ML20137H421

Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 970321

ML20137H421
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/26/1997
From:	Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-97-067, SECY-97-067-R, SECY-97-67, SECY-97-67-R, WIR-970321, NUDOCS 9704020193
Download: ML20137H421 (24)

Text

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March 26. 1997 SECY 97-067 l

For: The Commissioners  !

l From: James L. Blaha, Assistant for Operations. Office of the EDO I Sub.iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MARCH 21, 1997 j i

l Contents Enclosure  !

i Nuclear Reactor Regulation A t

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B  :

Nuclear Regulatory Research C*

Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D General Counsel E*

Administration F l Chief Information Officer G l

Chief Financial Officer H*

l Personnel I l Small Business & Civil Rights J*

l Enforcement K*

State Programs L*

Public Affairs M International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary 0*

Region I P Region II P Region III P l Region IV P l Executive Director for Operations 0*

l Congressional Affairs R

• No input this week.

Ngh81 sigred by James L Blaha James L. Blaha i Assistant for Operations. OEDO )l

Contact:

W. Dean. OEDO .

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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION  ;

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20055 INFORMATION REPORT I

March 26. 1997 SECY S7-067 l

For: The Commissioners From: James L. Blaha. Assistant for Operations. Office of the EDO

Subject:

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MARCH 21. 1997

. Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B Nuclear Regulatory Research C*

Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D General Counsel E*

Administration F Chief Information Officer G Chief Financial Officer H*

Personnel I Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State Programs L*

r Public Affairs M International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary 0*

Region I P Region II P Region III P Region IV P Executive Director for Operations 0*

Congressional Affairs R

• No input this week.

rm ames L. Blaha Assistant for Operations. OEDO

Contact:

W. Dean. OEDO m

i Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending March 21, 1997 ANO Unit 1 and Farlev Units 1 and 2 -- Desian Insoections The Special Inspection Branch, with contractor assistance, completed design inspections of the emergency feedwater (EFW) and low pressure injection systems at ANO Unit 1. the auxiliary feedwater (AFW) at Farley Unit 1. and the 1 component cooling water ((a,W) system at Farley Unit 2 on March 14. 1997. A I public exit meeting is scheduled for April 3.1997 at ANO and March 26. 1997 at Farley.

The purpose of the inspections was to evaluate the ca) ability of these systems to perform safety functions required by their design aases, the adherence to the design and licensing bases, and the consistency of the as-built configuration with the final safety analysis report (FSAR). The team selected and reviewed the relevant portions of the FSAR. the design basis documents, drawings, calculations, modification packages, surveillance procedures, and ,

other design documents. j At ANO. the most significant issue identified during the inspection related to excessive EFW flow rates experienced during a May 1996 transient. A 1991 Framatome engineering report recommended to ANO that in order to limit steam i generator tube vibration, the maximum allowable EFW flow must not exceed 1500 gpm per steam generator. In May 1996. ANO ex)erienced a transient in which EFW flow rates exceeded the 1500 gpa limit. 4ith analytical support from Framatome during the inspection. ANO performed an operability evaluation and concluded that the safe operation of the steam generators was not compromised during the event. ANO had not incorporated the recommended flow limits into plant operating procedures to monitor and preclude exceeding such limits.

Additional B&W analysis is scheduled to be performed to further study the issue. NRR is reviewing both plant specific and generic aspects of this issue.

At Farley, the team determined that the systems are capable of performing their intended safety functions. The systems as installed and operated met the original design /licensin'g bases except in certain cases. The licensee is addressing these issues through their corrective action 3rocess. In general, the team found the design of the systems to be good, wit 1 adequate design margins. Although some errors were made in the original design of the systems, the overall conservatism of the design has resulted in adequate ..

i design margin. The quality of calculations and design changes was generally l good.

The team identified deficiencies in tornado missile protection. NRR is reviewing one of the issues (diesel generator exhaust silencers not protected from vertical tornado missiles) to determine whether the Farley

! licensing / design basis included missile spectra / trajectories other than

, horizontal missiles.

l HARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE A l

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Maintenance Rule Baseline Insoection at Millstone ]

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l A maintenance rule baseline inspection was conducted during the week of 1 i March 17-21, 1997,'at the Hillstone 3 facility. Additionally, a limited

inspection of the implementation of the maintenance rule at Millstone Units 1 and 2 was conducted during the same week. The inspectors reviewed the 1

structures, systems and components and their relative risk significance that  !

the licensee determined are in the scope of 10 CFR 30.65(b). The inspection

! was conducted -in support of the NRR Special Projects Office's efforts to

review the licensee's design basis verification program. The results of the j

, inspection will be included in the baseline inspection report for Unit 3. l

! Overall, Millstone's implementation of the maintenance rule appears to be j

!- adequate, though some problems werc noted in their scoping efforts resulting  !

in the exclusion of certain systems from the scope of the role.

Use of New Siemens Fuel at Susauehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 2

Unit 2 began its refueling outage on March 14, 1997, with a planned completion l l date of April 22, 1997. This outage includes the use of a new Siemens Fuel. ,

ATRIUM-10, with a part length rod configuration, which will be the first use '

of it in this country. It is currently in use at plants in Europe. As part of the review of the licensee's December 18. 1996. TS change request

. supporting the use of tnis fuel, the staff conducted an audit at Siemens and I -identified concerns regarding the adequacy of testing and the validity of the

ANF-8 correlation both on a generic basis and for the Susquehanna application.

On March 12, 1997, the licensee provided a sup)lemental submittal along with a i revised Siemens report supporting the use of t1e fuel based on providing core flow dependent MCPR Safety Limits in the TSs and referencing a new, more

conservative Susquehanna specific methodology for the application of ANF-B to i analyze the new fuel. The staff is continuing its review, but there is a good J

chance that the duration of the review and documentation could delay the restart of the reactor. The licensee also sent in an interim amendment request on March 17, 1997, which would change the TS to enable them to load the new fuel and maintain it in the core only in Condition 5, prior to the staff's approval of the December 18 and March 12, 1997, submittals and save about 7 days for the length of the delayed outage. That request is being noticed as an exigent amendment and is also under review by the staff.

Pilarim -- Partial LOOP on March 7 Following a main transformer failure at Pilgrim on March 7,1997, two technical issues emerged. One issue concerns availability of power to station blackout (SBO) diesel auxiliaries and the other issue concerns transformer failure modes and the impaQt on the fire hazards analysis.

Approximately 6 hours6.944444e-5 days <br />0.00167 hours <br />9.920635e-6 weeks <br />2.283e-6 months <br /> aft 9r the main transformer was lost, BECo attempted to start the SB0 diesel which tripped on a low lobe oil pressure condition. . The SB0 auxiliaries including the lube oil heaters, are powered from nonsafety-related buses, which were de-energized when the transformer failed.

Preliminarily BECo has determined that they meet the 580 rule, since a sequential blackout condition is not specified. NRR is developing a generic MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE A S

r L communication on SB0 experience at Millstone, and may now include the Pilgrim event, to communicate the problems that may result if safety-related bus power is not 3rovided to SB0 auxiliaries. NRR is currently reviewing whether BECo meets tie SB0 rule on the basis of a reliability <95%.

The SB0 diesel failure had no impact during this event since one of the two safety-related buses (AS) was automatically fed by the offsite 23KV line and the other bus (A6) was automatically powered by the "B" EDG. These other sources of power were maintained until the startup transformer was returned to i service.

After the transformer failure. 7.365 of 17.000 total gallons of oil were lost from the main transformer. Approximately 5.830 gallons of oil entered the turbine building (2035 in the turbine building trucklock. 3795 collected in radwaste sumps). Included in this amount was an estimated 30 (allons which entered the "B" switchgear room where the A5 safety related but is located.

Although in the same enclosure, this oil did not directly impact the A5 bus. '

The remaining 1535 gallons was estimated to have collected in the outdoor rock trap surrounding the main transformer.

The oil entered the turbine building through the isophase bus ductwork. BECo has determined that an internal phase to phase fault inside the transformer created enough energy to fail internal barriers which keep the oil in {he transformer under normal conditions. The oil traveled through a failed barrier and into the turbine building. The oil entered the rock trap outside by traveling through an open bolt hole in the isophase bus duct external to the transformer.

Initial BECo review has determined that the event had no impact on their Appendix R analysis in that separation requirements were maintained and no App R barriers were compromised. This amount of oil was not bounded by the fire hazards analyses (FHA) for the turbine building and radwaste areas. BECo is reviewing the FHA for adequacy and possible revision. The staff is also reviewing this issue for generic and plar.t specific implications.

Feedwater Isolation Valve Problems at McGuire Units 1 and 2 Recently, while Unit 1 was shutdown for refueling and steam generator replacement. tne licensee performed their required surveillance testing on the feedwater isolation valves and found that the valves failed their stroke time testing. As a result of this failure the licensee reduced Unit 2's reactor power from 100% to 28% for testing of the Unit 2 feedwater isolation valves i and found two of the four valves also failed their stroke time testing. The  !

licensee secured the feedwater isolation valves in the closed (safe) position and kept Unit 2 operating at 28% with the use of the auxiliary feedwater system.

The failure of the feedwater isolation valves to actuate as required was l attributed to sticking solenoid valve plungers due to hydraulic fluid degradation (combination of temperature of hydraulic fluid, time at temperature, and water content in hydraulic fluid) within the solenoid valve i

MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE A i

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4 i The solenoid valves control the actuation of the feedwater isolation valves by i allowing nitrogen charged accumulators to dump hydraulic fluid to the cylinder to close the feedwater isolation valves.

The licensee has inspected the solenoid valves and is in the process of refurbishing the valves to ensure operability. This includes cleaning the i solenoid plungers, replacing the solenoid valve coils and springs.

implementing modifications to reduce the temperature at which the solenoid valves operate and further reducing allowable water content of the hydraulic

fluid.

The resident inspectors are following this closely and are working on an input 4

- into an information notice.

Voatle Units 1 and 2. Hatch Units 1 and 2 -- Sionificant Licensina Actions and Director's Decision j On March 17, 1997. license amendments were issued to Georgia Power Company

(GPC) which transferred the operating licenses for the Vogtle Electric

! - Generating Plant and Plant Hatch from GPC to Southern Nuclear Operating

[ Company (Southern Nuclear). The licensee has informed the NRC that the-

transfers will be effective on Saturday, March 22, 1997. On March 18. 1997 a

} Director's Decision (0D-97-06) was issued in response to a 10 CFR 2.206

! petition from attorneys representing a former GPC employee who had raised concerns which became significant matters of interest during the staff's

! evaluation of GPC's proposed license transfers. DD-97-06 concluded that to i the extent that various regulatory actions have been taken (including civil penalties, letters to individuals, and special provisions in the Orders r i granting the license transfers), some of the concerns raised by the petition  % e~ 9,

- were substantiated and the petition has been granted. Other issues were not substantiated and, for those issues, the petition was-denied.  ;

D Salle Units 1 and 2 -- Unusual Event Continues for Hiah Lake level l

- On March 11, 1997. LaSalle declared an ur. usual event when it was discovered that the lake level was at 701.8 feet, above the maximum value stated in the FSAR of 701 feet. The concern is the potential for a flood greater than that analyzed for in the reactor and turbine building if one of the intake lines were to rupture. The licensee has taken com)ensatory measures including flood watches, a stop work on all maintenance whica could impact the ability of the plant to withstand a flood, and having pumping equipment and sandbags ready.

On March 13. 1997, the licensee completed repairs to the valve which is used to drain water out of the lake and restored the blowdown flow. As of March 16. 1997, the lake level was 701.4' and the lake was being drained at a  ;

rate of 38.000 gpm. At the current rate, the licensee expects to lower the l lake level to a point at which the unusual event can be exited on March 21, 1997.

Manaaement Meetina with LaSalle Restart Oversicht Panel On March 17.1997, tt.3 NRC's Restart Oversight Panel for LaSalle met with LaSalle management in the first of monthly public meetings to discuss the

. MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE A

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effectiveness of plant performance improvement actions. One topic of discussion was a program which the licensee recently established to improve operator performance. This program, called high intensity training (HIT). l consists of three weeks of classroom training, simulator drills, and two exams. The training will be given to each of six operating crews. The licensee stated that the first crew to take the training had passed the ,

written portion of the mid-term exam but did not successfully complete the '

simulator portion of the exam. The crew failed to meet management's l expectations for communications, log keeping. annunciator response, and adherence to procedures. The licensee stated that the failures did not indicate nuclear safety concerns. One SRO will drop his license as a result ,

of his performance and the entire crew has been suspended from licensed duties 1 until it completes remediation training. As a result, the licensee has  :

decided to suspend the scheduled high intensity training and perform '

accelerated screening of the remaining five crews to identify those operators or crews which do not meet the elevated criteria that has been set by

. management. This screening will be completed by April 2. 1997. Regional operator licensing examiners will observe selected licensee performance

- evaluations of the operating crews and will conduct a review of the licensee's remediation plans. The Operator Licensing branch has also been informed of this issue. '

l Ouad Cities Units 1 and 2 -- IPEEE A meeting has been set for March 31. 1997, to discuss with Quad Cities their IPEEE report. The report had indicated an IPEEE core damage frequency (CDF) of SE-03 due to internal fires. The licensee has implemented an Interim Alternate Shutdown Method (IASM) at Unit 1 and will implement the IASM on Unit 2 before they return to Jower from the present refueling outage. The licensee has indicated that t11s IASM will reduce the internal fire IPEEE CDF value to 7.5E-04.

Status of Review of Licensee Resoonses to 50.54(f) Reauest on Desian Bases In accordance with Phase 1 of the process for reviewing licensee responses to the 10 CFR 50.54(f) request for information on design bases, acknowledgement i letters to the licensees for all 107 reactors units for which the request was sent have been issued.

Regions II and III presented the results of their Phase 3 reviews at their l Plant Performance Review meetings the week-of March 10. 1997.' Regions I and l IV will present the results of their reviews at their Plant Performance Review meetings the week of March 24. 1997.

Results of the Phase 3 reviews for all Regions will be discussed at the Senior ,

Management Meeting screening meetings scheduled for April 1997.

t MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE A

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- Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest Week Ending March 21. 1997 Trilateral Coooeration on International Insoections of Excess Fissile Material During March 10-14. 1997, a member of the Regulatory and International

Safeguards Branch participated in bilateral and trilateral meetings held in j Vienna, Austria. As backgrcund to these meetings, on September 17,1996, the i 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 parties agreed to form a joint group which would report on progress in considering associated technical legal, and financial issues within nine months. The three parties also agreed that bilateral U.S.-Russian discussions would take place to address issues related  :

to protecting weapon-sensitive information.

t L During the March 1997 bilateral meetings, the U.S. and Russia agreed on the

, scope and the objective of the initiative, and discussed a draft work plan and

, progress report. The draft progress report, which includes the scope

objective,andplanforfuturework,wasthesubjectofthetrilateraimeeting

with IAEA representatives.

! Gaseous Diffusion Plant Reaula_tgry issues Meetina

{ On March 12, 1997. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff from the Special Projects Branch and Region III met with the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) and the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) in Piketon, Ohio, to discuss regulatory issues. USEC and DOE presented the status of high-enriched uranium refeed activities _ being conducted at PORTS. USEC presented the status of privatization, certificate amendment request, and closure of Compliance Plan issues.

Release of Draft Reaulatory Guides On March 18, 1997, three Draft Regulatory Guides: (1) Draft Regulatory Guide j DG-0006. " Guide for the Preparation of Applications for Commercial Nuclear Pharmacy Licenses": (2) Draft Regulatory Guide DG-0007. " Guide for the Preparation of Applications for Licenses to Authorize Distribution of Various - )

Items to Commercial Nuclear Pharmacies and Medical Use Licensees"; and (3)

Draft Regulatory Guide DG-0009 " Proposed Supplement to Regulatory Guide 10.8. )

Revision 2. " Guide for the Preparation of Applications for Medical Use i Programs," were released for public comment. These Draft Guides are  !

associated with the final rule, " Preparation. Transfer for Commercial ,

Distribution, and Use of Byproduct Material for Medical Use." A Federal  !

Reaister Notice informing the public that these Draft Regulatory Guides are available for comment is expected to be published on March 21. 1997.

Transfer of Fast Flux Reactor Soent Fuel On March 17. 1997, the Department of Energy (DOE) contacted the Spent Fuel Project Office regarding the planned shipment of highly-enriched spent fuel MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE B

1 i from thh fast flux reactor at' Brookhaven. New York. DOE plans to empty the Brookhaven fast flux reactor spent fuel pool to facilitate repairs to the pool

liner. The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation is to provide technical assistance to DOE for the pool liner work under a Memorandum of Understanding.

I DOE plans to ship all of the spent fuel off-site by the end of 1997 using the i Nuclear Assurance Corporation (NAC)-legal weight truck (LWT) spent fuel l shipping cask. Currently, the NAC-LWT Certificate of Compliance (CoC)

stipulates a minimum cooling time of three years for the highly-enriched i fuel. Since the fast flux reactor was last operated on December 20. 1996.

some of the spent fuel planned to for shipment off-site will have been cooled i for less than one year. NAC is currently performing the required safety

analyses supporting a revision to the CoC to request a shorter cooling time.

i The application is expected in April 1997 and would be needed to support

shipments scheduled for the latter half of 1997.

Meetina with Private Fuel Storace i On March 19, 1997, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with

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representatives of Private Fuel Storage. Limited Liability Corporation (PFS).

a consortium of utilities which is planning to submit an application for an 1 Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation to be located on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Tribe's reservation in Utah. The subject of the meeting was

j environmental issues associated with the application. A second pre-licensing i meeting on siting issues has been scheduled for April 1997.

Meetino of the ICRP-46 Workina Grouc On March 10-14, 1997, the Deputy Director. Division of Waste Management.

hosted the second meeting of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Working Group on Radiation Protection Recommendations as applied to Disposal of Long-Lived Solid Radioactive Waste (ICRP 46). The meeting was held at Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters. The Working Group is comprised of senior level radiation protection and waste management experts from six countries. Canada. Germany France. Spain, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. and is chaired by the Director of Protection at the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection in France. The objective of the Working Group is to develop a report which will clarify the guidance in ICRP

.46 to make it more useful in the decisionmaking process. The effort is scheduled to be completed in 1998. The ICRP guidance is expected to be especially valuable to the NRC since it will address a number of difficult issues.(e.g., implementation of a risk limit, specification of an appropriate critical group, etc.) which the NRC will face as it revises it high level waste disposal regulations in 10 CFR Part 60.

Final Environmental Imoact Statement on Proposed Crownooint Minino Proiect On March 13, 1997. Division of Waste Management signed the Federal Reoister Notice announcing the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposal:by Hydro Resources. Inc. (HRI) to construct and operate the

.Crownpoint Uranium Solution Mining Project in McKinley County, New Mexico.

The final EIS was prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff in MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLC$dRE B 4

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cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Lud Management and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. The EIS concludes that, with the imposition of certain conditions, the appropriate action is to issue the requested license and leases authorizing HRI to proceed with the project. By August 1997, the NRC expects to issue its Safety Evaluation Report (SER), which will describe the staff's review of radiological safety aspects of the proposed project and present the staff's conclusions as to whether, from a safety perspective, the license should be issued to HRI.

A draft EIS on the Crownpoint project was published for public comment in October.1994. The final EIS reflects consideration of comments received on the draft EIS, as well as additional information obtained from the applicant.

The NRC also offered an opportunity for a public hearing on the proposed aroject. Eight petitioners requested a hearing, and an NRC Atomic Safety and

_icensing Board (ASLB) Panel member has been appointed to rule on the petitions and to serve as presiding officer if a hearing is held. The ruling on the hearing will be made following issuance of the final SER.

Deoartment of Enerav to Construct the East-West Drift at Yucca Mountain During the week of March 17, 1997, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it had decided to proceed with construction of the so-called " east-west (E-W) exploratory drift." within the exploratory studies facility at Yucca Mountain. Nevada. The Jurpose of the E-W drift is to investigate the subsurface geology in tie repository block to the west of the Ghost Dance fault where insufficient information is now available. DOE indicated that it will take several months to develop the necessary design and construction plans. Excavation of the E-W drift is tentatively scheduled to begin sometime in 1997, with completion in 1998. The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board had recommended previously that DOE excavate an E-W drift at the site.

Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff had not found the excavation of E-W drift indispens6ble, it nevertheless considers it a useful addition to the site characterization program.

Deoartment of Enerov/ Nuclear Reaulatory Commission Meetina on the Exoloratory Studies Facility On March 13, 1997. Division of Waste Management staff conducted a video conference with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors to discuss items of mutual interest regarding progress in the excavation of the exploratory studies facility (ESF) and technical issues related to geologic repository design. Representatives from the State of Nevada: Nye County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey: U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses also participated. The items discussed included the status of the ESF construction, an update on the status of scientific studies, and near-term plans for DOE's engineering design program. During the 3resentations. DOE noted that the date for "daylighting" the tunnel boring macaine at the south sortal has been revised and is now scheduled for April 1997. Finally, wit 1 excavation of the ESF nearing completion later this year, DOE expressed an interest in maintaining quarterly interaction with NRC by expanding the scope of the discussions to include more technical topics related to the current project activities. The staff agreed MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE B

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l with the need to continue the quarterly technical meetings under the proposed i expanded scope.

l Renewal of Source Material License for Eneray Fuels Nuclear. Inc.

On March 14, 1997, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff notified Energy

. Fuels Nuclear. Inc. (EFN) that it-had completed its review of EFN's license

renewal application for Source Material License SUA-1358, and that it was authorizing the reneval of SUA-1358 for continued operations at the White Mesa F Uranium Hill. located near Blanding. Utah. The NRC staff prepared an

Environmental Assessment, in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR

, Part 51. and a Safety Evaluation Report to document the results of its review.

i A final Finding of No Significant Impact was published in the Federal Recister

on March 5, 1997. With this licensing action, the NRC staff authorized

continued mill operations for a ten-year period under the Performance-Based License Condition (PBLC) format.

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.l Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data i Items of Interest >

l Week Ending March 21, 1997

Incident Resoonse Trainino l On March 18 and 19. 1997. IRD staff members presented Incident Response -

i Training to NRR Project Managers. Thus far. 26 Project Managers have attended. Two additional sessions are scheduled for next week - March 25-26.

1997.

h. PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS (PNs)

! c. PNO-0-97-015. Doverspike Bros. Coal Company. CESIUM-137 GAUGE LOCATED BY l- NRC LICENSEE.

b. PNO-I-97-016. Frank Barker Associates. Inc. PACKAGE RECEIVED WITH DOSE j RATES IN EXCESS OF ALLOWABLE LIMITS.

c. PN0-III-97-0108. Commonwealth Edison Co. (Zion 1).'AIT TO REVIEW IMPROPER CONTROL ROD MOVEMENT DURING REACTOR SHUTDOWN (SECOND UPDATE).

d. PNO-III-97-017A. Wisconsin Electric Power Co.. Point Beach 1. LICENSEE'S

i. DECISION TO CONTINUE UNIT 1 OUTAGE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD (UPDATE).

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e. PNO-III-97-019. Northwestern Steel and Wire. GENERALLY LICENSED GAUGE FOUND IN SCRAP METAL SHIPMENT.

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f. PNO-III-97-020. Marion' Steel Company. CESIUM-137 SOURCE FOUND.

!' g. PNO-ilI-97-020A Marion Steel Company. CESIUM-137 SOURCE FOUND.

I h. PNO-III-97-021. Wisconsin Public Service Corp., Kewaunee 1. WPSC i ANNOUNCES KEWAUNEE RESTART.

1. PN0-III-97-023. Gundersen Clinic Ltd. (Lutheran Hospital).

RADI0 PHARMACEUTICAL THERAPY MISADMINISTRATION (UNDERDOSE).

J. PNO-III-97-024. Commonwealth Edison Co. (Zion 1). LOSS OF 0FFSITE POWER.

k. PN0 III-97-025. Commonwealth Edison Co. (LaSalle 1 2). UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO LAKE LEVEL EXCEEDING PLANT DESIGN LIMITS.

1. PNO-IV-97-014. Arizona Public Service Co. (Palo Verde 3). DECLARATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT DUE TO PARTIAL DRAINDOWN OF UNIT 3 SPENT FUEL POOL -- EVENT NUMBER: 31902.

, MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE D 4

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5' Office of Administration

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 21, 1997 t

Procurement Reform

, On March 18. 1997, the Division of Contracts (DC) held the second of two Simplified Acquisition Workshops for procurement staff which addressed innovative approaches to streamline acquisitions under $100.000. In addition.

I new streamlined procedures for purchase of commercial items valued at up to i $5,000.000 were discussed. The workshop was attended by representatives from i Regions I II. and III as well as by a representative from the Office of the i

General Counsel. A speaker from the General Services Administration (GSA)

, discussed procedures to be used when acquiring items or services under GSA i Schedule contracts, and a speaker from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) shared innovative procedures successfully used for FHA procurements.

Contract Award l On March 19. 1996, a contract was awarded to Energy Research. Inc.. of 3

Rockville Maryland, entitled " Independent Evaluations for Severe Accident Research." The contractor will perform independent evaluations of NRC-supported computer codes and of phenomena associated with severe reactor accidents, assess or develop models or correlations for NRC severe accident codes and independently assess the ap)licability of separate effects experiments in models validation. Worc will be performed on a task order basis under. The contract period is one year with four one-year options. The F total contract amount, inclusive of option years, is $1.126.094. This

_ competitive acquisition was completed in 132 days using the following streamlining measures

electronic submission of S0W. waiver of audit, and l

deadline set for offerors' questions about the RFP.

t-Gaseous Diffusion Plant (GDP) Insoections

[ On March 14. 1997. Division of Security (SEC) staff attended an NMSS orientation briefing for inspectors involved in the inspection of the GDPs.

l SEC's inspections will be conducted and the findings and recommendations will d

be formulated under the an NMSS and the Office of Enforcement format.

3-Inspection findings and recommendations will be discussed with a review panel 4 that includes the Director of Security. SEC inspections at both GDPs are

- scheduled for May 1997.

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Facility Security Uoorade; The Division of Security is initiating its final phase of programmed facility j security upgrades for the NRC Headquarters White Flint complex. SEC staff met with GSA and its business partner on March 20. 1997, to discuss NRC's plans to upgrade SEC's closed-circuit television capabilities. Both interior and exterior c a ras are beir.g addressed. Work should begin within the next few j weas.

l MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE F I

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i Chief Information Officer Items of Interest Week Ending March 21, 1997 F0IA/PA Reauests Received Durina the Week Endino March 20. 1997 Decommissioning plan. Permagrain site in Pennsylvania. (F01A/PA-97-0101)

Democratic National Committee, communications between NRC & the Committee.

1/93 through 3/17/97. (F01A/PA-97-0102)

White House official Harold Ickes, all contacts since January 1993.

(F01A/PA-97-0103)

Generic Issue B-60. 1-10-84 memo, Mattson to Denton re Loose Parts Monitoring a

Systems for Operating Reactors. (F01A/PA-97-0104)

Envirocare of Utah Clive. UT site and Utah Division of Radiation Control '

allegations concerning former named director (F01A/PA-97-0105)

Tri-Med Specialties. Inc. 8-23-94 petition for carbon-14 diagnostic use.

(F01A/PA-97-0106)

NDT Services (Non-Destructive Testing). 1991 through 1994 inspection reports.

(F01A/PA-97-0107)

Allegations against The Atlantic Group made by named individual. 5/22/96 Region II investigation. (FOIA/PA-97-0109)

MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE G 4

Office of Personnel Items of Interest Week Ending March 21, 1997 l Arrivals NONE Deoartures JANUS. Michael RESIDENT INSPECTOR (PFT) RII i

MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE I

i Office of Public Affairs '

Items of Interest Week Ending March 21. 1997 Media Interest The Portland Press Herald (ME) is planning an article about steam generators.

The Sacramento Bee.is publishing a story on Rancho Seco and decommissioning activities.

Chairman Jackson held a news conference at Hanford. WA at which three television; one radia, and one newspaper reporter attended.

School Volunteers Sandy Vora. OGC. Juanita Beeson. IRM. Tim Rollins. ADM Chris Regan and Joe Donoghue. NRR all participated in Career Day at Julius West M.S.

Virginia Colten-Bradley NMSS made a presentation on Career Day at Burnt Mills E.S., and James Heck. ADM judged a science fair at Lyndon Hill E.S.

Press Releases

~Headauarters:

97-042 Note to Editors: ACRS Meeting 97-043 NRC Issues Final Technical Position on Disposal of Radioactively Contaminated Baghouse Dust 97-044 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet April 3-  :

5 97-045 NRC Approves Massachusetts Agreement to Regulate bse of Certain Radioactive Materials l l

97-046 Note to Editors: Nuclear Safety Research Committee meeting  ;97-047 NRC., BLM and BIA Issue Final Environmental Impact Statement l on Proposed New Mexico Mining Project Reaions:

I-97-28 'NRC Proposes $8.000 Fine Against Pennsylvania Steel Company for Discrimination Against Worker Who Gave Agency Information 11-97-25 NRC Schedules Design Inspection Exit Meeting at Farley Nuclear Plant 11-97-26 NRC Schedules Meeting in Atlanta With Florida Power & Light to Discuss Recent Performance of St. Lucie Plant MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE M i

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! 111-97-30 NRC Sets Enforcement Conference on Apparent Violations of NRC Radiation Protection Requirements at Zion Station 111-97-31 NRC Predecisional Enforcement Conference With Illinois Power Company on Apparert Violations of NRC Requirements at Clinton Nuclear Station i

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I Region I l Items of Interest I Week Ending March 21. 1997 i 1

Salem Visit by Commissioner McGaffican I

On Thursday March 20. Commissioner McGaffigan was accompanied by the Regional Administrator on a visit to the Salem site. During the visit. the l

. Commissioner toured the facility, was briefed by the staff and the licensee  !

and had discussions with licensee staff, including licensed operators in the l control room.

Meetino Between Reaion I Staff. New York Agencies. and Governor's Staff On Thursday March'20. Region I staff met with representatives from four New York St!.te agencies and the Governor's staff in Albany to discuss the status of the six operating nuclear power plants in New York. State agencies re3 resented included New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Pualic Service Commission. Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health. The meeting with the Governor's staff was held separately later in the day.

Norton Comoany (MA) Confirmatory Survey Region I staff performed a confirmatory survey at the Norton Co. facility in i Worcester MA during the' week of March 17. 1997. Norton was authorized for j the possession.and use of natural thorium and uranium. The facility was l remediated in 1968 and the license terminated. The site was identified by Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a formerly-licensed site needing additional review by the NRC staff. Region I review had indicated additional remediation activities were warranted inside building 112 and in sewer pipes from this building. Norton Co. has completed remediation of the interior of the  :

building, and the NRC surveys confirmed that the interior satisfies NRC criteria for release for unrestricted use. However. NRC evaluation -of the-company's remediation activities for the buried sewer aipe is ongoing. This site was not transferred to the Commonwealth of Massac1usetts under the Agreement State program and remediation continues to be followed by Region I.

Meetino with New York City ,

On March 20, 1997 Region I and OSP staff met with officials from the New York City Bureau of Radiological Health (BRH) in Manhattan to discuss issues affecting the program since NRC's previous program review. Items covered during the meeting included a review of the NRC and City processes for handling allegations and coordination of referred allegations between each ,

agency. Bureau inspection activities at Columbia University, and discussion of the City's efforts to fill the program director position vacant since July 1996.

MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE P 4

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Region II Items of Interest Week Ending March 21, 1997 Foreion Visitors in Reaion II-Region II management and staff from the technical divisions hosted three-representatives from the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute who were in the Regional Office to discuss incident response planning and dose calculation models.

Region 11 staff members also met with two representatives of the Taiwan Atomic Energy Council regarding the implementation of the Maintenance Rule and NRC's inspection program.

Duke Power Comoany - Oconee  !

Representatives from Duke Power Company were in the Regional Office for a management meeting to discuss the Oconee facility's nuclear service water system upgrade modification and its schedule for completion.

Florida Power Corooration - Crystal River Region II representatives held a public meeting with Florida Power Corporation at the Crystal River site to discuss progress in conducting plant system engineering design reviews. Imediately following the public meeting, the Regional Administrator held a quarterly press conference with local media.

Observatios pf National Accreditina Board Meetina On March 19 and 20, 1997. respectively, the Directors of the Division of Reactor Safety and the Division of Reactor Projects observed the March meeting of-the National Nuclear Accrediting Board at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation's offices in Atlanta, Georgia. During the meetings held these two days, the Board reviewed selected. utilities * (other than Region II) training programs for renewal of accreditation. Observation of these meetings was conducted under an agreement between the NRC and INPO for the NRC to monitor the industry's performance in implementing the training rule 10 CFR 50.120.

U.S. Deoartment of the Navy

_The licensee held its quarterly Radiation Safety Committee meeting on March 19, 1997, in its Crystal City Virginia office. NRC representatives from Region II and the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards attended the meeting as part of the NRC oversight of the Navy master materials license.

The meeting was chaired by the a new individual. Rear Admiral John B.

Totushek. The Committee discussed the status of the Navy's radiation safety program and noted significant reductions in the turnaround times for  ;

processir.g materials licenses and inspection reports. The Committee also reviewed corrective actions and plans to address recent events and issues.

MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE P A

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A a including a transportation event with iodine-125 contamination and actions to improve control of radioactive materials in commodities. The NRC provided information on reciprocity at Naval bases, the NRC Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program, and problems identified at other Department of Defense organizations in controlling radioactive commodities.

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- Items of Interest 7 Week Ending March 21. 1997 Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station  !

1 A public meeting between NRC staff and Centerior Service Company managers was l held onsite on March 21, 1997, to discuss the Systematic Assessment of '

l i Licensee Performance report. The NRC was represented by the Region III )

Regional Administrator and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Acting l Director of Project Directorate III-1. I Manaaement Chances Announced for Consumers Power Comoany

' Consumers Power Com3any announced that effective March 31, 1997 a reorganization of t1e Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Station staff will be ,

implemented. The licensee indicated that the organizational changes are to improve performance in the areas of radiation protection and operational support and to prepare Big Rock Point for permanent shutdown and upcoming decommissioning activities. The current planned shutdown date for Big Rock Point is May 31._2000. However, the company is evaluating the viability of continued plant operation and is expected to reach a decision in the next several weeks which may affect the planned shutdown date for Big Rock Point.

The organizational changes include: Assistant Plant Manager Robert Addy assuming the position of Plant Manager: Decommissioning Team Leader James Rang becoming Decommissioning and Business Manager: System and Project Engineer Manager Steven Beachum moving into the position of Engineering Manager. q Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Illinois Power Comoany On March 20. 1997, a predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in.the Region III Office. Lisle. Illinois, between managers from Illinois Power ,

Company and members of the NRC staff. The focus of the meeting was on several  !

apparent radiation protection violations in November and January at the Clinton Nuclear Power Station. The apparent violations included: workers not adhering to procedures when setting off personal contamination monitors: a worker exiting a posted contamination area without removing his protective outer clothing: workers sleeping and smoking in a radiologically controlled area; workers becoming contaminated with low levels of radioactive waste

-during a' spill: and workers performing work in a prohibited area of containment during refueling operations.

Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Commonwealth Edison Comoany On March 19. 1997, a predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in the Region III Office. Lisle. Illinois, between managers from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff. The focus of the meeting was on several apparent shipping and radiation protection violations in December and January at the Zion Nuclear Power Station. The apparent violations included: using outdated procedures: shipping radioactive material that exceeded radiation limits for that type of shipment: failing to take adequate samples: failing to MARCH 21, 1997 ENCLOSURE P

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provide adequate training: and removing equipment from a radiologically controlled area without surveying it first for contamination.

Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Northern States Power Comoany On March 18, 1997, a predecisional enforcement conference was conducted in the Region III Office. Lisle Illinois, between managers from Northern States Power Company and members of the NRC staff. The focus of the meeting was on an apparent heavy loads procedural violation which occurred February 3. 1997, at Prairie Island Unit 2 during a refueling outage. l Manaaement Meetino with Wisconsin Electric Power 1

On March 19. 1997, a management meeting was conducted in the Region III Office. Lisle. Illinois, between management representatives from Wisconsin  !

Electric Power Company and members of the NRC staff to discuss the performance improvement initiatives for the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station and issues l to be resolved prior to restarting Unit 2.

M?naaement Meetina with Commonwealth Edison Comoany On March 17. 1997, a management meeting was conducted in the Mazon Emergency Operations Facility. Mazon. Illinois between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff to discuss the effectiveness of LaSalle Nuclear Power Station's performance improvement actions.

Manaaement Meetina with Illinois Power Company i I

On March 20. 1997, a management meeting was conducted in the Region III  ;

Office. Lisle. Illinois, between management representatives from Illinois  ;

Power Company and members of the NRC staff to discuss the status of Clinton Nuclear Power Station's Startup Readiness Action Plan activities.  :

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MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE P 4

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' . Region IV Items.of Interest Week Ending March 21. 1997

' Visit of Chairman' Jackson to Washinatqn Nuclear Power Pro.iect (WNP-21 On March 17-19, 1997. Chairman Jackson, members of her staff, and NMSS senior managers toured DOE facilities in the Richland Washington area. On March 19-

20. 1997. Chairman Jackson and her staff, accompanied by the Regional Administrator, visited Siemens Power Corporation and WNP-2. A press conference was held at the conclusion of the trip on March 20 in the Richland.

Washingtor., Federal Building.

Enteroy (River Bend) Public SALP Meetina i The Deputy Regional Administrator and the Director. Project Directorate IV-1.

NRR conducted a public meeting with the Entergy managers from the River Bend Station on March 18, 1997. During the meeting. NRC managers presented the~

assessment of licensee. performance for the period of July 30, 1995 to February 1, 1997.

Commissioner Visit to San Onofre Nuclear Generatina Station On March 20. 1997. Commissioner Diaz, accompanied by the Deputy Regional Administrator.' visited the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The visit

-included meetings with senior managers of the San Onofre facility as well as a tour of all three San Onofre units.

MARCH 21. 1997 ENCLOSURE P ]

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l Office of Congressional Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending March 21. 1997 CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, No. 10

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'W' TIMENTI " >'UPhACEi!*  %@$hMEI i s DOE's FY98 Budget Senators Murkowski/ Bumpers Madden TBA 10:3J DOE Energy & Natural Resources 366 DSOB .

Senators Hatch /Leahy Markup S. 270, Texas Low-Level Combs TBA TBA Judiciary Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Electricity Reps. Schaefer/ Hall Gerke 04/14 TBA Atlanta Energy & Power Richmond yDeregula-04/18 Chicago tion Field Hearings Commerce 05/02 05/09 Dallas DOE's FY98 Budget Senators Domenici/Reid 4/22 9:30 TBA Energy & Water Development Madden 124 DSOB Appropriations 1,

l ENCLOSURE R MARCH 21. 1997

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