ML20217N387
| ML20217N387 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/02/1998 |
| From: | Haughney C NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Chacey K ENERGY, DEPT. OF |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9804090090 | |
| Download: ML20217N387 (1) | |
Text
l l
Mr. Kenneth A. Chacey, Director April 2, 1998 Spent Fuel Management Office U. S. Dep rtment of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20585
SUBJECT:
IMPROVEMENTS IN COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING PACKAGE CERTIFICATIONS FOR SPENT FUEL SHIPMENTS
Dear Mr. Chacey:
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) remains committed to doing its part in helping the nation meet is non-proliferation goals. However, as we discussed with you and Mr. David Huizenga on March 19,1998, we believe that significant improvement needs to be made in the timeliness of Department of Energy (DOE) communications with NRC regarding the nature and schedules of future shipments. On a number of occasions during the past few years, the staff has been severely impacted in striving to meet DOE's schedules. The more recent instances involved the untimely reviews of the (1) shipment of the Brookhaven National Laboratory i
Msterial Test Reactor (MTR) spent fuel, (2) shipment of the Greek Research Reactor MTR spent fuel, (3) pending shipment of Indonesian and Korean TRIGA spent fuel, and (4) various associated route approvals.
The staff that conducts the transportation cask reviews, submitted to support these DOE spent fuel shipments, is also responsible for review and approval of commercial spent fuel storage and transportation casks; review and approval of U.S. Navy transportation casks; licensing independent spent fuel storage installations at, and away from, commercial nuclear power plants; revalidation of foreign spent fuel packages for use in the U.S.; and related work including j
other important DOE activities. Like the DOE, the staff is currently operating in a climate of i
liraited resources that require careful planning and prioritization of all safety-related work. We most urgently need to stop the chain of disruptive surprises.
To improve our ability to respond to your needs, we look forward to discussing your future plans that involve staff reviews of spent fuel shipments in the U.S. and methods we can use to improve communications between our offices. I have discussed with you the preliminary arrangements for a meeting on or about April 17,1998. To confirm such a meeting or if you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Tim McGinty at (301) 415-8580.
l Sincerely, ORIGINAL SIGNED BY /s/
Charles J. Haughney, Acting Director Spent Fuel Project Office d
3 i
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards i
a 4 u *. Jb cc:
Mr. David G. Huizenga Mr. Edward Davis Mr. Fred McGoldrick U.S. Dept. of Energy NAC International, Inc.
U.S. Dept. of State Distreuten:
NRc FHe Conter PuBLIC NMSS R/F sPFO R/F SFLs R/F CJHaughney CPaperiello. NMSs SShankrnan FSturz Jcook LKokajko CRChappell JThoma. EDo HThompson. EDo
- ose previous concurrence O(C SFPO C
SFPO C
SFPO C
SFPO C
SFPO / ll C
NAME TMcGinty dd*
EEaston*
VTharpe*
Ele 6ds' CJHaug DATE 03/28/98 03/30/98 03/30 /98 03/30/98 o4/M98 r
C = cover E = COVER a ENCLOSURE N = No COPY OFFICIAL RECORD COPY GADoEcoMMuNA.LTR 4/2/98 :dd p/D3 51 7A f
788988" N "
EC RLF CENTER COPY PDR