially significant lack of attention towards licensed responsibilities. The escalation and mitigation factors were considered and, on whole, the base civil penalty amount of $12,500 was not changed.
(EA 93-085)
Columbus Hospital, Great Falls, Montana paid the civil penalty in the amount of $2,500. The action was based on a Severity Level III problem involving the licensee's failure to comply with the requirements of 10 CFR 35.32(a) (Quality Management Program). The base civil penalty was not adjusted.
Escalation based on NRC identification was offset by mitigation based on good licensee performance.
(EA 93-164)
Scientific Inspection Technology, Inc. paid the civil penalty in the amount of i
$4,000. The action was based on an incident in which a Radiographer received an estimated 275 rem extremity overexposure. The event occurred as preparations were being made to begin radiography work. After the source guide tube was connected, the radiographer noticed that the selector ring on the radiography device could not be rotated to the locked position. He then noticed that his survey meter was off scale. The radiographer did not follow i
the Licensee's emergency procedures, which required that he stop all activity and notify the Radiation Safety Officer for assistance.
Instead, he attempted to resolve the problem himself and, in the process, he turned off his alarm ratemeter because the alarm was distracting him. These violations and the associated overexposure are categorized in the aggregate as a Severity Level 11 problem.
Consistent with the guidance in the Enforcement Policy for a t
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE K 4
Severity Level 11 violation or problem that involves an overexposure, a civil penalty equal to 50X of the base civil penalty is being proposed, notwithstanding the licensee's reporting of the event and good corrective action.
In a separate action (EA 93-188) a Demand for Information is being sent to the Radiographer requesting that he provide reasonable assurance that he will conduct licensed activities in the manner in which he has been trained and in accordance with NRC regulatory requirements.
The University of Virginia paid the civil penalty in the amount of $2,000.
The action was based on the operation of the UVAR reactor for approximately 5 1/2 hours without a number of the scram safety channels being operable.
During the troubleshooting of a problem with the reactor instrumentation, a senior reactor operator switched two mixer-driver modules which, because of the presence of internal electrical jumpers, were not identical. This resulted in the disabling of the scram functions. The two violations that were identified have been classified as a Severity Level 11 problem. The base civil penalty of $4,000 has been mitigated a total of 50 percent for the licensee's identification of the self-disclosing event and the corrective actions taken.
(EA 93-153)
AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE K
Office of Consolidation Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Second Buildina Status During the week, framing, partitioning, cabling and mechanical work contint.ed in the penthouse and on floors 4 through 7. Work was suspended on floors 2 and 3 pending issuance of the necessary construction permits by Montgomery County construction reviewers.
Floors 4 and 5 are the most complete with drywall on all columns and room enclosures. Ceiling grid was installed on floor 4 with about a third of the floor's light fixtures set in the grid.
During the week, the Office of Consolidation completed its review of floor 5 systems furniture " takeoff" drawings submitted by Baltimore Stationery and Haworth, Inc. Floor 4 comments were provided to Baltimore Stationery and Haworth in June. The Director met with Haworth's District Sales Manager and the Account Manager on August 27 to discuss delivery schedules for systems furniture.
On August 24, the developer's manager of tenant coordination formally responded to the Director's written concerns about conditions in the TWFN parking garage with promises to improve the situation in response to NRC employees' complaints about parking there.
On August 25, at the weekly progru., meeting with Lerner, DBI, OMNI, GSA and NRC participating, Lerner delivered most of the operations and maintenance manuals and specifications for base-building systems in TWFN. NRC provided design sketches to dbl for the floor 2 area vacated by the move of the fitness center plans to floor 1.
On August 26, GSA negotiators met with the developer's negotiator to discuss the proposed leases of the TWFN plaza level and garage. Discussion focused on clarification of points at issues between the two sides. GSA requested a revised plaza level proposal from the developer.
On August 27, the developer's representatives met with Montgomery County construction permitting officials and received an indication that approval with slight modifications would be forthcoming to the layout of floors 2 and 3.
ENCLOSURE L AUGUST 27, 1993
h Office of State Programs Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 Meetina with New York State Officials Sheldon Schwartz, Deputy Director, Office of State Programs, William Kane, i
Deputy Region I Administrator, and other NRC staff met with officials from New York State on August 23, 1993 in Albany, New York. The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss various issues concerning New York's Agreement State program.
Special Topics Workshop The Office of State Programs sponsored a Special Topics Workshop on August 23-I 25, 1993 in Houston, Texas. The workshop was held on decommissioning and financial assurance issues. Among the issues discussed were NRC's decommissioning regulations, NRC's site decommissioning management plan and compatibility of decommissioning and financial assurance regulations.
A contractor provided a day-and-a-half course on NRC's financial assurance 4
regulations, including a session dedicated to casework involving reviews of financial assurance applications. James Myers, OSP, was the workshop coordinator.
Medical Uses of Radionuclides Course The Office of State Programs sponsored a medical uses of radionuclides for l
State personnel course on August 23-27, 1993 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The j
class consisted of 20 students from State radiation control programs and 3 l
from the NRC.
Lloyd Bolling, OSP, was the course coordinator.
-IAEA Interreoional Trainino Course on Manaaement of Radioactive Waste from Nuclear Power Plants Steve Salomon, Office of State Programs, lectured on August 24, 1993 at the i
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Interregional Training Course on
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Management of Radioactive Waste from Nuclear Power Plants at the Argonne
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National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois. Twenty-seven persons from the Far East, Latin American, and Eastern Europe were registered for this first course l
(August 23-September 17,1993) organized jointly by the IAEA, ANL and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and funded by the U.S. government. Dr. Salomon's lectures covered the national infrastructure for low-level radioactive waste i
(LLW) management, the Agreement State Program, and the licensing requirements j
for land disposal of LLW (10 CFR Part 61).
Private Enterprise / Government Interactions Group Meetina Maria Lopez-Otin, Federal liaison, attended a meeting of the Federal I
Coordinating Council on Science,- Engineering and Technology's (FCCSET) Private -
Enterprise / Government Interactions (PEGI) group on August 17, 1993. The PEGI was given a briefing by Dr. Robert Woodmansee on the Ecological Society of America's work on the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative and its relation to the Administration's look at Federal research and technology.
In addition, the AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE M
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PEGI gave approval to the brochures announcing the upcoming Conference on business, technology, and the environment.
The Conference will be held on November 3 and 4, 1993, at the Key Bridge Marriott.
It is expected that Vice-President Gore will be the keynote speaker.
Committee on International Science. Enaineerina and Technology Maria Lopez-Otin, Federal Liaison, participated in the Committee on International Science, Engineering and Technology's Title V Subcommittee meeting on August 18, 1993. Outlines of the Title V Report chapters were distributed and discussed. Of interest to the NRC is a section on nuclear energy. Ms. Lopez-Otin will be reviewing this section and coordinating with the Office of International Programs. A preliminary draft of the report is to be completed by the end of September.
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AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE M j
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4 Office of International Programs Items of Interest i
Week Ending August 27, 1993 Foreion Visitors On Monday, Steve Adams, Head of the Operator Licensing Division of the Council for Nuclear Safety (CNS) of South Africa, started a familiarity program on U.S. operator training and licensing. Over the next few weeks, Mr. Adams will visit NRC headquarters, Region II and the Technical Training Center, INPO and the D.C. Cook and Sequoyah nuclear power plants to learn about our current practices and requirements.
This is the first substantive staff level interaction with the CNS since the Union of South Africa signed the NPT. A second staff level meeting is scheduled for September in the area of environmental monitoring.
On Thursday, Mr. Gunnar Johansson, Head, and Dr. Conny Haegg of the Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) visited NRC to meet with the staff on high-level waste management issues of common interest in Sweden and the U.S.
4 ENCLOSURE P AUGUST 27, 1993 e
Region I i
items of Interest i
Week Ending August 27, 1993
)
1.
PermaGrain Products. Inc. Meetina 1
1 PermaGrain Products, Inc. operates an irradiation facility on land owned by and leased from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The land previously (from 1959 until 1977) was the site of various experimental facilities that utilized radioactive material and contains contaminated structures from those previous operations. The PermaGrain facility is located in some of the previously used and contaminated structures.
On August 24, 1993, a meeting was held in Region I between PermaGrain, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and NRC Region I to discuss remediation of the site. The Commonwealth has submitted to the NRC a Statement of Intent to provide funds for the remediation of the PermaGrain facility and attended the meeting as representatives of PermaGrain. The NRC provided preliminary results of their review of the PermaGrain facility Characterization Report, concluding that the report is adequate, provided that PermaGrain addresses minor issues in the Remediation Plan. The Region I staff committed to provide a letter to PermaGrain with the final results of the Characterization Report's review within two weeks.
PermaGrain stated that they would provide a schedule for providing a Remediation Plan in response to the Region I letter.
Radioactive waste storage and disposal, decontamination problems, NRC guideline limits, and potentially responsible parties for the remediation were also discussed. The meeting was open to the public and two representatives of the Clearfield Progressive, a central Pennsylvania newspaper, attended.
i AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE R
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Region II.
Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 1.
Enterav. Inc. - Emeraency Exercise On August 25, a Full-Scale Emergency Exercise was conducted at the Grand Gulf facility involving participation by the Region, Heau'auarters, and the I
States of Mississippi and Louisiana.
2.
Carolina Power & Licht Comoany - H. B. Robinson On August 26, representatives from the Carolina Power & Light Company were in the Region II Office to attend a Management meeting to discuss:
(1)
Shutdown Risk Precautions associated with the upcoming Refueling outage for their Robinson Plant; and, (2) Planned Actions to resolve issues identified during the re:ent Service Water Inspection.
3.
Tennessee Valley Authority - Watts Bar On August 27, the Regional Administrator presentec the results of the Watts Bar SALP to representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Following the presentation, a meeting with local officials in attendance was held to discuss matters of local interest.
4.
Georaia Mer Company - Voatle On August 27, representatives of the Georgia Power Company were in the i
Region II Office to attend a Management Meeting regarding recent changes to the Vogtle plant organization and operational and outage activities.
5.
Virainia Electric and Power Company - Surry On August 21, the Surry power station declared an Notification of Unusual Event (NOVE) based on a Unit I non-isolable reactor coolant system (RCS) pressure boundary leak.. The leak was in a 3/4-inch weld joint, on the "B" steam generator channel-head-drain-valve assembly. (The 3/4-inch weld was on an adapter for the isolation valve in' the 3/8-inch steam generator drain line). The NOUE was terminated on August 22 when the plant achieved Cold Shutdown. At the time the NOVE was declared, the licensee was in Hot i
Shutdown and making preparation to repair the leak.
Loop "B" of the RCS' was drained and the weld joint was repaired.
Joints in the other steam i
generators were inspected and no problems were identified. The licensee-i is conducting an investigation to determine the root cause mechanism of this failure and a previous failure of the same weld on another generator.
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i AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE R
Region III Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 1.
Dresden On August 26, 1993, the Region III Regional Administrator and other Region III management met with the Dresden Station site Vice President and his management staff.
This management meeting was held at the Dresden station and items discussed included: plant performance; system engineers' performance; and status of reactor level instrumentation modifications.
On August 26, 1993, the Region III Regional Administrator and other Region III management met with Dresden Station site management at the Dresden station to conduct an exit meeting for the Special Safety Inspection concerning a control rod misposition event that occurred in September 1992. That inspection identified three apparent violations and concluded that the individuals involved had engaged in deliberate misconduct.
2.
Palisades A special Restart Assessment Team, consisting of four NRC Region III personnel and a consultant, commenced onsite inspection activities on August 23, 1993. The Team was focusing on two areas:
(1) plant equipment, to verify that the recovery actions were complete for the problems experienced at the plant early in the outage (a broken fuel rod and a fuel bundle snagged on the upper guide structure); (2) the readiness of plant organizations ar.d personnel to safely operate the pl ant. Team findings will support Region III preparations for a public meeting with the licensee scheduled for Septemiser 9,1993.
3.
Palisades Inspection of Boraflex test coupons at the Palisades Plant between August 16 and 19 identified approximately 38 to 90 percent of the boraflex missing (boraflex is used in the spent fuel pool high density fuel racks as a neutron absorber and loss of boraflex changes the shutdown margin).
Initial calculations by the licensee indicate the fuel in the spent fuel pool will remain subcritical. Westinghouse is performing a detailed shutdown margin calculation due in approximately four to six weeks. Region III has written a technical summary and is currently writing a draft information notice.
4.
Commonwealth Edison Company On August 26, 1993, the Regional Administrator and members of the Region III staff met with the Vice President, Nuclear Oversight and Regulatory Services and others of Commonwealth Edison Company to discuss Commonwealth's progress in implementing its program to ensure that motor-operated valves are sized and maintained properly.
ENCLOSURE R AUGUST 27, 1993
5.
John R. Sinkey. H.D.
On August 25, 1993, an Enforcement Conference was conducted in the Region III office between John R. Sinkey, M.D., and members of the Region III staff. This Enforcement Conference was held to discuss the findings from the special safety inspection conducted from July 22 through August 2, 1993. The inspection was conducted in response to the licensee's failure to establish, implement and submit a Quality Management Program (QMP) on or before January 27, 1992. The licensee voluntarily ceased operations on July 28, 1993, until a consultant re-trains the authorized user and staff, and the violations are corrected.
6.
Reaional Utility Group (RUG) Meetina On August 25, 1993, Jim McCormick-Barger, Chief, Emergency Preparedness and Non-Power Reactor Section, attended the Region III Regional Utility Group (RUG) meeting to discuss current EP issues.
This meeting was also attended by representatives from most of the Region III utilities, FEMA Regions V & VII, INPO, and NUMARC.
1 AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE R j
I Region V Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 1.
Division of Radiation Safety and SafeQuards A telephonic enforcement conference was held between Alaska Regional Hospital and Region V on August 23, 1993, to discuss apparent violations resulting from an NRC inspection completed on July 30, 1993.
4 AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE R
Office of the Executive Director for Operations Items of Interest Week Ending August 27, 1993 1.
Proposed Rule to be Sioned by EDO On August 27, 1993, the Executive Director for Operations approved a proposed rule that would amend 10 CFR Part 72, " Notification of Events at Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations and the Monitored Retrievable Storage Installation."
i This constitutes notice to the Commission that, in accordance with the rulemaking authority delegated to the EDO, the EDO has signed this proposed rule for publication in the Federal Register.
l AUGUST 27, 1993 ENCLOSURE S l
August 27, 1993 NRR Meetina Notice g;
a 05-Docket Attendees /
((
Date/ Time Number location Purpose Apolicant NRR Contact
.u emmi 8
09/08/93 50-321 One White Flint North To discuss the status of current NRC/ GEORGIA POWER D. Hood us 1:00-3:00 50-366 Room 4-B-13 licensing activities and 50-424 corporate initiatives for 50-425 Georgia Power's Vogtle and Hatch plants.
09/09/93 50-321 One White Flint North To discuss the status of curre it NRC/ GEORGIA POWER D. Hood 10:30-2:30 50-366 Room 4-B-11 licensing activities and 50-424 corporate initiatives for 50-425 Georgia Power's Vogtle and Hatch plants.
09/17/93 None One White Flint North To discuss Solution I-A Analysis NRC/BWROG/0RNL II. Richings 8:30-12:30 Room 8-B-11 09/23/93 50-346 One White Flint North To discuss the Davis-Bessee ISI NRC/TE J. Hopkins 10:30-12:30 Room 1 F 19 Program.
10/05/93 52-001 One White Flint North To discuss the status of the NRC/ABB-CE/GE T. Boyce 52-002 Room 12 B 11 design certification reviews.52-003 m
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August 27, 1993 2
35 NMSS Meetina Notices w
Docket Attendees /
-4 Date/ Time Number location Purpose Apolicant NRC Contact D
G U$
8/31-9/3 N/A San Antonio, TX UMTRA Inspection at NRC D. Rom Gunnison, C0 the Falls City and Site Personnel Gunnison Sites 9/2 N/A Albuquerque, NM To attend DOE Sponsored NRC M. Layton Groundwater Technical DOE Working Group States 9/8 70-1257 OWFN Meeting to discuss NRC, RV, Seimens M. Adams plan for expansion of the dry conversion and the status of their Criticality Safety Analysis update program 9/20-24 70-1151 Columbia, SC Material Control and NRC, Westinghouse, C. Light Accounting Inspection New Brunswick Laboratories 9/29 N/A Washington, DC To attend Interagency NRC M. Weber Steering Committee DOE Meeting on Residual EPA Radioactivity D00 m
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ll August 27, 1993 m
~l RES Meetina Notices u
Docket Attendees /
~
@j Date/ Time Number Location Purpose Applicant NRC Contact w
9/1/93 N/A North Carolina Thermal / Hydraulic Testing at RES staff L.Shotkin State University NCSU 9/13-14/93 N/A Holiday Inn Digital Systems Reliability NIST, NRC, and L.Beltracchi Crowne Plaza and Nuclear Safety Workshop industry 1
9/22/93 N/A Oregon State Possible Use of OSU Thermal /
RES staff L.Shotkin University Hydraulic Loop 10/20-22/93 N/A Boston, MA Conference on Achievements of NRC, OECD/NEA, A. Rubin the TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Utilities / Industry, Projact, sponsored by OECD/NEA OECD members, and NRC Public 10/25-27/93 N/A Pooks Hill 21st Water Reactor Safety NRC, public A.Burda Harriott Information Meeting Bethesda, MD 10/28-29/93 N/A Pooks Hill Cooperative Severe Accident NRC, foreign F.Eltawila Harriott Research Program meeting participants Bethesda, MD m
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August 27, 1993.
f Office of State Programs Meetino Notices 03 Docket Attendees /
Date/ Time Number Location Purpose Applicant SP Contact TL E3 9/13-17/93 NA Houston, TX Inspection Procedures States J. Myers Course 9/14/93 50-280 Gravel Neck, VA Surry SALP/ Local Public State / Local Gov't R. Trojanowski 50-281 Officials Meeting 9/14/93 50-361 San Clemente, CA San Onofre Emergency EP Officials D. Kunihiro 50-362 Planning Exercise 9/15-16/93 50-321 Baxley, GA Hatch Emergency Planning EP Officials R. Trojanowski 50-366 Exercise 9/20-24/93 NA Burlington, MA Industrial Radiography States J. Myers Course 9/22/93 NA Boston, MA Massachusetts LLW LLW Officials M. Miller Management Board Meeting 9/23/93.
NA Topeka, KS Outreach Meeting EP Officials C. Hackney 9/27-10/1/93 NA Columbia, SC Transportation Course States D. Sollenberger 9/29-30/93 NA Rockville, MD National State Liaison SL0s M. Landau Officers Meeting 10/5-6/93 NA Las Vegas, NV LSS Advisory Review LSS Advisory R. Virgilio Panel Meeting Panel 10/5-7/93 50-390-Spring City, TN Watts Bar EP Exercise EP Officials R. Trojanowski 50-391 m
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August 27, 1993
{
m Reaion I Neetina Notices Docket Attendees /
Date/ Time Number location Purpose Applicant NRC Contact 09/08/93 040 08976 Region I To review the status of Selected NRC Staff Kinneman 10:00 a.m.
decommissioning of Westing-Members and Licensee housa Bloomfield, New Jersey site 09/08/93 50-322 Region I Meeting to discuss Transfer Selected NRC Staff Nimitz &
10:00 a.m.
50-352/353 of Fuel from Shoreham to Members and Licensees Anderson Limerick m
E N
August 27, 1993 Reaion II Meetina Notice
[i v,
Docket Attendees /
j$
Date/ Time Number location Purpose Applicant NRC Contact Gs 08/31/93 50-321 Baxley, GA Presentation of DRS Dep. Director, Jaudon US 12:00 noon 50-366 Operator Certificates RII staff, operators, to newly licensed licensee representatives operators at Plant Hatch 09/02/93 50-327 Soddy-Daisy, TN ORAT Exit Meeting at RA, RII Staff Ebneter 2:00 p.m.
50-328 Sequoyah Facility and Licensee 09/03/93 50-390 Spring City, TN PACAQ Exit at Watts Same as above Ebneter 9:00 a.m.
50-391 Bar Facility 09/07/93 50-259 Athens, Al Meeting at Browns Ferry RA, RII Staff, Ebneter 1:00 p.m.
50-260 site and presentation of Operators, and 50-296 certificates to newly Licensee Management licensed operators 09/08/93 999-90002 RII Office Enforcement Conference RA, RII Staff and Ebneter 1:30 p.m.
Childress Service Corp. Licensee 09/09/93 03010772 RII Office Enforcement Conference Same as above Ebneter 1:30 p.m.
Princeton Com Hospital rn G
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August 27 1993 RIII Meetino Notice v;
.S Docket Attendees E
Date/ Time Number Location Purpose Applicant NRC Contact U$
09/16/93 50-346 Site Toledo Edison Company, Deputy Administrator, Greenman Davis Besse - SALP Selected Staff Presentation 1
9/21/93-RIII Resident Inspector Regional Administrator Greenman 9/23/93 Seminar Selected Staff l
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August 27, 1993 y
Reaion IV Meetina Notice _
.O Attendees /
NRC G
Docket l
Date/ Time Number location Purpose Ajplicant Contact 9/8/93 50-498 STP STP Oversight Panel Mtg.
RIV/NRR S. Collins 7:30 50-499 9:00 STP Licensee Progress in RIV/
M Satorius Addressing Current Issues HL&P 9/9/93 50-285 Ft. Calhoun Discuss safe shutdown risk OPPD P..Harrell
)
and other issues associated 12:30 with scheduled 9/93 refueling outage.
9/27/93 50-313 ANO Public SALP Meeting RIV Entergy Operations J. Callan 12:30 50-368 E
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