ML20206P477
| ML20206P477 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/23/1998 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-98-299, SECY-98-299-R, WIR-981218, NUDOCS 9901120029 | |
| Download: ML20206P477 (22) | |
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- REEASEDTOTHE PDR NUCLEAR RE'lULATORY COMMIS$16N .
WASHINGTON D. C. 20065
- jf (g j INFORMATION REPORT ~8L~~~$D-~i '
December 23. 1998 SECY 98-299 l
For: The Commissioners j From: James L. Blaha. Assistant for Operations. Office of the EDO Sub.iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 18. 1998 l Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A l Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguaros 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* l Human Resources I Small Business & Civil Rights J*
Enforcement K*
State Programs L*
Public Affairs M International Programs N Office of the Secretary 0 Region I P Region II P Region III P Region IV P Executive Director for Operations 0*
Congressional Affairs R*
- No input this week.
CM la J3mes L.
12000.,t ssistant for Operations. OED0
Contact:
M. Tschiltz. OEDO 9901120029 ver m
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l Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending December 18, 1998 NRC Particioation in Nuclear Eneroy Institute Workshoo on Year 2000 (Y2K)
Readiness of Nuclear Power Plants i
! On December 9 and 10, 1998. NRC staff from the Instrumentation and Controls l Branch (HICB) and the Division of Reactor Projects III/IV, NRR and the Office of the Inspector General, attended the NEI Workshop on Y2K readiness of nuclear power plants in Atlanta, GA. Most nuclear power plant licensees were l represented at the workshop. Sessions were presented on Y2K program audits / assessments. Y2K liability concerns, contingency planning, response to NRC Generic Letter (GL) 98-01, and computer system remediation efforts. Jared j Wermiel, Chief. HICB made presentations on lessons learned / observations from
- the first 8 of 12 NRC audits of licensee Y2K readiness programs, the current NRC Y2K contingency planning efforts, and plans for a supplement to GL 98-01 which will request a broader response from licensees on Y2K readiness of their
- facilities. NEI will prepare a summary of the workshop and provide it to the participants.
Revision of Accendix G of Section XI of the ASME Code
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A major technical change to Appendix G of Section XI of the ASME Code and an implementing code case was approved at the recent ASME Code meeting held on !
December 11, 1998. The net effect of this change which was initiated by the !
NRC staff, will "open the operating window" in pressure-temperature space for '
PWRs and allow required BWR pressure tests to be performed at lower temperatures. It is estimated that this change alone will save the industry over one hundred-million dollars over the projected lifetimes of operating nuclear power plants.
l Acoroval of Surry 1 Risk-informed Inservice Insoection Pilot Procram i
By letter to VEPC0 (licensee of Surry 1) dated December 16, 1998, the NRC approved ahead of schedule the risk-informed inservice inspection (RI-ISI) program requested by the licensee as an alternative to current inservice !
inspection requirements of ASME Code,Section XI under 10 CFR Part 50.55a(a)(3)(1),
The alternative is based on a risk-informed proc: .s descrit ed in Code Case N-577 augmented with more detailed methodology descriptions in the Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG) report WCAP-14572. Rev. 1. With probabilistic risk assessment performed for safety related piping systems, tte program accomplished selection of new inspection locations based primarily on the l safety significance of piping segments and degradation mechanisms to which the
. segments are exposed. Under the proposed RI-ISI program, although the total l number of NDE inspection locations is reduced from 385 currently required by
- December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE A i
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O ASME Code.Section XI to only 136 new locations. Surry 1 will examine several risk sensitive locations where no inspection was previously required, and i
.results in a slight risk reduction. Since Surry 1 is the first plant using the RI-ISI methodology described in the WOG report, the program is considered as the pilot program for the WOG.
The completion of Surry 1 SER on RI-ISI is item B.3 on the Chairman's Tasking Memorandum and was scheduled to be completed on December 31, 1998. The staff ;
issued the SER ahead of schedule on December 16, 1998. !
Acoroval of Westinahouse Owners Grouo Tooical Reoort on Acolication of Risk-informed Methods to Pioina Inservice Insoection
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By letter dated December 15, 1998, the NRC approved the " Westinghouse Owners l Group Apolication of Risk-informed Methods to Piping Inservice Inspection' )
(Topical Report WCAP-14572. Revision 1). The staff issued the safety I evaluation report (SER) which discusses the adequacy of the Westinghouse j' Owners Group methodology for developing a risk-informed inservice inspection program, and indicates its applicability and implementation at individual
! plants. The SER was reviewed by the ACRS on October 29 and November 5. 1998.
The ACRS endorsed issuing the SER subject to incorporation of their comments in the SER. The SER incorporates ACRS comments. The SER was also submitted i
to the CRGR for its review at the CRGR meeting No. 331. held on November 10.
l 1998. However, in lieu of a formal review at this meeting. the Committee members consented to an informal and abridged review of the SER and provided feedback of consolidated Committee comments to the staff. The staff provided its response to CRGR comments and the CRGR endorsed issuing the SER subject to incorporation of their comments in the SER. The SER incorporates CRGR comments.
The completion of the WOG SER on risk-informed inservice inspection is item A.11 on the Chairman's Tasking Memorandum and was scheduled to be completed on January 31, 1999. The staff issued the SER ahead of schedule on December 15.
L 1998.
Perry Feedwater Penetration Line Isolation Licensee Amendment Recuest i The licensee had requested a license amendment to remove the feedwater penetration.line check valves from 10 CFR Part 50. Appendix J 1eak tests. In addition, the licensee proposed to rely on a single barrier (the remote-manual l motor-operated gate valve) for isolation of the feedwater penetration lines following a loss-of-coolant accident inside containment, inconsistent with 10 CFR Part 50. Appendix A. General Design Criterion 56.
As a result of recent discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff
, (November 19. 1998 and December 4. 1998), the licensee has decided to withdraw the current submittal and submit a new request for an exemption to the current regulations for containment isolation and leak testing of the feedwater December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE A l
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L penetration lines. The licensee expects to provide the new submittal by l December 31. 1998. The licensee is expected to request approval of the t
amendment by March 27, 1999, to support the upcoming refueling outage. -
Public Meetina with Farlev reaardino Kaowool Fire Barriers i l
l In response to a request from Region II, the Office of Nuclear Reactor l Regulation (NRR) is reviewing technical issues associated with the Kaowool l fire barriers installed at the Farley Nuclear Plant. Units 1 and 2 (Farley). 4 l
to protect post-fire safe shutdown components. On December 15. 1998, staff of '
NRR and Region II met with Southern Nuclear Company (SNC), the licensee _for
.Farley, and its contractors to discuss the issues. The licensee advanced j positions that the design of the Kaowool fire barriers installed at Farley ,
provides an adequate level of fire protection and that the staff had 1 previously approved the barriers. After the licensee's presentation, the staff presented the results of its preliminary review of information provided by Region II-and the. licensee. Overall, the staff concluded that the licensee does not have a sound technical basis for concluding that the barriers
-installed at Farley meet the regulatory requirements or provide an adequate level of protection for the post-fire safe shutdown capability. NRR plans to finalize and issue the results of its review within the next two months. The i licensee agreed to consider the results of the NRR review and to develop an ,
approach for addressing the technical questions and issues that were raised by '
the staff. The staff and the licensee agreed to meet again after the licensee l does so. The licensee has implemented appropriate compensatory measures at Farley and will maintain them until it addresses and resolves the-issues.
Reaion IV Enaineerina Manaaers Workino Grouc Meetina Tad Marsh and Mike Check from the Division of Systems Safety and Analysis and Pat Gwynn from Region IV participated in the Region IV Engineering Managers Working Group meeting held on December 9, 1998, in Phoenix. Technical discussion topics centered around the areas of fire protection'(circuit
! analyses. fire protection functional inspections, changes to regulatory structure) and use of risk-informed initiatives (guidance documents, pilot and L other current staff initiatives, and expected changes to 50.59 and 50.65).
The engineering managers discussed the need for improvement in the Nuclear l Regulatory Commission's license amendment process, and suggested that better
! guidance and specifics are needed to enhance the licensee submittals and responses to requests for additional information. With regard to the timeliness. goals, the engineering managers expressed concerns that such goals
- could result in a decline in the quality of the staff's reviews and products.
They also. suggested the staff examine ways of reducing the need for so many amendment _ requests by allowing for some changes without prior staff review.
, Examples discussed include allowing for changes to tech specs that are not i risk significant, and changes to the inservice inspection program by reference to the industry topical reports.
i December.18, 1998 ENCLOSURE A
In the area of risk-informed regulation, the opinion of the engineering managers was that the most useful changes that the staff should focus on would be changes to the scope of 50.59 and 50.65. In addition, it was suggested that-risk-informed techniques could be applied to the new IWE and IWL sections of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers code (governing the
- examinations of the containment, tendons, penetrations and attachments). The l new standard is highly deterministic and requires examinations which will be i expensive and, in the opinion of the engineering managers, not justified by l safety or risk arguments.
l l- ~According to several managers, there are significant industry concerns about l the new fire protection standard being developed in National Fire Protection l Association (NFPA) 805. One concern is that the standard should only be :
associated w'ith nuclear safety and should not include Life Safety. Property
[ Interests and Business considerations. Another concern is that the standard l l- is complicated and expensive to implement. The managers said that Nuclear !
l . Energy Institute (NEI) is gathering industry comments on the standard and they l l plan on a meeting with the staff in early 1999 to discuss the industry's
,. concerns. NEI is also planning on discussions'with the NFPA.
j Farlev Units 1 and 2 Unit 1 shut down on October 17, 1998. for its 15th refueling outage and is scheduled to restart on December 29, 1998.
h On December 15, 1998, the NRC staff and Southern Nuclear Operating Company, L Inc. (SNC) met. SNC presented information on its recently completed steam l generator (SG) tube inspections, its preliminary condition monitoring (CM) assessment of.the SGs for the past cycle, and its preliminary operational assessment (0A) for the next cycle of operation. j
- l. SNC presented the following plan of action: (1) complete its preliminary I CM/0A and present it to the Plant Operations Review Committee before startup:
(2) start up with an administrative leakage limit of 50 gallons per day u (gpd)/SG (Technical Specification limit is 140 gpd/SG): and (3) complete the final 0A within 120 days. Based on its preliminary 0A. SNC believes that Unit 1 can operate a minimum of 8 months for cycle 16 while maintaining acceptable. structural and leakage integrity.
! SNC presented a large amount of information on its preliminary assessments.
,The staff will be taking the next few days to review the information and to develop its conclusions and recommendations before getting back to SNC.
Unit 2 is currently operating at 100 percent power and has been on line since returning from its 12th. refueling outage on May 18. 1998.
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-Oconee Nuclear Station Units 1. 2 and 3- '
- 0n December (16. 1998.Jthe staff issued license amendments which replace the 1 Oconee technical specifications in their _ entirety with new technical l specifications based on the improved Standard Technical Specifications (STS), 1 l .These are the 35th. 36th and 37th units that have been tpproved to' convert to '
L the improved.STS. The licensee will implement these revised technical Jspecifications by April'30 _1999. Issuance of.these amendments completes an- ,
' item ~1n the Commission' Tasking Memorandum. 1 h l L i l
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i Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest '
Week Ending December 18, 1998 Soent Fuel Proiect Office Meetino with Holtec International On December 14, 1998, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with represer.tatives of Holtec International (Holtec), an applicant for certificates of compliance for the HI-STAR 100 dual purpose cask system and l its companion HI-STORM concrete overpack. Also attending the meeting were I representatives of Science Applications International Corp., Private Fuel l Storage (PFS). LL.C. , Southern Nuclear,' Harmon Curran, Westinghouse. GSI, Washington Nuclear, Nuclear Assurance Corporation, McGraw Hill, and Vermont Yankee. Holtec requested the meeting to clarify the concerns raised in the staff's request for additional information (RAI) on the Holtec HI-STORM storage overpack which is referenced by PFS in its application for a license l to operate an away-from-reactor independent spent fuel storage installation on the reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. Holtec requested clarification of the issues which the staff identified in the cover letter i that accompanied the RAI. These included issues of the appropriate codes for use in building a storage overpack that combines both steel and concrete, issues associated with the use of plain or reinforced concrete and the need i to clearly identify the exceptions taken from any code chosen for use in the design or manufacture of a storage cask. Other minor clarifications of individual RAIs were also discussed. The staff and Holtec agreed to hold a-swias Of telephone conferences in the coming weeks to resolve any lingering ine:, Jad to further clarify staff positions, where necessary.
Soent Fuel Pro.iect Office Meetino with Arkansas Nuclear One On December 16, 1998, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation met with representatives from Arkansas Nuclear'One (ANO) and Sierra Nuclear Corporation (SNC) to discuss AN0's need to store fuel containing burnable poison rod assemblies (BPRAs) in VSC-24 dry spent fuel storage casks at ANO. ANO told the staff that, in order to obtain full core offload by the Fall 1999 refueling outage, two casks would have to be loaded with fuel containing BPRAs. However, the VSC-24 Certificate of Compliance (C0C) does not address the storage of BPRAs. SNC told the staff that it would l submiti an amendment to the C0C to include BPRAs by December 31, 1998. Nuclear Regulatory Commission management told ANO that the staff would review the t amendment request as a high priority item and proceed to revising the C0C through rulemaking in the shortest time possible.
- Soent Fuel Proiect Office Meetino with Maine Yankee On December 15. 1998. staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office and the Office
- of Nuclear Reactor Regulation met with representatives from Maine Yankee to i discuss Maine Yankee's plans to store its spent fuel in dry storage casks.
December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE B i
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. Maine Yankee informed the staff that it is tentatively planning to use the NAC-VMS dry storage system under a 10 CFR Part 72 general license. However, this decision has not yet been finalized. Maine Yankee told the staff that, j
by Summer 1999, it will make more definitive plans regarding the dry storage schedule. Maine Yankee also presented tentative plans for performing general i license evaluations required unoer Subpart K of Part 72.
Deoartment of Army License Extension On December 11, 1998, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards amended the expiration date of the Special Nuclear Material (SNM) license at the U.S.
L Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center located in Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. By letter dated November 19, 1998, the l Department of the Army requected a five-year license extension of SNM license
!70-622, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 70.38(a)(2). The staff reviewed the provisions of 70.38(a)(2) and determined that the Army met the seven provisions that would allow a five-year license extension. Originally the i license was scheduled to expire on January 31, 1999, but the expiration date has been extended to January 31, 2004.
International Atomic Eneroy Aaency Meetino on Intearated Safeauards L From December 7-11, 1998, a staff member from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards participated in a consultants meeting hosted by the L International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Austria. The meeting l addressed the integration of new safeguards measures designed to enhance the detection of undeclared activities into the existing IAEA safeguards system.
The capabilities of the new international safeguards measures offer the potential that older measures addressing similar objectives can be reduced and possible cost savings realized. The meeting addressed the concepts under which these new safeguards approaches will be developed and identified those activities that must be performed by the IAEA before they can be implemented.
Nuclear Reculatory Commission Meetina with the State of California on General
, Atomics i On December 8, 1998, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards and Region IV met with the State of California staff at the General Atomics (GA) site to discuss decommissioning activities related to GA's current decontamination and decommissioning program. GA intends to terminate l its special nuclear material license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and reduce its source material and byproduct material usage in most of
-the GA buildings licensed by the State in the next two years. The meeting was requested by the State to discuss: (1) confirmatory radiological survey in
, buildings where both NRC and the State have licensing authority; and i (2) licensing action on the release of GA buildings for unrestricted use. In regard to confirmatory surveys involving joint licensing actions, either NRC
- or the State, depending on the nature of the radionuclides present, will take j
December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE B
. l the lead to perform confirmatory surveys to minimize duplicative efforts. NRC and the State will coordinate on each building or area release action to work out confirmatory survey programs and schedules responsive to GA's requests.
Nuclear Reaulatory Commission /Deoartment of Enerav Manaaement/0uality i Assurance Meetina l On December 9. 1998, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy (DOE) held a meeting to discuss management and quality assurance issues for DOE's High-Level Waste (HLW) Repository Program. Although several management issues were discussed, such as management reassignments in the Division of Waste Management and the impact of DOE's FY99 budget reductions in
- scientific studies and design work the main focus of the meeting was on DOE's HLW Quality Assurance (0A) Program.
DOE brought in its entire senior management team for the project. including both DOE personnel and its Management and Operating contractor for the project to discuss these issues. DOE recognizes that it has a collection of research and scientific organizations involved in its program that are not experienced in performing nuclear safety related work, and that it must change the culture of its organization to be successful in licensing. They described some steps they have taken to implement a change to a nuclear safety culture. They also described an effort they have underway to perform a root cause analysis of recurring OA problems, and committed to develop a corrective action plan by February 1999.
Meetina to Discuss Sedimentation at the Schio Western L-Bar Uranium Mill Tailinas S1.ta On December 10, 1998. Division of Waste Management staff participated in a meeting requested by representatives of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensee. Schio Western Mining Company (Sohio), to discuss methods of resolution of staff concerns related to observed degradation of erosion protection features at the L-Bar uranium mill tailings disposal site, bcated in New Mexico. Before staff can conclude that reclamation at the L-Bar site is complete and terminate the license. Schio must resolve staff's concerns related to degradation. The announced public meeting was held at NRC Headquarters, and was attended by NRC staff and Schio representatives. Schio presented two alternatives for mitigating the buildup of sedimentation both of which appear acceptable to the staff. The licensee proposed to submit the necessary engineering plans for its preferred alternative in early 1999.
Pending staff approval. Schio plans to commence construction of a new erosion protection channel in fiscal year 1999.
l Meetina with the National Minina Association 1
On December 15, 1998, the Division of Waste Management (DWM) met with representatives of the National Mining Association (NMA) to discuss the status December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE B O
1 of activities related to regulation of uranium mill tailings recovery sites. l
-Topics of discussion included the NMA's White Paper: " Recommendations for a
' Coordinated Approach to Regulating the Uranium Recovery Industry." which was presented to the Commission in June 1998: proposed schedules for the' release of Standard Review P_lans on the regulation of in situ leach facilities and' reclamation of conventional mill sites: and staff changes within DWM. Uranium Recovery Branch. NMA representatives reiterated White Paper concerns related !
to regulation of in situ leach facilities, the disposal of non-11e.(2) -l material in tailings impoundments, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's alternate feed policy. .The staff agreed to continue its periodic meetings
, 'with NMA on.a quarterly basis or more frequently "as needed.'
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Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research items of Interest Week Ending December 18, 1998 Meetino of the Air Ooerated Valve and Motor 00erated Valve Users' Grouos Division of Engineering Technology Staff attended the second joint meeting of the Air Operated Valve and Motor Operated Valve Users' Groups (AUG/MUG) which was held December 7-11, 1998. The AUG/MUG meetings and A0V/MOV technology continue to be important to the industry as shown by an. industry attendance of over 400. Among the papers on A0V and MOV technology. RES presented interim contractor results from dc motor _ actuator testing which showed that the vendor's technical information and guidance over predicted the output torque for the. conditions tested. The paper was well received and there were only a few comments which we are now considering. The final dc motor actuator size test will be completed in December 1998 and the final results will be shared
.with the industry.
The A0V joint owners group (J0G) presented their preliminary plans to
- formulate a program similar to the MOV J0G which would provide guidance to the I
industry in assuring the safe-operation of A0Vs for the remaining life of the plants.
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Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest l Week Ending December 18. 1998 j
Comoletion of Incident Resoonse Function Self-assessment Reoort The draft Incident Response Function Self-Assessment report has been completed and is available on the NRC external Website. The self-assessment (SA) included all significant response functions and response readiness activities.
The purpose of the SA was to identify initiatives to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the response program. The SA was conducted by a team of NRC staff from AE00. NRR NMSS. OSP. and Region III. A representative from an Agreement State also supported the SA. The draft SA report will receive an external peer review before it is finalized. Peer review participants include emergency response organization representatives from other Federal agencies, two States, an operating nuclear power. reactor licensee, and a fuel cycle facility licensee. A public meeting to provide peer review participants information on the self-assessment objectives, scope, process, findings, and recommended initiatives was held on December 15, 1998.
, PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS:
- 1. PNO-I-98-062. Northeast Utilities (Millstone 3) UNPLANNED SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 48 HOURS
- 2. PNO-I-98-063. St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center. FAILURE OF A NUCLETRON SELECTRON LDR REMOTE AFTERLOADER TO REIMPLANT BRACHYTHERAPY SOURCES
- 3. PNO-II-98-052. Geodax Technology. Inc.. SHIPPING PACKAGES WITH REMOVABLE CONTAMINATION ON EXTERNAL SURFACES
- 4. PNO-III-98-058A. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. FIRE IN PROCESS BUILDING -UPDATE
- 5. PNO-III-98-059. Midwest Testing. Inc., STOLEN MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE
- 6. PNO-IV-98-064. Professional Services Industries. Inc.. RADIATION OVEREXPOSUftE TO A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE D
Office of Administration Items of Interest Week Ending December 18. 1998
- Distribution of Source and Byoroduct Material: Licensino and Reoortina
'Reouirements (Parts 32 and 40)
A document withdrawing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that requested public comments on a contemplated rulemaking that was intended to improve the control of source material and updated applicable requirements to conform with revised standards for protection against radiation was published in the Federal Register on December 14. 1998 (63 FR 68700).
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- 1 Chief Information Officer l Items of Interest l Week Ending December 18, 1998 Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Reauests received durino the 5-Day l Pgriod of December 11. 1998 - December 17. 1998:
Referral'from Federal Bureau of Investigation. (F0IA/PA 99-065)
O.S. nuclear power ' plants. fatalities and injuries requiring hospitalization.
(F0IA/PA 99-066)
Underground storage tank -Chevron Tank Farm,~ Boise. ID. (FOIA/PA 99-067) 1 Vacancy Announcement #9848036.- Management Analyst, RM8/PMDA/NMSS. j (F0IA/PA 99-68)
Congressional correspondence., Rep. Henry Hyde, 1988 to present. (FOIA/PA 99- i'
-069) i San Onofre station, 11/24/98 employee concerns program survey results meeting.
(F0IA/PA 99-070) i Radioactive decay in storage, ordinary trash disposal with physical half-life ,
under 65 days,.10 CFR 35.92. .(F0IA/PA 99-071) '
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.0ffice of Human Resources L Items of Interest l- Week Ending December 18, 1998 -
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Arrivals FITZGIBBON, William Investigator- RIV
,- ZANE, Steven Sr Auditor 0IG l
l- Retirements i
l- CONNAUGHTON, Kevin Project Manager NRR i Departures
- i. WONG, Valerie Office Services Assistant NMSS L
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Office of Public Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending December 18. 1998 Media' Interest' The Stuart News (Fla.) will'be publishing an article about spent fuel issues at St.'Lucie.
The Birmingham News (Ala.') is planning a story'this weekend on Browns Ferry.
Press Releases t
Headquarters:
98-221 Note to Editors: ACRS meeting January 20-21 98-222 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Subcommittees to Hold Joint Meeting January 26 98-223 NRC Issues Report on Waste Burial Charges-Regions:
I-98-129 NRC, Maine Yankee to Discuss Plans for Spent Fuel Storage I-98-130 NRC Postpones Prehearing Conference on Yankee Rowe I-98-131. Note to Editors: Vermont Yankee Meeting December 17 ;
IV-98-44 NRC Chairman Jackson'to Hold News Briefing in Moab '
Following Visit to Atlas Uranium Mill Site December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE M t #
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l Office of International Programs Items of Interest Week Ending December 18, 1998 Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty i
In September 1993, the U.S. Government established a policy of seeking a l
" multilateral convention prohibiting the production of highly enriched uranium l or separation of plutonium for nuclear explosives or outside of international safegua rds . " The Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT), which will be !
negotiated in the Conference on Disarmament, will codify and provide for the verification of a production ban for both the nuclear weapon and threshold states, and will further demonstrate the U.S. commitment to Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Interagency preparations for an FMCT include developing and coordinating positions, or, as appropriate, options with respect to defining (a) facilities which will be declared under the FMCT. l and (b) the verification regime which will be used. Some types of facilities which NRC licenses may be subject to the obligations negotiated under the l Treaty, and NRC has been asked to participate in the interagency '
deliberations. Dr. Karen Henderson of the Office of International Programs (0IP) attended a Verification Experts Group meeting and an FMCT Backstopping Group meeting on December 17, 1998, as a first step in that process.
IAEA Extrabudaetary Proaram on VVER and RBMK Reactor Safety i
During the week of December 14. Mr. John Ramsey, 0IP, attended the final 1 Advisory Group meeting for the IAEA's Extrabudgetary Program (EBP) on the !
safety VVER and RBMK nuclear power plants. This EBP was established in 1990 in response to urgent safety deficiencies identified at the VVER-440/230 reactors at Kozloduy in Bulgaria. The EBP scope was later expanded to include l
RBMK reactors. The main task of the EBP was to identify, prioritize and ,
achieve international consensus on safety issues with Soviet-designed VVER and 1 RBMK reactors. The EBP will officially end at the end of 1998, as its main l task is essentially complete.
In early 1999, OIP intends to prepare and forward to the Commission an information paper describing in more detail the activities and accomplishments of the EBP. i i
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i Office of the Secretary Items of Interest l Week Ending December 18. 1998 -
I Documents Released Date Subject to Public Decision Documents
- 1. Corrected Commission 12/17/98 Regulatory Options for Setting Voting Record on l Standards on Clearance of Materials SECY-98-028 and Equipment Having Residual Radioactivity Information Papers
- 1. SECY-98-276 11/25/98 Weekly Information Report - Week l Ending November 20, 1998 Commission Correscondence
- 1. Letter to Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow dated December 8, 1998 provides responses to questions on low-level waste regulations.
Federal Reaister Notices Issued
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Designation of Presiding Officer (Peter B. Bloch).
- 2. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Fire Protection; Notice of Meeting on January 20 and 21, 1999.
- 3. ACRS Joint Meeting of the Subcommittees on Plant Operations and on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Notice of Meeting on January 26, 1999.
- 4. ACRS Meeting of the Subcommittee on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Notice of Meeting on January 21. 1999.
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- 5. Licensing Support System Advisory Review Panel (LSNARP): Notice of Renewal and Amendment of the Charter of the LSNARP, i
l December 18, 1998 ENCLOSURE O
l I Region I Items of Interest Week Ending December 18, 1998 l
Former Tenneco Polymers Site. Fords NJ l
l On December 15, 1998. RI staff discussed the results of a recent inspection at the former Tenneco Polymers facility in Fords NJ with the present owners (El Paso Energy) and a representative of a group purchasing the site. This site had been identified by an ORISE survey as a formerly-licensed site needing i remediation, NRC stated that the affected building was surveyed and found to meet the criteria for release for unrestricted use. The owners indicated that l they plan on completing the sale of the property in February, 1999, after which the building will be razed and a concrete slab will be poured over the affected areas, Results of soil samples taken during the inspection are expected in January, after which a decision on release of the site for unrestricted use will be made.
Osram Sylvania Products. Inc.
On December 15, 1998. RI staff met with Osram Sylvania Products Inc. Osram manufactures products containing Thorium. The meeting was requested by the licensee to discuss a Notice of Violation for failure to implement and maintain a respiratory protection program that included surveys and bioassays to evaluate actual intakes. The licensee discussed a bioassay method currently under review to address the regulatory requirement. The licensee's written response to the Notice of Violation is expected on or about January 15, 1999.
Haddam Neck Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference On December 16, 1998. RI management staff conducted a pre-decisional enforcement conference with Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company to discuss apparent violations identified during the licensee's conduct of reactor coolant system (RCS) decontamination. Don Davis, Chairman, CEO, and President of CY, and Russ Mellor. Vice-President of Operations and Decommissioning as well as several members of their staff discussed the safety implications and corrective actions following the RCS events. The staff is considering the information presented by the licensee in its development of the enforcement package.
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4 Region II Items of Interest i Week Ending December 18, 1998 I i
l l Tennessee Valley Authority - Browns Ferry 1
On December 18, representatives from Tennessee Valley Authority met with l Regional managers to discuss plant performance and on-going site activities at l
l Browns Ferry. The discussions included plant performance in the areas of operations, engineering, maintenance and plant support. Additionally, recent
- site organizational changes and performance improvement challenges were covered.
Virainia Electric and Power Comoany - North Anna i
The Regional Administrator toured the site, met plant manacces, and presented i operator certificates to newly licensed operators at the North Anna facility on December 18.
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Region III Items of Interest Week Ending December 18, 1998 Manaaement Meetina with Commonwealth Edison Comoany - Dresden On December 15. 1998, a management meeting was conducted in Morris. Illinois, between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff. It was a status meeting to discuss the recent performance at Dresden Nuclear Power Station. The Acting Regional Administrator James Caldwell and the Regional Administrator designate Jim Dyer participated in the meeting.
Manaaement Meetina with Centerior Service Comoany - Davis-Besse On December 16. 1998, a management meeting was conducted in the NRC Region III Office. Lisle. Illinois, between management representatives from Centerior Service Company and members of the NRC staff. It was a status meeting to discuss the recent performance at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. The Acting Regional Administrator James Caldwell and the Regional Administrator designate Jim Dyer participated in the meeting.
Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Sinai Hosoital On December 16, 1998, a Predecisional Enforcement Conference was conducted in the Region IIII Office. Lisle'. Illinois, between management representatives from Sinai Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and members of the NRC staff. The conference was conducted to discuss the hospital's apparent quality management program violations in the radiation oncology department.
Manaaement Meetina with Illinois Power Comoany - Clinton On December 17, 1998, a management meeting was conducted in Clinton. Illinois.
'between management representatives from Illinois Power Company and members of the NRC staff. It was a status meeting to discuss the performance improvement initiatives at the Clinton Nuclear Power Station. The Regional Administrator designate Jim Dyer participated in the meeting.
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v Region IV Items of Interest Week Ending December 18. 1998 Public Meetino with Enterav Ooerations on Performance Imorovement Plan On December 16. 1998, the Vice President. Operations, Waterford 3. and ,
selected members of his staff met with the Regional Administrator and selected members of the Region IV ' staff and NRR (via teleconference) in the Region IV office in Arlington, Texas. This public meeting was held to discuss the actions being implemented in the Waterford-3 Performance Improvement Plan for selected weaknesses identified during the Architect Engineering Inspection.
Nebraska Public Power District (Coooer Nuclear Station) Manaaement Meetina The Regional Administrator and members of the Regional staff met with managers from Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station on December 17, 1998. The meeting was part of an ongoing series of meetings that have focused on various portions of Cooper's engineering improvement strategy. Preliminary results from an NRC inspection of how the site is quantifying and correcting unauthorized modifications that may have been made in the past provided the-basis for an interactive discussion of how management is overseeing and verifying the adequacy of individual improvement strategy issues. Another meeting, addressing the most recent Cooper refueling outage, has been L scheduled for the first quarter of 1999.
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