ML20134C764
| ML20134C764 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/02/1996 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-96-211, SECY-96-211-R, WIR-960927, NUDOCS 9610080027 | |
| Download: ML20134C764 (30) | |
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1 October 2. 1996 SECY 96-211 ,
f_qt: The Commissioners Et9E: James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO Sub.iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A Nuclenr 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 3
Public Affairs M yi G.
International Programs N* b; *'
Office of the Secretary 0* ,
g' Region I P ;; --.
Region II P :p i Region III N P M.;
Region IV P -o '
Executive Director for Operations Q* T Congressional Affairs R @
- No input this week.
MW James L. Blaha Assistant for Operations, OED0
Contact:
E. Hackett, OEDO 415-1725 9610000027 961002 PDR COMMS NRCC WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR
e 4
- E I 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 (ED0) 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 matt 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 Recioients:
The WIR can be accessed directly from the Internet at:
h t t p : //www. n rc . go v/NRC/N EWS /we e kly. h tml 4
Access to the NRC Homepage is through:
http://www.nrc. gov / 1 The WIR is normally available on the Homepage on the Monday following its preparation. That is, 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.
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- Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Dgerational Safety Assessment Inspection at the Fermi Nuclear Plant An Operational Safety Assessment inspection at the Fermi Nuclear Plant was concluded on September 13, 1996. The eight member team was led by the Special Inspections Branch. The inspection had two objectives, first, using insights developed from an integrated review of documented performance the team ..
assessed the licensee's ability to identify and resolve performance problems; ~
second, based on the detailed review of the design the team assessed the performance capability of the high pressure core injection and the non-l interruptable air supply, and applicable support systems. The results of the inspection were presented by the inspection team leader to the licensees senior vice president and his staff at a public meeting on September 24, 1996.
The resident inspectors and a branch chief from the NRC the regional office also attended the meeting.
In summary, the team determined that ineffective corrective action and quality assurance programs, contribute to the licensee's prolonged inability to improve on a Category 3 performance in the area of operations. Significant i weaknesses'in the corrective action program include, root cause analyses that l are not probing enough to get to the problem, and the lack an escalation i process to bring management attention to longstanding issues. The licensee stated that improvement in all areas are expected following recent changes in personnel and programs.
- l. The team also determined that the evaluated systems, HPCI and the NIAS are l capable of performing their intended safety functions. However, one calculation had to be crea:ed and several other calculations had to be l corrected in order to verify system operability. Additionally, numerous minor UFSAR and DBD inaccuracies were brought to the licensee's attention.
l Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2 l Nine Mile Point Unit 2 (NMP2) is scheduled to start its refueling outage at l midnight on September 27, 1996. NMP2 has been operating for a total of 382 days of continuous operation, a unit record.
1 Nine Mile Point Unit 2 will perform the reload with a partial core off-load. l l
The licensee is using partial core off-load for the first-time at Nine Mile l l Point Unit.2 to reduce the outage duration by three days. The outage schedule i L contains more than 8,000 activities to be accomplished in 35 days.
l A special incentive program has been established for the upcoming Unit 2's outage. The incentive program has three objectives: 1 l 1. ' total radiation exposure must be equal to or less than 215 man rem; l 2. no more than one lost-time accident and no more than 10 OSHA recordable
- cases; and f
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- 3. the Unit 2 outage must be completed in less than 35 days.
Under the incentive program, employees are eligible for two additional vacation days per outage if all the goals are met for both outages.
The Unit 1 outage is currently scheduled for February 8,1996.
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3 - Unit 2 Core Sorav ,
PECO performed inspections of the core spray system using the approach .
outlined in the BWR VIP-18 document on Core Spray systems in lieu of the approach outlined in NRC Bulletin 80-13. The staff reviewed PEC0's '
implementation of the VIP-18 inspection scoping methodology and found that the proposed methodology is acceptable for one cycle while the staff completes a more detailed review of VIP-18.
Upon performing the revised core spray inspections, PEC0 did discover flaw indications on the "B" Loop, vessel penetration toe-box cover plate. PECO is proposing a "use-as-is" disposition and will provide justifications for this.
approach to the staff in the next few days. Per Bulletin 80-13, staff approval of the licensee's disposition is still .needed prior to unit startup.
Unit 2 RWC'U PECO also discovered a crack indication in a reactor water cleanup system weld during inspections conducted in accordance with Generic Letter 88-01 commitments. The crack was on the reactor vessel side of the RWCU-to feedwater ide of the return isolation valve and was determined to be intergrannalar stress corrosion cracking.. PECO indicated that they would perform a weld overlay in accordance with Code Case N-504. Code Case N-504 was endorsed by the staff in Regulatory Guide 1.147, and thus, no further prior staff approval is required for the proposed disposition of this crack.
The licensee committed to providing a detailed description of the as-found flaw and their disposition, including the results of expanded inspections, within 45 days of the end of the outage.
Oconee Nuclear Station Unit 2 - HPI Pumo leak. Auxiliary Transformer Oil Leak.
HPI Weld Leak. Steam Leak With Iniuries On September 21, 1996, while operating at full power, the "B" High Pressure Injection (Hl'I) pump tripped due to an electrical short in the pump motor.
The problem resulted from a loose connection at the motor terminal. Shortly after the pump trip, an oil leak was discovered in the auxiliary transformer cooling system. It is believed that the leak was caused by the power surge when the HPI ground occurred. In-plant power was transferred to the startup transformer and the leak was isolated (and subsequently repaired by tightening a loose connection). Since the HPI motor could not be repaired within the
, time allowed by the technical specifications, the unit was shut down to Hot Standby.
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE A l
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4 On September 24, 1996, the unit was restarted and increasing power when a rupture occurred at 4:43 pm in the No. 2 Moisture Separator / Reheater drain line to the main condenser. As part of the startup evolution, the <irain system was being manually shifted from the feedwater system to the main condenser. The reactor was immediately tripped from approximately 60 percent power by the operators in response to indications in the control room, which tripped the main turbine. Seven personnel in the area were injured by the steam, four were taken to the Columbia-Augusta Regional Medical Center (Burn Center) in Augusta, Georgia (one in critical condition and 3 in serious' condition), and 3 were admitted to local hospitals. The Oconee Technical Support Center and Operations Support Center were activated to assist in ~
response to the event. A Notification of Unusual Event was declared due to the possibility of collateral damage to equipment. It was immediately terminated when no collateral damage was found. The licensee has formed a Significant Investigation Team and NRC has dispatched an Augmented Inspection Team to the site. Plant response to the trip was normal. NRR Division of Reactor Projects and cognizant staff are coordinating with the region in the ongoing inspection and investigation efforts.
Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 1 - Small Increase in Indicated Reactor Vessel level Durino Cold Shutdown On Septembbr 18, 1996, operations personnel initiated letdown line hotspot flushing to reduce radioactive dose rates in preparation for outage work.
Flushing was performed by aligning demineralized water to the letdown line.
After the flushing, operations personnel discussed the need to use service air to purge the letdown piping in preparation for a local leak rate test.
Shortly after initiating the purge of the letdown line using service air, operators noticed indicated RCS level increased from 371.5' to 372.2'. The operators immediately closed the service air to the letdown line, and indicated vessel level gradually returned to its previous level. Flushing the letdown line with demineralized water is controlled by procedure, however, the use of service air to purge the letdown line is not. This condition did not affect decay heat removal capability. Region IV is following this issue.
Quad Cities Units 1 and 2 - TSUP Imolementation On September 23, 1996, Quad Cities implemented the Technical Specification Upgrade Program (TSUP). These technical specifications (TS) were approved by the staff on June 28, 1996. TSUP moves Quad Cities away from the old plant unique TS and closer to the Standard Technical Specifications in NUREG-0123.
The Resident Inspector will follow the TSUP implementation.
Zion Units 1 and 2 - Potential Failure to Adhere to Technical Soecification Rod Position Indication Reouirements Durino Unit 1 Startuo During the startup of Unit I following its forced outage to repair a pressurizer power operated relief valve block valve, the resident ::taff observed possible failures to adhere to the Technical Specifications (TS) requirements for rod position indication.
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE A
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4 At 0835 on September 16, 1996, the infrequently performed evolution shift briefing for the Unit I startup was conducted and at 1530 the startup l commenced. At approximately 1600, when the shift conducted a mini briefing to ,
discuss the startup, the Unit Supervisor and the Nuclear Group Supervisor I indicated that their intention was to pull control rods, and, if control rod position indication exceeded +/- 12 steps from the demand, they would stop pulling rods to determine if it was a position indication problem. If they determined that the deviation was due to rod position indication, they would commence pulling control rods to their desired position, 231 steps for '
shutdown banks,178 steps for control banks A, G, and C, and 126 steps for control bank D. Once the rods were at their desired position', the rod 4
position indication system would be re-aligned. Subsequently, the resident staff discussed the control rod withdrawal with the shift and site management. l These discussions focuse6 on whether the shift's plan to withdraw control rods '
with rod position indication deviations greater than +/- 12 steps was ;
permitted by TS. As a result of these discussions, the operations manager ;
communicated to the control room operators that it was his expectation that i rod withdrawals would be conducted in a manner such that every rod deviation would be resolved, including realignment if necessary, prior to continuing with rod withdrawal. This was significantly different from the mini briefing which had been observed earlier.
However, 16 the subsequent startup that was observed by the resident staff, ;
there were deviations of more than 20 steps between control rod demand and rod !
position indication. The rod withdrawal was not stopped because the operator l
believed it was acceptable to continue control rod withdrawal Lecause the qualified nuclear engineer indicated that the computer was providing acceptable rod position alignment. However, the computer does not provide real time information due to the inherent. time lag associated with its update frequency.
The region and resident staff are following up on this issue. A management meeting is being scheduled for the near future to discuss this issue as well as several other recent events.
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE A
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Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996
, Business Process Reenaineerina Tours i
i On September 18-19, 1996, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members I conducted tours of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) l Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Center for approximately 45 Agreement State (AS) Senior Managers. Tours included an overview, by Dr. Carl ,
Paperiello, Director of NHSS, and Dr. Patricia Rathbun, BPR Project Manager,
) of the re-desiga process currently underway in the nuclear materials licensing 1
'rea. Following this overview, visitors were given a demonstration of the a
Center's capabilities and tools, including computer-at sisted licensing, LOTUS i
Notes, and the BPR INTERNET webpage. At each demonstration, the AS managers were encouraged to participate and to join NRC in the developing the new l
l process. 1
- 1 At the conclusion of the tours, several AS managers requested additional !
informat jon. During the tours, several of the managers indicated their l interest in participating with NMSS in testing its INTERNET capabilities for
' licensing, and also offered to make themselves available for a potential pilot using the' computer-assisted licensing program devised by NMSS and its i contractors.
- Attendance at the "Bia 10" Radiation Safety Officers Conference On September 23, 1996, two representatives from Region III's Division of l Nuclear Materials Safety and a representative from the Office of Nuclear l Material Safety and Safeguards gave presentations at the " Big 10" Radiation Safety Officers Conference held at the University of Chicago, Chicago, i Illinois. The purpose of the three-day workshop was to bring Radiation Safety l Officers and Health Physicists together to share ideas and common solutions to i everyday issues encountered at large, broad-secpe licensed facilities in the upper Midwest. The Nuclear Regulatory Commisrion discussions focused on the materials licensing and inspection program as it relates to recent issues associated with security and control of licensed material at biomedical s laboratory facilities. In addition to the NRC presentations, there was an opportunity for questions and answers regarding recent NRC enforcement issues related to the security and control of licensed materials and their impact on conducting research at universities.
i Interaaency Steerina Committee on Radiation Standards Risk Harmonization
[ Subcommittee Meetina
- ' On September 16, 1996, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff attended a meeting of the Risk Harmonization Subcommittee of the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS). The attendees discussed the BEIR VII Scoping Study and a draft background paper on comparative radiation risk.
- Environmental Protection Agency staff committed to distributing the final i scope of work for the scoping study and to keeping the Subcommittee members informed of the study's progress. The background paper on comparative risk is j SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE B i
being developed to support a seminar on this topic for ISCORS members scheduled for October 16, 1996. .The seminar will address two questions related to the risk associated with radiation exposure and radiation regulation: (1) How effective and cost-effective are current U.S. radiation protection efforts; and (2) How might our nation do better? During the Subcommittee meeting, the attendees also discussed and resolved comments on the background paper and established a schedule for completing it.
Reoraanization of Deoartment of Enerav's Yucca Mountain Site Characteri'zation Office The Department of Energy's (DOE) Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office (YMSCO) is responsible for characterizing the Yucca Mountain site to determine if it is suitable for a high-level waste (HLW) repository. On September 12, 1996, DOE announced to its staff that reorganization of the YMSCO is expected to be effective October 26, 1996. Under the new organization, the principal groups reporting to the Project Manager (who remains unchanged) are as follows: Chief Counsel, YMSCO Headquarters Representative, Project Control, Office of Institutional Affairs, Administration and Asset Management, License Application and Sit 9 Recommendation, Viability Assessment, and Environmental Safety and Health. from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's perspective, the principal point of contact will remain the License Application and Site Recommendation group. The Viability Assessment Group is expected to contain a small number of personnel who will obtain their technical input from the License Application and Site Recommendation Group. DOE does not anticipate a staff reduction from this reorganization, but the specific details, including personnel reassignments, have not yet been announced.
Audit of the los Alamos National Laboratorv Ouality Assurance Proaram l During September 16-23, 1996, Division of Waste Management staff observed the performance-based Department of Energy (DOE) audit of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) quality assurance (QA) program in Los Alamos, New Mexico, !
and Las Vegas, Nevada. The audit team evaluated LANL activities related to !
the probability of magmatic disruption of the repository, characterization of l volcanic features, and the physical processes of magmatism and effects on the '
potential repository. The audit resulted in five draft performance / deficiency reports regarding: (1) lack of identification of version of software package used; (2) untimely submittal of scientific notebooks to DOE's Records Processing Center; (3) lack of verification of calculations in scientific notebooks; (4) failure to clearly identify non-qualified data in reports; and (5) discrepancies between reported data values within the 1996 Volcanism Synthesis Report and between that report and Los Alamos milestone reports.
The DOE audit team's overall finding was that the LANL's QA performance was
" marginally effective." Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff believe that the above deficiencies are significant and will explore them further with D0E.
Meetina with Atlas Cornoration On September 19, 1996, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and the Office of the General Counsel met with the President and SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE B 1
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other representatives of Atlas Corporation to discuss the schedule and status of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's ongoing review of Atlas' proposed reclamation of its uranium mill tailings near Moab, Utah. Atlas stated the importance of expediting the review and requested that NRC provide formal documentation of its progress in the review.
NRC noted that the major causes of delay in finalizing t!. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were the extensive comments received on the January 1996 draft EIS and delays caused by required interaction with o'ther Federal agencies. NRC stated thr.t most of the open issues identified in.the .
January 1996 Draft Technical Evaluation Report (DTER) relating to the acceptability of the site have now been resolved. NRC will send a letter to Atlas documenting the status of the 20 DTER open issues. Within the next three weeks, Atlas will provide information on those DTER open issues that it has not yet addressed.
General Atomics. Inc.. Site Decommissionino General Atomics, Inc. (GA), met with staff from the Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch and the State of California at their La Jolla, California, site to discuss their decommissioning schedule for the next three years. The schedule calls for an aggressive effort in 1997. GA is preparing an overall site decommissi,oning plan to accommodate the cessation of licensed activities at various site facilities.
Nuclear Fuel Services. Inc.. North Site Decommissionina Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS), met with staff from the Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch a,d representatives of the Division of Waste Management to obtain technica; information related to their preparation of a North Site decommissioning plan. A follow-up meeting is planned for October 1996, at the NFS site.
Meetina with Fansteel. Inc.
On September 19, 1996, staff from the Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch met with representatives of Fansteel, Inc., to discuss current licensing issues, including the status of the license amendment and license renewal. The staff informed Fansteel that review of the license amendment to authorize further processing of stored " work in progress" materials has been completed, and that resolution of financial assurance instrument wording remains the only impediment to issuing the amendment. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff described the financial instrument review process and informed the licensee that the instruments are under review.
With respect to license renewal, NRC staff noted that, due to the new information provided by Fansteel in March 1996 and Fansteel's desire to consider their new decommissioning plan (DP) as their preferred decommissioning option, the environmental assessment (EA) has increased in scope to include the on-site containment cell and the DP. Review of the new DP is being performed under contract and staff expects a draft EA by January 1997. If, during the EA review, the staff determines that there is a SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE B 1
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. 4 significant environmental impact,. the staff will develop an Environmental Impact Statement. '
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. SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE B I
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Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research ;
Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Pro.iect Meetina for Joint Containment Model Test Procram i Dr. James F. Costello participated in a program management meeting for the joint NRC/NUPEC containment model testing effort. Final agreement was reached on a pressurization sequence for the test-to-failure that will be condticted in i
December,1996 on the model of a steel BWR containment. The model has been .
constructed at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A final agenda was also agreed upon for a meeting to be held in October,1996 of '
the eight organizations that have performed pre-test predictions of the mooel's response. Finally, there was an inspection of the segments of the steel liner that have been fabricated for the model of a prestressed concrete containment model that will be constructed at Sandia, starting in 1997.
Blockaae Software On September 18, 1996, NRC staff members met with their contractor, Science and Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA), to discuss issues concerning the Blockage spftware. The Blockage software estimates the loss of NPSH margin to emergency core cooling systems pumps due to debris accumulation on suction strainers in suppression pools. The Blockage software was developed to assist in the resolution of the boiling water reactor suction strainer debris blockage issue. The Blocbge software has been recently enhanced to make it a useful tool to evaluate possible fixes that some licensees may implement. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the NRC staff's comments on the (1) Beta version of the Blockage Software, (2) the draft Blockage User's Manual, and (3) the draft Blockage Reference Manual. SEA agreed to incorporate most of the staff's comments into the final deliverables. The comments that will not be incorporated into the final deliverables were ,
determined to be of marginal benefit and/or cost prohibitive. The production I version of the Blockage software is scheduled to be delivered to the NRC by Tuesday, October 22, 1996. The production version of the Blockage software will be sent, by the staff, to the Energy Science and Technology Software Center at Oak Ridge to make the software available to the public. The camera-ready version of the Blockage User's Manual is scheduled to be delivered to the NRC by Tuesday, October 22, 1996. The camera-ready version of the Blockage Reference Manual is scheduled to be delivered to the NRC by Friday, November 8, 1996.
ASME Code Meetinas in New York City September 18-19. 1996 Frank C. Cherny, Acting Chief of the Goncric Safety Issues Branch represented NRC at ASME Code Section III meetings in New York City September 18-19, 1996.
Mr. Cherny attended and chaired the meeting of the Section III Subgroup On Pressure Relief and attended as a member of the Section III Subcommittee On Nuclear Power (S/C III). Mr. C.J. Pieper of Chicago Bridge & Iron Technical Services Co., current Vice Chair of S/C III, chaired the S/C III meeting and announced that effective October 1, 1996 Mr. R. Jesse of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. will assume the position of Vice Chairman of S/C III.
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE C 1
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Also effective October 1, Mr. Pieper will assume the position of Chairman of S/C III. The term of the current S/C Chairman, Mr. Roger F. Reedy of Reedy Engineering, Inc., ends September 30, 1996.
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SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE C I
Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest I Week Ending September 27, 1996 Maine Yankee Independent Safety Assessment The Maine Yankee Independent Safety Assessment team's final report was delivered to the Chairman on September 27, 1996. The Team Manager and Team Leader will brief the Chairman on October 2, and the Governor of Maine 'on October 3, 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 i October 10. A final meeting to brief the Commission is scheduled for October 18, 1996.
Ukraine Exercise 4
During the weeks of September 23 and 30, 199C, an IRD staff member conducted and observed the first drill, a tabletop learning exercise, for the Nuclear Regulatory Administration in the Ukraine. The drill is part of the Lisbon '
initiative effort to develop an improved emergency response system in the Ukraine.
4 j Resoonse C6 ordination Manual-96 During the week of September 23, 1996, IRD published the Response Coordination Manual-96 (RCM-96), a compilation of documents dealing with various aspects of a response to an event at an NRC licensed facility. The document provides the user with a guide for accomplishing the necessary coordination activities during a response to an emergency. It will have wide distribution to the i Regions, States, utilities, and other Federal agencies.
Preliminary Notifications
- a. PN0-I-96-067, GPU Nuclear Corporation (0yster freek 1), INADVERTENT RELEASE OF SLIGHTLY RADI0 ACTIVE WATER.
- b. PN0-1-96-068, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, HIGH EXTERNAL RADIATION
- LEVELS FROM A PACKAGE CONTAINING RADI0 ACTIVE MATERIAL.
- d. PNO-I-96-070, Medi-Physics, Inc., NUCLEAR MEDICINE SHIPPING CONTAINER FOUND NEAR APARTMENT COMPLEX DUMPSTER.
. e. PN0-II-96-064, Florida Power Corporation (Crystal River 3), APPARENT ACT OF TAMPERING.
- f. PNO-II-96-065, Duke Power Company (0conee 2), NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT -- OCONEE UNIT 2.
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j g. PN0-II-96-065A, Duke Power Company (Oconee 2), STEAM LINE BREAK (UPDATE). .
i 4 h. PNO-III-96-061, Miller Associates, POTENTIAL ABAltDONMENT OF LICENSED .
MATERIAL. ,
1 i 1. PNO-III-96-062, Indiana (Cook I), OUTAGE EXTENDED 10 REPLACE SOURCE RANGE ;
l- DETECTORS.
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- j. PNO-IV-96-050A, CA Agreement State Licensee, SHIPPING CONTAII;fR LOSES . i SHIELDING DURING' TRANSPORT.
4 k. PNO-IV-9G-051, Nucor-Yamato (Steel Mill), RADIOACTIVE OBJECT FOUND AT
, SCRAP YARD. l 3
. 1. PNO-IV-96-052, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric ,
Company (San Onofre 3), UNPLANNED SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS.
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I SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE D i
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Office of Administration i Items of Interest I Week Ending September 27, 1996 1 Contract Awards On September 23, 1996, a contract was awarded to Silicon Graphics, Inc., for l full maintenance support for the SGI server systems and software maintenance support for the workstation systems. The period of performance is one' year with four additional one-year options. The total firm fixed price is .
$293,087.50, including options. This contract was solicited using commercial acquisition procedures.
On September 19, 1996, a contract was awarded to the University of Maryland entitled, " Maintenance of COMMIX-1C Finite Element Thermal Hydraulic Simulation Computer Code." The objective of this contract is to obtain code configuration control, correction of code errors, code improvements, developmental assessment, documentation updates and user support to NRC and its contractors for COMMIX-10. The basic contract ruas from September 23, 1996 to September 22, 1997 and may be extended by exercise of options for up to four additional years. The total contract value including option years is
$531,203. The acquisition was completed from initial receipt of RFPA to mailing of award document for signature in 65 days.
On September 25, 1996, a contract was awarded to Burrelle's Information !
Services, Inc., for Local and National Newspaper Clipping Services. The contractor is responsible for providing news articles relevant to the mission of the NRC for distribution to NRC Senior Management through the NRC's Media Monitor. The total estimated price is $90,972, including four one-year options. This contract was awarded in five months using commercial acquisition procedures.
On September 20, 1996, a contract was awarded to RH Lyon Corp. entitled, "In-Plant Testing of Prototype Diagnostic System," under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The period of performance of this firm fixed price contract is October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1998, and the contract amount is $175,950.
On September 23, 1996, a contract was awarded to DPD, Inc., entitled,
" Development of Self-Repairing Concrete Containments for Radioactive Wastes Using Superelastic Reinforcement," under the SBIR Program. The period of performance of this firm fixed price contract is October 1,1996 through September 30, 1998, and the contract amount is $175,000.
On September 24, 1996, a contract was awarded to the W.H. Schlosser Company, Inc., entitled, " Refurbish One White Flint North." The period of performance is 3.5 years. The firm fixed price is $4,888,000.
On September 13, 1996, a contract was awarded to Armstrong Data Services, Inc., entitled, " Maintenance of Official Personnel Records." The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract amount is $89,458 and is effective September 23, 1996 through September 22, 1997, with four one-year option years for a total SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE F
contract value of $447,532. This 8(a) set-aside procurement was completed in three months and three days.
i' On September 10, 1996, a cooperative agreement was awarded to the National ;
Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) entitled, " Collaborative Computing Tools to Support National Objectives for the Future Use of Computer Technology in the Government and Private Sectors." The period of performance is three years with two one-year options at a total estimated amount of
$500,000 (including options).
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- NOTE
- Procurement streamlining methods were used in all of the i above contract awards. .
NRC Security Advisor Proaram The semi-annual meeting of the NRC's Security Advisors was held on September 26, 1996. Advisors serve as liaison with the Division of Security (SEC), and provide general advice and assistance to NRC offices on security matters. An IRM representative briefed the Security Advisors on the " Defense Hessage Systems," and on the NRC's future efforts to provide secure ADP l
, systems for processing classified and sensitive unclassified information. l Othersub4ectscoveredduringthemeetingincludedanupdateonNRC'sDrug Testing Program; SEC's foreign ownership, control or influence activities; NRC j
facility security upgrades; and SEC's role in helping to solve thefts within the Complex.
- Draft Policy Statement on the Restructurina and Economic Dereaulation o' the Electric Utility Industry
, The NRC published a draft policy statement in the Federal Register 1
on September 23,1996 (61 FR 49711), requesting public comment on its intended approach to power reactor licensees as the electric utility industry moves from an environment of rate regulation toward greater competition. The NRC is concerned that rate deregulation and disaggregation resulting from various _ ._
restructuring involving power reactor licensees could have adverse effects on the protection of public health and safety. The comment period for this
- action closes December 9, 1996. ;
Sianificant F0IA Reouests Received durina the 5-Day Period of September 20-26.
1921:
List of all violations at all power plants managed by Entergy, Inc. from January 1, 1993 to present. (S. Griffin; Chenango North Energy Awareness Group; F01A-96-376) l Records relied on in determining the solubility of transuranic waste as '
reported in a February 6,1995 affidavit and a February 14, 1995 letter. (M.
Fioravanti; Institute for Energy and Environmental Research; F01A-96-378)
Copy of 1/3/96 letter regarding a DOE proceeding involving Houston Lighting and Power. (S.Patterson of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius; F01A-96-379)
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SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE F
Records since 9/12/94 related to Dow Chemical's decommissioning plan for the Midland, MI facility. (W.Sims; RUST Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.; :
FOIA-96-380)
Non-Public Document Room re ords related to Ker-McGee Chemical Corp. Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago, IL for the period 1932 to present. (Y.
Ebeid; International Environmental Services, Inc.; F01A-96-381) l f
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Office of Personnel Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 ignipr Level Review Panel Meetina Held During the week of September 16, 1996, the Senior Level Review Panel met to review the performance appraisals and award recommendations for Senior Lbvel employees (other than Commissioner Assistants). The Panel's recommenda'tions will be forwarded to the Chairman 'and the EDO, as appropriate, for final. .
approval.
arrivals BRYCE, Amy GENERAL ENGINEER (PFT) NMSS DENTEL, Glenn RESIDENT INSPECTOR (PFT) RI DUDES, Laura REACTOR ENGINEER (PFT) RI NIWH, Son' SR PROJECT ENGINEER (PFT) RII SEE, Conchita COMPUTER SYSTEMS ANALYST (PFT) NRR Retirements ALLEN, Elm'o SR AUDITOR (PFT) OIG LITTLE, Mary CONTRACT SPECIALIST (PFT) ADM Denartures BAKER, Sherri 0FC RESIDENT ASST (0A) (0PFT) RI FRYE, Edward SUMMER TECHNICAL INTERN.(0PFT) RII
-SCHWARTZ, Andrew RADIATION LAB TECHNICIAN (0PFT) RI SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE I
Office of Small Business & Civil Rights Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Minority Enterorise Development Week i
1 SBCR participated in the 14th Annual National Conference of Minority Enterprise Development Week held at the Sheraton Washington Hotel September 23-26, 1996. The featured speakers were the Honorable Michael Kantor, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, the Honorable Philip Lader, 4
Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Ho'norable Floyd Flake, Representative U.S. Congress (D-New York). Harris Coleman and Beverly Anker managed the NRC exhibit booth providing information about potential procurement opportunities to cpproximately 400 minority firms. The FY97 procurement forecast was made available to small businesses upon request. The principal seminars included topics such as, Doing Business in the 21st Century, the Market Place of the New Century, How to Capitalize Your Business into the Year 2000, and How to Develop a Competitive Edge.
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Office of State Programs l Items of Interest ;
Week Ending September 27, 1996 l Environmental Justice Subcommittee Meetina Rosetta Virgilio, Office of State Programs, participated in the Environmental Justice Subcommittee on Policy and Coordination meeting held on September 26, 1996 at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Subcommittee was 4
briefed on several items of interest to NRC. The status of the Council on -
Environmental Quality (CEQ) National Environmental Policy Act.(NEPA) guidance, which was to'have been provided to agencies in July, 1996, is still awaiting !
finalization. The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) has
- asked that a mechanism be developed whereby agencies address past EJ progress 1
in an effort to compare the impact of Executive Order 12898. The NEJAC will 3
be meeting December 10-12, 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland, and it has been suggested by the Subcommittee that agencies provide NEJAC at that time with a brief orientation and overview of agency EJ activities. Agencies have also been invited to participate in an, Enforcement & Compliance Roundtable meeting to be held October 17-19, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas.
A summary of the May 29-31, 1996 NEJAC meeting held in Detroit, Michigan is available for review by interested parties by contacting Ms. Virgilio at 415-2307.
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Office of Public Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Media Interest The Chicago Sun-Times will be publishing a story on the independent inspection at Dresden.
Press Releases . -
Headauarters:
96-126 NRC Issues Draft Policy Statement on Economic Deregulation of Nuclear Power Plants96-127 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet October 9-12 96-128 NRC Selects Public Affairs Officers in Headquarters and King of Prussia 96-129 Note To Editors -- ACRS Meeting October 9-12 Reaions: -
Region I Note to Editors: Meeting with Connecticut Yankee on October 2 Regarding AIT at Haddam Neck I-96-64 NRC Staff Suspends Veterinarian's License I-96-65 NRC Staff Proposes $8,000 Fine Against VA Medical Center in Philadelphia for Alleged Harassment of Employee 11-96-80 NRC Staff Forms' Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to Review Oconee Steam Line Rupture Event 11-96-81 NRC Evaluation Lists Superior Performance at Turkey Point 111-96-59 NRC Predecisional Enforcement Conference With Toledo Edison Co. on Apparent Fire Protection Violations at Davis-Besse Plant 111-96-60 NRC Inspection Teams to Meet With Illinois Power Officials to Discuss Preliminary Findings of Inspections at Clinton Plant SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE M i
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Region I Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Hiah Dose Rates on a Radioactive TransDortation Packagg A Region I inspector was dispatched on September 24, 1996 to review the transportation by New England Medical Center (NEMC), Boston, MA, of a radioactive material package with unexpectedly high dose rates. The package contained 44 mci of Ir-192 seeds in a ribbon and was being transported from .
NEMC to the VA Medical Center in Boston (Boston VA). Transpo'rt between the two facilities was by taxi. A NEMC physicist accompanied the package, which was transported in the trunk of the taxi. Upon arrival at the VA Medical Center the bottom of the package was reading 400 mR/hr at contact and 40 mR/hr at one meter, instead of expected contact dose rate of 5 mR/hr and 0.3 mR/hr at one meter. Early assessment of the incident by the licensees, and tentatively confirmed by the inspector, indicated minimal radiation exposure to workers and no exposure to members of the public. The cause of the incident and the licensees' actions are still under review.
(PN1-068 was issued 9/24/96)
Stolen Gauce Recovered. Susoects in Custody On September 23, 1996, the Radiation Safety Officer (RS0) of Certified Testing Laboratories, Inc. (CTL), Bordentown, NJ, called the Region I office to request information about a portable nuclear gauge. The CTL RSO stated that an unnamed individual offered to sell him a Troxler gauge. The RSO obtained the serial number of the gauge from the individual and contacted the manufacturer, who provided the RSO with the name of the licensed company to whom Troxler transferred possession of the gauge. Region I determined that i the gauge subsequently had been transferred to ABI Laboratories and that the gauge had been stolen from that company on September 12, 1996 (PN1-064).
Region I staff contacted the RS0 of ABI and the Philadelphia Police Department i and, on the evening of September 23, 1996, Bordentown, NJ police apprehended. l two individuals in CTL's parking lot with the gauge and other stolen i equipment. On September 24, 1996, Region I staff performed a radiological l
survey of the gauge, determined that there were no unusual radiation levels at '
the surface of the gauge, and noted that the gauge appeared undamaged. ABI personnel subsequently retrieved the portable gauge from CTL. (PNI-069 was issued 9/25/96) l SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE P l
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Region II l Items of Interest l Week Ending September 27, 1996 ;
l Carolina Power and Liaht Comnany - H. B. Robinson l
On September 24, 1996, representatives of the Carolina Power and Light Company ;
were in the Region II Office to present a self-assessment of the performance ;
of their Robinson facility. '
i Duke Power Company - Oconee '
On September 24, 1996, at 4:44 p.m., a steam line rupture (located on an 18- ;
inch diameter line between the second stage reheater drain tank 2B and the ;
feedwater heaters) occurred in the Oconee Unit 2 turbine building. Unit 2, !
which was-in the process of returning to power after a short maintenance outage, was manually tripped from about 55 percent power by the operators in '
response to indications of the break. The unit responded as expected and was i stabilized in hot shutdown. The steam discharge was isolated when the unit ,
was manually tripped, and there were no known radiological problams associated l with the event. A Notification of Unusual Event (NOVE) was declared at 8:20 i p.m., due to the discovery of collateral damage to equipment during a walkdown !
of the affected area. The NOUE was terminated at 8:40 p.m., once it was i determined that the collateral damage did not affect control of Unit 2 while it.is shutdown. -
The licensee activated the Technical Support and Operations Support Centers to :
assist in the response to this event. Seven employees sustained injuries and !
were transported offsite for medical treatment, four of which are in critical, i but stable condition. None of the injured personnel were radioactively I contaminated. i The NRC resident inspectors immediately responded onsite to the event. Later that evening, a Region II Branch Chief and inspector were dispatched to the !
site to begin a special, reactive inspection of the event. Subsequently i
. joined by additional inspectors and material specialists from the Region and i NRR, the special, reactive inspection effort was upgraded to an Augmented Inspection Team, i Unit 2 is currently in cold shutdown to facilitate investigation / recovery !
activities. Units 1 and 3, unaffected by the event, continue to operate at i 100 percent power. In addition to'the site's Investigation / Recovery Team and !
the corporate-led Event Investigation Team, the licensee has also obtained the i services of contractors with previous experience in similar events to aid in l the root cause analysis. Visual examination of the ruptured pipe and associated supports is underway, as are inspections of the similar sections of piping in Units 1 and 3. Current plans include the removal of the affected <
section of pipe and transporting it to the licensee's material labs at the McGuire site in order to conduct further examinations. l SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE P
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Zirconium Fires at B&W Naval Nuclear Fuel Division On September 19, 1996, a vacuum cleaner used for cleaning up zirconium metal shavings caught fire. On September 24, another fire occurred in a local ventilation system used for removing vapors from a zirconium machining '
operation. Both fires were promptly extinguished by licensee staff. Neither fire involved uranium directly. The senior er , dent inspector and a region-based inspector, who were on site, responded to the second fire. A Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) regarding the licensee's actions was issued on September 25, 1996. Region II, with support from NHSS, will conduct a team i
special inspection the week of September 30, 1996. - ~
Downblendina of Saoohire Material at B&W Naval Nuclear Fuel Division l
Initial downblending activities for Sapphire high enriched uranium (HEU) began l September 24, 1996. One batch of low enriched uranium and three batches of HEU were dissolved with no problems. Actual downblending has been delayed because pre-operational testing identified a pump that needed to be replaced.
The senior resident inspector and a region-based inspector observed the l licensee's testing and operations.
Georaia Tech Cobalt 60 Source Transfer. l Prior to the Olympics, Georgia Tech placed shipping containers in the Co-60 i storage pool and loaded the sources into the containers. These sources are regulated by the State of Georgia. On September 24, Georgia Tech removed the i Co-60 sources from these containers and placed them in the normal racks in the l storage pool. State of Georgia inspectors observed a portion of these operations. Subsequently, the casks were . decontaminated and shipped to the cask vendor.
1 Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference with Diaanostic Photon and Syncor i Overseas Ltd.
On September 26, 1996, Region II held a pre-decisional enforcement conference with Diagnostic Photon Corporation and Syncor Overseas Ltd. to discuss the apparent transfer by Diagnostic Photon of licensed activities to Syncor Overseas Ltd. without prior NRC consent.
Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference with San Juan Cement On September 27, 1996, Region II held a pre-decisional enforcement conference with San Juan Cement Company regarding their repeated failure to control access to areas surrounding gauges containing licensed material.
Manaaement Meetina with Dr. Jose Fernandez On September 27, 1996, Region II held a management meeting with Dr. Jose Fern &ndez regarding his actions related to a CAL. The CAL addressed actions Dr. Fernandez planned to take related to numerous misadministrations resulting from the inaccurate calibration of a strontium 90 eye applicator.
SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 ENCLOSURE P
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Imoort of Foreian Research Reactor irradiated Fuel f
4 On September 22, 1996, Edlow International shipped eight casks of irradiated !
foreign research reactor fuel from the port at Charleston Naval Weapons Station to the DOE Savannah River Site. Region II health physics and security i staff. inspected the shipment. This is the first of many such shipments over ;
the next approximately 13 years. These shipments are part of the U. S. i i
government's non-proliferation efforts.
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i Region III Items of Interest !
Week Ending September 27, 1996 l
LaSalle Safety System Functional Insoection On September 24, 1996, Region III staff completed a Safety System Functional Inspection at the 1.aSalle Nuclear Station. The irispection consisted of an in-depth review of the essential service water system. Several significant
- findings were discovered. These findings involved
- inadequate in-service testing of some essential service water pumps; failure to conduct required ~
technical specification surveillances; and the failure to properly control modifications. In addition, NRC staff discussed with the utility an operability issue regarding possible water hammer in the residual heat removal (RHR) service water system. Since both units were shut down, the utility will perform a detailed evaluation of the issue prior to operation of the units.
Manaacment Chances Announced for Clinton Nuclear Power Plant t
On September 22, 1996, Illinois Power Company announced that Pat Yocum will replace Roger Morgenstern as Clinton Plant Manager and Mike Lyon will replace Kevin Moorie as Director of Plant Operations. Mr. Yocum was formerly Director
' of Nuclear Assessment and Mr. Lyon was formerly Director of Licensing at the Clinton Station. In addition, Gary Baker was named Director of Nuclear
, Assessment.
Commonwealth Edison Company Enaineerina Manaaement Meetina
- On September 26, 1996, Region III Director of the Division of Reactor Safety Geoffrey Grant and other members of regional staff met with Commonwealth Edison Vice President of Engineering Director John Hosmer and site engineering managers in the Region III Office to discuss the status and results of Comed's engineering self-assessment initiatives.
! Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Toledo Edison Company On September 26, 1996, a predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in the Region III Office between management representatives from Toledo Edison Company and members of the NRC Region III staff. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the findings of an inspection conducted at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. Two apparent fire protection violations were discussed. One involves the failure to take adequate corrective action to avoid potential damage to certain motor-operated valves as a result of electrical shorts which could occur during a fire in the plant's control room.
The second involves the failure of the utility to replace or take other compensatory measures for inadequate radiant energy shields for electrical cables in the reactor containment. The meeting was open for public observation.
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- j. Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Cn=anwealth Edison Company l 4 !
On September 27, 1996, a predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in '
- the Region III Office between management representatives from Commonwealth )
i Edison and members of the NRC Region III staff. The purpose of the conference i 4
was to' discuss numerous apparent violations related to the inadvertent l
. injection of sealant into the service water tunnel. The sealant had the potential to cause the loss of the ultimate heat sink for both reactor units.
i Confirmatory Action Letter It: sued to Black Rock. Inc.
i On September 26, 1996, Region III issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to Black Rock, Inc. Girard, Ohio, to confirm agreements regarding corrective actions the company has taken, or plans to take. The CAL was issued due to violations and a concern by NRC of a lack of management and Radiation Safety Officer oversight of licensed activities.
l Radiation Safety Officers Meetina
, A meeting between the NRC and radiation safety officers was held on September 23, 1996, at the University of Chicago. The meeting was an effort by NRC to increase communications between materials licensees and NRC staff. The !
Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Cindy Pederson {
participated in the meeting. The topics included: organization of and ;
communications with NRC; inspection process; and security and control of radioactive material.
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Region IV Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 Union Electric Meetina .
On September 25,-1996, the Region IV Deputy Regional Administrator; the Director, Division of Reactor Projects; and the Director, Project Directorate ' '
IV-2 of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation met with representatives of 4
Union Electric at the Callaway Plant to discuss the Callaway Plant refueling
, outage scheduled to begin October 12, 1996. - ~
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Office of Congressional Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending September 27, 1996 CONGRESSIONAL 2 EARING SCHEDULE, No. 81 -
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- _ M** *j$7 G2rke 10/03/96 9:00 TENTATIVE Politicalization of the Reps. Mica /Moran 2154 RHOB Federal Workforce Civil Service Government Reform & Oversight The 104th Congress is expected to adjourn for the year this week. The 105th Congress will convene in January.
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