ML20059G950

Staff Requirements Memo Re SECY-93-352,Proposed Export of Fort St Vrain Unirradiated HEU Fuel Assemblies to France for Recovery & Down-Blending to LEU XSNM-2748, & SECY-93-333, Final Amend to 10CFR55 on Renewal of Licenses..

ML20059G950
Person / Time
Site:	Fort Saint Vrain
Issue date:	01/19/1994
From:	Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
To:	Stoiber C, Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (OIP), NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
References
FRN-59FR5934, REF-10CFR9.7 AE39-2-044, AE39-2-44, AE39-2-45, M940119, NUDOCS 9401260068
Download: ML20059G950 (5)

Text

. , ks I 4

8ga nseg*'o UNITED STATES I

[ 'p .g , 'g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l

.py- E W ASH IN GTON. D.C. 20555 IN RESPONSE, PLEASE-k k ,,j gj f REFER TO' M940119 OFFICE OF THE January 19, 1994 SE CRE TARY MEMORANDUM FOR

Carlton R. Stoiber, Director 7 Office of International Prohrams James M. Taylor Executive Diry tor for Operations

/ { IA- -

FROM: Samuel J. ChIs cretary

SUBJECT:

STAFF REQUIRE ENTS - AFFIRMATION / DISCUSSION  !

AND VOTE, 11:30 A.M., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1994, COMMISSIONERd' CONFERENCE ROOM, ONE WHITE FLINT NORTH, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND (OPEN TO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE)

I. SECY-93-352 - Proqoped Export of Fort St. Vrain Unirradiated i HEU Fuel Assemblies tk_ France for Recovery and Down-Blendina J to LEU (XSNM02748)

The Commission, by a 4-0* vote, approved an order responding to a )

petition to intervene and for a hearing on the proposed issuance 1 of an export license for certain unirradiated HEU fuel assemblies j to Transnuclear, Inc., by the Nuclear Control Institute. The )

order denied the petition.

(Subsequently, on January 19, 1994, the Assistant Secretary  ;

signed the Order. )  !

l The Commission has also authorized the issuance of an export )

license to Transnuclear, Inc. j

• Section 201 of the Energy Reorganization Act, 42 U.S.C. 55841, I provides that action of the Commission shall be determined by a

" majority vote of the members present." Commissioner de Planque l was not present.when this item was affirmed. Acccrdingly, the i formal vote of the Commission was 3-0 in favor of the decision.

Commissioner de Planque, however, had previously indicated that ,

she would approve this paper and had she been present she would 1 have affirmed her prior vote. q 9401260068 940119 l PDR 10CFR i PT9.7 PDR f b 2iOG0G Y]

\ \ ,

\ i

e A: .i

)

l 1

e t

II. SECY-93-333 - Final Amendments to 10 CFR Part 55 on Renewal -i of Licenses and Recualification Reauirements for' Licensed i Operators  ;

The Commission, by a 4-O* vote, approved final amendments'to 10 CFR Part 55 and the proposed Federal Register notice with the:

changes indicated in the attachment. ,

1

Attachment:

As stated e cc: The Chairman >

Commissioner Rogers Commissioner Remick Commissioner de Planque OGC OCA OIG Office Directors, Regions, ACRS, ACNW, ASLBP (via E-Mail) l PDR - Advance DCS - Pl-24  !

.i t

i e

t i

• Section 201 of the Energy Reorganization Act, 42 U.S.C. 55841, i provides that action of the Commission shall be determined by a  ;

" majority vote of the members present." Commissioner de Planque was.not present when this item was' affirmed. .Accordingly, the i formal vote of the Commission was 3-0 in favor of the decision.  !

Commissioner de Planque, however, had previously-indicated that  ;

she would approve this paper and had she been present'she would have affirmed her prior vote.

r b

1. _ __

occur rather frequently.

Response: After reviewing the six comments opposing the proposed  ;

regulation, the-Commission has concluded that the basis for this requirement remains sound and that it should be adopted. This determination is based on ,

the following considerations:

(i) The NRC believes that since the beginning of the requalification l program, experience indicates that weaknesses in implementation of facility i licensee's programs are generally the root cause of deficiencies in the performance of operators.

(ii) The NRC believes if its resources were directed towards inspection and oversight of facility licensee's requalification programs rather than continuing to conduct individual operator requalification examinations, the f operational safety at each facility will continue to be ensured and in fact, 1

will be improved. A routine inspection frequency of once per.SALP cycle will ensure consistency between inspection scheduling and licensee performance. A.

minimum routine inspection frequency of at least once every 2 years will -

ensure active NRC oversight of facility licensee's requalification programs.

Forfacilitylicensees.sithjgoodperformance,lconsidedti'onjwillibeg'iven'to not ' performing an on-siteiinspection duringl.theLSALP period.

(iii) The NRC believes that the facility requalification programs have been demonstrated to be basically sound during the pilot examinations. Given l the broad range of possible approaches built into the inspection process, the NRC would only conduct examinations when they are the most effective tool to -

evaluate and understand the programmatic issues, or if the NRC loses 1 confidence in the facility licensee's ability to conduct its own examinations. l l

2 Examples which could result in a regional management decision for a "for 1 cause" requalification examination include:

]

a. Requalification inspection results which indicate an ineffective 8

e s

~- .- . . - - .

. 6 evaluated were found to be adequate for an effective requalification program i

to_be managed by the licensees' staffs. Although being able to review the l proposed examinations at the NRC did save some on-site inspection effort, the

' inspectors were still able to complete the Temparary inspection procedures '

within the time allowed (i.e., two inspectors on-site for 1 week).

The NRC believes that it will be advantageous to have selected examinations @Meh may inc4eje-proposed ex=inatione available for review at  :

-1 NRC offices in addition to other documentation customarily provided,  :

consistent with the Commission's inspection program needs te-prepare-fee-the on+He-peM4en-of-the-inspee14en. [ INSERT) Therefore, the NRC will delete  :

the amendment to @ 55.59(c) as proposed from the final rulemaking and will require instead that comprehensive written examinations or operating tests be submitted upon request consistent with the Commission's inspection program needs and sustained effectiveness of the facility licensee's examination and simulator scenario banks. During the-6 ALP-eyt4e-fer-each-44eensee, the NE  ;

e*pech-44-w14-eequest-examinat4 ens-er- tests in advanee-fer every arH4te 4nspeet4eny

3. ProDosed Amendment: Include facility licensees in the scope of 10 CFR 55, specifically s 55.2, will be revised to include facility licensees.  ;

General Statement: Only 1 of the 42 respondents to the FRN addressed and endorsed this provision of the propcsc-d rulemaking.

Response: The NRC believes the absence of comments regarding this proposal substantiates the NRC's position that this is simply an administrative correction and does not materially change the intent of the ,

regulation. The NRC considers this amendment as an administrative addition to 11  :

-i i

.- s i

1 l

INSERT FOR PAGE 11 ,

During the on-site inspection, the inspectors will observe the-facility evaluators administer written examinations and operating  :

tests.to the crews being evaluated. Although the facility examination may last several weeks, the NRC's on-site inspection usually lasts only one week. Normally, the NRC intends to request ]

that the facility licensee submit only those written examinations l or operating tests that will be administered during the week of ,

the NRC inspection. Obtaining this examination material in advancn of the inspection will alled the inspectors to prepare for  :

their on-site inspection activities by reviewing the examinations  ;

or tests before they travel to the facility. This advance {

preparation will result in a more effective use of on-site  :

inspection time and reduce the burden on the facility licensee by j placing fewer demands on their training staff during the examination week. i t

e

?

B k

k i

f k I

e

?