ML20129F331

Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 960920

ML20129F331
Person / Time
Issue date:	09/25/1996
From:	Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-96-204, SECY-96-204-R, WIR-960920, NUDOCS 9610040105
Download: ML20129F331 (26)

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'*"* l INFORMATION REPORY """"*

September 25. 1996 I SECY 96-204 fat: ,

The Commissioners From: James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO l lub.iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 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 Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K -

State Programs L*

Public Affairs M International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary 0 Region I P Region II P Region III P ,

Region IV P l Executive Director for Operations Q* l Congressional Affairs R l

• No input this week.  !

&91 C ames L. Bla a Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

J. Mitchell, OED0 p :q 415-1727 -

/

040060 9610040105 960925 hKL R PDR

NOTICE Internal NRC Recipients:

The Weekly Information Report (WIR) is now included on the NRC's AUTOS LAN by the Office of the Executive Director for Operations (EDO) under the Windows icon called AGENCY-WIDE. In order to provide a transition while agency employees become familiar with accessing the WIR on the LAN, hard copies will continue to be distributed to the normal internal distribution list for three weeks. The final hard copy distribution to m21t internal NRC recipients will be the issue for the week ending October 4, 1996. If anyone believes that extenuating circumstances dictate continued receipt of a hard copy, contact Patricia Anderson (415-1703 or PAA on email).

External Recipients:

The WIR can be accessed directly from the Internet at:

ht t p : / /www . n rc . g ov/NRC/N EWS/ wee kl y . html Access to the NRC Homepage is through:

http://www.nrc. gov /

The WIR is normally availsole on the Homepage on the Monday following its preparation. That isi the report for the week ending September 20, 1996, should be available on September 30, 1996. Therefore, access to the WIR through the Homepage is likely to be quicker than by hard copy distribution through the Public Document Room or through the Government Printing Office.

' t, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Doerational Safety Team' Inspection at Clinton Power Station During the weeks of September 15 and 22, 1996, David Desaulniers of HHFB is participating as the human factors analyst in an Operational Safety Team Inspection (OSTI) at the Clinton Power Station. The purpose of the OSTI is to develop an understanding of the causes of recent human performance and procedural compliance related events and to evaluate the licensee's corrective actions.

Observation of the ABB-CE BWR Power Instability Instrumentation no Control System Modification Factory Acceptance Testina During the week of September 16, 1996, staff from HICB observed the factory acceptance testing of the ABB-CE digital instrumentation and control system design modification to address BWR power instability concerns. The testing was conducted at the ABB-CE facilities in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. HICB i approved this digital modification design last year in a safety evaluation of a topical report on the system based on a program of verification and validation and factory acceptance testing to be conducted by ABB-CE. Once the factory acceptance testing is successfully completed, BWR licensees may reference the topical report in license amendment applications and incorporate the modification in the plant instrumentation and control system.

Northeast Utilities On September 18, 1996, Northeast Utilities announced a major organizational restructuring affecting the NU nuclear organization reporting to Bruce D.

Kenyon, who became President and Chief Executive Officer of Northeast Nuclear Energy Company and NU's other nuclear subsidiaries on September 3, 1996. The ,

organization has been changed from centralized to a " unitized" structure with '

resources and accountability largely decentralized. Recovery Officers reporting directly to Kenyon will head the organizations for each shutdown NU plant. The Recovery Officers have been provided from PEC0, Virginia Power, and CP&L. There is as well a team of other experienced individuals provided l on a full time basis from these same utilities to assist the Recovery Officers.

Catawba Unit 1 Since June 13, 1996, Catawba Unit I has been shut down for a refueling and steam generator (SG) replacement outage. The replacement steam generators were designed and manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox International, and are significantly different in several features from the original steam generators. The NRR staff has completed all reviews (license amendments, reliefs) associated with the SG replacement and refueling.

The unit is now in Mode 5 (cold shutdown), and is expected to enter Mode 4 >

(hot shutdown) on September 20, 1996.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE A

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Quad Cities Units 1 and 2 - Restart Status Update for Unit 1 .

Unit 1 is presently at 60% power conducting startup testing after returning from refueling outage Q1R13. Several problems have occurred during the startup.

On September 1,1996, the ID main steam isolation valve failed its closure surveillar.ce test and the unit was brought off-line. The solenoids on the actuator were repaired and the plant was returned to service on September 6, 1996.

l On September 2, 1996, the licensee determined that it had changed modes from "Run" to "Startup" without all instruments required to be operable per TS. In l this case, the TS required the licensee to initiate insertion of operable rods i and complete imrtion of all rods within 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br />. Instead of taking this  !

action, the li ansee incorrectly invoked the provisions of Generic Letter 87-09, which allows an additional 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> to perform the missed surveillance ,

tests. The current TS do not allow this extension for missed surveillances. l The new TS recently issued under their Technical Specification Upgrade Program (TSUP) does incorporate this provision; however, the licensee has not yet implemented TSUP. Upon realizing this error, an ENS call was made on September 3,1996, reporting an after-the-fact simultaneous declaration and termination of an unusual event due to exceeding the limiting condition for operation specified in the TS. Between the time of recognition of the missed surveillances and before the declaration of the UE the licensee completed the required surveillances.

Subsequently on September 17, 1996, the licensee retracted the event stating that it had determined that all required surveillances were in fact completed prior to placing the mode switch in "Startup" on September 2,1996.

On September 10, 1996, the main turbine was taken off-line wheh repairs were ,

necessary for a flow control valve leading to a moisture separator drain tank. I A piece of round stock was found in the valve which caused seat ring damage.

The unit was returned to service after a 21 hour2.430556e-4 days <br />0.00583 hours <br />3.472222e-5 weeks <br />7.9905e-6 months <br /> forced outage.

The resident staff is closely following the reactor startup.

Clinton Power Station - Implementation of Team-Based Maintenance Process Illinois Power Company has announced the implementation of the Maintain the Plant Process. The concept behind this program is that the traditional maintenance function will be performed by separate and independent process teams. Seven teams, each responsible for a building or zone within the plant, will be composed of approximately 15-20 individuals with diverse backgrounds.

In addition to the seven zoned teams, there will also be a Work Control Team and an Outage Team.

A pilot Turbine /Radwaste Building Team was implemented in August 1996 and will be maintained until the scheduled refueling outage in mid-October. A separate Work Control Team, whose function is to schedule and coordinate work between the seven teams, was implemented on September 3,1996. After the fall outage, SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE A

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the seven teams will begin to form with full implementation of the Maintain the Plant Process planned for June 1997.

The intent of the Maintain the Plant Process is to streamline the work process, improve resource utilization, and lower costs to support reduced staffing. Most reductions in force will occur in areas that plan, support and implement maintenance. Illinois Power has been actively seeking means to support reduced staffing and reduce operating costs to make the Clinton Power Station more competitive. Staffing levels at Clinton are approximately 830 and the intent is to reduce this number to 700 - 720 by the end of 1997.

Clinton Power Station - Sovland Power Relinauishes Ownershio j In an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), Soyland Power Cooperative will be allowed to write off nearly

$1 billion in debt for its investment in the Clinton Power Station. Soyland Power, which is a co-op that sells wholesale electricity to 21 member co-ops, paid $237 million on September 13, 1996, to settle the $1.219 billion debt.

The remaining $982 million will be paid by taxpayers. Soyland also agreed to turn over its 13% share of the Clinton Power Station to Illinova Corporation, Illinois Power's parent company. The remaining 87% of the facility is owned by Illinois Power Company.

The agreement marks the first time that the USDA's RUS has forgiven such a large debt from a rural electric cooperative. Soyland bought a share of the Clinton Power Station at the urging of the Rural Electrification Administration, the forerunner of RUS. Soyland was being threatened with bankruptcy and had been selling electricity at 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, l nearly twice the national average.

The Soyland-Illinova deal will require approval from both the NRC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Illinois Power Company, the licensee, l expects to submit a license amendment change to reflect the change in '

ownership soon.

Wolf Creek Generatina Station - Kansas City Power and liaht (Wolf Creek Co-Owner) fails in its bid to merce with Utilicoro In January 1996, Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L) (a Wolf Creek co-owner) and Utilicorp announced they were merging. A few months later, Western Resources (the other co-owner of Wolf Creek) made a hostile bid to take over KCP&L. In a shareholder vote on August 16, 1996, 46.9% of the shareholders voted to accept the KCP&L - Utilicorp merger. This has stopped the proposed merger between KCP&L and Utilicorp. Western Resources is continuing in their bid to merge with KCP&L. If Western Resources and KCP&L merge, Wolf Creek will be wholly owned by the resultant company. A meeting was held on September 19, 1996, between representatives of Western Resources and the NRC staff to discuss the possible merger with KCP&L and the affect it may have on Wolf Creek.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE A

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Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards  !

Items of Interest t

, Week Ending September 20, 1996 ,

I Meetina with Portland General Electric Comoany on Soent Fuel '

Representatives of the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) participated with the .

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) in a meeting with Portland General Electric Company, the licensee for the Trojan facility, on September 17, 1996, concerning the licensee's spent fuel pool debris project. The licensee  !

desires to prepare material (e.g., fuel material, fi,1ter material containing l

, organic compounds, non-fuel bearing components, and greater than class C l material) currently stored in the spent fuel pool for storage in the proposed independent. spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). Essentially, the process j proposed by the' licensee would involve pyrolysis of the organic materials and  !

subsequent encapsulation prior to returning the material to the spent fuel l pool, and ultimately storing the material in the' ISFSI. NRR has the lead for i the review of this process. The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and .

Safeguards and SFP0 will track the disposition of the material's final form in  !

the proposed fuel debris canister for storage in the ISFSI.  ;

Meetina to Discuss Transportation of Salem Oriainal Steam Generators On September 17, 1996, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office attended a  !

meeting between Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G), its  !

i contract 7rs, and the Department of Transportation (DOT). PSE&G has submitted  !'

a request to DOT for exemption from certain DOT packaging requirements, for shipment of the four original steam generators (SGs) from the Salem power i plant to the Barnwell, South Carolina, disposal site. A representative from i the State of New Jersey was also in attendance, and a Region I health physics l

inspector participated by phone. Items discussed at the meeting included characterization of the radionuclides in the SG, the proposed transportation

mode and route, and the packaging of the SG.

. Dry Cask Storace Pre-Fabrication Meetina with Susauehanna 1

1 On September 12, 1996, Spent Fuel Project Office (SFP0) staff met with representatives of Susquehanna Steam Electric Station and Vectra to discuss l

their plans for dry cask spent fuel storage. This was the first meeting as part of an Si-P0 initiative to heighten the awareness of licensees, vendors and fabricat;rs to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff concerns regarding 10 CFR Part 72 dry cask storage. Staff participation included representatives i of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and Region I.

Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L) discussed their plans for storing spent fuel utilizing the NUHOMS-52B system under the general license. The licensee presentation included a project overview, management's perspective and the quality assessment program. The staff discussed previous NRC inspections and

cited several areas of concern, including

(1) fabrication, material

compatibility, and design controls; (2) the design change and non-conformance .

processes; (3) adequate loading and unloading procedures; and (4) heavy loads  !

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE B 1

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aad required 10 CFR Part 50.59 reviews. The staff emphasized the oversight j responsibilities of the licensee, vendor and fabricator.

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, Planned Nuclear Assurance Corporation Anolications for Dual-Purpose Spent Fuel j Cask Certificates 4

On September 17, 1996, the Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with representatives of Nuclear Assurance Corporation (NAC) International to N

discuss future applicatior.

:. Representatives of NAC and Yankee Atomic .

t Electric Company provided information on the NAC multi-purpose cask (MPC) l' storage system to be utilized at the Yankee-Rowe site under a general license. ,

NAC plans to submit an MPC Safety Analysis Report to obtain 10 CFR Part 72

, certification of the transportable storage canister, transfer cask and  :

i vertical concrete storage cask. The canister contents are to include-  !

zirconium and stainless steel clad fuel, failed fuel rods, and greater than  :

l Class C waste. For the transport system, NAC plans to submit an application '

for an amendment to the NAC storage / transportation cask Certificate of  ;

! Compliance. Both applications are scheduled to be submitted in December 1996. '

I I NAC also outlined the submittal plans for the Universal Multi-Purpose Canister l System (UMS) during a subsequent proprietary session. The UMS submittal will j also be a dual-purpose application, intended to be able to accommodate the storage and transportation of most commercial reactor fuel types. NAC intends

] to submit the transportation application in December 1996, followed by the storage application in April 1997.

Meetina with the Department of Enerav on Fee Recovery Isa gs On September 18, 1996, the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 4

Safeguards (NMSS), Deputy Chief Financial Officer, ar.d representatives of the Offices of the General Counsel, Executive Director for Operations, and Spent i Fuel Project Office met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary foi Nuclear Materials and Facilities Stabilization of the Department of Energy (D0E).

The purpose of the meeting was to develop a plan whereby the Nuclear i Regulatory Commission could recover the costs it would incur in the licensing i review of two DOE facilities. The first of the facilities in question is the l independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) being considered to house the Three Mile Island-2 fuel. The fuel is currently located in wet storage at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The second is the Fort St. Vrain ISFSI, the license for which would be transferred from Public Service of Colorado to D0E.

l Several avenues of approach were discussed. DOE elected to take the lead in j this effort while working with the NRC Office of the Controller.

Initial Acolication of the International Atomic Enerav Aaency Safeauards to l

the Babcock & Wilcox Naval Nuclear Fuel Division Plant i

During the period August 26-September 6,1996, staff of the Regulatory and i International Safeguards Branch participated in the initial visit by the

! International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Babcock & Wilcox Naval

Nuclear Fuel Division plant located in Lynchburg, Virginia. The purpose of

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the visit was to verify the initial inventory of nuclear material recovered '

from the purification of a portion of the high-enriched uranium (HEU) from Kazakstan; install measurement equipment in the process line that will be used to downblend the HEU; and verify the design information provided to the IAEA  ;

in the Design Information Questionnaire. This verification will be completed l l during the next inspection in mid-October. Several technical discussions were

! held to explain the downblending process and review the planned safeguards l approach. IAEA inspection visits are anticipated approximately once a month l until the downblending is completed, which is currently projected for early l 1997. j 1

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Strenathenina International Atomic Enerav Aaency Safeauards l During the week of September 9,1996, Regulatory and International Safeguards Branch staff participated in the Subgroup for Safeguards Technical Support annual review of ongoing projects at two National Laboratories and a private l firm in support of U.S. efforts to strengthen International Atomic Agency

! (IAEA) Safeguards. The interagency Subgroup is comprised of representatives of the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy; the Nuclear Regulatory i

Commission; and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. During this review, the status of current efforts was discussed as well as some efforts the l National Laboratories are involved in that may be of interest to the IAEA during future inspections on excess nuclear weapons material. The next Subgroup meeting with the IAEA to discuss current and future tasks will be in Vienna, Austria, in May 1997.

Proposed Policy Statements for low-level Waste Sites by the Conference of Radiation Control Proaram Directors l

The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) held their fourth Workshop for Regulators of Low-Level Radwaste Facilities in Greeley, Colorado, September 8-11, 1996. Attendees included representatives of sixteen states, five commercial organizations, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, and the Nu: lear Regulatory Commission.

Discussions focused on alternatives to the disposal of radwaste in a landfill and on release criteria for recycling metals contaminated with radioactive -

! materials.

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Department of Eneray-Nuclear Reaulatory Commission Anoendix 7 Meetina on Use of Expert Judament in DOE's Probabilistic Volcanic Hazards Analysis On September 10, 1996, Division of Waste Management staff met with the Department of Energy (DOE) to compare and contrast the formal expert elicitation process used by DOE in its 1995, "Probabilistic Volcanic Hazards Analysis (PVHA)" with the elicitation guidance provided by the staff in its recently completed " Branch Technical Position on the Use of Expert Judgment in the High-Level Radioactive Waste Program," designated NUREG-1563. The purpose of the meeting was to provide DOE with feedback regarding its PVHA elicitation process so that DOE might improve the application of the process to both ongoing and future elicitations. During the meeting, it was noted that the SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE B

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results of the staff's review concluded that the PVHA was generally consistent i with the staff's Branch Technical Position. However, the staff did identify ,

some potential' weaknesses in the implementation of some of the individual j process steps recommended in NUREG-1563. ,

Workshop on Groundwater Remedial Action at Title I Uranium Mill Tailinas Sites L On September 10-11, 1996, staff from the Division of Waste Management participated in a Department of Energy (DOE) workshop in Albuquerque, New >

Mexico. The topic of the workshop was groundwater remedial action at uranium 4

mill tailings sites regulated under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings l Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA). The workshop was attended by representatives '

! of DOE, DOE contractors, and affected States and Tribes. DOE presented j information ,on technical and management initiatives for implementing '

groundwater remedial action, including approaches for setting remedial action

! priorities for different sites; demonstrating compliance with the regulations; i

! and characterizing organic contaminants. Other topics included application of i alternate concentration limits and supplemental standards; the use of natural l flushing and institutional controls; and numerical modelling techniques to

characterize groundwater flow and contaminant transport. The groundwater .

} remedial action program implemented by the Atlantic Richfield Company at its I

Title II Bluewater site in New Mexico was also discussed to apprise the i participants of the groundwater remedial action programs implemented at l Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed Title II sites.

! NRC-DOE Meetina Reaardina the Exoloratory Studies Facility i

l On September 12, 1996, Division of Waste Management personnel met with

representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding DOE's Exploratory l Studies Facility (ESF). Represented at the meeting were the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission's Spent Fuel Project Office and Center for Nuclear Waste l Regulatory Analyses, DOE's Management and Operating Contractor-(M&O), U.S.

Geological Survey, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, State of Nevada's Nuclear Waste Project Office and Nuclear Waste Task Force, and Nye County, I

Nevada. Discussions centered on: (1) ESF construction status, the status of i the ESF mapping program, and the effects of the latest high-density fracture

zone on drift design; (2) the on-going and planed in-situ thermal tests including the planned method of excavating for the draft-scale test and the test temperatures; (3) a description and the status of DOE's Engineering i Design Program and current design process controls; and (4) DOE's latest l thinking regarding the use of " effective" thermal conductivity of spent i nuclear fuel. The information exchange focused on obtaining information for I the eventual resolution of key technical issues related to the use of Yucca Mountain as the potential repository for high-level waste.

NRC Staff Visits Babcock & Wilcox Parks Township Facility

! On September 17, 1996, Staff of the Division of Waste Management visited the l Babcock and Wilcox facility in Parks Township, Pennsylvania (B&W/ PTS). The purpose of this visit was to tour the site and to discuss the schedule for i completing the review of the B&W/ PTS decommissioning plan with B&W/ PTS management. Currently, B&W/ PTS is removing residual radioacthe material l

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE B i

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e contamination and performing Final Status Surveys in several buildings at the Parks Township facility under their existing license. They have submitted a decommissioning plan covering the remediation of building foundations and exterior areas to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff for approval. The NRC staff is currently reviewing the decommissioning plan and expects to provide comments to B&W/ PTS by the end of October 1996.

Division of Waste Manaaement Staff's Presentation to the Nevada leaislatures's Committee on Hiah-Level Radioactive Waste on the Status of the Nuclear Reaulatory Commission's Hiah-Lc. vel Radioactive Waste Repository Proaram On September 9,1996, Division of Waste Management staff briefed the Nevada Legislature's Committee on High-Level Radioactive Waste on the Nuclear Regulatory Gommission's responsibilities related to the Yucca Mountain project and the status of NRC's activities pertaining to the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization program. Presentations were also given by the Department of Energy-Yucca Mountain Project Office and the State of Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office on the status of their Yucca Mountain activities. Committee members appeared interested primarily in the status of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) program; DOE's activities under Section 180(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, related to funds for states to train public safety officials related to transportation of spent nuclear fuel; the State of Nevada's response to audits of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office; and NRC's approach to issue resolution.

Shiorock and Duranao Title I Sites Licensed for Lona-Term Care The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site in Shiprock, New Mexico, and the UMTRA Project site in Durango, Colorado, were licensed for long-term care under the general license in 10 CFR Part 40.27 on September 11, ,

1996, and September 16, 1996, respectively. The general license in 10 CFR '

40.27 is only available to the Department of Energy (DOE) for perpetual care .

of sites remediated under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation i Control Act of 1978. The Shiprock and Durango sites came under the general license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's acceptance of DOE's site-specific Long-Term Surveillance Plans for those two sites. This brings the total number of sites licensed for long-term care in Fiscal Year 1996 to four.

NRC Staff Meets with Public in Cambridae. Ohio. on Shieldallov Draft Environmental Imoact Statement On September 16, 1996, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff held a public meeting in Cambridge, Ohio, to discuss the recently issued draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation (SMC) facility in Cambridge, Ohio. SMChaspropogedtodecommissionitssiteby disposing onsite approximately 7,000,000 ft of slag containing uranium, thorium and their daughters. The staff has preliminarily concluded that this alternative would be acceptable. This facility is on the Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) and its EIS is the first of its kind for an SDMP site.

The purpose of the meeting was to summarize the contents of the draft EIS, to answer questions from the public, and to receive comments for considerution in SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE B

i the final EIS. Approximately 80 persons attended, including local citizens,

the licensee and its contractors, local government officials, congressional staff, local TV and newspaper representatives, and environmental groups active in the State. NRC staff from both Headquarters and Region III attended the meeting, along with staff from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who assisted in preparing the EIS.

Shioment of Acolied Radiant Enerav Corooration Waste Encaosulation Storaae Facility Sources

The final shipment of Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility (WESF) sources from

, the Applied Radiant Energy Corporation (ARECO) irradiator facility in Lynchburg, Virginia, arrived at the Westinghouse Hanford site near Richland,

Washington,,at 10:00 p.m. on September 13, 1996, without incident. The i shipment of nine sources completes the return of ARECO's 25 WESF sources to i the Hanford site. ARECO does not plan on adding new activity (Co-60) to the 4 irradiator pool in the near future. Region II will be notified before AREC0 restarts irradiating materials. This completes the removal of all WESF capsules from commercial operations.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE B I

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Items of Interest  !

. Week Ending September 20, 1996 l

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American Society of Mechanical Enaineers (ASME) Operation and Maintenance (0&M) Codes & Standards Meetinas September 9-11. 1996 in Hartford. CT

Frank Cherny and Joel Page of the Generic Safety Issues Branch, RES, j represented NRC at several of these O&M Committee meetings. Mr. Cherny attended the meetings of the O&M Working Group on Safety and Relief Valves, the O&M Subcommittee on Valves, and the M:~ etM Committee. Mr. Page attended l l the meetings of the 0&M Working Group on F...ps, the Subcommittee on Mechanical  !

Equipment and Systems, the Subcommittee on General Requirements, and the 0&M l Main Committee.

! Currently, the major emphasis of these committees is the development of a series of risk-based code cases that utilities may use in lieu of Code

- requirements. Additionally, the Working Group on Safety and Relief Valves 4 discussed a proposal for revision of a requirement in the 0&M Code that ,

2 currently requires BWR Main Steam Safety Relief Valves to be manually stroked l at low or normal system pressure after maintenance has been performed and the

, valves have been reinstalled on the plant. The revision would permit the

! stroke test to be performed on a test stand, to be followed by a modified

. confirmatory stroke test to be performed after reinstallation on the plant, but with the manual valve actuator disconnected from the main valve disk.

Seismic Source Characterization Workshon On September 5 and 6,1996, Dr. Zurflueh attended a workshop on Seismic Source 4

Characterization (SSC) in Boulder, CO. The workshop was organized by LLNL and held in connection with a project designed to test and implement the new 4 guidelines for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) developed by the  ;

Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) under a previous research contract. The SSHAC guidelines are designed to overcome past problems in PSHA that led to different hazard estimates depending on the methodology employed.

The guidelines emphasize procedural aspects of expert elicitation and rigorous treatment of uncertainty to arrive at more consistent hazard estimates,

Contact:

E. Zurflueh (301) 415-6002 l

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Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Maine Yankee Independent Safety Assessment I The Maine Yankee Independent Safety Assessment Team continued to assess the implications of identified issues and write their final report. The team's final report is due to the Chairman by September 27, 1996. The public meeting with the licensee to discuss the team's findings and a meeting with the public to answer questions are scheduled for October 10. A final meeting to brief the Commission is scheduled for October 18, 1996.

Technical Trainina Division (TTD)

As part of Russian Priority 5 (Establishment of Regulatory Training Program) of the Lisbon Initiative, seven senior managers and specialists from Gosatomnadzor (GAN) of Russia visited the Technical Training Center, the Region II Office, and the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant September 16-20, 1996. The purpose of the visit was for senior GAN regional personnel to see first hand how the NRC trains inspectors and to discuss GAN plans for implementing small trhining organizations in each region. As a result of budget constraints, GAN is unable to routinely send inspectors to the Training Center in Novovoronezh.

GAN plans to send a few instructors from each region to Novovoronezh for training and then have these individuals implement regional training programs.

The GAN personnel included Mr. Valeri Martynov, Head of the Regional Office, i St. Petersburg, Mr. Valeri Korkin, Head of Ural Regional Office, Ekaterinburg, Mr. Nikolai Shuvalov, Deputy Head of Central Region, Moscow, Mr. Yuri Meltsov, Head of GAN Division, Headquarters, Moscow, Mr. Yuri Yarmolyuk, Head of Regional Inspection, Volga Region, Balakovo, Mr. Vladimir Koudriavtsev, Deputy Head of Training Center, Don Region, Novovoronezh and Mrs. Olga Romenkova, Officer, International Relations Department, Headquarters, Moscow. The group visited the Region II Office where they were briefed on regional implementation of inspector training, toured the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant and discussed inspector qualification activities with the Senior Resident Inspector and observed the public Sequoyah SALP meeting. At the TTC, they toured the facility, observed classroom and simulator courses, continued discussions of the NRC's inspector training program and implementation of GAN's regulatory training system and discussed future activities under Priority 5.

Seabrook Exercise IRD staff members observed the Region I Site Team respond to a simulated emergency at Seabrook on September 18, 1996. This response will be the basis of the annual assessment of the Region's capabilities for incident response required by the AEOD Management Directive on the Incident Response Program.

Preliminary Notifications

a. PNO-I-96-064, Abi Laboratories Job Trailer (Philadelphia International Airport), PORTABLE GAUGE STOLEN.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE D

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b. PNO-I-96-065, New York Power Authority (Fitzpatrick I), REACTOR SCRAM AND UNUSUAL EVENT AT THE FITZPATRICK NUCLEAR PLANT.

c. PNO-I-96-066, Boston Edison Co. (Pilgrim I), PLANT SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS DUE TO "B" RBCCW HEAT EXCHANGER LEAK.

d. PN0-II-96-062, Carolina Power & Light Co. (Brunswick I, 2), SECURITY GUARD DIES FROM HEART ATTACK.

e. PNO-II-96-063, Tennessee Valley Authority (Browns Ferry 3), BROWNS FERRY UNIT 3 SHUTDOWN DUE TO RECIRCULATION PUMP TRIP. l

f. PN0-III-96-058A, Illinois Power Co. (Clinton I), SHUTDOWN TO REPAIR RECIRCULATION PUMP SEAL (UPDATE). j

g. PNO-III-96-060, St. Louis University, PHOSPHORUS-32 CONTAMINATION.

h. PNO-IV-96-047, Syncor International Corporation, SYNCOR INTERNATIONAL )

CORPORATION, INC., (SYNCOR) RADI0 PHARMACY DELIVERY VEHICLE ACCIDENT.

i. PNO-IV-96-048, Siemans Nuclear Power Corporation, URANIUM POWDER SPILL.

j. PNO-IV-96-049, SYNCOR INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (St. Paul, MN, Nuclear Pharmacy), SYNCOR RADI0 PHARMACY CONTAMINATED SHIPPING CONTAINER.

k. PNO-IV-96-050, CA Agreement State Licensee, SHIPPING CONTAINER LOSES SHIELDING DURING TRANSPORT.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE D

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Office of Administration Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Procurement Reform The Division of Contracts (DC) has issued instructions to Headquarters and Regional offices procurement staff to implement the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), for all forms of procurement. Office of the Controller (OC) staff assisted in developing a streamlined approach. DCIA, which is a broad-reaching law, authorizes the Department of Treasury to use contract payments being made by the NRC through electronic transfer to offset debts owed to another Federal agency.

Center for Nuclear Waste Reaulatory Analyses On September 12, 1996, a contract was awarded to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in the amount of $589,390. The work entitled, " Technical Assistance for Reviewing Fee-Recoverable Uranium Recovery Licensing Caseload and Development of Non-Fee-Recoverable Program Guidance Documents," is the first award of a contract by the NRC to swr 1 to maintain essential capabilities at the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA). The period of  ;

performance for this cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is September 10, 1996 I through September 26, 1997. Two tasks were awarded concurrent with the  !

contract award. The remaining seven have also been negotiated as part of l basic award and will be awarded upon receipt of FY97 funds.  ;

i Other Contract Awards On September 12, 1996, a firm-fixed price contract in the amount of $42,817 was awarded to Frederick Fence Co., Inc. The contractor will be responsible 4 for providing and installing a security fence around the east and south perimeter of the White Flint complex. NRC solicited sealed bids for this construction project. The contractor will have 60 days to erect the fence, once the Notice to Proceed is issued, which is contingent upon NRC's receipt ,

of an easement from the White Flint North Partnership.

On September 13, 1996, a contract was awarded to Scientech, Inc., for

" Maintenance of TRAC-BWR Thermal-Hydraulic Simulation Computer Code for Reactor Transients." The objective of this effort is to update, maintain,

, distribute, and provide user support for the TRAC-BWR thermal-hydraulic simulation computer code for nuclear reactor transients. This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is effective September 23, 1996 through September 22, 1997, at a cost of $528,503 for the one-year base period of performance. Four additional one-year option periods totalling $2,069,185, and an optional task for code consolidation in the amount of $1,295,102 are included under this i contract.

Da September 11, 1996, a contract was awarded to Montage, Inc., an 8(a) firm, entitled " Building Alterations - One White Flint North (0WFN) - New Joggers Locker and Toilet Complex." The contractor is responsible for providing all the necessary labor, materials, equipment, and supervision required to SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE F

.t 4 accomplish the construction of a joggers locker and toilet facility at the 0WFN building. The contract amount is $249,453.30 and the period of performance is October 7, 1996 through January 7, 1997.

On September 13, 1996, a contract was awarded to Montage, Inc., an 8(a) firm, entitled " Construction of Security Lighting." The contractor is responsible for providing all necessary labor, mater'als, equipment, and supervision required to accomplish the construction of new light fixtures at both OWFN and TWFN. The contract award amount is $124,665.65. The period of performance is October 1, 1996 through December 6, 1996. The actual construction will start on October 7, 1996 and will end on December 6, 1996.

NOTE: In all five of the above contract awards, procurement streamlining methods were used.

Foreion Ownership. Control or Influence (FOCI)

Richard Dopp, Deputy Director, Division of Security, attended a FOCI conference hosted by the Defense Investigative Service at the Interagency Training Center an September 12, 1996. Contractors performing classified work for Government agencies cannot be under FOCI. Where FOCI exists, companies may need to establish outside directors, proxy holders or voting trustees to eliminate the FOCI concerns. The conference was attended by such individuals, along with security representatives from several Federal agencies. The agenda included presentations on export control policy implications, electronic security in the global environment, and on intellectual property.

Security of Automated Information Systems The Navy In-Service Engineering-East Coast (NISE-EAST) team conducted interviews with 19 NRC offices during the week of September 16, 1996, to determine security requirements for processing, receiving, transmitting, and storing classified and sensitive unclassified information in a network environment. NISE-EAST will now prepare a report to outline the results, and will make recommendations to improve the security of NRC's automated information systems.

Sianificant FOIA Reauests Received durina the 5-Day Period of September 13-19.

193k:

Records related to the operation of the Clinton power plant from August 1, 1992 through September 16, 1996. (T. Tomaso; Kelso & Associates; F01A-96-370)

A copy of an 01 report concerning Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company and Yankee Atomic Electric. (K. Shortall; Maine Public Broadcasting; F01A-96-371)

A copy of the entire license file for license no. 20-17504-01 for Malden Mills, Inc. (A. Savastano; MA Dept. of Public Health; F01A-96-372)

Department of Labor records related to cases arising under the Energy Reorganization Act from 1990 to present. (M. Hanlon; Nat'l. Whistleblower Center; F01A-96-373)

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE F

.+ 4 Office of Personnel  :

Items of Interest I Week Ending September 20, 1996 1

Cholesterol Education Proaram Soonsored by the Emoloyee Health Center On September 18, 1996, 35 NRC employees attended a' cholesterol education program sponsored by the Employee Health Center. Kay Sandow, Manager of the  :

National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood  :

Institute, National Institutes of Health, spoke on the relationship of high l blood cholesterol to coronary heart disease. She stressed the importance of a low-fat diet, exercise, and, in some cases, cholesterol-lowering medication to ,

minimize the risk of illness and death from heart disease. Following Ms.

Sandow's presentation, attendees had an opportunity to sign up for the i cholesterol screening program on October 1-2, 1996. '

Arrivals GEHL, Alice ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT-(PFT) COMM MORAN, Bruce SR INTERNATIONAL SFGDS ANALYST (PFT) NMSS SZYPERSKI, William COMPUTER SYSTEMS ANALYST (PFT) IRM Denartures JUNG, Sherry SUMMER CLERICAL (0PFT) RES PROCTOR, Carol 0FC AUTOMATION ASST (OPFT) NRR l

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Office of Enforcement Items of Interest l Week Ending September 20, 1996 Sianificant Enforcement Actions A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount l of $8,000 was issued on September 18, 1996, to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The action was based on a Severity Level II violation-involving discrimination against the licensee's radiation safety officer for raising safety concerns. (EN 96-069)

A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $200,000 mas issued on September 19, 1996, to Houston Lighting and Power

-(HL&P) Company. The action was based on a Department of Labor (DOL) decision

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that found that HL&P contractors discriminated against two employees at that

, were engaged in protected activities, in violation of 10 CFR 50.7, " Employee Protection." The violations are.being cited one each at Severity Level II (involving a Secretary of Labor's Decision) and Severity Level III (involving

. a Administrative Law Judge Recommended Decision and Order), due to the level of supervision at which the discrimination occurred. (EN 96-065)

Civil Penalty Paid Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation paid the civil penalty in the amount of $50,000. The action was based on an inspection conducted at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station that identified single failure vulnerabilities in the residual heat removal system, in violation of the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix K. One Severity Level III violation was cited.

Although normal application of the Enforcement Policy would have resulted in no civil penalty being assessed--due to the licensee having identified the violation and proposed adequate corrective action--in this case the staff proposes to exercise enforcement discretion and. issue the violation with a i civil penalty at the base amount of $50,000. Discretion is being proposed l

' because of the length of time (approximately 22 years) that this condition existed, as well as the number of prior opportunities that existed to identify and correct this violation sooner. (EA 96-210) 4 i

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Office of Public Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Media Interest i Two television and two newspaper reporters attended the meeting to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for remediation of the Shieldalloy site near Cambridge, Ohio.

Press Releases  ;

Headauarters:

96-122 NRC Issues Initial Certification Decision for Uranium Enrichment Plants96-123 NRC Considers Application for Off-Site Spent Fuel Storage 1 License for Minnesota Nuclear Plant l 96-124 NRC Names John J. Barton To Advisory Committee on Reactor )

Safeguards i 96-125 NRC Issues Special Inspection Report on Millstone Reaions: l I-96-61 NRC Staff Rates TMI 1 " Superior" in Two Categories and " Good" in Two Catego".es in Latest SALP i I-96-62 NRC Issues Order Suspending License of Dr. Shashi K. Agarwal of Orange, New Jersey I-96-63 NRC Staff Issues Order Suspending License of GRD Steel Coiporation in Monongahela, Pennsylvania I-96-65 NRC Staff Proposes $8,000 Fine Against VA Medical Center in Philadelphia for Alleged Harassment of Employee 11-96-79 NRC Official to Hold News Conference in Raleigh on September 20 111-96-55 NRC Staff to Conduct Independent Safety Inspection at Dresden Nuclear Power Station 111-96-57 NRC Operational Safety Team to Present Findings at Fermi Nuclear Power Plant 111-96-58 NRC Staff to Meet with Illinois Power Officials to Discuss Sept. 5 Shutdown of Clinton Nuclear Plant SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE M l

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, . 1 IV-96-53 NRC Rates Disblo Canyon Nuclear Plant ' Good' and ' Superior' in Report  ;

IV-96-54 NRC Proposes to Fine HL&P $200,000 in Whistleblower Cases i

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Office of the Secretary Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Historian Historian Sam Walker conducted research for Volume 3 of the NRC history at the l Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, Georgia, September 17-19, 1996.

He copied over one thousand pages of documents from the papers of President Carter and the White House staff. The papers were particularly useful on the subjects of the White House's responses to the Three Mile Island accident and the Kemeny Commission report, appointments of NRC Commissioners, nuclear waste, and the nuclear power controversy.

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,/ 4 Region I Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Orders Suspendino Licenses On September 13, 1996, Region I issued Orders Suspending Licenses and Demands for Information to three licensees. The licensees and the bases for the Orders are as follows:

1. Roy Sadovsky, D.V.M. - Willful use of licensed material at a location not authorized on the license and failure to comply with numerous additional NRC requirements. (EA 96-349)

2. Shashi K. Agarwal, M.D. - Failure to comply with numerous NRC requirements, providing inaccurate information, failure to cooperate with NRC or appear for a predecisional enforcement conference scheduled to discuss numerous apparent violations. (EA 96-152)

3. GRD Steel Corporation - Surrender of control of two licensed gauges to the Monongahela Industrial Development Association (MIDA), a non- ,

licensee, when MIDA foreclosed on the facility operated by GRD. A j Confirmatory Order was issued to MIDA on August 12, 1996, requiring implementation of specified security controls on the gauges until either MIDA obtains an NRC license or the gauges are transferred to another licensee.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSVRE P

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Region II Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 l Qyke Power Comoany - Oconee l On September 17, 1996, the Regional State Liaison Officer participated as a member of the Regional Assistance Committee in the Oconee emergency exercise involving officials of the State of South Carolina and applicable local governments. No major deficiencies were identified by FEMA.

Tennessee Valley Authority - Seauoyah On September: 18, 1996, the Regional Administrator and other members of the l Region II staff were at the Sequoyah facility to present the results of the f latest SALP to representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Directly l following the SALP presentation, a public meeting was held with local officials in attendance. -

Florida Power & Liaht Company - St. Lucie A Maintenance Rule Team Inspection was conducted at the St Lucie site during the week of September 16-20, 1996. A public exit was held with large attendance by the news media. Three apparent violations were identified in the areas of (1) program design issues; (2) system scoping issues; and (3) procedure implementation.  !

Florida Power Corooration - Crystal River i Crystal River declared an Unusual Event (UE) on September 19, 1996, due to ,

! potential tampering when a penny was found lodged in the lube oil strainer for l the gearbox to the radiator cooling fan on one of the Emergenc9 Diesel Generators (EDGs). The licensee walked down safety systems and performed surveillance runs on the two EDGs declaring them to be operable. No additional indications of tampering were observed. The UE was terminated about 3:00 a.m. on September 21, 1996. The licensee continues investigating the potential tampering event. The Resident Inspector and two Regional Inspectors are following the licensee's investigation and corrective actions.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE P

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Region III Items of Intarest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Ooerational Safety Team Inspection at Clinton Nuclear Power Plant On September 16, 1996, NRC Recion III began an operational safety team inspection at the Clinton Nuclear Power Station. The team will evaluate: the conduct of routine operations in accordance with licensee procedures; the control of equipment and adequacy of the out-of-service program; maintenance and engineering support to operations; and management oversight.

During the first inspection week, team members provided continuous control room coverage and significant in-plant coverage for a 72 hour8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> period. The team focused attention on procedure adherence and safety focus.

Davis Besse and Perry Nuclear Power Stations: Meraer of Centerior Enerav with Ohio Edison On September 16, 1996, Centerior Energy (parent company of Toledo Edison and Cleveland Electric Illuminating) announced that an agreement has been reached 1 to merge Centerior Energy with Ohio Edison. The new company will be called l FirstEngergy Corporation and will be based in Akron, Ohio. The merger is

, expected to be completed by the end of 1997 and requires approval of several regulatory agencies.

Ohio Edison President and Chief Executive Officer William Holland will be named the Chairman of FirstEnergy. Centerior Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Farling will be named Vice Chairman.

Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Niblock Excavatina. Inc.

On September 17, 1996, a predecisional enforcement conference was held by 1 telephone between management representatives from Niblock Excavating, Inc. and members of NRC Region III staff. The conference was held to discuss the 1 findings of an inspection conducted at the licensee's facility in Bristol, l Indiana. During the inspection, five apparent violations were identified involving general program activities and management oversight. The apparent violations were indicative of a lack of knowledge of the NRC license and other

NRC regulations governing licensed activities by the company's management and 1 radiation safety officer.

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Region IV Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 Enterav Site Visits On September 17, 1996, the Regional Administrator, Region IV, conducted a site visit of the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3. On September 18, 1996, the Regional Administrator and members of his staff participated in a public meeting with Entergy managers from the River Bend Station. During the public meeting, conducted at River Bend Station, licensee managers discussed their long term performance improvement initiatives.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE P

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Office of Congressional Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending September 20, 1996 CONGREPSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, No. 80

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G rke 09/25/96 9:30 TBA Encryption Controls, Reps. Hyde /Conyers 2141 RHOB H.R. 3011 Judiciary GOrke 09/25/96 10:00 OIRA, GAO, Oversight of OIRA, Senators Thompson /Glenn 342 DSOB Citizens for a Regulatory Review Fin Mgant & Accountability Sound Economy Governmental Affairs Garke 09/26/96 9:30 TBA Politicalization of the Reps. Mica /Moran 311 CHOB Federal Workforce Civil Service Government Reform & Oversight 8

SEPTEMBER 20, 1996 ENCLOSURE R

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