ML20129K331
| ML20129K331 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/14/1996 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-96-233, SECY-96-233-R, WIR-961108, NUDOCS 9611200277 | |
| Download: ML20129K331 (17) | |
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1 NUCLEAR RE ULATORY COMasmN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;
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. . . .. c. - - RELEASED TO THE PDR<
INFORMATION REPORT:: eaie _h/nh AJS
................init!ais.......;
November 14.J Hf SECY 96-233 l
For: The Comissioners From: James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations, Office of the ED0 l
Sub.iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 8, 1996 l
l Contents Enclosure l l Nuclear Reactor Regulation A l Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B l l Nuclear Regulatory Research C* l Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D
! General Counsel E* .
l Adi..ini stration F l l Information Resources Management G* ,
l Controller H* l l Personnel I l Small Business & Civil Rights J* l
, Enforcement K*
State Programs L* l Public Affairs M j International Programs N* i l Office of the Secretary 0* I Region I P l Region II P l Region III P*
l Region IV P*
Executive Director for Operations Q*
Congressional Affairs R*
l *No input this week.
James L. Blaha Assistant for Operations, OEDO hlg I
Contact:
W. Dean, OEDO d[t/t -(s --l/ 4.-
' )/
415-1726 p X d f W? -[r ggjg og SECY NOTE: TO BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN 5 WORKING DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS FAPER.
9611200277 961114
( PDR COMMS NRCC WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR
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Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 Farlev Unit 2 Steam Generator Tube Dearadation Farley Unit 2 shutdown on October 12, 1996, for its eleventh refueling outage l (U2R11). On November 4, 1996, the staff conducted a phone call with the l licensee to discuss its steam generator. inspection results. l Basedonthepreliminaryinspectionresull.s,thelicenseehasfound1)about 700 indications at the top of the tubesheet in the roll transition regions of the hot legs; of these, about 200 were circumferential indications and 500 l' were axialindications indications; at 2) the32 outside diameter stress corrosion crackim' dep lugged (00 SCC) tube support plate intersections in tubes in steam generator 2C during the last refueling outage; 3) 19 00 SCC indications at other tube support plate intersections; and 4) one indication in the free span. The licensee has not yet inspected the U-bend regions nor sleeves.
The licensee is planning to sleeve 500 degraded tubes with 30 inch sleeves.
The other 200 degraded tubes will need to be plugged. However, the. licensee informed the staff that they would like to implement techniques discussed in ;
their August 23, 1996, application on Elevated Tube Sheet Laser Welded Sleeve !
Technical Specification amendment. The licensee requested that the' staff conduct an expedited review. The licensee originally requested review and approval of this application by March 1997 to support the Spring 1997 Refueling Outage on Unit 1. The licensee believes that this amendment will allow them to sleeve 100 more tubes and thus reduce the number of plugged tubes to 100. However, the documents (WCAP reports) supporting the amendment application will not all be available until next week. This may not leave enough time to complete the review for this outage.
Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant - Steam Generator Tube Inspection Status The final results of the steam generator (SG) tube inspections confirmed the licensee's initial projections (see highlight for the week ending October 11, ;
1996). For the SG tubes with Westinghouse hybrid expansion joint (HEJ) sleeves installed, over 1200 tubes in SG "A" and over 700 tubes in SG "B" will I require repairs. Repairs by plugging would bring the equivalent plugging in the Kewaunee SGs to approximately 50% (the SGs were at 21% equivalent plugging going in to the current outage).
On September 6,1996, the licensee subnd tted a license amendment request which l would allow a laser welded repair of the affected tubes. The licensee met with the staff on October 10, 1996, to discuss the amendment. By letter dated October 25, 1996, the staff requested additional information related to the ,
proposed amendment. The licensee submitted a partial response on October 31, j 1996, with the remaining responses expected in the near future.
As stated at the October 10 meeting, the licensee intends to begin the laser weld repair as soon as the equipment is available whether or not they have NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE A
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received NRC approval for their amendment. The current schedule has the welding equipment arriving at Kewaunee on November 7, with tube cleaning
- starting on November 10, and a production weld of a 40 tube sample starting by November 15.
In a letter dated October 30, the licensee informed the Commission that
. (assuming approval of the laser weld repair amendment) they intend to shorten i the subsequent operating cycle. Rather than shutting down in the spring of 1998 as originally scheduled, they will shutdown in the fall of 1997 and j inspect the repaired and non-repaired HEJ sleeve joints.
. Also, on November 1, the licensee submitted a request to reduce the NDE uncertainty associated with the HEJ sleeved tube repair criteria from 4 mils to 2.6 mils. This request would allow them to keep an additional 81 tubes in 7
service without repairing them. This request does not involve a license amendment as the NDE uncertainty is included in the analyst inspection guidelines and not specified in the Technical Specifications.
Zion Units 1 and 2 - Unit 2 Steam Generator Tube Inspections The Unit 2 steam generator tube inspections are almost complete. The various types of indications found during the inspection include primary water stress corrosion cracking in the roll transitions and Row I U-bends, outside diameter l stress corrosion cracking within the tubesheet crevice and at the top of the 1 tubesheet, volumetric indications in the tubesheet crevice, and weld zone indications in the upper welds of sleeved tubes. The licensee will be conducting in-situ pressure testing of 32 tubes from November 1, 1996 -
November 7, 1996. Six of these tubes appeared to have leaked during a secondary hydrostatic pressure test prior to the tube inspections. The licensee has also identified 5 tubes that will be pulled. At the conclusion of the repairs, the licensee expects that steam generator A, which has the highest number of plugs for a Unit 2 steam generator, will have about 12.5% of its tubes plugged (the limit is 15%).
Fuel and Core Performance Workshoo An NRR-sponsored workshop on Fuel and Core Performance Regulatory Concerns and Issues was conducted at the Pooks Hill Marriott hotel on October 24 and 25, 1996. The workshop opened with Acting Deputy Director of NRR, Ashok Thadani, outlining NRR regulatory and safety-related concerns, and the Director of the Division of Systems Safety and Analysis, Gary Holahan, summarizing our current i action plan, the findings to date, and planned future activities. The workshop also featured eight plenary presentations by NRC, industry and international regulatory representatives. Four separate breakout panel sessions were held on regulatory issues concerning 1) Fuel / Cladding Design and Operating Performance; 2) Control Rod Performance; 3) High Burnup Fuel and Extended Operating Cycles; and 4) Reload Core Design and Operating Performance. Over 130 non-NRC representatives registered for the 2-day workshop, and participated in open discussions with the plenary and panel speakers. Comments from the attendees were positive, with respect to achieving our objectives of presenting regulatory concerns and obtaining candid and meaningful feedback from domestic industry representatives.
NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE A l
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Licensee representatives were very interested in the generic findings from the vendor inspections to date and the NRC's plans for conducting inspections of licensee reload analyses capabilities and performance in 1997.
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! Siemens Larae Break LOCA Evaluation Model 1
The staff has been reviewing a change to the reflood heat transfer coefficient correlation in Siemens' Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident (LBLOCA) evaluation model (EM). The original EM was approved by the staff in 1986.
The change was made in 1991, after Siemens determined that an error existed in the reflood heat transfer correlation in the approved model. The error caused non-physical behavior in the heat transfer coefficient as a function of l reflood velocity over a limited range of reflood velocities. The staff has determined that the 1991 change is not adequately supported by data for use in l licensing calculations. The staff is preparing a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) documenting the staff's review of the model. Therefore, the 1986 model i still contains an error that must be corrected. The staff conducted a telecon i with Siemens and the affected licensees on October 10, and invited them to a l meeting at NRC Headquarters on October 16, to discuss the licensees' assessments of the impact of the staff's rejection of Siemens' 1991 reflood heat transfer model changes.
At the October 16 meeting, each licensee showed how the unacceptable non-physical behavior in the original (1986) Siemens model had been corrected, and how the correction affected the peak clad temperature (PCT) calculation for a LBLOCA. All licensees asserted that they were in compliance with the acceptance criteria for LOCA ECCS performance in 10 CFR 50.46. In addition, Siemens presented a plot of data from one of its original reflood tests, to show that the methodology used to calculate reflood heat transfer coefficients was extremely conservative compared to the data. On the basis of the licensees' presentations and Siemens' discussion of the conservatism in the implementation of the 1986 model, the staff informed the licensees that it appeared that the licensees had taken the actions required by 10 CFR 50.46, and requested that each licensee submit information regarding changes to the reflood heat transfer model and its assessment of impact on PCT on its plant docket (s) by Thursday, October 24. The staff's primary focus has been on plants currently operating early in their cycle, whose reflood rates were in the region in which the correlation showed non-physical behavior: St. Lucie l Unit 1, Comanche Peak Unit 2, and H. B. Robinson Unit 2. The other affected l plants are either shutdown (Millstone Unit 2, Kewaunee, Comanche Peak Unit 1),
about to shut down (Palisades), or have reflood rates outside the region of concern (Shearon Harris Unit 1).
On the afternoon of October 23, the staff was notified by Siemens that the very conservative reflood heat transfer methodology described on October 16 had, in fact, not been implemented for the licensees' analyses. Instead, a different model was used, which was significantly less conservative. After
! evaluating the new information from Siemens, the staff informed the affected l licensees that it no longer accepted the licensees' assessments of compliance with 10 CFR 50.46, and, in telecons on October 23 and October 24, the licensees were asked to make new assessments of compliance with 50.46 using a methodology that was demonstrably conservative compared to applicable data.
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By the afternoon of October 24, the three operating plants responded with results of revised LBLOCA analyses, showing PCTs less than 2200*F, as required by 10 CFR 50.46. The staff has evaluated the approaches used by the operating plants, and has concluded that the licensees have used conservative models for their reflood heat transfer coefficients and that they are therefore in compliance with 10 CFR 50.46. However, the licensee for H. B. Robinson Unit 2 l stated that its analysis was only valid up to 87 effective full power days l (EFPD).
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The other affected licensees have also responded to the staff; their responses are under review.
i The staff is preparing to send letters to the licensees confirming the most l recent submittals, and, in the case of H. B. Robinson Unit 2, requesting information about how the licensee plans to address operation after 87 EFPD.
Oconee Nuclear Station Emeroency Electrical System Intearated Testina l
Duke Power Company submitted its written response to the NRR and AEOD Draft Reports on the Oconee emergency electrical system on October 31, 1996. NRR and AE00 will use the information to finalize the reports for presentation to the CRGR.and then the EDO.
With all three units presently in cold shutdown, the staff requested Duke Power to evaluate performing integrated engineered safeguards tests of the emergency electrical power system during the current 3-unit extended outage.
Duke has assembled a project team to develop such a test program and assess the feasibility of conducting it during this outage, as opposed to the previously proposed date of 1999. Duke has indicated it will notify the staff l by November 22, 1996, of its decision and basis for performing the testing during the current outage or deferring it to 1999. Both NRR and Region II
, staffs are coordinating closely with the licensee on this issue.
Clinton Power Station - HPCS System Inoperable for Over a Year On November 2, 1996, the high pressure core spray system (HPCS) diesel generator output breaker failed an 18-month surveillance test. The test demonstrates that the diesel generator auto-starts from standby conditions and energizes permanently connected loads within 12 seconds. The output breaker actually closed in 20 seconds.
, i The apparent cause of the failure was a miscalibration of a time delay relay I for the breaker closing circuit. The relay for the breaker should have been set at 0.5 seconds and was actually set at approximately 11 seconds. A review l determined that an operator misread a drawing and miscalibrated the time delay .
I in September 1995. The miscalibration resulted in the HPCS diesel being l unable to start and load within its technical specification value and thus, be inoperable for over a year.
4 Regional inspectors are examining the licensee's work control program.
NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE A
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Enterav Operations. INC. - Reoort on Plant FSAR Accuracy Assessments Entergy Operations, Inc. (E01), licensee for four nuclear power plant sites, has completed a self assessment of the accuracy of the Final Safety Analysis Reports (FSARs) for Arkansas Nuclear One, Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, River Bend Station, and Waterford, Unit 3. E0I is scheduled to present the results of its self assessment of the FSARs for the four sites to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in a meeting on November 14, 1996. The method used by E01 is the same method proposed by Nuclear Electric Institute (NEI) for licensees to conduct such a self assessment.
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Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest l
Week Ending November 8, 1996 -
Advanced Medical Systems. Inc.
On November 5,1996, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission amended Advanced
, Medical Systems, Inc.'s (AMS') license to authorize AMS to perform. Tasks 1 l and 2 of the Building Recovery Project (Tasks 1 and 2 involve the removal of '
nearly all the cobalt-60 sources and solid wastes from AMS' London Road facility, Cleveland, Ohio). AMS expects to transfer the sources to Barnwell within the next 60 days and is continuing to negotiate a contract for the l transfer of the solid waste. ;
L Also, on November 5,1996, NRC approved AMS' Emergency Plan, which is part of their license renewal. AMS is now required to: (1) schedule a training session for first responders by January 5,1997; and (2) schedule and stage an emergency exercise within 60 days after all first responders have received i initial training. ,
Trilateral Cooperation on International Inspections of Excess Fissile Material i
The Regulatory and International Safeguards Branch is participating in l interagency discussions addressing U.S. objectives and approaches for the ,
trilateral initiative for the verification of excess weapons origin fissile I materials. On September 17, 1996, the U.S., Russia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency _(IAEA) agreed to undertake a trilateral initiative for the verification of excess weapons origin fissile materials. The three l parties agreed to form a joint group which will report on progress in the consideration of associated technical, legal, and financial issues within ;
nine months (i.e., June 1997). The three parties also agreed that bilateral U.S.-RJssian discussions Would take place to address issues related to
' protecting weapon-sensitive information.
During the week of November 4,1996, trilateral visits to the Hanford site and the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology site were conducted to examine how IAEA safeguards have been applied to excess plutonium, and to Argonne National Laboratory West for a demonstration of remote monitoring technology. On November 8, 1996, a meeting was conducted to discuss the site visits and to address the trilateral process organizational structure. It has been agreed that a main committee (chaired by Nelson Sievering for the U.S.) will oversee ,
an administrative issues subcommittee (chaired by Richard Stratford for the i U.S.) and a technical issues subcommittee (chaired by Kenneth Luongo for the U.S.). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will participate in the work of the two subcommittees.
Draft Methodoloav for Assessino Former 10 CFR parts 20.302 and 20.304 Burials On October 25, 1996, staff from the Low-level Waste and Decommissioning
! Projects Branch (LLDP) forwarded to the Federal Register for publication the
[ draft Branch Technical Position (BTP), " Screening Methodology for Assessing Prior Land Burials of Radioactive Waste Authorized Under Former 10 CFR 20.302 NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE B
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and 20.304." The BTP is being published for interim use and comment and has l been provided to each of the Regions and the Office of State Programs (OSP).
OSP. is sending the BTP to all of the Agreement States. The comment period is >
90 days, after which the LLDP staff will review the comments, revise the BTP I as necessary, and issue a final BTP for implementation. The Nuclear :
Regulatory Commission will not issue any decisions based on this BTP until completion of the review of public comments on the methodology which is i expected early next year.
The methodology is based on the total activity disposed of in the burial l ground and the potential for that activity to produce a significant dose to a member of the public. Staff would require no further action on sites that pass the screening. Those sites that do not pass the screening would require a more detailed environmental pathway analysis and would be addressed on a l case-by-case basis.
Licensina of the Tuba City. Arizona. Uranium Mill Tailinas Discosal Site On November 4, 1996, staff from the Uranium Recovery Branch accepted the Department of Energy (00E) Long-Term Surveillance Plan (LTSP) for the Uranium ,
Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) Title I site at Tuba City, Arizona. The staff determined that the final LTSP satisfied the requirements set forth in UMTRCA for long-term surveillance of a disposal site, and all requirements in 10 CFR Part 40.27 for an LTSP. This action establishes the Tuba City site under the general license in Part 40.27.
The Tuba City site is the fourth UMTRCA Title I site to be licensed in 1996, ,
and the fifth UMTRCA site overall, Title I or II, to be licensed this year.
Within the UMTRCA Title I program, 8 of 19 sites are now under the general ;
license in Part 40.27.
In accordance with DOE's guidance document for long-term surveillance, all further Nuclear Regulatory Commission /D0E interaction on the long-term care of the Tuba City site will be conducted with DOE's Grand Junction, Colorado, Project Office.
Inspection / Pre-Use Testina of Model LWT Soent Fuel Cask On October 30-31, 1996, the Spent Fuel Project Office performed an inspection of the annual maintenance and pre-use testing of the Model LWT spent fuel transportation casks designed by the Nuclear Assurance Corporation (NAC).
This inspection was performed at the Alaron Corporation in Wampum, ;
Pennsylvania, where five casks are stored and serviced. The maintenance / test i
activities involved helium leak testing, visual inspection, chemical testing 4 for boron concentration, and maintenance activities such as 0-ring j replacement.
The activities were performed as a result of findings during a September 1996 i Nuclear Regulatory Commission quality assurance inspection at the NAC offices i in Atlanta, Georgia. A confirmatory action letter was issued to confirm i corrective actions that included the testing and maintenance of the Model LWT l casks. The current inspection determined that the maintenance and testing NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE B l
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were technically adequate but procedure compliance was lacking. NAC management consequently directed that work be stopped, procedures revised, and personnel be retrained. NAC confirmed these actions in a letter to the NRC dated October 31, 1996.
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NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE B
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- Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 Gaseous Diffusion Tabletoo Exercise On Thursday November 7,1996, the NRC hosted a tabletop exercise with the !
. United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to ensure that NRC and USEC are '
prepared to respond to an incident at a Gaseous Diffusion Plant (GDP) in a i complementary, consistent, and effective manner. Representatives from NRC !
(including AE00, NMSS, and Region III) and the USEC (including incident response staff from the Portsmouth and Paducah GDPs) participated in a structured discussion of plans and procedures that would be utilized following ;
the a release of UFg from a ruptured 14 ton cylinder. Although all of the l objectives of the exercise were met, several followup actions have been l identified by NRC and USEC.
Preliminary Notifications (PNs)
- a. PNO-I-96-079, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. (Nine Mile Point 1), REACTOR SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS.
- b. PNO-II-96-075, Duke Power Co. (McGuire 1), SHUTDOWN DUE TO FAILURE TO MEET BATTERY CAPACITY CRITERIA.
- c. PNO-II-96-076, Tennessee Valley Authority (Browns Ferry 2), SHUTDOWN TO-EXCEED 72 HOURS DUE TO REVIEW SAFETY RELIEF VALVE OPERATION.
i l d. PN0-II-96-077, Scientific Inspection Technology (An Agreement' State l Licensee) LOST RADIOGRAPHIC DEVICE.
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l e. PN0-II-96-078, Syncor International (An Agreement State Licensee), !
CONTAMINATED PACKAGE.
- f. PN0-III-96-067, Ohmart Corp.,_ DAMAGED CESIUM-137 SOURCE AND MINOR !'
CONTAMINATION OF TWO WORKERS.
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1 Office of Administration Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 Procurement Reform The Division of Contracts has formed a task group to survey other federal agencies' best practices which might be adapted for use under the NRC l Procurement Reinvention Laboratory. Areas of focus include (but are not limited to) Advance Procurement Plans, simplified acquisitions, and computer applications in support of the procurement process. The procurement staffs at the Federal Emergency Preparedness Administration and the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board were interviewed during the week of November 4-8, 1996.
The task group will survey approximately 15 additional agencies during the l next few weeks.
Contract Award for Non-Destructive Examination On November 4, 1996, a competitive contract was awarded to the University of Michigan for performance of a project entitled, " Nun-Destructive Examination (NDE) of Material Properties." The objective of this contract is.to obtain a hot cell for NDE experiments on irradiated specimens to be conducted by various international cooperative research groups at NRC's invitation. The contractor shall also provide technical support, assistance and space for set-up and storage during nontesting periods prior to return, and repacking of the specimens in the shipping containers. The period of performance for the contract is from November 4,1996 to November 3,1997. The total contract l value is $187,180. This contract was awarded in 90 days using the following '
streamlining techniques: waived CBD synopsis, set deadline for offerors' )
questions about the RFP, made award without discussions, and used only one l technical evaluator. I
- Sianificant F0IA Reauests Received durina the 5-Day Period of November 1 - 7.
1931:
Records from 1/1/93 through present related to testing at the Ward Valley LLRW facility by the Department of Interior. (C. Lischeske; Health and Welfare Agency of CA; F01A-96-457)
Copy of file on License No. R-114 issued 4/19/56; expired no. SUB-466; and retired 2/28/73 for the Tenneco Chemicals, Inc. located in Fords, NJ.
(D. Evans; SECOR. International Inc.; F0lA-96-458)
Records related to the Lungmen Nuclear Power Project in Taiwan. (Y.T,. Hung, !
Attorney; F01A-96-459) l Copies of 01 reports and supporting documentation for any investigations at {
Commonwealth Edison's BraWwood Station. (T. Matthews of Morgan, Lewis & l
[ Bockius; F01A-96-463) i l
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Copies of documents relating to 5 specific matters discussed at an October 7, 1996, Commission meeting on the Site Decommissioning Management Plan.
! (J. Savage of Morgan, Lewis Bockius; F01A-96-464) ,
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W Office of Personnel Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 i Career Fair Attended at New Jersey Institute of Technoloav On November 6, 1996, Lynne Broadwater and George Morris, both from Region I, attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology Career Fair. Nine entry-level applicants were identified for career opportunities in the NRC.
Arrivals ANDERSON, Mary Jo 0FFICE RESIDENT ASSISTANT (0PFT) RIII BARROR, Camilla AUDITOR (PFT) OIG DELUCA, Patricia GENERAL ENGINEER (PFT) RES FIELDS, Leslie CHEMICAL ENGINEER (PFT) NMSS K0BETZ, Timothy PROJECT MANAGER (PFT) NMSS Departures NONE l
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B Office of Public Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 Media Interest The Los Angeles Times is planning a story on the San Onofre nuclear plant. .
The Houston Business Journal is printing a story on steam generator replacement at the South Texas nuclear plant. j School Volunteers Proaram
-l Brenda Shelton, IRM, and Kim Gruss, NMSS, began tutoring at Julius West M.S, l along with Jesse Arildsen and Linh Tran, NRR. )
l Peter Tam, Ed Fox and Sheri Peterson, NRR, were all interviewed by telephone f with students from Paint Branch H.S. about their careers at NRC.
l Tom Nicholson, RES, visited Oakland Terrace E.S. with his rock collection. l Pat Castleman, NRR, used a classroom activity from OPA to explain radioactivity to a Boy Scout Troop in Frederick, MD. The scouts will be using their knowledge to earn a merit badge.
Press Releases l
l Headauarters:
l 96-157 NRC Extends Public Comment Period on Agency's Strategic Assessment of Regulatory Activities Reaions:
I-96-72 NRC Dispatches Inspector to Review Circumstances of the Contamination of Two Workers at the Haddam Neck Nuclear Plant IV-96-59 NRC, Supply System Officials to Discuss Performance at WNP-2 l
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Region I Items of Interest Week Ending November 8, 1996 l
Schott Glass Technoloaies
' Region I staff of the Decomissioning and Laboratory Branch observed portions of the licensee's final survey for remediated areas and former thoriated glass
- manufacturing areas at the Schott Glass site in Duryea, PA, on November 6 and-7, 1996. This facility is a Site Decomissioning Management Plan site that i completed site remediation in October. The licensee's decomissioning plan i approved by the Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, leaves small pieces of thoriated glass mixed with lead onsite in a
-landfill, covered by a geophysical barrier and by a protective cover of dirt
. or asphalt. Licensee's final surveys of outdoor area met NRC release
- criteria.
New Enoland Radioloaical ~ Health Committee Meetina Region I staff attended the annual meeting of the New England Radiological Health Comittee in Newport, RI, on November 5-8, 1996. This meeting brings together the radiation control program directors and their staffs in the New England area for training and discussion of topical radiation issues. State
- and federal agencies, along with industry experts made presentations on
- various radiation protection topics. Region I attendees included the State Agreements and State Liaison Officers, as well as a member of the
- Decomissioning and Laboratory Branch, who participated in panel discussions
' titled " Environmental Monitoring in the 90's", and "Decomissioning". NRC
- Comissioner Greta Dicus also made a presentation at the conference dinner
- held on November 6, 1996.
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h i Region II Items of Interest l
Week Ending November 8, 1996 i l
i Tennessee Vallev Authority - Browns Ferry I
[ On November 5, the Regional Administrator and other members of the Region II staff were at the Browns Ferry facility to present the results of the latest
. performance improved over the last period with Plant Operations improving from '
j a Category 2 to a Category I rating. Engineering and Maintenance remained Category 2 while the Plant Support area retained a Category I rating.
Following the SALP presentation, a public meeting was held with local officials.
3 Tennessee Valley Authority - Seouovah i
j On November 5-6, the Regional State Liaison Officer participated as a member
. of the Regional Assistance Committee in the Sequoyah emergency exercise
- involving officials of the State of Tennessee and applicable local governments. No major deficiencies were noted by the Federal Emergency ~
Management Agency, and excellent communication and coordination between ,
representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority and officials of the State of Tennessee were demonstrated. A public meeting was conducted on November 7, 1996.
Westinahouse On November 6,1996, Commissioner Rogers, the Deputy Regional Administrator, i and a representative from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards visited the Westinghouse Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division facility in Columbia, SC. Topics discussed included: revision to 10 CFR Part 70, the I industry Petition for Rulemaking and the Westinghouse license renewal. J Duke Power Comoany - McGuire On November 8, representatives from the Duke Power Company were in the Region II Office to present a self-assessment of the performance of their McGuire facility.
Both McGuire units were shutdown on October 30'after one of the four vital batteries failed to meet technical specification criteria during a capacity
. test. The degraded battery, an AT&T round cell battery, was replaced with new cells. Testing was performed on the remaining three batteries and several cells of one battery were replaced to enhance its capacity. The licensee intends to replace all four of the batteries with conventional cell models by the end of 1997. Startup of the units is scheduled for November 9 and 10.
Professional Service Industries (PSI) (Bristol. Virainia)
On November 6,1996, the licensee's corporate radiation safety officer (RS0) reported that a technician was concerned that skin reddening and blisters on a NOVEMBER 8, 1996 ENCLOSURE P
t' hand might have resulted from radiation exposure. The technician had been using a portable, moisture density gauge, containing up to 10 mci of cesium- .
137 and 50 mci of americium-241. l l A Region II inspector and the RSO performed a reenactment of the technician's '
l use of the gauge on November 7 and 8, 1996. The licensee determined that the l technician may have routinely touched the cesium source because of difficulties in pushing it out of its housing. As a result, the licensee reported an exposure greater than 50 rems to the hand of the technician on November 8, 1996. {
Region II issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to the licensee on l l November 8, 1996. The letter confirmed the licensee's actions in response to l I
the exposure, including medical followup for the technicians. The NRC i established-an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to review the event. The AIT l will arrive onsite on November 13, 1996. Region II issued a press release concerning the AIT on November 8, 1996, i
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