ML20134J166
| ML20134J166 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/15/1996 |
| From: | Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Stoiber C NRC OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (OIP) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20134B619 | List:
|
| References | |
| FOIA-96-493 NUDOCS 9702120039 | |
| Download: ML20134J166 (1) | |
Text
. . _ _ _ _ _ _ . .
l ,w.' A un, 8 k UNITED STATES
$ ,E NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION e WASHINGTON, D.C. 20liti6 CHAIRMAN D '
, MEMORANDUM TO: Carlton Stoiber, Director l Office of International Programs FROM: Shirley Ann Jackson j d ~.
SUBJECT:
G-24 NUCLEAR SAFETY COORDINATION COMMITTEE AND NUCLEAR SAFETY ACCOUITT In light of the NRC's continued involvement in various nuclear safety assistance programs, I believe it would be useful for the Commission to have a paper which specifically addresses the activities associated with the G-24 nuclear safety coordination ,
and the Nuclear Safety Account. While I understand that these '
activities are components of our overall safety assistance program for countries of the former Soviet Union, and Central and Eastern Europe, I would like to see a paper which particularly addresses the structure and organization of the subject activities; U.S. Government representation at meetings, including agency role and contributions; an evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the programs; and plans regarding future work of ,
these activities.
I believe such a paper will provide useful background as these issues are raised in the strategic assessment and rebaselining initiative, and also provide'a basis for approving future travel in support of these activities. i l
I would appreciate a response by April 1, 1996. '
i l
l 9702120039 970206 PDR FOIA l HART 96-493 _ , PDR
2 5 <} , ,
i' M \ UNITED STATES
[ ft NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
% WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555M1 i ~.v(/
February 21, 1996 '
j CHAIRMAN ,
1 Mr. Kozo lida )
Chairman, Organizing Committee !
- Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference
, PBNC Secretariat
- ' c/o Atomic Energy Society of Japan l-1-13 Shimbashi,
- Minato-ku
- Tokyo, 105 Japan 1
Dr. Shunsuke Kondo Chairman, Technical Program Committee Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference PBNC Secretariat c/o Atomic Energy Society of Japan 1-1-13 Shimbashi,
- Minato-ku Tokyo, 105 Japan
Dear Mr. Iida and Dr. Kondo:
Thank you for your letter inviting me to make the keynote presentation at the 10th Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference in Kobe on October 21, 1996. I am pleased to accept. I believe that you have selected a very appropriate theme 2
for the Conference as nuclear technology being developed in the Pacific area :
I will play a significant part in the continued rapid economic development in j
the region. As you suggested, I will focus my remarks on my vision of nuclear energy for the future, with emphasis on the Pacific Basin. I have asked the NRC's Office of International Programs to coordinate the arrangements for my participation in the meeting. The NRC contact is Mr. Kevin Burke, who can be reached at (301) 415-2317 (phone) or (301) 415-3986 (fax).
I am looking forward to meeting you in Kobe in October.
Sincerely, Shirley Ann Jackson L)5
_. lf. I
kd E i i
February 21, 1996 l
l l
Dr. Yih-Yun Hsu Chairman Atomic Energy Council Taipei, Taiwan
Dear Dr. Hsu:
Thank you for your letter of January 15, 1996. It was good to meet you when you were in Washington last November and to have the opportunity to discuss important regulatory issues. I am pleased to accept your kind invitation to visit Taiwan. If convenient for you, I am looking forward to making a visit to Taiwan in the October timeframe to coincide with my i attendance at the Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference. I hope at that time to meet with you and others involved in maintaining the safety of Taiwan's nuclear power program and to visit several of Taiwan's nuclear facilities.
I have asked the NRC's Office of International Programs to coordinate the arrangements for my visit. The NRC contact is Mr. Kevin Burke, who can be reached at (301) 415-2317 (phone) or (301) 415-3986 (fax).
Sincerely, Shirley Ann Jackson
&a st ; Ip.
i
d 20
- d. 3-
[ 4 k UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
,- , g
><' j t
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20555-0001 o
g ,... / February 29, 1996 CHAIRMAN Mr. Yuri G. Vishnevsky >
Chairman, GOSATOMNADZOR of Russia l Russian Federation Taganskaya ul., 34 Moscow, Russia 109147
Dear Mr. Vishnevsky:
I regret that you were not able to attend the sixth meeting of the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission (GCC) in Washington January 29-30, 1996, particularly in light of the successful and mutually beneficial relationship which has developed between our two regulatory agencies. Since I believe that important progress in areas of mutual interest was achieved at the January session of the GCC, I want to update you on these items and to give you a copy of the final Report of the Nuclear Energy Committee (Attachment 1). You should be aware that, in addition to language NRC and GAN inserted in the " Cooperation on Nuclear Safety" section in the Energy Committee's report specifying our cooperation, during the GCC-VI meetings I gave special emphasis to the NRC-GAN statement reaffirming our joint program of work to be conducted over the next 12 to 18 months.
On the issue of core conversion of the plutonium production reactors, U.S.
Energy Secretary O' Leary and Minister of the Russian Federation for Atomic ;
i Energy Mikhailov agreed to proceed with the second phase of the core conversion analysis, although complete funding for the project has not yet been secured. The U.S. Government is working to arrange the necessary $10 million before the April Moscow Nuclear Summit. In addition, the fossil i feasibility studies for Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk will be completed by mid-year.
In the area of materials protection, control, and accounting (MPCA), Secretary ,
i O' Leary and Minister Mikhailov signed both a general " Joint Statement" and a
" Joint Statement on Guiding Principles of Cooperation" (Attachment 2) to expand cooperation. Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin discussed the idea of having the U.S.-Russian exhibit on MPCA and nuclear safety, including NRC's panels on NRC-GAN safety cooperation, displayed at the April Moscow Nuclear Summit. In the nuclear safety cooperation area, the principals signed a statement on international safety centers and identified initial priority projects, including the development of a safety database for the Russian center.
I believe that the three-year GCC process has achieved notable successes in a broad spectrum of energy issues. These successes have depended in large measure on the seriousness with which all parties have regarded the issues of safety and security and their impact on the development of new energy sources.
3 4,cirn m og ; qr)
l C'
2 As our respective countries approach the Moscow Nuclear Summit in April 1996, NRC and GAN cooperation will be seen as a concrete example of our governments' recommitment to giving priority to safety in the use of nuclear energy. I look forward to working closely with you and GAN on these and other areas of nuclear safety and security.
Sincerely, b
Enclosures:
As stated 4
V j [ 1h*.
l jpm**c#u% UNITED STATES 1 ys ,
- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g wassisoTcN o c. rosssa>os ,
's % l
\ . . ..- ] ..
csA: NAN March 4, 1996 Dr. Tara O'Toole Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health U.S. Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585
Dear Dr. O'Toole:
I am pleased to inform you that on February 15, 1996, Greta J. Dicus became a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I have asked Commissioner Dicus to represent the NRC on the Joint Coordinating Committee on Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER). She has agreed and will plan to attend the next JCCRER meeting tentatively scheduled in June 1996 in Moscow. Dr. Shlomo S. Yaniv will continue to represent the NRC on the JCCRER Executive Committee.
We look forward to working together with the Department of Energy on this I
important matter.
l Sincerely, f
1 i .
l i
I I
&nsw 1,
. . ~ .
4 e .-
n J,** - ;/
~D 0
fe %, UNITED STATES
} e ,) * ( - >j '. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ;
g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20$!$4001
%, . , [ March 19, 1996 CHAIRMAN i
i 4
J-Mr. Daniel Lapr&s Groupe/CPA 14, av de la Porte de Champerret l 75838 Paris CEDEX 17 France
Dear Mr. Lapr&s:
I Thank you for your invitation to participate in the CPA-sponsored 1 seminar for senior managers from Framatome. Unfortunately, I
- will be travelling in Asia during the period of your seminar.
J
) Because of the many issues that the NRC is currently addressing, i we will be unable to send a senior person to Lynchburg for the
- seminar. However, we would be pleased to brief members of Framatome on key issues in U.S. nuclear safety if they should
} have occasion to visit the Washington, D.C. area.
i
! My best wishes for an instructive seminar.
i j Sincerely,
} '& 1 f Shirley Ann Jackson l i i
4 i
4 l
J 4
1 J
I 1 e . i
~
i
,. ,1 ,
+0/ormmv~ /vvv( - ) f- ;
- i
<. ->3
[ UNITED STATES y" ( NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g ,g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 4001 o t
\.....,/ March 19, 1996 CHAIRMAN Mr. Hiroshi Ohishi Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation 9-13, I chome, Akasaka Minato-ku Tokyo, Japan
Dear Mr. 0hishi:
Thank you for your letter of February 15, 1996, regarding the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor site and my upcoming trip to Japan for the Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum Conference. I have tentatively planned a visit to Monju for April 19, 1996, and a meeting with you on April 23, as part of my trip to Japan. I understand this schedule has been worked out between our staffs. If these dates are not convenient, please have your staff contact Kevin D. Burke of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Office of International Programs at 301-415-2317.
I found the documents you enclosed very informative. I am very interested in the December 8, 1995 sodium leak at the Monju site and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation's (PNC's) efforts to analyze the sodium leak. Dr. Yoshiaki Himeno of the PNC Washington Office has been very helpful as well in keeping the NRC staff apprised of your assessment of the root causes of the leak and your corrective action plans. Moreover, Dr. Himeno will brief me today on the status of the Monju sodium leak investigations. I look forward to this briefing and to my Monju site visit to.further understand the lessons learned from the investigations of the sodium leak and any other i safety issues that PNC may wish to share with me.
I also look forward to meeting with you to discuss PNC's efforts in nuclear energy and safety research and development. Thank you for keeping the NRC informed of PNC's nuclear safety efforts since such close contact enhances both of our nuclear safety programs.
Sincerely, Shirley Ann Jackson l
- i
%n +
i kdb(A5e_/ \
/ % UNITED STATES
/*
t NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i WASHINGTON, D.C. 206t4-0001 3 j l
%, / March 27, 1996 1 CHARMAN Mr. Samuel Thompson Acting Director General OECD/ Nuclear Energy Agency Le Seine-Saint Germain 12, boulevard des Iles 92130 Issy les Moulineaux France
Dear Mr. Thompson:
Thank you for your letter of February 22, 1996, inviting the l Nuclear Regulatory Commission to participate in an OECD/ Nuclear Energy Agency Heads of Regulatory Organizations meeting in Paris on September 12-13, 1996. I will attend the meeting and am looking forward to exchanging views with the other participants.
The proposed agenda will afford us an opportunity to discuss the importance of international cooperation among regulatory bodies, regulatory aspects of high-level waste management, and problems associated with aging nuclear installations, including the obsolescence of technology. To promote an in-depth discussion of such topics, the NRC suggests that invitations also be extended to Spain and Korea to fill the two rotational seats for this meeting.
Sincerely, b G Shirley Ann Jackson
)/> [3
.ty ndest te.
A.
4 y
e
[ 4
'4 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20666-4001 e
., . . . . . p' April 4, 1996 1 DMMMAN The Honorable Hazel R. O' Leary Secretary of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585 .
Dear Secretary O' Leary:
1 I enjoyed our last meeting on March 8, 1996, and appreciate We your covered willingness to continue meeting on a periodic basis.
3 a wide range of international and domestic topics, including the Moscow Nuclear Safety Summit, renewal of ERDA 1542, Yucca
> Mountain, and external regulation.
4 c
' A few issues were raised at this latest meeting which I would like to touch upon. In particular, I appreciate your offer of support and Executive Branch action to persuade the
> U.S. Senate to expedite review and approval of the Convention on Nuclear Safety. I know you share my belief that this instrument will provide a useful tool in establishing a worldwide nuclear safety culture.
- I want to reiterate NRC's commitment to work with DOE in strengthening GAN capabilities, especially in performing the necessary safety assessments to convert the Russian plutonium production reactors' cores. On the issue of financing phase two of the core conversion study, we are reviewing funding issues related to NRC's regulatory work. The NRC staff will consult with Mr. Lash when our review is completed.
I would also like to update you on the status of my proposals for an international nuclear regulators' forum (INRF) and an international reactor research program. The NRC staff has drafted terms of reference for the INRF, which will be circulated shortly for interagency review. In the research program i'nitiative, we will consider the suggestion noted in your March 7, 1996 letter to use the national laboratories as a resource.
On other issues, I wnnt to take this opportunity to mention that ,
J the DOE-NRC Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which establishes the basis for review and consultation by the NRC of DOE's !
proposal for tritium production in commercialOnce lightcompleted, water our l
)
' reactors is under review by the Commission.
') l
( C.
y 97 A '
)-
1
=
e i
I staffs will consult on the proper mechanism for crranging this signing. Finally, I appreciate the Department's willingness to i
l review ERDA 1524. This will be helpful in carrying out our export licensing responsibilities. l l
My staff will be in touch shortly to schedule a date for our next i meeting,_perhaps in June.
Sincerely, l Q L/
l l
l l
d b
Ml{OOD i
r
[% i UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 70666-4001 g g k.....,/ May 7, 1996 CHAMMAN The Honorable Hazel R. O' Leary Secretary of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585
Dear Secretary O' Leary:
The Commission recently completed its review of two Department of Energy technology transfer cases to authorize U.S. industry participation in the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization's (KEDO) reactor project in North Korea. Our response to the Department's Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, dated March 29, 1996, posed no NRC objection to the authorizations, given the President's approval of the underlying Agreed Framework between the United States and the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK). Nevertheless, our review drew our attention to certain points which we believe require timely consideration by the United States in its support of the KED0 reactor project.
We recommend early and continuing actions by the United States and other KE00 participants to foster a sound safety culture for the project. This view was confirmed in recent meetings I held with senior Korean officials where they emphasized the need to consider the safety aspects of the proposed project.
The Koreans also expressed a desire for a larger and more acknowledged role in the KED0 project.
Both safety and nonproliferation are key national security goals, but are not within the purview of any single U.S. Government organization. Nevertheless, nuclear safety and nuclear nonproliferation policies that are mutually reinforcing can and should be developed. In this connection, the Commission believes there should be no trade off between nuclear safety and nonprolifer-ation aspects of the KEDO project. With respect to the project's nonproliferation objective, the Commission understands the fundamental importance of establishing the initial inventory of nuclear material in North Korea and facilitating early full-scope safeguards inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We trust that all U.S. agencies share this view.
One other point needs to be mentioned. Based on a orovision in the KED0-DPRK Supply Agreement, it appears KEDO may need to arrange exports of reactor fuel and major reactor components from the United States to North Korea, dire:tly or through South Korea, in the next few years. As you know, such exports would require NRC export licenses which could not be issued in the absence of an Agreement for Cooperation between the U.S. and the DPRK (possibly also involving the IAEA). Although the Supply Agreement provision acknowledges the need for such an agreement, there is no suggestion of how difficult and time consuming it would be to negotiate and conclude this instrument.
h
_ . . _ --. . . _ . . . _ . _ _ _ _ . _ . ______.-__-___.______._-_m_._..
, i
- l 2
To the extent relevant to DOE's involvement with the KED0 project, I hope !
I these points will be carefully considered. I am sending similar letters to :
- the Department of State and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. i Sincerely,
.M Shirley Ann Jackson l
l l
)i j
l l
1 1
i 1
i
)
e i
- ,. , .. -