ML20237C242

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Discusses Need for Federal Indemnification of NRC Contractor Mpr,Against Catastrophic Loss During Execution of NRC Sponsored Program to Cut Metal Specimens from Damaged Lower Head of Plant Unit 2 RPV
ML20237C242
Person / Time
Site: Three Mile Island Constellation icon.png
Issue date: 09/06/1988
From: Sheron B
NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES)
To: Beckjord E
NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES)
Shared Package
ML20237C231 List:
References
CON-NRC-04-88-086, CON-NRC-4-88-86, FOIA-98-182 NUDOCS 9808210044
Download: ML20237C242 (5)
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Text

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SEP # s 1988 MEMORANDUM T0: Eric S. Beckjord, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research ]

FROM: Brian W. Sheron, Director Division of Systems Research Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

SUBJECT:

Need for Federal Indemnification of the USNRC Contractor, 3 MPR, Against Catastrophic Loss During Execution of the USNRC-Sponsored Program to Cut Metal Specimens from the Damaged Lower Head of the TMI-2 Reactor Pressure Vessel (under Contract i NRCL-04-88-086).

Contract NRC-04-88-086, " Test Specimens from the Damaged TMI-2 Reactor Bottom-Head," is a high-technology, high-benefit program, and of course there is some risk associated with the very operation of removing specimens from the TMI-2 vessel. Some of the questions that are now being asked by General Public Utilities (GPU), the owner of the plant, are as follows:

Have the instrument penetration tube welds or tube walls weakened? Would an effort'to take a sample from the lower head cause already weakened head members to fail? Would failure of head members cause loss of lower head integrity, i.e., would there be significant hard-to-close leak paths that might prevent the use of acid sprays that might be necessary to remove local patches of fuel and radioactive materials to meet cold monitored storage requirements? Would normal procedures for preparing the vessel for monitored storage, with assured long time retention of pressure vessel boundary integrity, be rendered unsuitable because of the head sampling program? ,

MPR Associates has been chosen as our prime contractor for removing metal -

specimens from the TMI-2 lower vessel head. They are a small company with considerable Navy nuclear experience and were called in by DOE to perform the initial underwater core examination. Since that time, they have been involved continuously at TMI with subsequent examinations and other aspects of the defueling operation. Neither MPR Associates nor the NRC staff believe that integrity of the TMI-2 lower vessel head will be threatened by the planned operations, but that possibility cannot be completely ruled out and the financial consequences would be substantial. No risk to personal safety is envisioned, however.

t At the time the contract was placed MPR had identified favored technical j

approaches and possible subcontractors, but needed to develop procedures, t perform proof-of-principle tests, and gain subcontractor conditional comitments as critical steps in fixing the technical approaches and quantifying the associated risks generically inferred in the contract statement of work.

9808210044 900817 PDR FOIA DEGOOYE98-182 PDR

( V ? O S 2 / 0 0 6l f !h

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The " window of opportunity" to take the desired TMI-2 lower head sam'ples was and still is inseparably linked to the GPU schedule for completion of the TMI-2 defueling and cleanup. When the contract was placed (January 15,1988),GPU {

identified the time window as extending from mid-October 1988 to late-November 1988. l This early date required MPR to proceed on an extremely tight time schedule.

MPR has been quite successful in its own technical proof-of-principle studies, but standard contract-abuse safeguards incorporated into the prime contract have severely delayed MPR in negotiating key subcontracts. Accordingly, MPR has only recently been able to establish that, despite MPR technical success, some GPU subcontract negotiators remained fearful that the overall program {

threatens the short-term and long-tem integrity of the TMI-2 reactor vessel J i

lower head, On August 1, 1988, MPR advised the USNRC (Enclosure 1) that it was nominally ready to sign a subcontract with GPU for critical direct and indirect on-reactor and on-site labor needed to cut the metal specimens from the damaged lower head of the THI-2 reactor pressure vessel, but could not proceed until GPU was assured that it would be indemnified against the consequences of any loss of TMI-2 reactor pressure vessel integrity that might occur because of program activities. GPU representatives remain concerned that a loss of the TMI-2 reactor vessel pressure boundary integrity could cause an extended slippage in the first date at which the vessel could be certified as sufficiently decontaminated and placed in monitored storage status. TMI-2 site labor costs before the reactor is placed in monitored storage status are millions of dollars a month higher than they are afterward.

On August 22, 1988, the USNRC Contracting Officer (Enclosure 2) confirmed to MPR that MPR should submit the full set of information required under Federal -

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 50.403, "Special Procedures for Unusually Hazardous or Nuclear Risks" (Enclosure 3), after which the contracting officer .

would confim or deny the MPR request for indemnification under Public Law 85-804 as defined in FAR 52.250-1, " Indemnification Under Public Law 85-804" (Enclosure 4).

The Comission has expressed its belief in the importance of the TMI-2 lower head sampling program. It now seems almost certain that the program cannot proceed in a timely fashion unless the prime contractor, MPR, can be indemnified.

USNRC options for indemnification of MPR are those spelled out in FAR 50.403. l Accordingly, it is our u'iderstanding that as soon as MPR provides the USNRC l

[

3 Contracting Officer with the full set of information required under FAR 50.403, the USNRC Contracting Officer will then, in accordance with the provisions of this FAR, review the MPR submittal for merit, and if it is judged meritorious, the Contracting Officer will discuss the submittal with legal counsel and RES personnel and th.n forward it, with whatever amendments are necessary, to Chairman Zech for final endorsement, as specified in FAR 50.201(d) (Enclosure 5).

$ h- Y 4*

/FBrianW.Sheron, Director I Division of Systems Research Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Enclosures:

1. MPR letter of 8/1/88
2. P. Edgeworth letter of 8/22/88
3. FAR 50.403
4. FAR 52.2502
5. FAR 50.201 distribution: circ; chron; AEB r/f; DSR chron; Nudoc; Van Houten r/f; Meyer; Costanzi; Murphy; Sheron; Jackson, RES; Congdon, IP; Ragan, OGC; Kildee, OGC; Hagan, ARM /CNB; Edgeworth, ARM /CNB; Smith, ARM /CNB; Halvorsen, RES; Masnik NRR; McPherson, NRR ,

O -

See previous concurrence 1

[ZECK/MEM0/BVH]

0FFC:RE5 :RES :RES :RES :REN/h  !RES  :  :

7 NAME: Van Houten*:Meyer* :Costanzi* : Murphy * :Shsil6n 4:  :

8/a9 /88 :8/p/ /88 :8/90 /88 g// b/88  :  :  :

DATE:8u b /88 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY l

- 3

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Contracting Officer with the full set of infonnation required under FAR $0.403, the USNRC Contracting Officer will then, in accordance with the provisions of this FAR, review the MPR submittal for merit and, if it is judged meritorious, i the Contracting Officer will discuss the submittal with legal counsel and RES personnel and then forward it, with whatever amendments are necessary, to Chairman Zech for final endorsement, as specified in FAR 50.201(d) (Enclosure 5).

l Brian W. Sheron, Director Division of Systems Research '

Executive Director for Operations

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Enclosures:

\ 1

1. MPR letter of 8/1/88
2. P. Edgeworth letter of 8/22/88
3. FAR 50.403 i
4. FAR 52.2502 \'

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5. FAR 50.201

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distribution: circ; chron; AEB r/f; DSR hron; Nudoct Van Houten r/f; Meyer; -

Costanzi; Murphy; Sheron; Jackson, RES; Cbo Hagan, ARM /CNB;Edgeworth, ARM /CNB; RM/CNB; Smith,%gdon,IP;Ragan,0G Halvorsen, RES; Masnik NRR; McPherson, NRR N

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[ZECK/MEM0/BVH]  ;

  • Please see previous concurrence. ,, , I
RES /gpl :RES :RES  :  :

0FFC:RES :RES :RES

Sheron  :  :

WAME: Van Houten ":Meyer * :Costanzi *:Murp]!y DATE:8/ /88 :8/ /88 :8/ /88 :8/ fo/88 :8/ /88  :  :

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY f

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Contracting Officer with the full set of information required under FAR 50.403, the USNRC Contracting Officer will then, in accordance with the provisions of this FAR, review the MPR submittal for merit and, if it is judged meritorious, the Contracting Officer will discuss the submittal with legal counsel and RES personnel and then forward it, with whatever amendments are necessary, to Chairman Zech for final endorsement, as specified in FAR 50.201(d) (Enclosure 5).

Brian W. Sheron, Director

'. Division of Systems Research

_ ru etwe 9$re:: 7 fer oper:t!cr.:

Enclosures:

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1. MPR letter of 8/1/88 's.

. 2. P. Edgeworth letter of 8/22/88

3. FAR 50.403 \
4. FAR 52.2502
5. FAR 50.201

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distribution: circ; chron; AEB r/f; DSR chron; Nudoc; Van Houten r/f; Meyer; -

Costanzi; Murphy; Sheron; Jackson, RES; Congdon, IP; Ragan, OGC; Kildee, 0GC; Hagan, ARM /CNB; Edgeworth, ARM /CNB; Smith, ARM /CNB; Halvorsen, RES; Masnik NRR; j McPherson, NRR (

l l

i

.[ZECK/MEM0/BVH]

.L -A a 0FFC:RESR,ll.6 :RES/t,U :FJS[l , :RES :RES :RES  :

t NAME:Va6 Houtbn :Meyer :CVthwfi :Murnhv  : Sheron :  :

l DATE:8//c-/88 :8/ 6 /88 :8/1 1 /88 :8/

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/88 : 8/ /88  :  : i l OFFICIAL RECORD COPY l l

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. " closure !

MPR ASSOCIATES. INC.

August 1, 1988 Dr. Robert Van Houten Mr. Paul Edgeworth Ms. Helen Hagey U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Division of Reactor Accident Analysis Mail Stop NL-007 Washington, D. C. 20555 .A

~

Subject:

gContract NRC-04-88-086

Dear Sirs and Madame:

We are in the process of negotiating a subcontract with GPU Necle-ar for the use of their site and site support for taking samples from tha:

GPUN has expressed concern that '.he bottom of the TM1-2 reactor vessel.

sampling could result in leakage of radioactive water from thi THI-H reactor vessel. - Furthermore, GPUN feels that it is imperative that tlie <

reactor vessel remain leak free after the sampling is complete so tha .

they can decontaminate and finally decommission the THI-2 facility.

We formally request *under FAR 52.250-1 " Indemnification Under Public Law 85-804, ALTERNATE I" which is,a part of our prime contract with the ~

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, that the aforementioned nuclear and hazardous risks and'all resulting and consequential losses be specilN :-

ally mentioned in,our contract es' being covered by the Government's

. . indemnity. We further request the authority to pass the Governments s indemnity, as amended, through to our subcontractors irivolved in this sampling effort; including GPUN.

We appreciate your consideration of this request and await your responsa.

Sincerely,

- /

dA aLJ William R. Han< cock, CPA I

Contracts Administrator p g guaty // 10B0 Cot <Ngctacuf AVENUC. N.W. WeswiNcTc N D.C.20036 20 5$94320 L________________. .- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.

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'1 closure 2 e ncy'o UNITED STATES -

! 1 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g .j W ASHING TON. D. C. 20555

\****/ ,

AUG 2 21988

'MPR Associates, Inc.

ATTN: William R. Hancock 1050 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Mr. Hancock:

Subject:

Incorporation of FAR 52.250-1, " Indemnification Under Public Law 85-804, Alternate I," Under Contract No. NRC-04-88-086 -

This confirms our telecon of August 19, 1988. At that time you were advised to submit your request- for indemnification under the subject contract in accordance with the provisions stated in FAR 50.403-1, " Indemnification requests." You were particularly advised to identify and define the unusually hazardous or nuclear risk for which indemnification is requested, with a statement indicating how MPR would be exposed to them. You were also advised to submit the same information for each subcontractor to which such indemnification would be extended through a subcontract with your organization. Finally, you were requested to furnish the required information as expeditiously as possible.

Upon receipt of the above information, your request will be reviewed to ascertain whether it contains all required information. Af ter considering all of the facts and evidence, we will notify you promptly of the approval or denial of your request. If I can be of further assistance, please call .

me at (301) 492-7125. .

Sincerely,

~:.

l

' +] *

( Paul h[

Ed worth, Contracting Officer Contract Administration Branch i Division of Contracts and Property l Management i Office of Administration and Resources l Management l cc: T. Hagan, DCPM B. Kildee, OGC 4

[ F. Costanzi, RES R. VanHouten, RES J. Halvorsen, RES ,

L_ - __ - . _ _ _ - _ .

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