ML20212P776

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Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 870306
ML20212P776
Person / Time
Issue date: 03/11/1987
From: Rehm T
NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
WIR-870306, NUDOCS 8703160256
Download: ML20212P776 (29)


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March 11, 1987 For: The Commissioners From: T. A. Rehm, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO-Sub,iect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK EllDING MARCH 6, 1987 A summary of key events is included as a convenience to those Commissioners who may prefer a condensed version of this report.

Contents Enclosure Administration A flucledr Reactor Regulation B Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards C Inspection and Enforcement D Nuclear Regulatory Research E General Counsel F*

International Programs G State Prograns H*

Resource Maygement I*

Analysis and Evaluation cf Operational Data J*

Small & Disadvantaged Business litilization & Civil Rights K*

Special Projects L*

Regional Offices M*

CRGR Monthly Reports N*

Executive Director for Operations 0*

Items Addressed by the Commission P Meeting Notices C Proprietary or Other Sensitive Information (Not for R external distribution)

  • No input this week. -

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/T. A. Rah,4~sn 4WAssistan+ for Operations 8703160256 B70311 MKL Cc p

Office n' the Executive Director for Operations

Contact:

T. A. Rehn, EDO 492-7781

HIGHLIGHTS OF WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT WEEK ENDING MARCH 6, 1987

/ North Anna Power Station, Unitr No. 1 & No. 2 (NA-182)

A major milestone was completed at NA-182 on February 27, 1987. The milestore was the cleaning and refurbishment of the NA-182 Service Water System (SWS).

This project, which was initiated in 1984, has involved considerable effort by the licensee, and to a lesser degree, the NRC staff.

The cleaning of the SWS utilized a high pressure jet of water (hydrolaser) to remove corrosion products, bacteria, and clay / silt sludge. After cleaning, chemical additives were applied to inner surfaces to prohibit further corrosion buildup. This project required precise planning and timing, availability of manpower and eauipment, inspections, and contingency planning for all segments of the project.

The licensee estimates approximately 26 tons of waste material were removed.

On several occasions, decaying bacteria resulted in unfavorable working conditions. The waste material had to be quickly removed and packaged in barrels to meet plant cleanliness and environmental cuality standards.

The NA-182 SW spray system has been replaced with a more efficient system for summer and winter use. The staff is ready to issue amendments in early March 1987, which will allow for the tie-in, startup, and operability nf the replacement spray system.

Finally, the licensee is presently installing a remote electronic sensing system to tronitor the NA-I&2 SWS for arv further buildup in cerrnsion products.

Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, Reduction In Oversight Since'the resumption of production at Sequoyah Fuels' Gore, Oklahoma, facility, the NRC staff has monitored operations on a 24-hour per-day basis. On -

February 28, Region IV reduced this oversight to one shift per day, 7 days per week as presented to the Commission in the memorandum dated February 13, 1987, from V. Stello. Operations at SFC have continued without incident since the reduction of NRC oversight. If SFC's performance continues to be satisfactory, a further reduction in NRC oversight will occur during the week of March 15, 1987.

By letter dated February 24, 1987, from Mr. Randolph, President of SFC, to James M. Taylor, Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement (IE), SFC requested reduction in the coverage by the Independent Oversight Team. This request is currently under review by IE.

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OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION Week Ending March 6, 1987 ADMIhISTRATION OF THE FREEDOM 0F INFORMATION ACT STATUS OF REQUESTS Initial Appeal of Request Initial Decision Carryovers, 1986 170 53 Received, 1987 141 13 Granted 86 4 Denied 27 5 Pending 198 57 ACTIONS THIS WEEK Received Angus Mackenzie, Requests all records regarding 73 listed organizations.

Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc.

(87-124)

Steven Sholly, Requests a printout from searches under keywords MHB Technical "Probabilistic Risk Analysis" and " Risk Assessment" for Associates records maintained in NRC's central files.

. (87-125)

Lynne Bernabei, Requests, on behalf of an individual, records relating Newman, Sobol, to the individual.

Trister & Owens (87-126) l Stewart Wetzel, Requests a copy of SECY-81-636A.

hUS Corporation (87-127)

Rick De1Vecchio, Requests copies of five specified records and records San Francisco related to allegations regaraing Managerrent of QC/QA Chronicle Personnel at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

(87-128)

! R.K. Buckles , Requests copies of SECY-85-399 and a SECY memo regarding NUS Corporation rulemaking activity for 10 CFR El and 10 CFR 50.55(e).

(87-129)

CONTACT: Dennie h. Grimsley 492-7211 MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE A

2 Received, Cont'd Sue Agnihotri, Requests the mailing list of recipients of NRC's daily press EQES,Inc. releases.

(87-130)

Schuyler Mitchell, Requests a copy of Sargent ano Lundy's Project Instruction Computerized No. PI-BB-27 Rev. 4 dated March 18, 1985, for the Byron Interference nuclear power plant.

Elimination, Inc.

(87-131)

Pat Rogers, Requests a copy of the proposal submitted in response to Millicent Systems, RFP NRC-33-87-224.

Inc.

(87-132)

E. John Domingues, Requests copies of records related to the issuance of a Domingues & license to a named individual.

Spiegelman (87-133)

John Mason, Requests all reports, complaints, written statements or Ropes & Gray other records filed with the NRC by a named individual (87-134) regarding the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant.

Patricia Stevenson, Requests copies of all bids submitted for solicitation Information number RS-ADM-87-206.

Control Systems Corporation (87-135)

Steven Frantz, Requests all SECY documents between September 30, 1974, hewman & and February 12, 1976, relating to proposed revisions Holtzinger, P.C. of 10 CFR 50.55a, Codes ana Standards for Nuclear Power (87-136) Plants.

Mike Johnson, Requests all AE0D " Semiannual Staff Evaluation of the NUS Corporation Status of NPRDS" reports after the fourth report of (87-137) January 1984.

Leonard Trosten, Requests records regarding (1) an.endment to 10 CFR I LeBoeuf. Lamb, Part 110; (2) license No. ISNM-83-025 issueo to Exxon; Leiby & & cRae (3) license No. 1ShM-87-005 filed by Exxon; and (4) ,

(87-138) Comprehensive Anti-Apartheic Act of 1986.

Janet Fenn, Requests a list of Reactor and Senior Reactor Operators.

Selection Resource Inc.

(87-139)

Jim Friend, Requests information regarding the cistribution of State of New York radioactive material to schools, colleges, universities, (87-140) and research instituttor.s in New York from January 1, 1986, to the present.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE A

3 Received, Cont'd James Sturdivant, Requests copies of two specified records regarding the Gable & Gotwals Sequoyah Fuels Corporation.

(87-141)

Blair Eremberg, APPEAL TO THE EDO for the release of one specified denied University of Utah record in NRC's January 30, 1987 response regarding a College request for records related to the Uranium Mili Tailings (87-A-ll-86-705) Radiation Control Act of 1978.

Billie Garde, APPEAL TO THE ED0 for the release of seven records denied Government in their entirety and portions of two records regarding 4 Accountability a request for records concerning the May 30, 1986 letter Project from Thomas Westerman to Texas Utilities Generating (87-A-12-86-726) Company regarding 4-85-A-019.

Jessie Deer in water, APPEAL TO THE EDO for the release of one denied record Native Americans regarding a request for records regarding the license for a Clean conditions applied to the renewal of the source material Environment license No. SUB-1010, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation.

(87-A-13-86-889)

Granted l

Kate Duffy, In response to a request for copies of the synopses of Kansas City three investigations conducted in 1985 by 01 into Business Journal allegations of possible safety violations at the Wolf (86-210) Creek nuclear power plant, informed the requester that the requested records are already available at the PDR.

George Field In response to a request for a copy of 01 Report #1 (87-36) 019 regarding the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant, informed the requester that this record is already available at the PDR.

(An individual In response to a request for records maintained in the

requesting NRC on himself, informed the requester that the NRC has J

information abuut no records on him in its radiation exposure, document himself) . control, or the security systems of records.

(87-114)

Steven 5 holly, In response to a request for a printout from searches kHB Technical under keywords "Probabilistic Risk Analysis" and " Risk 4 Associates Assessment" for records mair.toined in NRC's central files, (87-125) infurmed the requester that the NRC's present computerized

. document control system does not have the capability to

', ccnduct keywcrd searches.

I f1 ARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE A

4

- Denied Steven Aftergood, In response to an APPEAL TO THE COMMISSION for the Consnittee to release of the denied portions of SECY-79-213, Brioge the Gap continued to deny these portions containing Classified (87-A-1-84-345) information and Restricted Data.

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MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE A

I WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT DIVISION OF CONTRACTS WEEK ENDING MARCH 6, 1987 RFP ISSUED RFP Nos.: RS-01E-87-120, 125, 126, and 127

Title:

" Specialized Technical Training"

Description:

Provide technical assistance to the NRC in the implementation of identified needs and/or further development of programs to meet future needs for specialized technical training of NRC inspectors in the areas of Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), Equipment or Systems, Inspection Techniques and Practical Engineering, and Radiation Protection.

Period of Performance: 36 months Sponsor: Office of Inspection and Enforcement Status: Closing date has been extended to March 19, 1987.

PROPOSAL UNDER EVALUATION RFP No.: RS-0RM-87-216

Title:

" Systems Management / Program Support"

Description:

The contractor shall provide, on a task order basis, systems programming support for all NRC in-house computers which presently consist of Data General (DG) and Hewelett-Packard (HP) 16 and 32 Bit CPU's and associated peripherals.

Period of Performance: Three years Sponsor: Office of Resource Management Status: RFP cigped on March 2, 1987. Proposals forwarded to Source Evaluation Panel for review on March 2, 1987.

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER On November 24, 1986, NRC entered into Interagency Agreement No. NRC-02-87-003 with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for support services in connection with a negotiated rule-making relating to High Level Waste Repositories. The Agreement provides for the issuance of individual task orders in accordance with CEQ's established guidelines. CEQ proposed to provide these services through its contract with the Conservation Foundation (CF) which was awarded on a competitive basis. The CF issued a subcontract to Techlaw, Inc., on a sole-source basis in support of these services.

John Jordan Associates issued a protest to the GA0 against NRC on the award of the subcontract. The GA0 dismissed the protest on the grounds that it does not consider protests concerning subcontractor selection except when the selection is made by or for the Government.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE A

0FFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTCP REGULATION ITEMS OF INTEREST Week Ending March 6, 1987 North Anna Power Station, Unitt No.1 & No. 2 (NA-1&2)

A major milestone was completed at NA-182 on February 27, 1987. The milestone was the cleaning and refurbishment of the NA-182 Service Water System (SWS).

This project, which was initiated in 1984, has involved considerable effort by the licensee, and to a lesser degree, the NRC staff.

The cleaning of the SWS utilized a high pressure jet of water (hydrolaser) to remove corrosion products, bacteria, and clay / silt sludge. After cleaning, chemical additives were applied to inner surfaces to prohibit further corrosion buildup. This project required precise planning and timing, availability of manpower and equipment, inspections, and contingency planning for all segments of the project.

The licensee estimates approximately 26 tons of waste material were removed.

On several occasions, decaying bacteria resulted in unfavorable working conditions. The waste material had to be quickly renoved and packaged in barrels to meet plant cleanliness and environnental cuality standards.

The NA-182 SW spray system has been replaced with a nore efficient system for summer and winter use. The staff is ready to issue amendments in early March 1987, which will allow for the tie-in, startup, and operability of the -

replacement spray system.

Finally, the licensee is presently installing a remote electronic sensing system to tronitor the NA-l&2 SWS for anv further buildup in corrosion products.

Clinton Power Station On February 27,1987 at 3:57 a.m. CST, Clinton Power Station achieved initial criticality. No problems were encountered and the reactor went critical within 16 notches (4 steps) of calculated position. Illinois Power Company, the licensee, expects to complete low power testing in approximately three weeks. A full power Comnission briefing is scheduled for March 19, 1987.

Assuming no schedule slippages, the full power license cculd be issued as early es the week of March 23, !987.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE B

2 D.C. Cook, Unit 2 The D.C. Cook Unit 2 was shutdown on March 3,1987 as a result of a tube leak in the number 2 stean generator. The first indiation of a leak occurred on fiarch 2nd at 0.22 gpm and reached 0.302 gpm before the decision was made for shutdown. The Technical Specification limit is 0.347 gpn. The plant will be in a 25 day outage to repair and test tubes.

The Unit has completed 226 days continous operation at about 80% power.

This established the Cook Unit 2 operation as a record second only to SALEM for large W pressure water reactors. The power reduction progran was initiated by the licensee to reduce the hot leg temperature on the steam generator tubes to reduce the corrosion rates. The Unit 2 steam generators have been subject to degradatation from intergrannular attack /

stress corrosion cracking and are currently scheduled to be replaced in an outage not to occur before mid 1988.

Turkey Point Unit 4 The liceasee and NRC staff have been informed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the film from the safeguards surveillance cameras at the Turkey Point Unit 4 site was not lost during the December through January periods as originally thought. It was assumed that the lighting problems which occurred would result in the loss of surveillance. However, the IAEA indicated that the use of magnified reviewing of the film resulted in the verification of the inventory.

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l MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE B

NRC TMI-2 CLEANUP PROJECT DIRECTORATE WEEKLY STATUS

. REPORT FOR MARCH 2 - 8, 1987

1. DEFUELING

- Defueling continued using the standard tooling. All end fittings have been pulled from the peripheral fuel assemblies. GPUN is in the process of cutting noninal five foot segments from the peripheral fuel elements and placing the segments into fuel canisters. Two canisters were filled.

2. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sample analysis results show that TMI site liquid effluents are in accordance with.

regulatory limits, NRC requirements, and the City of Lancaster Agreement.

- TMI water effluents are sampled from the station (Units 1 and 2) discharge and analyzed by EPA. Gamma spectrum analyses of the seven daily composited samples for February 14 - 21, 1987 indicated no TMI-2 related radioactivity.

- EPA's gama spectrum analysis of the NRC's Tfil outdoor air sample for the period February 28 - March 6, 1987 showed no reactor related radioactivity.

- The Lancaster water works intake conposited seven daily samples February 15 - 21, if07 The gamma spectrum analyzed by EPA showed no reactor related radioactivity.

3. DECONTAf!INATION ACTIVITIES

- Remote robotic scabbling of the seal injection valve room commenced during the week as well as scabbling in the seal return cooler cubicle and the floor beneath the B and C bleed tanks.

Desludging of the auxiliary building sump and hands-on decontanination of the Westinghcuse valve room continued.

- Scabbling and vacuuming of the elevator shaft roof was completed with painting scheduled for this week.

d. NRC EVALUATIONS IN PROGRESS

- Technical Specification Change Request rumbers 49 ara 51 and the associated Recovery Operations Plan Change Requests 31 and 33.

- Technical Specification Change Recuest 52, 55 and 56.

- Solid Waste Facility Technical Evaluation Report.

- Heavy Load Safety Evaluation Report, Revision 3.

- Processed Water Disposition Proposal.

- Safety Evaluation Report for Use of Plasre Arc Cutting Torch.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE B

H l

- Temporary Reactor Vessel Filtration System Safety Evaluation Repert, Revision 3.

Pressurizer Defueling Safety Evaluation Report.

- Safety Evaluation Report for Defueling of the Core Support Assembly.

- Waste Handling and Packaging Facility Technical Evaluation Report, Revision 6 was approved on March 5, 1987.

- Containment Air Control Envelope Technical Evaluation Report, Revision 7.

- Coagulant Criticality Safety Evaluation Report.

- Revision 2 to the Sediment Transfer and Processing Safety Evaluation Report.

Seismic Evaluation for Modified Containment Penetration.

Organization Plan Change Request 14.

5. MEETING The Advisory Panel for the Decontamination of Three Mile Island Unit 2 is scheduled to meet on March 25, 1987 fron 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Holiday Inn, 23 S. Second Street, Harrisburg, PA. The meeting will include further discussion of the proposed disposition of the accident-generated water and the NRC's Draft EIS and will include an opportunity for public comment.

Persons desiring to speak before the Panel are requested to contact Mr.

Thomas Smithgall at 717-291-1042, or write to him at 2123 Marietta Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603, so that they may be placed on the meeting agenda.

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l MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE B

0FFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDS Items of Interest Week Ending March 6, 1987 Texas LLW Siting Progress Texas' efforts towards siting an LLW disposal facility in Hudspeth County have been delayed. The site under consideration was 12 miles from the county line separating Hudspeth from El Paso County. A judge in El Paso granted an injunc-tion to delay further siting activity until August. It is our understanding that the injunction is based on an unfavorable economic impact on El Paso County.

, FBI Criminal History Rule The FBI Criminal History Rule approved by the Commission on Thursday, 2/26/87, was published in the Federal Register on Monday, 3/2/87.

The generic letter to all power reactor licensees temporarily waiving the rule requirements for temporary workers was approved by the Chairman, CRGR, on 2/26/87 and by NRR on 3/4/87.

NUMARC Guidelines on Access Authorization at Nuclear Power Plants SG staff has been informed that the NUMARC Working Group on Access Authorization has prepared its response to the NRC questions on temporary workers in the nuclear industry and plans to forward the response to the Chairman of NUMARC shortly.

U.S.-Japan Agreement for Cooperation The proposed new agreement has been received for review from the State Department, along with an Executive Branch analysis. Our preliminary review indicates that the proposed new requirements may necessitate some modification to NRC reporting regulations and procedures, including the tracking of l Japanese nuclear materials and equipment in the United States.

I Meeting on Sequoyah Fuels Corporation's Raffinate Storage Area On March 2, 1987, representatives of NMSS and the Uranium Recovery Field Office (URF0), Denver, Colorado, met to discuss groundwater monitoring in the area of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation's (SFC) ammonium nitrate solution "raffinate" storage ponds. URF0 staff indicated that they have reviewed pertinent SFC documentation, visited the storage pond site, and discussed the groundwater monitoring program with SFC staff. URF0 will provide NMSS a report after the review is completed.

l j MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE C

2 I

l l Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, Reduction In Oversight i Since the resumption of production at Sequoyah Fuels' Gore, Oklahoma, facility, the NRC staff has monitored operations on a 24-hour per-day basis. On February 28, Region IV reduced this oversight to one shift per day, 7 days per week as presented to the Commission in the memorandum dated February 13, 1987, from V. Stello. Operations at SFC have continued without incident since the reduction of NRC oversight. If SFC's performance continues to be satisfactory, a further reduction in NRC oversight will occur during the week of March 15, 1987.

By letter dated February 24, 1987, from Mr. Randolph, President of SFC, to James M. Taylor, Director, Office of Inspection and Enforcement (IE), SFC requested reduction in the coverage by the Independent Oversight Team. This request is currently under review by IE.

BCL Volume Reduction Demonstration Facility On March 3, 1987, the staff issued a license amendment to Battelle Columbus Laboratories (BCL) authorizing operation of a Volume Reduction Demonstration Facility (VRDF) at BCL's West Jefferson, Ohio, site. The VRDF would consist of a controlled-air incinerator and supporting facilities to reduce the volume of combustible low-level radioactive waste (LLW) generated by nuclear power utilities and industrial and institutional users of radioactive materials. The purpose of the VRDF program would be to demonstrate the safety, technical effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of incineration as a method for LLW management. BCL would arrange with sponsors to provide LLW for treatment over a period of 5 years for the demonstration. After treatment, volume reduced waste would be 5%ther shipped offsite for disposal or returned to the sponsors.

The viability of the VRDF is problematical, however, since BCL recently has stated that they intend to discontinue all nuclear activities at their West Jefferson and King Avenue, Columbus, sites. No construction or installation activities for the VRDF have been initiated. Appropriate permits from the State of Ohio and EPA would also be required for operation.

Uranium Enrichment On March 4, 1987, NMSS staff members met with a GA0 representative in connec-tion with a GA0 audit of unrecovered enrichment costs associated with the DOE uranium enrichment program and considerations being given to privatization of the program. The purpose of the meeting with NRC staff was to obtain infor-mation regarding the licensing aspects for enrichment facilities. The staff provided background information on rulemaking initiated in the 1970's, dis-cussed the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act for licensing of production facilities, current applicability of 10 CFR Part 50, and possible reactivation of rulemaking specific to enrichment facilities. The staff also noted its meetings over the past year with DOE and private firms regarding licensing requirements for enrichment facilities. The GA0 representative was apprecia-tive and indicated that the audit report would not be completed before August 1987.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Inspection and Enforcement Items of Interest Week Ending March 6, 1987

1. Items of Interest None.
2. Civil Penalties Paid Sequoyah Fuels Corporation (Oklahoma City, OK) in the amount of $310,000 based on violations involvinq the rupture of a cylinder filled with uranium hexafluoride. (FA 87-91)
3. The following Significant Enforcement Actions were taken during the past week:
a. An Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty was issued to Commomwealth Edison Company (Byron 1) in the amount of $50,000. This action was based on violations involving surveillance procedures and testing, application of action statements, and post-maintenance inspections.

(EN 86-29A)

b. An Order Imposing Civil Menetary Penalty was issued to Commonwealth Edison Company (Byron 1) in the amount of $50,000. This action was based on violations involving surveillance procedures and testing,_

application of action statements, and post-maintenance inspections.

(EN86-29A)

c. A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Peralty was issued to Illinois Power Company (Clinton) in the amcunt of $75,000.

This action was based on facility design and configuration control.

(EN 87-12)

d. A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty was issued to Norland Instruments (Fort Atkinsen, WI) in the amount of

$500. This action was based on several violations of NRC require-ments involving the control of licensed raterial. (EN 87-13)

4. The following IE Information Notices and Bulletins were issued during the past week:

None.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE D

5. The following IE Preliminary Notifications were issued during the past week:
a. PN0-I-87-14, Summa Pharmacy (Philedelphia, PA), Two Accidents Involving Licensee Vehicles Carrying Radiopharmaceuticals.
b. PNO-I-87-15, Philadelphia Electric Company (Peach Bottom), Fire in~

the Unit 3 Turbine Building.

c. PN0-III-87-28, Illinois Power Company (Clinton), Initial Criticality.
d. PNO-III-87-30, St. Francis Hospital (Evanston, IL), Apparent Abandon-ment of Nuclear Pacemaker Program.
e. PNO-III-87-31, Commorvealth Edison Company (Dresden 2), Possible Equipment Tamperino.
f. PN0-III-87-32, Indiana and Michigan Electric Company (D.C. Cook 2),

Shutdown to Repair SG Tube Leak (s).

h. PNO-III-87-33, Commonwealth Edison Company (Dresden 3), Shutdown Cooling Pumps Inoperable.
i. PNO-V-87-18, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Diablo Canyon 2),

Shutdown for Greater Than 48 Hours.

j. PN0-V-87-19, Continental Testing and Inspection (Signal Hill, CA),

Immediate Suspension of Industrial Radiographer License.

k. PMO-V-87-20, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Diablo Canyon 1&2),

Media Interest in Pending Allegations.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE D

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH Items of Interest Week Ending March 6, 1987 NAS Committee on the Effects of Low Level Radiation (BEIR V)

The National Academy of Science (NAS) BEIR V Cormittee held a public meeting on 3/2/87 in order to obtain public comments on the scientific bases for risk estimates. Ten speakers, representing Federal agencies, the NCRP, public interest groups and private citizens, addressed the Committee. Dr.

S. S. Yaniv, RES, presented a paper entitled "The Need for BEIR V and Its Potential Applications at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

The objective of the BEIR V Conmittee is to update the 1980 NAS REIP. III report. This update is necessary in view of the ongoing reassessment of doses received by atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Radiation Effects Pesearch Foundation, several more years of survivor followup and new scientific in#ormation that is having an impact on assessment of risk from low level radiation. It is anticipated that the BEIR V report will be pubi b hed in fall of 1988. BEIR IV is another onging NAS study to assess the efforts of internally deposited alpha emitters. .

The BEIR V effort is being fundad by the Committee nn Interagency Radiation Pesearch and Policy Coordir.ation (CIRRPC). The NRC is a member of CIRRPC end as such participates in the funding of BEIR V.

?D/3D

! KWU (Kraftwerk Union) which is operating the Upper Plenum Test Facility (UPTF) published quick-look reports of the first two tests in the UPTF; Test 12, Tie Plate Countercurrent Flow Test, P.eport No. R515/86/13, and Test 1, Fluid-Fluid Mixing Test, Report No. R515/87/1. Copies of these reports have been received and are being circulated in RES, NRR and ACRS.

The tieplate countercurrent flow test was conducted to determine hcw effec-l tively the emergency core coolant (ECC) can penetrate the core when it is injected in the hot legs. Results from this test shewed that the ECC injected in the hot legs inmediately penetrated into the core area aven I though a large amount of steam was injected upward from below the upper end box tie plate. The injection rate of steam (284 Kg/s) was about 80% higher than the maxirun steam production rate (156 Kg/s) expected during the refill l

and reflood phases of a typical PKP. The ECC dcwnflow region was developed MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE E

2 very quickly in frcnt of the injection locations of the 3 intact hot legs.

Once the downflow region was developed, the. region remained as the downflow region throughout the test. The maximum subcooling detected at the tie i plate was 75'C when the injected ECC had about 120*C subcooling. ,

The fluid mixing test was conducted to provide thermal boundary conditions for vessel fracture experiments designed to address the pressurized thermal shock (PTS) concern. Results from this test showed that with the expected

, flow rate of the hich pressure injection (HPI) the cold ECC mixes well with the hot primary coolant in the cold leg and thus the likelibrod of a thermal shock in the dnwncomer region is greatly diminished. The ECC injected with a temperature of about 30 C was heated up significantly in the injection zone due to the fluid / fluid mixing phenonena. The maximum temperature-differential between the top and the bottom of the cold leg was 50 to 80*C, depending on the injection flow rate, and decreased to 10-30'C at the center elevation of the downcomer.

Code Uncertainty Meetina A concensus was reached on an independent methodology for determing code uncertainty at a meeting'last week involving NRC, its contractors and con '

tractor censultants. NRC will new apply this methodology to one of its LOCA codes (TRAC-PF1/ MOD 1) so that the licensina staff will be in a firm position to audit vendor submittels under SECY-83-472 er the proposed new ECCS rcle.

POSA-IV NRC has a cooperative agreement with the Japan Atomic Energy Research

. Institute (JAERI) to obtain data from the ROSA-IV test facilities. The agreement will expire on February 1,1988. In the past few months, both JAERI and NRC have been workinp on a draft of " Extending the ROSA-IV Agreenent between JAERI and USNRC." The draft Agreement has been received.

There is no change in the original workscope and responsibility for each party. The term of the Agreament will be proposed to be extended for a period of February 1,1988 through January 31, 1992.

One of the action items from the 5th ROSA-IV Program Review Meeting is to he.ve INEL and LANL examine the best-estimate power decay curve used for the ROSA-IV Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) tests. The power decay curve for the LSTF wsts is composed of four terms: (1) the stored beat released from the fuel rods, (2) the fission power produced by delcy neutrons, (3) the decay heat power produced by fission products, and (4) the decay heat power '

produced by actinides. Based on the evaluation results, both INEL and LANL concluded that the power decay curve used by JAEPI for the LSTF tests appears to be overconservative. The assumption used by JAERI to derive the LSTF decay curve is oversimplified and inappropriate for large changes in reactivity such as those occurring when the control rods are inserted. A recommended best-estimate power dacay curve for the LSTF tests has been derived. NRC will send this new power curve to JAERI for consideration in future LSTF tests.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE E a_ ._ _

3 Direct Containment Heating (DCH)

At the request of the NRC/RES Staff, SNL conducted a scoping analysis, using the CONTAIN code, to investigate whether the elevated temperature of the containment atmosphere due to direct containment heating (DCH) could have an adverse effect on containment integrity. Preliminary resultr. of the CONTAIN calculation indicate that the temperature of the containment structures would not reach a level where a significant reduction in the strength of material could result. Howevar, the possibility exists that temperature gredients could cause local thermal stresses. The effect of local stresser will be investi- gated further hy the on-going study. It is the current opinion of SNL that DCH is primarily a pressure threat to the containment.

These calculations are being done as part of a program "Qualificative Uncertainty Evaluation of Containment Loading Analyscs" (QUECLA) and will provide input to the Containment Integrity program. Other DCH results using the CONTAIN cnde were used to support the Reactor Risk Reference Document, NUREG-1150.

Nuclear Plant Aging A Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program review meeting sponsored by RES was held February 24-26, 1987, in Oak Ridge, TN. Program nanagers from the five national laboratories (ORNL, BNL, INEL, PNL and SNL), and SEA Engineering Consultants, who are participating in the NPAR progran, reported on the progress of their research to date. The various technical sessions were co-chaired by a nember of the NRC staff (D. Sullivan, J. Vora, or S.

Aggarwal) and the cognizant laboratory program manager. Also participating l in the meeting were Messrs. J. Ebersole, C. Wylie and C. Michelson of theACRS, ard several members of the NRC staff frem NRR and IE.

As part of the continuing effort by RES to coordinate the NPAR progran with interested parties outside hRC, several key individuals from government, l industry, and rational stardards nrganizations, who are heavily involved in l'

plant aging and life extension natters, were invited to attend and l participated actively.

l Improved Personnel Dosimeter Processing (10 CFR Part 20)

Present NRC regulations require NRC licensees to provide personnel monitoring (dosineters) to certain workers but provide no stardards for processing these dosimeters. Intercomparison tests of dosimetry processing revealed problems as early as 1954, but an appropriate national standard for dosimetry processing was net published until 1083.

l l This rule will require NRC licensees to use processors that have have accredited undar the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) cperated by the National Bureau of Standards which incorporates the national standard in the accreditation program. The rule is expected to inprove perferrance in the dosimetry processing industry. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 13, 1987, and will become effective in 1 year.

MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE E

ITEtS OF INTEREST OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS WEEK ENDIllG MARCH 6,1987 Foreian Visitors On Tuesday a six-member team dispatched by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency visited NRC for a discussion of emergency preparedness and containment design, including proposals for filtered vented systems, to mitigate the consequences of severe accidents. The team will hold similar discussions with the regulatory organizations in Finland, France, West Germany, and Sweden before they return and report their findings to the Japanese government.

ItARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE G

ITEMS ADDRESSED BY THE COMMISSION - Week Ending March 6, 1987 A. STAFF REQUIREMENTS - BRIEFING ON CONSIDERATION OF EMERGENCY PLANNING RULE CHANGES, 2:00 P.M., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1987, COMMISSIONERS' CONFERENCE ROOM, D.C. OFFICE (OPEN TO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE) (SECY-87-35) - Memo SECY For '

The Record dated 3/5/87 The Commission was briefed by the General Counsel and the Executive Director for Operations on a proposed rule change which would permit the NRC to issue a full power operating license to a licensee who meets all of the regulatory require-ments but cannot obtain, for reasons beyond its control, State and local government cooperation in offsite emergency planning.

The Commission also heard from the following governors and members of Congress uho requested the opportunity to present their views on the staff's proposed rule change:

- Sen5kor Edward M. Kennedy (MA)

- Senator Daniel P. Moynihan (NY)

- Senator Gordon J. Humphrey (NH)

- Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (NY)

- Senator John F. Kerry (MA)

- Governor Michael S. Dukakis (!Vt)

- Governor Mario M. Cuomo (NY)

- Governor Madeleine M. Kunin (VT)

- Governor Richard F. Celeste (OH)

- Congressman Samuel S. Stratton (NY)

- Congressman Thomas J. Downey (NY)

- Congresswoman Beverly Byron (MD)

- Congressman Nicholas Mavroules (MA)

- Congressman Charles Pashayan, Jr. (CA)

- Congressman Robert J. Mrazek (NY)

- Congressman Robert C. Smith (NH)

- Congressman George J. Hochbrueckner (NY)

Chairman Zech requested the Secretary, in consultation with the General Counsel, to assure appropriate distribution of the meeting transcript.

i Subsequently, on February 27, 1987, the transcript was served on i the Seabrook and Shoreham parties.

i MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE P

B. STAFF REQUIREMENTS - BRIEFING ON NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT,

" REVITALIZING NUCLEAR SAFETY RESEARCH," 2:00 P.M., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1987, COMMISSIONERS' CONFERENCE ROOM, D.C. 0FFICE (OPEN TO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE)

- Memo SECY to V. Stello dated 3/6/87 The Commission was briefed by the National Academy of Science's Committee on Nuclear Safety Research on its December 8, 1986 report entitled, " Revitalizing Nuclear Safety Research."

The following representatives of the NAS committee summarized the conclusions of their report:

- Robert Frosch, Chairman

- John Ahearne

- Hugh Kendrick

- Anthony Roisman

- Theodore Greenwood

- Lawrence McCray Chairman Zech requested the Secretary to assure that the committee members are provided with a copy of SECY-87-53.

Chairman Zech solicited his fellow Commissioners to provide him with their thoughts on how to improve NRC's research programs.

Cotr.missioner Asselstine emphasized the need to reformat future presentations of RES programs to be understandable by reviewers outside RES.

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MARCH 6, 1987 ENCLOSURE P f

5:o E3 NRR MEETING NOTICES *

,cn MARCH 6, 1987 G

23 DOCKET APPLICANT /

DATE/ TIME NUMBER LOCATION PURPOSE ATTENDEES NRR CONTACT 44 3/9/87 50-498/ Room 133 lhe purpose of the meeting is to NRC/HL&P N. P. Kadambi 10:00 a.ni. 499 Phillips Building discuss the South Texas Technical Specifications related to Instru-mentation and Control.

3/9/87 50-259/ Browns Ferry Site To discuss the open items in the NRC/TVA J. F. Stang 8:00 a.m. 260/296 Athens, Alabama NRC draft safety evaluation.

3/10/87 50-259/ Browns Ferry Site To discuss the open items in the NRC/TVA J. F. Stang 8:00 a.m. 260/296 Athens, Alabama NRC draft safety evaluation.

3/10/87 50-327/ Room P-110/P-114 To discuss managenent and NRC/TVA T. J. Kenyon 9:00 a.m. 328/390/ Phillips Building Sequoyah-specific issues with TVA.

391/438/

439/259/

260/296 1 3/10/87 50-454/ Braidwood Stat. Site To visit control room to review NRC/ Consultants / CECO J. A. Stevens 8:30 a.m. 455/456 Joliet, Illinois DCRDR corrective actions and 457 improvements and SPDS operation-continue discussions w/ Commonwealth Ldison Company on the HED justific-m ation/ schedule questions.

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  • Copies of sunmaries of these meetings will be made publicly available and placed in the respective docket file (s) in the NRC and local public document rooms A sunmary of these neeting notices can be obtained by calling 492-7424

5 E5 Nkk MEETING NOTICES *

(( _ MARCH 6, 1987 l C$

00 DOCKET APPLICANT /

LATE / TIME NUMBER LCCATION PURPOSE ATTENDEES NRR CONTACT i

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3/11/87 50-454/ Braidwood Stat. Site To visit control room to review NRC/ Consultants / CECO J. A. Stevens 8:30 a.m. 455/456 Joliet, Illinois DCRDR corrective actions and 457 improvements and SPDS operation; l continue discussions w/ Connonwealth l

Edison Conpany on the HED justific-ation/ schedule questions.

3/11/87 50-333 Room P-822A Dicussion of Control Room Habit- NRC/PASNY H. Abelson

9
00 a.m. Phillips Building ability Technical Specifications.

i 3/12/87 50-2b9/ Browns Ferry Site Discussions on outstanding licens- NRC/TVA G. E. Gears 8:00 a.m. 260/296 Athens, Alabama ing issues and schedules for restart items.

3/13/87 50-259/ Browns Ferry Site Discussions on outstanding licens- NRC/TVA G. E. Gears 8:00 a.m. 260/296 Athens, Alabamo ing issues and schedules for restart items.

3/17/87 50-206 Room P-422 To discuss a proposed Technical NRC/PASNY J. D. Neighbors 10:00 a.m. Phillips Building Specification change related to containnent leakage rate.

3/19/87 50-369/ Room P-110 To discuss tentative requests NRC/ Duke Power Co. D. Hood 9 8:30 a.m. 370/413/ Phillips Build. for additional information E2 regarding proposed removal of

{j the RTD bypass manifold.

A Copies of summaries of these meetings will be made publicly available and placed in the respective docket file (s) in the NRC and local public document rooms A summary of these meeting notices can be obtained by calling 492-7424

.. o hRR MEETING NOTICES

  • h MARCH 6, 1987 cn co DOCFET APPLICANT /

LOCATION PURPOSE ATTENDEES NRR CONTACT-  !

DATE/ TIME NUMBER 1 1

3/19/87 - Suite 220 Explanation of and Review Plan NRC/B&W Owners E. J. Butcher b:30 a.m. Landow Building for B&W Owners Group New STS. Group 3/19/87 50-341 Fermi-2 Plant Site To present NRC staff's evalua- NRC/NRR/RIII/ J. J. Stefano 10:00 a.m. Newport, Michigan tion findings regarding the DECO acceptability of the Validyne Inc modulator as a qualified Class IE - Non Class lE isola-tion device. To discuss courses of action to obtain NRC acceptance of the SPDS isolation device design.

4/9/87 -

R.B. Russell Fed. To provide information about the NRC/0LB/ W. T. Russell 8:00 a.m. Build. Atlanta, GA final revisions to 10 CFR Part 55 Reg. Reps./

" Operators' Licenses," and their Utility Reps./

implementation. Public Members Stouffer Cuncourse To provide information about the NRC/0LB/ W. T. Russell 4/14/87 -

final revisions to 10 CFR Part 55 Reg. Reps./

8:00 a.m. Hotel Denver, C0

" Operators' Licenses," and their Utility Reps./

implementation. Public Members Ramada Hotel O' Hare To provide information about the NRC/0LB/ W. T. Russell 4/16/87 -

final revisions to 10 CFR Part 55 Reg. Reps./

1:00 a.m. Rosemont, IL

" Operators' Licenses," and their Utility Reps./

@ implementation. Public Members g

A I o o Ocpies of summaries of these meetings will be made publicly available and placed in the respective docket file (s) in the NRC and local public document rooms A summary of these meeting notices can be obtained by calling 492-7424

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o E NRR MEETING NOTICES
  • MARCH 6, 1987 p

G DOCKET APPLICANT /

NtNBER LOCATION PURPOSE ATTENDEES NRR CONTACT

! CATE/ TIME l

4/20/87 - Hilton llotel Valley To provide information about the NRC/0LB/ W. T. Russell 8:00 a.m. Forge final revisions to 10 CFR Part 55 Reg. Reps./

King of Prussia, PA

" Operators' Licenses," and their Utility Reps./

implementation. Public Members I

im M* Copies of summaries of these meetings will be made publicly available and placed in the respective docket file (s)

{

C in the NRC and local public document rooms

A A summary of these meeting notices can be obtained by calling 492-7424 o

.. o NMSS MEETING NOTICES ll FOR WEEK ENDING:

[] Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety cn DOCKET ATTENDEES /

ts DATE/ TIME NUMBER LOCATION PURPOSE APPLICANT NRC CONTACT 3/5/87 72-2 Willste, 5th Discussion of licensing activities' J. Roberts (FC) Roberts 1:00 floor conf status at VEPC0; Surry ISFSI. Reps of VEPC0 room 3/9-13/87 Venezuela Development of IAEA guide on J. Hickey (FC) Hickey program for control of industrial radiation sources.

3/16-18/87 Boston, MA To attend AIF fuel Cycle87 R. Cunningham (FC) Cunningham Conference and give presentation.

3/19/87 Willste, 5th Briefing on fuel inspection C. MacDonald (FC) MacDonald 2:00 floor conf (Brown-Boveri Nuclear Services, B. Snyder, B. Koh room Inc.). (Brown-Boveri) 3/20/87 Bethesda, MD To make pnesentation on "NRC P. Vacca (FC) Vacca 8:00 Licensing" at the Bethesda Naval llospital.

3/24/87 Willste, 5th To discuss new model (M-140) spent R. Odegaarden Odegaarden 9:00 floor conf fuel cask for shipping Naval D. Huang, H. Lee, room reactor fuel assemblies. W. Lake, R. Chappell, E. Easton, C. Williams, and C. Marotta (FC)

Reps fm Naval Reactors 2

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[ J l G NMSS Meeting Notices i Division of Waste Management DATE(S) LOCATION PURPOSE ATTENDEES CONTACT 3/15-18/87 Boston, MA Atomic Industrial Forum S. Bahadur- S. Bahadur Conference '87 - to present paper 3/19-20/87 Salt Lake City, UT DOW LLW Management Program J. Starmer J. Starmer.

on Alternatives Coordinat-ing Committee i

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!! NMSS MEETING NOTICES cn DIVISION OF SAFESUARDS

!! DOCKET ATTENDEES DATE/ TIME NUMBER LOCATION PURPOSE APPLICANT NRC CDNTACT 3/16-20/87 Pasco, WA g, Discuss FNMC Plan and DJoy, NRC DJoy introduce new SG SKirslis, new licensing reviewer at SG reviewer, NRC Advanced Nuclear DSchneider,ANFC Fuel Corporation (ANFC) 3/PO-21/87 San Diego, CA Discuss physical sec- DJoy DJoy urity and MC&A issues KAsmussen, GA at GA Technologies AGalli, GA 3/23-27 Johnson City TN Visit with NFS MC&A RJackson RJackson

& Physical Protection C8rown, NFS management to discuss JStout NFS various issues TLee,Res.Insp.

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g REGION III MEETING NOTICES E

=c p WEEK ENDING: March 21, 1987 i G DOCKET ATTENDEES /

DATE/ TIME NUMBER LOCATION PURPOSE APPLICANT NRC CONTACT-3/17/37 50-456 Region III SALP Commonwealth Edison Co. A. B. Davis 2:00 p.m. 50-457 Glen Ellyn, IL 4

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