ML20217H913

Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 990924

ML20217H913
Person / Time
Issue date:	09/29/1999
From:	Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-99-239, WIR-990924, NUDOCS 9910220230
Download: ML20217H913 (21)

Text

i UNITED STATES JSeeeSooseeeeeeeees,e,og j

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i WASHINGTON, D. C. 20805

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INFORMATION REPORTneass i

Tr; aggge Seotember 29.1999 SECY 99-239 Ep_t:

The Commissioners From:

James L. Blaha, Ascistant for Operations, Office of the EDO f

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Sublect:

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 24,1999 Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C

incident Response Operations D

General Counsel E*

Administration F

Chief information Officer G

Chief FinancialOfficer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State Program L*

Public Affairs M

international Programs N

Office of the Secretary O

P Region i P

Region ll P

Region ill P

Region IV Executive Director for Operations Q*

Congressional Affairs R

• No input this week.

CAq James L. Blaha 210G17 Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

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g c-J. Yerokun, OEDO QM[6 l

9910220230 990929 PDR COMMS NRCC WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR t.-

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. Office of Nuclear Reactor Ragulation items of interest Week Ending September 24,1999

' Maine Yankee On Sept' ember 15,1999, Maine Yankee filed suit in U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine,

- against the State of Maine regarding the role that the State proposes to take in the licensing of l

the MY iSFSI. _The suit stems from the August 19,1999, decision by the State Board of l

Environment Protection (BEP) to assert jurisdiction on MY's plans to store fuel in an onsite 1

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ISFSL The State is offering an opportunity for a public hearing under its site permitting l

authority.

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Maine Yankee intends to construct the ISFSI under the general license provisions of 10 CFR I~

Part 50 in what is now a parking lot near the low level waste storage building. The licensee is l

. planning to use the NAC International (NAC) Universal Multi-Purpose Canister System (UMS) l' for storage of its fuel and greater-than-class-C waste consisting of irradiated core internals. The licensee ' intends to build eight concrete pads on which it will store up to 66 UMS casks (60 for spent fuel and six for greater-than-class-C waste). Fuel movement from the spent fuel pool would begin in the spring of 2001 and be completed by the fall of 2002.

Coooer Nuclear Station - Loss of Zulu Sumo Pumos l

_On September 17,1999, afte'r 271 consecutive days of operation, Cooper Nuclear Station l

s (CNS) experienced a loss of the Zulu sump pumps and subsequently both trains of the Standby Gas Treatment (SGT) system were declared inoperable. The plant was shut down and placed in MODE 4 to comply with CNS Technical Specifications'(TS). Subsequent inspections and evaluations determined that the plant sustained a hydrogen explosion within the offgas system sometime earlier in the day. The hydrogen explosion was contained within the system, but the Zulu sump sustained some damage. The sump is part of the offgas system and secondary containment. It wac reported on September 22,1999, that repairs to damaged equipment have been completed and final preparations were continuing in order to' support plant startup. The final root cause investigation results and damage extent report are scheduled to be reviewed by CNS's Site Operations Review Committee (SORC) prior to plant startup which is tentatively scheouled for the attemoon of September 22,1999.

Fire Protection Pilot Baseline insoection Meetina On September 13-15,1999, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation conducted an NRC Fire Protection Pilot Baseline Inspections Counterpart Meeting and a Fire Protection Pilot Baseline Inspection Licensee Pre-brief Meeting at the Holiday Inn Bethesda. On September 13 and 14,1999, managers and inspectors from the NRC regional offices attended the Counterpart Meeting, as did various cognizant individuals from the New Reactor Oversight Program-, TTD, RES, and Sandia National Laboratory (inspection contractor). The topics for

which formal talks were delivered were Fire Protection Functional Inspection (FPFI) program results and their significance, an overview of the New Reactor Oversight Program, and the 1

structure, content and conduct process of the current draft fire protection baseline inspection procedure. Discussions were held regarding baseline program inspection staff resources and l

' September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE A I

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, ' inspection scheduling; as well as the information gathering and inspection plan preparation activities of the base' e triennial fire protection inspection teams. Detailed training was a

conducted'on the development and application of the Fire Protection (findings) Risk -

Significance Screening Methodology (FPRSSM), part of the Oversight Program's Significance l

Determination Process (SDP).1 Use of FPRSSM results to both focus onsite fire protection l inspection activities and characterize fire protection findings was also discussed.

Pilotjire protection baseline inspections will be conducted at Salem, Harris, and Ft. Calhoun

. over the next 4 months. On September 15,1999, managers and inspectors from the NRC

. regional offices attended the Licensee Pre-Brief Meeting for the Salem, Harris and Ft. Calhoun E

licensees, as did various cognizant individuals from the New Reactor Oversight Program, TTD,

- RES, and Sandia National Laboratory. In addition, representatives from the pilot licensee organizations and interested members of the pubhc and industry attended (including

' representatives of the State of New Jersey, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and the Boiling

Water Reactor' Owners' Group (BWROG)). Topics for which formal talks were delivered were 1

FPFI program results and their significance, an overview of the New Reactor Oversight l

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_ Program, and the structure, content and conduct process of the current draft fire protection

. baseline inspection procedure. The Fire Protection (findings) Risk Significance Screening Methodology (FPRSSM), part of the Oversight Program's Significance Determination Process (SDP), was reviewed.. Use of FPRSSM results to both focus onsite fire protection inspection activities and characterize fire protection findings was also discussed.

Nuclear Enerav institute (NEI) Workshoo l

On September 13,1999, NRC staff from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

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- participated in a Nuclear Energy institute (NEI) workshop on industry guidance for implementing the 10 CFR 50.65 (the maintenance rule) (a)(4) revision, which will require licensees to assess and manage the increases in risk resulting from maintenance activities and provides an option for a risk-informed reduction in assessment scope. Roy Zimmerman, Deputy Director of NRR, spoke on the "New Regulatory Direction." Richard Correia, Chief of the Reliability and.

Maintenance Section, presented the staff's " Perspective on the NEl Guidelines to implement 10

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CFR 50.65(a)(4)." Doug Coe, Senior Reactor Analyst from the Division of System Safety and j

Analysis, discussed the new." Significance Determination Process." Frank Gillespie, Deputy Director of the Division of Inspection. Program Management, was scheduled to speak, but the second day of the conference was canceled due to the arrival of Hurricane Floyd. Peter Balmain, Wayne Scott, Frank Talbot, and See-Meng Wong were also participants.

National Oraanization of Test. Research and Trainina Reactors (TRTR) - Annual Meetina

The annual meeting of TRTR wa's held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on September 15.- 17,' 1999. September 15 was NRC day with the day devoted to presentations from the NRC staff. The opening address was given by the Chairman and the EDO was the Keynote speaker after lunch. Commissioner Diaz was the speaker at the -

1 zThursday evening dinner. Presentations were given on topics such as an overview of the NPR l

f regulatory program, regulatory issues since the last TRTR meeting, radioactive material l

' transfer issues, operator licensing results, Senior Reactor Operators limited to fuel handling,

decommissioning issues,' license renewal, changes to 10 CFR 50.59, transportation of 4

radioactive material issues, and an overview of ADAMS. There were breakout sessions with i

eep,.meem 49,9

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NRC staff and' management to allow small croup discussions on items of interest with

, licensees.

In general, the TRTR community believes the NRC's regulatory approach towards NPRs is appropriate, however, some concerns were raised by licensees. These concerns were primarily that the changes, initiatives and new processes in the power reactor area such as the move towards risk informed regulation would be applied to NPRs without careful consideration. The E NRC staff assured licensees that they would be aware of these concerns as these issues ideveloped.

- Bestart of Brunswick and Pilarim after Hurricane Floyd The Emergency Preparedness and Health Physics Section (IOLB/DIPM) served as the main NRR contact with FEMA to ensure that the restart of the Brunswick and Pilgrim plants following Hurricane Floyd were coordinated with FEMA's affirmation of the adequacy of offsite emergency preparedness in the Emergency Planning Zones of these facilities. The EP&HP staff followed the communication protocol referred to in the memorandum on plant restarts after natural disasters issued on May 24,1999,- from Bruce Boger, Director /DIPM, to the DRS Regional Directors. The communication protocol is documented in inspection Manual Chapter 1601 and Administrative letter 97-03 and was developed in response to lessons learned

' following Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and other more recent events. in anticipation of the hurricane reaching land, the EP&HP staff brought the May 24,1999, memorandum and communication protocol to the attention of key NRC staff in the Regions and Projects, and established points of contact with FEMA representatives and others as necessary for communications especially during off-hours.

in general, the coordination between NRR, the Regions, and FEMA was excellent. The staff -

maintained contact with the Region Duty Officers and with personnel in the Region incident

' Response Centers. Communications with the FEMA assessment teams and local support

. agencies were also coordincted to assure current and recurate information. The staff also maintained and provided status reports to NRR management as well as to the Incidence l

Reeponse Operations Center. This effort required considerable off-hours and late night communications for which special mention is made of the service provided by Larry Cohen of the EP&HP staff who handled most of the off-hours ac0vities. Excellent team work and good

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communications between all parties in accordance with the established protocol resulted in -

timely and effective decision making allowing the licensees to restart their facilit

es while at the same time providing assurance to the public that adequate offsite emergency response was being maintained.

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE A

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l Office.of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

' Items of Interest

. Week Ending September 24,'1999 i

First Public Meetina on Control of Solid Materials -

.On September 15-16,'1999, the first of four facilitated public meetings to discuss issues and alternatives related to control of solid materials at licensed facilities was held in San Francisco,

> Califomia.' Attendance at the meeting included representatives from licensees and licensee organizations, the Health 1,ysics Society, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, state agencieshrap and recycling companies, steel manufacturers, sanitary waste facilities, a newspaper, and Indian tribes. There were n, representatives from citizen groups,

, however a letter from.12 citizen groups explaining why they did not attend was delivered to the meeting'and copies were provided to attendees.

The meeting agenda consisted of multiple sessions corresponding to the content of the issues Paper. One session focused on the need for a national standard for control of solid materials and the process currently being used, and included a discussion on ways to enhance public

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input to include community meetings. Another session focused on the types of materials and o

licensees, potential radiation doses, and efforts of other federal, state, and international

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agencies and organizations, and included a discussion on the need to consider naturally occurring and accelerator produced material as well as mixed waste issues. A third session

. ir cluded a discussion about state, local, and tribal authorities and associated constraints.

Following a discussion of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's current approach for handling control of solid materials, several potential alternatives for addressing this issue were

. discussed. The alternatives identified in the lasues Paper included: (1) continue current approach; (2) allow unrestricted use;' (3) allow restricted use; and (4) prohibition. Other i

altematives discussed were t (1) adopt the ANSI standard; (2) combine restricted / unrestricted

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use option to allow flexibility; (3) adopt material-specific controls; (4) use general licensing;

- (5) use an interim storage facility; (6) have a buy-back program of contaminated materials during first use processing; and (7) guarantee that a dedicated steel mill ic not responsible for financial losses if contamination occurs at the mill from the material received. There were extensive discussions on the potential health and environmental impacts to be considered in 4

addition to the potential economic and cost-benefit considerations. The last session focused on l

implementation aspects to ensure control of solid materials under various' alternatives. There j

' was general consensus among the participants that measurement and implementation methods l

are essential, but will be difficult to develop.

l 1 The discussions provided useful information which the staff will use as part of developing a I

paper for the Commission in March 2000, i

Meeting with Enerov Northwest on Drv Soent Fuel Storaae Plans On September 20,1999, Spent Fuet Project Office staff met with representativ s of Energy Northwest to discuss their plans for dry spent fuel storage at the WNP-2 plant. Energy Northwest plans to use the general license provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, and anticipates beginning to load storage casks in January 2002, using the Holtec International Hi-STORM i

storage system.

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' September 24,1999 ~

ENCLOSURE B 3

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Intsmational' Atomic Enerav Aaency Monitorino of Alternate Nuclear Materials in November 1998, the Intemational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretariat requested 1 approval from the IAEA Board of Governors for the authorization to collect and evaluate information on neptunium and americium (often referred to as " Alternate Nuclear Material" (ANM)) to. determine if,'or when, the ANMs become a proliferation concern. Consensus

. approval of the proposal has been blocked for 10 months because of disagreements on the

'3 concepts within the five nuclear weapon states. Following frequent meetings at the ambassador level in Vienna during the summer, the weapons states reached agreement on the text of the Boa:d of Governors statement on September 13,1999. On September 20,1999, the

. IAEA' Secretariat 'proposalior monitoring the ANMs was approved by the Board of Governors.

I Intemational Safeauards of Hiahly Enriched Uranium Down-blendina at BWX Technoloaies On September 16-17,1999, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards (FCSS) staff facilitated a planning meeting between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and BWX Technologies regarding the' implementation of_ IAEA safeguards measures on the highly enriched uranium (HEU) down-blending system. The facility operator provided the IAEA with the most recent design information on the facility. The down-blending units have been installed.

However, before installing the inter-unit connectors, the facility operators wanted to ensure that the IAEA safeguards equipment could be effectively installed in the inter-unit space provided.

The' operator and IAEA discussed the process for implementing the IAEA safeguards measures and resolved schedules and implementation details necessary for IAEA safeguards to be implemented when downblending begins in November. The FCSS staff identified several potential enhancements to the proposed safeguards approach that would facilitate the implementation of the IAEA's safeguards goals and would ensure that the U.S. non-proliferation

- policy goals associated with the HEU down blending project would be met. The IAEA Secretariat is currently considering the FCSS staff suggested enhancements.

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Conoressional Hearina on Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant -

On' September 22,1999 Nuclear Regulatoy fammission (NRC) staff provided testimony at a hearing held by the House Commerce Comre. tee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The hearing focused on contamination and worker safety issues at the Paducah site. - Most of the testimony and Congressional questions concerned events which took place

- under Department of Energy (DOE) regu'3 tory oversight and during the time when 00E processed recycled uranium through the facility. These events took place from about 1955 to 1

- about 1975, before NRC assumed regulatory oversight of the portion of the site laased by the

' U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC). NRC answered questions on USEC worker safety and contamination on USEC leased areas, USEC's enforcement history and progress in

' implementing seismic modifications to the C 335 and C-331 buildings at the Paducah site.

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE B 4

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6 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research items of Interest -

Week Ending September 24,1999 o

Research Task Force Meetina on Radiation Materials Science Acolied to Reactor Pressure

Vessel Embrittlement.

On September 20-22,1999, the DOE, NRC, and EPRI co-sponsored a meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, conceming techniques of radiation materials science that have been, or could be, applied to understand, characterize, and predict embrittlement in nuclear reactor pressure 1 vessels.- Attendees at the meeting included staff from DOE, NRC's RES and NRR, EPRI, and many of the contractors who conduct research for these organizations. The presentations -

highlighted research needs to support current plant operation, license renewal, and new plant designs. Additionally, on-gdng work on these three areas, both basic and applied, was discussed. Meetings of this type are held regularly to help identify and prioritize research project topics.

At the meeting, RES/DET staff discussed the possibility of obtaining reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel from a decommissioned commercial reactor (Maine Yankee) for testing. Testing of such materials _will provide key insights regarding conservatism inherent to procedures for assessing the safety of nuclear RPVs still in operation, and could provide opportunities to

. reduce unnecessary licensee burden. Representatives from EPRI and DOE both expressed

- support for this idea. RES continues to work with EPRI and DOE to secuie samples for testing, and to obtain financial support.

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incident Response Operations items of interest Week Ending September 24,1999 Chemical Emeraency Preoaredness Conference

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A staff m' ember from IRO was a featured speaker at the EPA, Region 111 Chemical Emergency i

Preparedness Conference held on September 20-23,1999 at the Washington Hilton. His talk

. was on the Integration of the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan and the National Contingency Plan. - Participating as co-speakers on this subject was a representative from the l

Department of Energy and from EPA, Region Ill. EPA, Region Ill, and NRC conducted a Lost j

Source Exercise (Nureg-1634) in 1997, which explored the relationship between the two plans.

A discussion of that exercise was included in the presentation. This EPA, Region lil, conference is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. Over 1500 emergency responders attended with a focus on chemical and oil spill response. This was the first time radiological materials response has been on the agenda.

ErqQ!,arv Notifications:

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.1' PNO-lll-99-042, United States Enrichment Corporation, RUPTURE OF A LARGE

. SANITARY WATER LINE 2.

PNO IV-99-039, Team Consult' ants, STOLEN PORTABLE MOISTURE / DENSITY GAUGE i

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Administration

~ ltems of Interest.

. Week Ending September 24,1999 Procurement RMorm f l

On September 23,1999, repre.entatives from the Division of Contracts and Property.

Management (DCPM) and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) met with the

' Industry Advisory Council (IAC) Procurement Reform Task Force to discuss NRC IT acquisition reform success stories. DCPM and OCFO representatives discussed NRC's streamlined acquisition of commercial software to upgrah *he NRC's payroll, time and labor, and human resources software module, in addition to t!8 project, the group discussed various other NRC initiatives that have been implemented as a result of the NRC's Procurement Reinvention

' Laboratory, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Clinger-Cohen Act.

The lA representatives ' indicated th'at they planned to recommend NRC's examples for highlighting to other agencies for procurement best practices.-

State of Nevada: Receiot of Petition for Rulemakina (PRM-7310) 1 A document that requests public comment on a petition for. rulemaking submitted by the State j

fof Nevada was published in the Federal Register on September 13,1999 (64 FR 49410). The l

petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations governing safeguards for shipments of.

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.. spent nuclear fuel against sabotage and terrorism. The petition requests that the NRC conduct

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. a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of specific types of terrorist attacks and l

modify its regulations accordingly. The comment period for this action closes November 29, l

1999.

Prooosed' Compatibility Desianation Chanae and Draft Emolacement Criticality Guidance for Low-Level Waste (Part 61) 1 A document requesting public comment on whether the criticality designation of the provision in

. the Commission's regulations that reqLires low-level waste disposal facility licensees who receive and possess special nuclear material to describe proposed procedures to avoid 3

accidental criticality of these wastes before disposal and after disposal in the ground was

published in the Federal Register on September 20,1999 (64 FR 50778). The document also requests comment on draft guidance on emplacement criticality at low level waste disposal facilities.- The comment period for this action closes October 20,1999.

List of Anoroved Soent Fuel Storaae Casks: (VSC-24) Revision (Part 72)

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A direct final rule that revises the Pacific Sierra Nuclear Associates VSC-24 cask system listing '

within the list of approved spent fuel storage casks was published in the Federal Register on u

September 22,.1999 (64 FR 51187). The amendment modifies the pesent cask system design 1to permit a licensee to store burnable poison assemblies' along with the gant fuel under a generallicense.' The final rule becomes effective December 6,1999.

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE F 2

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. The companion proposed rule to this direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on September 22,1999 (64 FR 51187). The comment period closes October 22,1999.

List of Acoroved Soent Fuel Storaoe Casks: (Holtec HI STORM 100) Addition (Part 72)

I A proposed rule that would add the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 cask system to the list of approved spent fuel storage casks was published in the Federal Register on September 22, 1999 (64 FR 51271). The amendment would allow holders of nuclear power plant operating licenses to store spent fuelin the TN-68 cask system under a general license. The comment period for this action closes December 6,1999.

Industrv Codes and Standards: Amended Reouirements (Part 50)

. A final rule that amends the regulations that incorporate by reference industry codes and standards was published in the Federal Register on September 22,1999 (64 FR 51370). The final rule incorporates by reference more recent editions and addenda of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and the ASME Code for Operations and Maintenance The final rule becomes effective November 22,1999.

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE F i

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.s-l Chief Information Officer

- Items of Interest Week Ending Septerrber 24,1999

_ Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Reauests received durino the 5-Day Period of

-September 17.1999 throuah September 23.1999:

Stone & _ Webster Engineering Corp., documents submitted regarding large and small bore l

piping,, or subm,itted by the identified licensees. (FOIA/PA 99-364)

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' Contract, RS-ADM-00-004. (FOINPA 99-365)

MLTS database. -(FOINPA 99-366)

Shearon Harris plant, CP&L licensee, spent fuel pools, heat loads and/or heat production calculations, heat removal. (FOINPA 99-367) 1 l

White Mesa uranium milling facility, San Juan County, UT, license SUA 1358 re ground water.

l(FOINPA 99-368) j i

' Site suitability safety report,1977 Dames & Moore, Perryman plant, Baltimore Gas & Electric,

. seismic-reflection ~ data. (FOINPA 99-369)

Malling list for NRC publications. (FOINPA 99-370).

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LSeptember 24,1999 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Human Resources Items of Interest Week Ending September 24,1999 Arrivals CAVALLO, Laura RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT RIV WILLNER, Mary A.

HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST (RECRUIT)

HR JASKINSKI, Robert PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER OPA Retirements BAILEY, Ronald M.

REACTOR ENGINEER Rlll COLLINS, Joyce SECRETARY NMSS POURCHOT, George AUDIT MANAGER OlG Departures BUTLER, David S.

REACTOR ENGINEER Rlli HANSEN, Jeffery L.

RESIDENT INSPECTOR Rill

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September 24,1999 ENCLOSUREI

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Office of Public Affairs items of Interest Week Ending September 24,1999 Media Interest The television show "60 minutes" inquired about depleted uranium and its use in the Gulf War.

Press Releases Headquarters:

4 99-200 Note to Editors: ACRS meeting postponed 99-201 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet in Rockville, Maryland 99 202 NRC issues Final Revisions to Regulations on Respiratory Protection 99-203 NRC Revises its Regulations for Making Changes to Licensed Facilities Regions:

1-99-83 Note to Editors: New Date Set for Meeting on Indian Point 2 Inspection i

September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE M I

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t I' Office of International Programs items of Interest L

, Week Ending September 24,1999 -

Visit by Electricite de France On September 24,1999 Mr. Francois Roussely, Chairman of Electricite de France (EdF) visited the Commission. He was accompanied by Jacques Chauvin, EdF Executive Vice President l

and Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Remy Cauquil, Advisor to the Chairman for International

. Affairs, and Jean Cottave, President of EdF International North America Inc.-

' Mr. Roussely became EdF Chairman in July 1998,'and used this opportunity to introduce -

himself to the Commission.- He was particularly interested in the NRC's actions in life extension and license renewal, decommissioning,' foreign ownership of nuclear facilities located in the U.S., and the future of nuclear power and regulation in the U.S. Mr. Roussely also discussed the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR), an evolutionary,1500 Mwe PWR being developed by Framatome of France and Siemens of Germany. The basic design phase has been completed and an optimization phase is underway, and EdF, Framatome and Siemens

. are developing a joint organization to engineer the plant. The respective regulatory authorities -

have agreed on a set of common safety guidelines.

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. September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE N f

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Office of the Secretary

- ltems of Interest Week Ending September 24,1999

' Document Released -

Date Subject to Public' 4

Decision Documents ^

1.

SECY-99 214 8/23/99' Options for Proceeding with NRC's Efforts Regarding the Release of Solid Materials

'SRM.on 99-214'-

9/20/99 (same)

Commission Voting 9/20/99 (same)

Record on 99-214 Information Papers 1.

SECY 99-224 9/8/99 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending September 3,1999 Memoranda -

1. 'M990924 9/24/99 Affirmation Session, September 24,1999, SECY-99-236 - First Energy Nuclear i

Operating Co., et al. (Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2), Docket Nos. 50-334-LT and 50-412-LT, Local 29's Petition to Waive Time Limits in 10 CFR 9 2.1305 and Supplemental Comments 1

Commission Correspondence -

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Letter to. David A Lochbaum, Union of concemed Scientists, dated September 17,1999, concems July 1,1999 revisions to the 10 CFR 2.206 petition review process documented in Management Directive 811 (MD 811), " Review Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions."

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Letter to Jill Lipotl, Ph D, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, dated September 16,1999, concerns State of New Jersey soil cleanup standards and the opportunity to comment on the proposed New Jersey standards.

3. ~ = Letter to Olexander Smyshliaiev, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine, dated September 14,1999, concerns changes in the nuclear regulatory structure in Ukraine.

Federal Reaister Notices issued-

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10 CFR Parts 50 and 72; Changes, Tests, and Experiments; Final Rule.

September 24[1999'.

ENCLOSURE O

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Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting on Octobe'r 12-13,1999, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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. Final Standard Review Plan on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Domination.

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Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Procedures for Meetings.

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Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Procedures for Meetings.

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. September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE O i

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ij Region l-ltems of Interest

.. Week Ending September 24,1999 Unicom'and PECO Enerav Aaree to Meraer of Eauals 1Unicom Corporation'(the parent of Commonwealth Edison Company) and PECO Energy Company announced on September 23,1999, that they have entered into a merger agreement.

The merger, which has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, will

create a new holding company that will be the nation's largest electric utility, based on its

. approximately 5 million customers. The combined company will be the nation's fourth largest

. power generator, with generating power of more than 22,500 megawatts. Unicom currently owns 10 nuclear power plants; PECO owns 4.

. Following the close of the merger, Corbin A. McNeill, Jr. (PECO) and John W. Rowe (Unicom) will become co-chief executive officers of the new holding company for a transition period lasting until December 31,2003. At the end of the transition period, Mr. Rowe will become.

chairman and sole chief executive officer. Mr. McNeill will remain on the board of directors.

Misadministration at Holv Redeemer Hospital

! On September 16,1999, Region I was notified by Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center, Meadowbrook, PA, of a medical misadministration. The patient's physician had intended that 300 microcuries of I-123 be administered for a thyroid uptake study. Instead,5 milic iries of I-131, a therapeutic dose, were administered. -l-131 is licensed by NRC,1-123 by the State.

L Two Region I inspectors were dispatched on September 17 to review the circumstances and evaluate the cause, licensee's actions to prevent recurrence, and the consequences of the.

event. Region I is contacting a medical consultant to obtain an additional evaluation of consequences to the patient. The Region is reviewing this event against the Abnormal l

Occurrence criteria and will continue to follow up on this case. The Commonwealth of iPennsylvania was informed of the misadministration.

September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE P l

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. Region 11

. Items of interest Week Ending September 24,1999

- Incident Response ' Operations

'On September 21,1999, The Regional Administrator and other Region Il staff met in Ril with 4

F. Congel and C. Miller, of Incident Response Operations, OEDO, to discuss interim procedures for agency event response and periodic meetings with state emergency responders.

Duke Power Comoany (Oconee Nuclear Station)

On September 21,1999, Region ll issued Oconee inspection report 99-12 which is the second in a series of inspections performed at Oconee to support the license renewal application review.~- The purpose of the inspection was to determine whether the Oconee aging management programs adequately support the license renewal application. Existing programs were found acceptable and documentation concerning future planned programs was consistent

.with the application.'

Small Business and Civil Riahts Meetina with All Manaaers & Suoervisor "On September 23,1999, Marva C. Gary, Civil Rights Program Manager, from the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) made a presentation to Region 11 managers. She met with all managers and supervisors to discuss the EEO complaint process and also to provide information about EEO resources that are available on the SBCR Home Page.

3 September 24,1999 ENCLOSURE P

7. --

Region ill items of Interest Week Ending September 24,1999 Meetina with D.C. Cook Reoresentatives The Regional Administrator, the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and others of the Headquarters and Region lit staffs met September 24,1999, at NRC-

. Headquarters with representatives of American Electric Power Co., operator of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station. The meeting was to review the status and schedule for work underway l

at the D.C. Cook plant, which has been shut down since September 1997.

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F Region IV items of interest Week Ending September 24,1999 Public Meetina Between South Texas Project (STP) Nuclear Operatina Comoany and NRC On' September 23,1999, a public meeting was held in the Region IV office with STP Nuclear Operating Company managers to discuss the status of the commitments related to a confirmatory order, dated June 8,1998, modifying the STP operating license for STP. The licensee's plans for performing future comprehensive cultural assessments and annual " mini" surveys were discussed. This meeting did not include the results of any previous surveys. Also

- included in this meeting was the introduction of the new Director, Safety Quality Concerns Program at STP.

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