ML20237E356

Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 980807

ML20237E356
Person / Time
Issue date:	08/13/1998
From:	Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-98-193, SECY-98-193-R, WIR-980807-01, WIR-980807-1, NUDOCS 9808310184
Download: ML20237E356 (24)

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NUCLEAR RE2ULATORY COMMISSION -

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4 Auoust 13. 1998 SECY 98-193 EQt: The Commissioners Er.00 James L. Blaha. Assi~stant for Operations. Office of the E00 Subiect: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING AUGUST 7. 1998 Contents Enclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B Nuclear Regulatory Research C Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D General Counsel E*

Administration F Chief Information Officer G i Chief Financial Officer H* )

Human Resources I 1 Small Business & Civil Rights J Enforcement K* i State Programs L* I Public Affairs M International Programs N Office of the Secretary 0 Region I P Region II P Region III P  !

Region IV P* i Executive Director for Operations 0* l Congressional Affairs R*

• No input this week.

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if Ac.c.I u ~ i s James L. Blaha Assistant for Operations. OEDO \

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Contact:

i B. McCabe. OEDO

})\h 9808310184 980813 PDR COMMS NRCC T'

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WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR l

i Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 BWROG Vendor Oversicht As part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)/ Boiling Water Reactor Owners' Group.(BWROG) Management meeting on August 5. 1998, the Owners' Group outlined their new vendor oversight activities. The Reload Analysis & Core Management Committee activities include an in-depth (approximately 2 week) technical audit of the GE LOCA activities. The team (approximately 8 people) consisting of NUPIC and utility members, will examine computer codes, analysis

-inputs and models used for heat transfer, quenching, spray. etc. Change processes. V & V versions used and compliance with Safety Evaluation Report (s) (SERs) are some of the topics under computer codes. Design control, interface with the utility, applicability of generic inputs and compliance with the SERs will be the major areas under analysis inputs. Applicability, conservatism, technical bases, and compliance with the SERs will be examined under the models area. If the program is viewed positively, additional audits of Seimens Power Corporation and ABB-LOCA will be proposed for 1999.

Additional technical areas will also be considered.

Meetina with South Koreans on the Year 2000 Problem in Nuclear Power Plants On August 3. 1998, staff from the Instrumentation and Controls Branch (HICB) met with representatives from the Korean Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) and Korean Electric Power Company (KEPC0) to discuss the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem and its impact on nuclear power plants. The HICB staff provided an overview of the USNRC efforts to address the Y2K problem in U.S. nuclear power plants including the current status of licensee responses to GL 98-01, planned sample inspections,- and the newly developed draft Nuclear Energy Institute L(NEI)/ Nuclear Utilities Software Management Group (NUSMG) guidance document (NEI/NUSMG 98-07) on contingency planning. KEPC0 provided an overview of their efforts to address the Y2K problem at Koreart nuclear power plants. It was clear that the Koreans are following an approach very similar to that

-underway for U.S. nuclear power plants. The Koreans will visit NEI during the afternoon of August 3, 1998, to share information with them on their Y2K efforts. The staff agreed to provide KINS with NEI/NUSMG 98-07 when it is finalized later this month.

Beaver Vallev Power Station Unit 1 Unit 1 has been in a forced outage since January 31. 1998, due to technical specification compliance issues. The NRC staff was briefed by the licensee on August 4,1998. regarding the status of Unit 1 for restart. The licensee reported that it has completed its restart action plan activities and that pending the completion of a few minor maintenance activities. Unit 1 is

, expected to begin startup (enter Mode 4) on about August 6. 1998, and to go August 7, 1998- ENCLOSURE A L

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online next week. All licensing actions required for restart have been completed and the resident inspectors have completed all inspections required to. support restart. Region I will provide augmented inspection coverage during restart.

The licensee also reported that Unit 2 will be subjected to the same restart action plan review prior to its planned restart, which is now expected to occur in early September 1998.

Fermi Unit 2 On August 4. 1998, the NRC issued Amendment No. 124 to Facility Operating License No. NPF-43 for the Fermi 2 facility. The amendment provides a one-time extension of the interval for a number of technical specification surveillance requirements (SRs) that will be performed during the sixth refueling outage.

Fermi 2 experienced an extended shutdown at the beginning of the current operating cycle. As a result, a large number of the SRs that will be performed during the sixth refueling outage will reach the end of their surveillance intervals'(including the 25-percent extension) in late August 1998. During discussions with the staff in April 1998, the licensee expressed concerns that a shutdown in August might cause severe problems on the electrical grid in its service area. The licensee indicated that, if the weather was severe in August, it might consider requesting enforcement l discretion to allow continued plant operation. In that conversation, and in follow-up calls with the licensee, the staff strongly urged the licensee to pursue alternative solutions that would obviate the need for enforcement discretion. On June 26, 1998, the licensee submitted an amendment request to extend the surveillance interval for over 100 18-month SRs. The staff took

, the steps necessary to expedite the review of the amendment request to support the licensee's schedule.

With the interval extensions, the licensee plans to delay the start of the

refueling outage from mid-August until early September. By that time the grid l . conditions in the area are expected to have improved significantly.

Cocoer Nuclear Station On July 31. 1998, the staff issued license amendments which replaced the Cooper technical specifications in their entirety with new technical specifications based on the improved Standard Technical Specifications (STS).

This is the 32nd unit that has been approved to convert to the improved STS.

The licensee will implement these revised technical specifications within 90 days.

August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE A

e Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 Annual Meetina of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Manaaement During the week of July 26-31, 1998, two staff members from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards attended the Annual Meeting of the Institute '

of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) to present papers and to learn about the current status of technical advances in nuclear materials management. The general topics addressed by the INMM's Annual Meeting were material control and accounting, physical protection, waste management, packaging and transportation, international safeguards, and arms control and nonproliferation. The papers presented by the staff were titled "SAGOR

[ Safeguards for Geologic Repositories] Programme: Final Report" and "Past, Present, and Future of Materials Protection, Control, and Accounting Cooperation: NRC Experience and Plans." A large number of the papers presented addressed cooperative work with Russia and the other Former Soviet Union states to reduce the threat of theft, diversion, and proliferation of nuclear materials.

I Review of Ioneous Process Which Could Affect a Hich-level Waste Reoository at l Yucca Mountain I During the week of July 26-31, 1998, Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffs met with volcanology consultants to review potential processes and consequences of igneous activity on the proposed high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The primary goal of these meetings was to improve consequence models for igneous disruption of the proposed site for use in NRC total system performance assessments. The consultants, each a recognized expert in his specific field, were Professor R.S.J. Sparks (University of Bristol, igneous processes): Professor A.W. Woods (University of Bristol, i thermo-fluid dynamic modeling): and Dr. P.J. Baxter, M.D. (University of )

Cambridge Medical School, volcanic health effects). Throughout the week the l consultants and staff: (i) reviewed the NRC's current approaches, data, and assumptions in igneous consequence models; (ii) identified areas where work is sufficient to support existing models: (iii) discussed areas where additional work is warranted to support existing models: (iv) developed alternative hypotheses to some existing consequence models, which may affect dose significantly: (v) explored research and analysis strategies for the alternative hypotheses: and (vi) documented current status and planned activities.

Visits to Uranium Mill Tailinas Sites i-On July 29-30, 1998. Division of Waste Management staff visited the Canonsburg and Burrell, Pennsylvania, uranium mill tailings sites, accompanied by i

August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE B l

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Department of Energy (DOE) personnel. These sites were remediated by DOE as part of the program to stabilize various sites under Title I of the Uranium M(11 Tailings Radiation Control Act. At the Canonsburg site, staff observed recer,tly-completed erosion repairs and minor streambank erosion along Charters Creek. Staff also discussed the status of DOE's negotiations with the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers to provide erosion protection on the channel banks.

At the Burrell site. staff observed the condition of the vegetation on the disposal cell. Staff also observed the contaminated area under nearby railroad tracks, where supplemental cleanup standards are being applied.

Transoort of Uranvl Nitrate Solutions On July 29, 1998, the Spent Fuel Project Office and the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards met with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the

-Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the transport of uranyl nitrate solutions. TVA and DOE are developing a program to fabricate commercial reactor fuel from down-blended high-enriched uranium (HEU). The HEU is from reprocessed fuel from DOE production reactors. The fuel cycle proposed to TVA by two fuel cycle consortiums included transport of large volumes of uranyl nitrate solutions. The discussion centered on packaging issues associated 4 with the transport of these solutions. Currently, there are no Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified packages that are authorized for transport of down-blended, recycled uranium in the form of bulk uranyl nitrate solutions.

TVA and DOE are currently evaluating the fuel cycle program plans. The first shipments of lead test assemblies are scheduled for the Year 2001.

Multiole Meetinos Recardina Troian Reactor Vessel Shioment On July 29-30, 1998, three meetings were held in the Portland Oregon. area regarding Portland General Electric's (PGE's) application for approval of a one-time shipment of the Trojan reactor vessel and internals by barge and overland heavy-haul transporter to the low-level waste disposal site operated by U.S. Ecology at the Hanford reservation near Richland. Washington.

In the afternoon of July 29, 1998, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office.

(SFP0) Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) met with representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Maritime Safety Office. Captain of the Port. Portland. Oregon, regarding general safety concerns for Columbia river shipments, and specific l transportation controls planned for the Trojan shipment. Discussions focused on the barge design, inspection, and certification process. the planned Coast Guard safety zone and escort and recent trends in river shipment safety. The Coast Guard staff were knowledgeable and responsive, had reviewed the PGE's Trojan Transportation Plan, and did not identify any issues with the planned  !

shipment. I l On July 30, 1998. SFPO. OGC US00T. and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Region IV (RIV) met with PGE and their contractors to help assure that August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE B l

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PGE understood SFP0's recent Request for Additional Information (RAI) regarding their application. Much of the discussion concerned information related to the structural section of the Safety Analysis Report. and the Probabilistic Safety Study. At the conclusion of the meeting, PGE indicated that it expected to meet NRC's request for a complete response to the RAI by August 9, 1998.

In the evening of July 30, 1998, staff from SFPO, OGC, USDOT, RIV, and USCG participated in a Public Meeting in Kelso, Washington, (near the Trojan station) to explain the review process for the PGE application. The meeting was moderated'by the Mayor of Ranier, Oregon, and included presentations from PGE NRC. USDOT.- and the Oregon Office of Energy, followed by a question and answer period, and a public comment period. There were no questions for NRC or USD0T: there were two statements, both by Union officials, and both

. supporting the approach to ship the vessel in one piece. Local television and print media were present.

. Meetino with Westinghouse Electric Corocration On August 5,1998, the Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with representatives from Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Consumers Energy to discuss Westinghouse's WESFLEX spent fuel storage system application, which was initially submitted on February 3, 1998. At the meeting, Westinghouse discussed plans to revise its application to include mixed-oxide fuel, partial fuel assemblies, damaged fuel, and alternate spacer plate materials in the WESFLEX system's Big Rock Point canister. Westinghouse plans to submit the

. revisions to the application by August 24 and October 29, 1998, to coincide with~ the staff's review schedule for the WESFLEX application. The staff believes that these changes may significantly expand the scope of the application.

Westinghouse also discussed its proposed approach to non-destructively examine (NDE) the WESFLEX canister closure weld. Staff informed Westinghouse that it has not yet finalized a position on the canister closure weld NDE. A meeting with the Nuclear. Energy Institute is being arranged for the end of August so that staff can.get industry input before issuing a position on this issue.

Soent Fuel Proiect Office Meets with Holtec International On ' August 4,1998, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFP0) held two public meetings with Holtec International (Holtec). One meeting was a management meeting to discuss SFP0 concerns with Holtec's performance in responding to recent requests made by the staff for. information needed to

. complete the safety review of Holtec's application for certification of the HI-STAR 100 storage cask.for use by general licensees,- pursuant to 10 CFR L Dart 72. The staff had found examples of assertions made by Holtec in its l . Topical Safety Analysis Report (TSAR) for which neither data bor analyses were provided. Reconsideration of these assertions, in some cases, resulted in

' August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE B l

revisions to the TSAR and associated calculation packages. SFP0 management indicated to Holtec that significant changes to the TSAR and its technical bases so late in the safety review process are a serious concern and could impact the staff's conclusions in its draft Safety Evaluation Report, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 1998. The second meeting was one of the continuing series of technical meetings between Holtec and the SFP0 staff to discuss specific areas of staff concern regarding information in the HI-STAR 100 TSAR. This particular meeting dealt with clarification of items in the chapter of the TSAR dealing with thermal profile of the HI-STAR 100 cask.

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l l Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 RES/NMSS Technical Meetina To Resolve Issues Associated With The Probabilistic

.Acoroach To Parameter Selection For The DAND Code RES staff, in consultation with NMSS staff, held a two-day meeting at NRC l Headquarters on July 28th and 29th to discuss technical issues associateo with the probabilistic approach used to select cefault parameters for the DandD code, and specifically to resolve questions associated with the methodology used to define parameter distributions. NRC staff from RES/DPA and several Divisions within NMSS attended the meeting. as well as DOE national laboratory scientists and an independent consultant who has provided expert review of the methodology. Based on the results of the discussions at this meeting, it was agreed that the proposed approach could be used to support interim guidance for license terminations, and that additional testing and refinement of the methodology should be performed over the next two years. Results of the testing will be incorporated in the final Regulatory Guide and NUREG reports that will be published in 2000.

Staff Interaction with Other Federal Aaencies on Codes and Standards Activities On August 4.1998. RES staff met with other Federal agencies at a periodic meeting of the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP). The ICSP.

which is chaired by NIST and is comprised of agency Standards Executives, provides a forum for coordination of Federal implementation of P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119 which address Federal participation in the development and use of voluntary consensus standards. The Chairman ICSP and other NIST staff alerted meeting attendees to: 1) the significant drop during the last fiscal year in overall Federal participation in consensus standards  !

development organizations (SD0s) as evidenced by input from Federal agencies to the annual standards report (NRC participation octually increased slightly during the same period): 2) conflicts associated with agency staff i participation on the Board of Directors of SD0s: 3) need to pay particular attention to identifying the use of government-unique standards in the next annual report to OMB on agency standards usage: 4) upcoming major change to i the 150-9000 standard on quality assurance practices: and 5) availability of a j directory of NIST staff on standards committees on the NIST web page which 1 will be expanded to link to similar directories of other agencies as they l become available. This and other information gained during meetings of the  ;

ICSP. provide, in part, a frame of reference for preparation of NRC i procedures for implementing P.L. 104-113 and Circular A-119.

On August 5, 1998, a presentation on NRC use of consensus standards was made by RES staff at the 1998 Federal Technical Standards Workshop in Washington.

D.C. The presentation included an overview of options for aligning the use August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE C

of and participation in the development of consensus standards with the NRC mission, budget resources, new Federal requirements which place increased emphasis on government staff participation and use of standards, and the NRC Strategic Assessment and Rebaselining initiative which places a strong emphasis on streamlining the process to incorporate consensus standards into the regulatory process. The presentation also alerted workshop participants to the NRC stakeholder meeting on consensus standards and other issues that will be held in Chicago on September 1, 1998.

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Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest 1 Week Ending August 7, 1998 Availability of AEOD Reoorts on the World-Wide Web i On August 3.1998, the NRC issued Administrative Letter 98-05 announcing the availability of summaries of AE00 operational experience reports on the World-Wide Web. The reports have been categorized into one or more of the following four subject areas to facilitate identification: (1) Pressurized-Water Reactor Systems. (2) Boiling-Water Reactor systems. (3) Activity / Human Factor Deficiency, and (4) Topics. The summaries are available for downloading as ,

either a Wordperfect zipped file or a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. '

Instructions for ordering hard copies of the full text of any report are also included on the web site.

Assessment of Auxiliary /Emeroency Feedwater System Reliability The final report. " Reliability Study-Auxiliary / Emergency Feedwater System:

1987-1995." (NUREG/CR-5500. Volume 1), has been issued and will be distributed by NRC Publications. The report is the sixth in a series that presents the results of system reliability studies which focus on using operational data to determine the reliability of risk significant systems in U.S. commercial nuclear reactors.

The report provides an estimate of auxiliary / emergency feedwater (AFW) system reliability based on actual demands from operating experience during 1987-1995, as reported in licensee event reports (LERs). The report also provides an evaluation of the most significant trends: includes a comparison of AFW system reliability derived from this operating experience and the AFW unreliability estimates obtained from the failure data published in Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs) and Individual Plant Evaluations (IPEs);

and includes insights from an engineering analysis of the operating experience data.

Based on the 1987-1995 experience data, there were no failures of the entire system identified in 1.117 unplanned system demands. The average of the operational unreliability of the AFW system from the 72 plant-specific models is 3.4 x 104 Individual results vary over two orders of magnitude, from 1.5 x 10-6 to 6.2 x 104. The variability in AFW system unreliability reflects the diversity found in AFW system designs and variation in equipment performance among plants with similar designs.. No trends were identified in the AFW system unreliability when plotted against calendar yar or low-power license date. The AFW designs composed only of turbine-driven pumps were less reliable, while AFW designs comprising three redundant trains of diverse

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design (e.g., two motor-driven pumps and one turbine-driven pump) were more reliable.

August 7. 1998 ENCLOSURE D L. _ _

l.* The AFW system unreliability estimate based on 1987-1995 operating experience

! is about a factor of six greater than the average of the PRA/IPE values. The difference between the two estimates is pNmarily attributable to the l probabilities associated with failure of the primary AFW system water source

! (e.g.. condensate storage tank suction path) and the AFW turbine-driven pump failure to run. The failure of the primary AFW system water source generally was not considered important in PRA/IPEs while the operating experience indicated a greater impact. The differences in the turbine-driven pump failure to run estimates were due to the limited operating experience on long run times and the use of optimistic failure rate estimates in some of the IPEs.

Based on the findings and conclusions presented in the report. AEOD identified mears to make inspections and licensing reviews more risk-informed.

Common Cause Failure Database AE0D.sent copies of the Common Cause Failure (CCF) Database referenced in Administrative Letter 98-04, " Availability of Common Cause Failure Database,"

to licensees of nuclear power reactors on July 30, 1998. A copy of the distribution letter for the CCF Database was placed in the Public Document Room. The database is contained on a CD ROM along with copies of the associated technical reports. The technical reports have also been published as NUREG/CR-6268 (Volumes 1-4), and they are available from the Government Printing Office-and the National Technical Information Service.

The database contains CCF-related events that have occurred in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants from 1980 through 1995. The events were identified from failure reports in the Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System (NPRDS). which is a proprietary database mairitained by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations

-(INPO), and coded Licensee Event Reports, obtained from the Sequence Coding and Search System (SCSS) database maintained by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the NRC. The data are separated by system and component type.

The CD ROM also includes analysis software for estimating CCF reliability

-parameters. The software allows the analyst to consistently screen failures and identify CCF events. It is expected that these data and analysis capability will be useful in risk-informed regulatory processes such as reviewing licensee submittals involving probabilistic calculations, focusing inspections on important CCF mechanisms, and generic issue prioritization and evaluations.

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS

1. PNO-I-98-033A, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co. (Haddam Neck 1) UPDATE l TO PNI-98-033. LEAKS DURING CHEMICAL DECONTAMINATION

2. PNO-I-98-034, The Radiology Group of New Brunswick, PA. POTENTIAL MISADMINISTRATION INVOLVING 10 DINE-131 August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE D l

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l l* 3. PNO-I-98-035, New York Power Authority (Fitz Patrick 1), UNPLANNED REACTOR l SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS

4. PNO-98-036, Ambric Engineering Inc. , DAMAGED TROXLER PORTABLE MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE

5. PNO-II-98-034. Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Aibonito. Puerto Rico).

PERSONNEL FATALITY AT BAXTER HEALTHCARE

6. PNO-II-98-035. Metropolitan Soil & Engineering (Rio Piedras. Puerto Rico).

DAMAGED PORTABLE GAUGE

7. PNO-IV-98-034. Terracon Consultants, STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE (Arizona Incident)

August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Administration t

l Items of Interest Week Ending August 7. 1998 Acquisition Trainina i-L On August 4, 1998, the Division of Contracts and Property Management conducted l its Acquisition for Project Managers module, " Preparing Statements of Work."

l This module provides project managers with practical exercises in developing

succinct and complete 50Ws that ensure contractors and DOE laboratories fully l understand project scope, achieve work objectives, and deliver useful products in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost,

U..S

Enrichment Corocration (USEC)

On August 3, 1998, a member of DFS met with DOE staff and representatives from l- the TI Group, a United Kingdom owned corporation, that is interested in bidding on classified contracts for Lockheed Martin Utilities Services at the Portsmouth and Paducah gaseous diffusion plants. TI Group was seeking information on NRC's and DOE's foreign ownership, control or influence-

programs and how they relate to the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.

Garaae Reoairs-Work on OWFN garage repairs began August 3, 1998, with Phase 1 expected to be completed on August 17, 1998, and Phase 2 to begin the same day. The phase currently being worked on and the planned next phase are identified on display boards in.the 0WFN 2nd floor Administrative Services area and in the TWFN plaza level exhibit area. The repair project is scheduled to be completed by l March 3. 1999.

Conformance to National Policies for Access to and Protection of Classified l

Information (Parts 10. 11. 25 and 95)

A proposed rule that would amend the Commission's regulations to conform the requirements for the protection of and access to classified information to new national.. security policy documents was published in the Federal Register on August 3,1998 (63 FR 41206). The comment period closes on October 2.1998.

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Chief Information Officer Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Peouests Received durina the 5-Day Period of July 31. 1998 - Auaust 6. 1998:

Nuclear Material Events Database (NMED) in electronic format.

(F0IA/PA-98-302)

Spent nuclear fuel dry cast storage. (F01A/PA-98-303)

Contract. Global Management Systems. NRC-33-96-175. (FOIA/PA-98-304)

Named individuals, current Bar Association memberships and affiliations.

(F01A/PA-98-305)

OI reports, various. (F01A/PA-98-306)

Calvert Cliffs 20 year extension license renewal request dated 4/8/98.

(F0IA/PA-98-307)

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Office of Human Resources Items of Interest Week Ending August 7. 1998 Arrivals None Retirements None Departures {

DANZIGER. Lawrence SR COMPUTER SYSTEMS ANAL OCIO l ROHRER. Shannon GRADUATE FELLOW RII l

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'4 Office of Small Business & Civil Rights Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 Indian Communities Conference On August 5 and 6 Irene Little Director, SBCR, attended the first-of-a-kind conference on " Building Economic Self-Determination in Indian Communities."

The event was sponsored by the White House (Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Domestic Policy Council), the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense Education, Energy Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development. Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency, Indian Health Service, and the Small

, Business Administration.

Attendance of just over one thousand included representatives from every Indian community, several Federal, State, and other agencies that work with the economic y velopment of Indian communities, numerous businesses, which include bankta, manufacturing, technology, and legal.

Speakers included President William J. Clinton: Janet Reno, Attorney General:

William Daley, Secretary of Commerce: Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of Interior:

Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture: Alexis Herman, Secretary of Laber:

John Steele, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe: Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; Aida Alvarez, Administrator, Small Business Administration: Julie Williams, Acting Comptroller of the Currency: Ron Montoya, Governor Santa Ana Pueblo: and Ernie Stevens, Jr.,

Vice President, National Congress of American Indians.

President Clinton discussed his policy on strengthening sovereignty of the Indian Nations.

'After his address to the conference 'he signed an Executive order addressing better health care,'better education and more business partnerships for Indian ,

Nations. Health and Human Services Department of Education, and the Small j Business Administration will serve as the lead Federal agencies to implement )

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Office of Public Affairs  !

Items of Interest I Week Ending August 7, 1998  !

Media" Interest A California film company is planning to interview Joe Holonich, NMSS. on the-Atlas Mill tailings site. The' interview will be used in a a documentary for the " Outdoor Life" cable channel.

I Press Releases Headquarters:

98-136 NRC Schedules Meetings on Uranium. Thorium in Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado 98-137- NRC Issues Draft Guidance on Compliance With Radiologic 4 Criteria for License Termination 98-138 NRC Proposed tc Reissue Policy Statement on Medical Uses of Radioactive Materials98-139 NRC Proposes Extensive Revisions to Regulations on Medical Uses of Radioactive Material 98-140 NRC Announces 0pportunity for Evidentiary Hearing on Oconee License Renewal Regions:

1-98-90 NRC Staff Appoints New Resident Inspector at TMI I-98 NRC Staff Assigns New Resident Inspector to Susquehanna I-98-92 NRC Assigns.New Resident Inspector at Indian Point 2 I-98-93 Note to Editors: Meeting With Consolidated Edison on Indian Point 2 II-98-51 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector at Farley Nuclear Power Plant II-98-52 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector at St. Lucie Nuclear Power'P1 ant-11-96-53 NRC.0fficials to Hold Operational Readiness Meeting With'0fficials of New Irradiator Facility at Forest.

Virginia-(!

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Office of International Programs Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 On Tuesday. Ms. X. Liu Vice President of the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Company (JNPC). visited NRC for an overview briefing on NRC activities and met with Carl Stoiber and Kevin Burke OIP, and Mike Cullingford. NRR. She is the guest of.USIA, and is being toured around the US for three weeks to get a better understanding of the US nuclear industry. JNPC is constructing two Russian VVERs.l.000/91 Mwe units that are scheduled to begin' operation in 2004-05. Site work in now underway.

IAEA Vacancy Notices The following notices from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been posted on NRC bulletin boards:

P-5 Section Head: Technical Co-operation 98/043 P-5 Section Head: Technical Co-operation 98/044

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P Unit Head:' Administration 98/045 P-4 Waste Information Specialist: Nuclear Safety 98/604 1

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Office of the Secretary Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 l

I Documents Released Date Subject to Public Decision Documents

1. SECY-98-185 7/30/98 Proposed Rulemaking - Revised Requirements for the Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material

2. 'SECY-98-153' 6/29/98- Update of Issues Related to i Nuclear Power Reactor Financial Qualifications in Response to Restructuring of the Electric Utility Industry

3. COMSECY-98-013 5/27/98 Evaluation of Rulemaking Language Proposals Concerning 10 CFR.50.59 (Changes. Tests and Experiments)

4. SRM on 98-013 8/7/98 (same)

Negative Consent Documents None Information Papers

1. SECY-98-173 7/16/98 Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending July 10. 1998

2. SECY-98-178 7/24/98 Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending July 17. 1998 Memoranda

1. M980717B 7/20/98 Staff Requirements -

Affirmation Session. Friday, July 17. 1998: I. SECY-98-140

- Ouivira Mining Company --

Commission Review of LBP-97-20 i

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Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Representative Joseph McDade and Senator Pete Domenici dated July 29. 1998 provides NRC's budget reclama Federal Reaister Notices Issued

1. Ir,ternational Uranium (USA) Corporation: Docket No. 40-8681-MLA-4:

Designation of Presiding Officer (Judge Peter B. Bloch)

2. Medical Use of Byproduct Material: Draft Policy Statement

3. 10 CFR Parts 20, 32 and 35: Medical Use of Byproduct Material: Proposed Revision 1

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I Region I Items of. Interest Week Ending August 7.1998 Indian Point Unit 2 Regional Administrator, Hubert J. Miller and NRR Project Director PDI-1 Singh Bajwa met with officials of Consolidated Edison Company of New York on August 7 to discuss the company's assessment of the effectiveness of performance improvement initiatives at its Indian Point 2 reactor in

' Buchanan, NY. ,

Beaver Vallev i

During an August 4,1998 teleconference, Region I and NRR management were informed by Duquense Light Company management that Beaver Valley restart activities for Mode 4 were essentially complete, and that criticality and power ascension were expected to follow within a week. Region I inspectors are monitoring the licensee's completion of its Restart Action Plan and will observe restart activities.

Ovster Creek Regional Administrator Hubert J. Miller, accompanied by Charles W. Hehl, ,

Director. DRP and Michele G. Evans, Chief DRP Branch 7, visited the Oyster Creek site on August 3 and 4, 1998. The site visit included a plant tour and meetings with licensee managers 'and staff. In addition, on August 4. the i SALP Management Meeting was held at the site to discuss the July 17, 1998 SALP report.

'RESL Audit of the Reaion I Radioanalvtical Laboratorv ,

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-On July 28 - 30' 1998, representatives of DOE's Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL) conducted an audit of the Region I Radioanalytical. laboratory, No findings were identified which "would impact the quality of analytical results". An administrative finding that was identified was the need for better documentation (procedures) of some of the activities performed in the laboratory. Additionally, on August 3 and 4, 1998 representatives of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (0 RISE) met with Region I laboratory personnel to discuss the assistance that ORISE would provide to Region I in terms of developing new written procedures >

to implement the new NMSS Laboratory Quality Assurance (0A) Manual.

NRC Meets with Connecticut Yankee Staff to Discuss RCS Decontamination Problems I.

On August 3,1998, representatives from Region I and NRR met with officials of Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company's (CYAPCo) Haddam Neck Plant to August 7, 1998 ENCLOSURE P j

s discuss the July 27th event that involved a spill of approximately 1000 i gallons of water during decontamination of the reactor coolant system (RCS).

The water contained chemical decontamination agents and up to 10 curies of radioactivity. Region I requested the meeting so that CYAPCo officials could discuss the steps taken to identify-the root cause of the event and the actions taken to repair the leaks identified so far._ CYAPCo officials were also asked to discuss their readiness to proceed with the next phase of the RCS decontamination. NRC staff will hold additional telephone discussions with the licensee prior to resumption of the RCS decontamination process.

B&W Parks Townshio Facility B&W began removing the exterior walls of Building C at its Parks Township (Pennsylvania) facility during the week of August 3. A Region I inspector was on-site Aug. 5 & 6 to observe the demolition work and verify the j licensee's adherence to demolition work plans and environmental controls, {

The licensee was working according to plan, controlling dust generation and )

the handling of the identified areas of residual contamination. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection independently reviewed ]

i the licensee's demolition plans and concluded last week that "the l reconstruction plan is health protective".  !

Demolition of this building has been the subject of recent public controversy because several years ago B&W used a containment structure to cover a building in its nearby Apollo facility during its demolition, because of high ,

contamination levels. At Parks Building C. no containment is being used {

because the licensee has decontaminated the interior so that most of the '

structure satisfies unrestricted use criteria.

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.o Region II Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 Duke Enerav Corocration - Catawba On August 7, 1998, at 9:35 a.m.. Catawba Unit 1 began a forced shutdown when actions to remove ice buildup from a number of its' ice condenser flow channels could not be completed within the 48-hour Technical Specification (TS) action statement. The Unit 1 ice condenser was declared inoperable on August 5,1998,- when a TS required surveillance identified a number of flow channels blocked by a buildup of ice greater than the 0.38 inch TS limit. In addition to the flow channel ice blockage problem, foreign material (i.e.,

three large plastic bags used in the ice basket refill process and some rope) was also found in several of the ice condenser bays.

A Region II specialist Inspector had been on site as part of a pre-planned evaluation of the licensee's overall program to operate and maintain the ice condensers. The resident inspectors, with assistance from the region-based 4 specialist, are closely following the licensee's root cause evaluation of the Unit 1 ice buildup as well as the licensee's evaluation Unit 2.

Florida Power and Liaht Comoany - St. Lucie On August 4. representatives of Florida Power and Light Company met in the Regional Office to discuss the St. Lucie corrective actions for the FPFI findings. The licensee discussed each finding (IFI and URIs) and reviewed I planned and/or completed corrective actions. Several areas of disagreement involving the Unit 1.Halon system and use of thermo lag were also discussed.

..The licensee stated its intent to discuss areas of disagreement with NRR i during a future. meeting (s).

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Region III Items of Interest Week Ending August 7, 1998 Manaaement Meetina with Illinois Power Comoany - Clinton j l

On August 6, 1998, a management meeting was conducted in the NRC Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, between management representatives from Illinois ]

Power Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused l on the utility's performance improvement initiatives at the Clinton Nuclear 1

. Power Plant. NRC Acting Regional Administrator James Caldwell participated in the meeting.

Meetina with Wisconsin Public Service Corocration - Kewaunee On August 5, 1998, meeting was conducted in the NRC Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, between security representatives from Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on' security plan revisions for the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant.

Manaaement Meetina with Consumers Enerav Comoany - Palisades

.On August 4, 1998, a management meeting was conducted in the NRC Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, between management representatives from Consumers Energy Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on radiation protection issues at the Palisades. Nuclear Power Plant.

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