ML24057A383
| ML24057A383 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000398 |
| Issue date: | 03/14/2024 |
| From: | Osiris Siurano-Perez NRC/NMSS/DFM/FFLB |
| To: | Lav S Division of Fuel Management |
| References | |
| Download: ML24057A383 (7) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 14, 2024 MEMORANDUM TO: Samantha Lav, Chief Fuel Facility Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards FROM:
Osiris Siurano-Pérez, Project Manager Fuel Facility Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF JANUARY 31, 2024, PARTIALLY CLOSED MEETING WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY TO DISCUSS THE DRAFT REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff conducted a virtual meeting with representatives of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on January 31, 2024. The meeting consisted of a public session followed by a closed session for the purpose of generally discussing the draft NRC staff request for additional information (RAI) regarding NISTs license renewal application dated August 8, 2023.
The meeting was conducted in accordance with the guidance in NRC Management Directive 3.5, Attendance at NRC Staff-Sponsored Meetings, and the guidance in Division Instruction LIC-FM-3, Requests for Additional Information, Revision 0, section 2.9, Issuing the RAI.
Section 2.9.1, Interactions with the Applicant Prior to Issuing the RAI, item a) of LIC-FM-3 state that prior to issuing the RAI, the project manager should schedule a conference call with the applicant to discuss the draft RAI and ensure there is clear understanding of what is needed for an appropriate response by the applicant.
CONTACT: Osiris Siurano-Pérez, NMSS/DFM 301-415-7827 Signed by Siurano-Perez, Osiris on 03/14/24
S. Lav 2
I am enclosing the meeting summary for your use. The summary contains no proprietary or sensitive information and has been reviewed by both, NRC and NIST staffs, for factual correctness.
Docket No.70-398 License No. SNM-362
Enclosure:
Summary of January 31, 2024, Meeting with U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology cc: Manny Mejías, NIST
ML24057A383 OFFICE NMSS/DFM FFLB/PM NMSS/DFM/
FFLB/LA NMSS/DFM/
FFLB/BC NMSS/DFM/
FFLB/PM NAME OSiurano JGoodridge SLav OSiurano DATE 02/26/2024 02/27/2024 03/13/2024 03/14/2024
Enclosure Summary of Meeting with U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Date and Time:
January 31, 2023, 10:00 - 12:30 PM Call
Participants:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
S. Ani, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)
J. Chang, NMSS N. Cortés, NMSS L. Crevelt, NMSS H. Felsher, NMSS E. Goldfeiz, NMSS J. Hammelman, NMSS S. Lav, NMSS M. Morales, NMSS J. Munson, NMSS O. Siurano-Pérez, NMSS A. Sapountzis, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)
J. Smith, NMSS C. Teal, NSIR J. Tobin, NMSS National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST):
J. Claassen H. Duong E. Mackey M. Mejías P. Retka A. Thompson
Background
By letter dated August 8, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23220A398), the U.S. Department of Commerce submitted an application to the NRC for the renewal of special nuclear materials license number 362 (SNM-362). The NRC staff conducted an acceptance review of NISTs license renewal application and, by letter dated October 6, 2023 (ML23271A220), accepted NISTs submittal for detailed technical review.
The NRC staffs review identified additional information that was still needed before final action on the license renewal application (LRA) could be taken. As such, the NRC staff developed a request for additional information (RAI, ML23320A132) and, in accordance with the guidance in Division Instruction DI LIC-FM-3, Requests for Additional Information, on December 15, 2023, transmitted via e-mail a draft of the RAI to NIST with an offer to generally discuss the draft RAI prior to their issuance. The purpose of the discussion was to ensure mutual understanding, by both the applicant and the NRC staff, of the questions in the RAI, and to ensure NIST staff could adequately respond to the questions in the RAI.
2 Following its preliminary review of the draft RAI, NIST determined that it would take advantage of the opportunity to discuss the draft RAI. The NRC staff, therefore, granted the request and, in accordance with the guidance in NRC Management Directive 3.5, Attendance at NRC Staff-Sponsored Meetings, on January 31, 2024, conducted a partially closed meeting to generally discuss, with NIST staff, the RAI prior to its issuance. Based on the discussions during the meetings, the NRC staff determined that only one of the thirteen draft questions (regarding fire safety) and two observations/editorial comments in the draft RAI needed revision. No revisions were needed to the other questions.
Summary of Discussions Public Session During this portion of the meeting, NIST and the NRC staff discussed the RAIs on the following technical areas: radiation protection, nuclear criticality safety, fire protection, material control and accounting, and radioactive waste management. Below is a summary of the discussions under each of these.
A. Radiation Protection There was one RAI under this technical review area (TRA) regarding NISTs commitment to provide adequate personnel contamination equipment. The NIST staff stated that they clearly understood the request and no additional discussion was necessary.
B. Nuclear Criticality Safety There was one RAI under this TRA regarding subcriticality and the double contingency principle. The NIST staff requested clarification for this question, which the NRC staff provided. Based on the discussion, NIST stated that their concerns had been addressed and shared some ideas on what their potential response will be. The NRC staff determined that no revision to the RAI was necessary.
C. Fire Protection There were three RAIs under this TRA, specifically regarding: 1) fire safety features of the facility design; 2) removal of 10 CFR 36.27(b) exemption from the LRA; and 3) exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 36.31(a). The NIST staff requested clarification for the three questions, which the staff provided. As a result of the discussions, the NIST staff stated that no further clarification was needed for RAIs 1 and 3, but that they still needed clarification for RAI 2. After further discussion, the NRC staff determined that RAI 2 needed revision and that, for this purpose, it would need to review a previously NRC-approved amendment of SNM-362 [i.e., Amendment 11 (ML21078A041)] and the NRC staff response to that request. It is expected that the review of this information on Amendment 11 of SNM-362 would result in revisions to the 3 RAIs.
D. Material Control and Accounting There was one RAI under this TRA regarding NISTs intervals for conducting physical inventories of radioactive materials. The NIST staff stated that they clearly understood the request and no additional discussion was necessary.
3 E. Radioactive Waste Management There were two RAIs under this TRA regarding: 1) NISTs commitment for meeting the requirements in 10 CFR 20.2006 and 10 CFR 20.2007, respectively, and how it intends to meet these requirements. The NIST staff stated that they clearly understood the request and no additional discussion was necessary.
Following the conclusion of the discussion on waste management, the public was afforded an opportunity to discuss, ask questions, or provide comments. There were no members of the public in attendance. The public meeting was adjourned at around 12:00 pm.
Closed Session A. General Information: Radioactive Material for which a License is Requested There was one RAI under this TRA regarding NISTs Pu-239 and Pu-240 requested possession limits. The NIST staff stated that the requested possession limits in the LRA are typos and stated they were going to correct these in the revised LRA they plan to submit in support of their responses to the RAIs. No additional discussion was necessary.
B. Technical Review Area: Physical Security (fixed sites)
There was one RAI under this TRA regarding the identification of established controlled access areas (CAAs). The NIST staff requested clarification for this question, which the staff provided. During the discussion, NIST staff stated that they have written sensitive documents within their facility that may assist in addressing the staffs concerns. The staff determined that, to keep the RAI as is, modify, or withdraw, they needed to review the non-public documents. As such, the tech reviewers (NSIR staff) will conduct a short site visit to NIST on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, to review the documents and see whether the room where SNM is stored meets the requirements for a CAA. (NOTE: NSIR staff was not in attendance when the previous site visit was conducted on November 14, 2023).
C. Transportation Security There were two RAIs under this TRA regarding: 1) notification to the NRC of lost/recovered shipments; and 2) integrity of the containers and seals. The NIST staff stated that they clearly understood the requests, so no additional discussion was necessary.
D. Emergency Management There was one RAI under this TRA regarding NISTs justification for not needing an emergency plan. The NIST staff stated that they clearly understood the request and no additional discussion was necessary.
E. Additional Observations and Editorial Comments:
There was one observation and one editorial comment provided to NIST by the NRC staff for their consideration. The NIST staff stated that they had no questions nor needing further clarification.
4 Following the discussion of the observations and comments, the meeting was adjourned at around 12:20 PM.
Action items 1.
For the NRC staff:
a.
Revise RAI on fire safety b.
Conduct February 6, 2024, site visit (NSIR staff) c.
Issue RAIs 1.
For NIST:
a.
Respond to the RAIs within 30 days issuance.
Principal contributor Osiris Siurano-Pérez