View source for NUREG-1145, Forwards NRC Annual Rept for 1998,required by Section 307(c) of Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.Rept Discusses Activities Pursued in Fy 1998 in Support of Agency Goals to Ensure No Undue Risk from Licensed Uses of Nuclear Matls

{{Adams
| number = ML20211A146
| issue date = 08/13/1999
| title = Forwards NRC Annual Rept for 1998,required by Section 307(c) of Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.Rept Discusses Activities Pursued in Fy 1998 in Support of Agency Goals to Ensure No Undue Risk from Licensed Uses of Nuclear Matls
| author name = Dicus G, The Chairman
| author affiliation = NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
| addressee name = Clinton W, Gore A, Hastert J
| addressee affiliation = HOUSE OF REP., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, PRESIDENT OF U.S. &amp; EXECUTIVE OFFICES, SENATE, PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
| docket = 
| license number = 
| contact person = 
| case reference number = RTR-NUREG-1145
| document report number = NUDOCS 9908230205
| document type = CORRESPONDENCE-LETTERS, OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE
| page count = 118
}}

=Text=
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[             >                                  UNITEl 'TATES E'                'e               NUCLEAR REGULA' .RY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 g                   g August 13, 1999
   %,*****/
CHAIRMAN The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr.
President of the United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

==Dear Mr. President:==

Enclosed is the Annual Report for 1998 of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is required by Section 307(c) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
This report discusses activities pursued in Fiscal Year 1998 in support of the agency's goals to ensure no undue risk to public health and safety from licensed uses of nuclear materials and facilities.
Sincerely,                                              ,
I            \          ,
4          n3 rh Joy Dieus

==Enclosure:==
As stated
                                                                                                       \
l n30013 9908230205 990.313 PDR      COMMS i?.CC CORRESPONDENCE PDR 1                                                                                                            a

    #                                               UNITED STATES l'              t                      NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g                           WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 4001 g
e August 13, 1999
   %g.....,/
CHAIRMAN The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515

==Dear Mr. Speaker:==

Enclosed it the Annual Report for 1998 of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is required by Section 307(c) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
This report discusses activities pursued in Fiscal Year 1998 in support of the agency's goals to ensure no undue risk to public health and safety from licensed uses of nuclear materials and facilities.
Sincerely, A                 W
                                                                     }
goy icus

==Enclosure:==
As stated l
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g6                                             UNITED STATES g"              g                  NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g                         WA$HINGToN, D.C. 2055!KXN)1 August 13, 1999
      *****f CHAIRMAN The President The White House Washington, D.C. 20500

==Dear Mr. President:==

This Annual Report for 1998 of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission is encicsed for your transmittal to the Congress, as required by Section 307(c) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
The report discusses activities pursued in Fiscal Year 1998 in support of the agency's goals to ensure no undue risk to public health and safety from licensed uses of nuclear material and facilities.
Respectfully, 5%
GMa Joy Dieus

==Enclosure:==
As stcted i
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==Dear Mr. President:==

This Annual Report for 1998 of the United States i
Nuclear Regulatory Commission is enclosed for your transmittal to the Congress, as required by Section 307(c) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
The report discusses activities pursued in Fiscal Year 1998 in support of the agency's goals to ensure no undue risk to public health and safety from licensed uses of nuclear materials and facilities.
Respectfully, D-po-greta h Dieus Chairman                                 -
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11 PREVIOUS REPORTS IN Tills SERIES 1975 NRCAnnualRepon, published April 1976 1976 NRC Annual Repon, published April 1977 NUREG-0400,1977 NRC Annual Repon, published April 1978 NUREG-0516,1978 NRC Annual Repon, published February 1979 NUREG-0690,1979 NRC Annual Repon, published March 1980 NUREG-0774,1980 NRCAnnual Repon, published June 1981 NUREG-0920,1981 NRCAnnual Repon, published June 1982 NUREG-0998,1982 NRCAnnual Repon, published June 1983 NUREG-1090,1983 NRC AnnualRepon, published June 1984 NUREG-1145, Vol.1,1984 NRC AnnualRepon, published June 1985 NUREG-1145, Vol. 2,1985 NRC Annual Repon, published June 1986 NUREG-1145, Vol. 3,1986 NRC Annual Repon, published June 1987 NUREG- 1145, Vol. 4,1987 NRC Annua / Repon, published July 1988 NUREG- 1145, Vol. 5,1988 NRC Annuai Repon, published July 1989 NUREG- 1145, Vol. 6,1989 NRC Annual Repon, published July 1990 NUREG- 1145, Vol. 7,1990 NRC Annual Repon, published July 1991 NUREG - 1145, Vol. 8,1991 NRC A nnual Repon, published July 1992 NUREG- 1145, Vol. 9,1992 NRC Annual Repon, published July 1993 NUREG- 1145, Vol.10,1993 NRC AnnualRepon, published August 1994 NUREG- 1145, Vol. I1,1994 NRC Annual Repon. published June 1995 NUREG-1145, Vol.12,1995 NRC AnnualRepon, published August 1996 NUREG- 1145, Vol.13,19% NRC Annual Repon, published September 1997           l NUREG-1145, Vol.14,1997 NRC AnnualRepon, published December 1998 The 1098 NRC Annual Repon, NUREG- 1145, Vol.15, is available from         '
U.S. Government Printing Office P.O. Box 37082 Washington, D.C. 20402-9328 i
l For sale by the U.S. Government Pnnting Office Supenntendent of Documents. Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-050102-4 l

111 o
CONTENTS                                                                                                                                                                 l l
i Highligh ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       ...... .................................. ...                                                  ix Changes in the Commissien and Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                          ... x Fees ..............................                             .......... ..... ........... ... .... .... .. .                                                     x Progra m Highligh ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                        .......        xi Nucl e ar Re a ct or S afe ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .            xi Nuclear Materials Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... ..................... . .......                                                          xi Nuclear Waste Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ... .................                                                ........        xii Communicating With Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                           xii Adj udicatory Proce edings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                 xiii S u p po rt Se rvi ces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               xiii Personnel, Training, and Employee Assistance Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                              xiii M an aging Dive rsity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                  xiii Information Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .................. .... ..                                           xiv Ad m i nist ra tive Se rvi ce s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Chapter 1: Nuclear Reactor Safety .                                   ............... .......................                                             ....      1 M a i n ta i n i n g S a fe ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .             1 Revisions to the Assessment and Oversight Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                       2 Year 2000 Problem in Nuclear Power Plants . . .................................... ......                                                                           5 Making 10 CFR Part 50 Risk-Informed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                  ......... ...........                          5 Allega tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............                      ............ ....... .                         5 Indemnity, Financial Protection, and Property Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                           5 Incident Response Ope rations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                         6 Reducing Unnecessary Licensee Burden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                  ...............                10 Issuance of Risk-Informed License Amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                     ...... . ......... . .                        10 Rulemaking on 10 CFR 50.59 . . . . . . ....................... ..............                                                             .... . .. ..             10 Guidance for Updating Final Safety Analysis Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                      10 Increasing Public Responsiveness and Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                                12

iv Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Key Processes .. .... .                                                                        . . . . .          12 NRC/ Industry Licensing Process Improvement Working Grouc . . .                                             .    . .. .......                   ....             13 Li ce n se Re n ewal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                     .. ...        13 Certification of Next-Generation Reactor Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . ....                                                     13 Independent Program Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                  ... .. ....... .....                                ... .         ......             14 Analysis of Operational Data for Reactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                            .....................                         15 Performance Indicator Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                    15 Accident Sequence Precursor Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                     . . . . . . . .         ............... ....                       15 Regulatory Effectiveness Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                          15 Common.Cause Failure Database and Studies . . .                             .....       ...            ..... ..... .........                            ..       16 System Reliability Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                     ...............                      .... 16 Abnormal Occurrences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ .. .                               .... ... ....... .. ... .. ..                                       16 Radiation Exposures and Overexposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                        17 Ad. judicatory Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                         . ...... ...... ..................                                      18 Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .... .... ..... ....                                                     18 Greater Efficiency in Adjudicatory Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . ...... ...... ....                                                     . ... . ..             20 New Procedures for License Transfer Applications . . . . . ...... .......                                               . .. ..... .... ...                      21 D e cisi on s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .           ... ..... ..                     22 Pe nding Litigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              ...... ..................                           22 Enforcement and Investigative Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                             ...........              22 Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . ....... ....                    .... ...... ..... .... ..... .                   .... .... ..                               . 22 Investigations . . . . . . . . . . ..........               .................. . . .... ...                                    ............                   . 24 Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards .........                                     ..... ... .... ...                       ........ .... .                  24 Chapter 2: Nuclear Materials Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                    ....... ......... ..                         27 Generic Materials Licensing and Inspection Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                                     . 28 Medical Use of Byproduct Material . . . . . . . . . . . .. ....... ...                                         . ..... . .. ....... ..                          28 Agreement States Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                  . .....  .                 . .......                  ..        ... 29 Cooperation With States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               .. .... ...                ....... ..                ......       29 Technical Assistance to States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                   ...       ......... .              30 Training Offered State Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                   ..        .     ...... ........ ..                     30 Review of State Regulatory Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ...... .. ........ .....                                                       30 Operational Events in Agreement States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... .. .. ... .....                                                         31 The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors,Inc. . . . . . .                                           ...........               .........            31 Fuel Cycle Facilities . .......               .... ........ ... .....                         .. . .... .....                        ... . ......               31

V Analysis of Materials Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                             32 Nuclear Material Licensees and Agreement States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                  32 Radiation Exposures and Overexposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                    33 Abnorm al Occurre n ce s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Rulemaking Supporting Nuclear Materials Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                     33 Licensee Burden Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              34 Improvements in the Regulatory Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                         34 Enforcement and Investigative Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                    35 Enforcement . . . . . . . . .......               ......... ..............................................                                                   35 Escalated Enforcement Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               35 Chapter 3: Nuclea r Waste Sa fety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                            37 S pe n t Fu el . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37   ,
1 Pilot Program for Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                              41    i H i gh- Level Wa s t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                 41 Low- Le ve l Wa s t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      42 Reactor and Site Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                     43 Uranium Recovery Licensing and Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                            44 Research Supporting Nuclear Waste Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                 45 Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste . . . . . . . . . .                                             ................. ............                           46 Chapter 4: International Nuclear Safety Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                49 Generic International Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                          49 Export Control and Non-Proliferation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                     50 International Nuclear Safety Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                        52 Implementation of U.S. Policy on Nuclear Assistance ................... ..................                                                                   52 Bilateral Cooperative and Assistance Activities . . . . . ....... ..............................                                                             53 Cooperation with Multilateral Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                            54 Development of International Legal Instruments .. .... ...................... ........ ..                                                                    58 International Nuclear Regulators Association . . . . . .                              . ...         ... ... .................. ...                           58 Year 2000 Activities . . . . . . . .            .....         . ....................................               .... ......                               58

vi                                    -
Chapter 5: Communicating With NRC Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                                 59 P ublic Inform a tio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                    59 M edi a Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              60 Publish e d In form a tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .          60 News Confe re n ce s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .            61 School Volunteer Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                      61 Communication With The Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                           62 State and Local Governments and American Indian 'Iribes . . . . . . . . . .                                                                           ........        66 Commission Meetings and Related Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                      67 Commission Decisionmaking Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                 68 Commission History Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                        68 Proceedings and Litigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                68 Advisory Com m i ttees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                    69 Cha pter 6: Support Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                  71 Omce of the Chief Financial Omcer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                         71 i
The Chie f Financial Officers Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                   71 Government Performance and Results Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... ........ .................                                                                72 Improving Financial Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ......                              72 Omce of the ChiefInformation Omcer ......                                                      ...       ..............................                               73   I Ye ar 2000 a t the NRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              73 Worl d Wi d e We b Si t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         75 NU REG-Series Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                      76 Agencywide Documents Access and Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                             76 Capital Planning and Investment Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                             77 Omce of Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                 77 NRC Staff-Years Expended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                      77 Re crui t m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Award s and Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               77 Benefits..............................................................................                                                                                78 Labor Rel a ti ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        78 -
Training and Developme nt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                 78 ) '
Employee Assistance, Health, and Fitness Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                       79 I
L--                                          -

f I
t I
i Office of Small Business and Civil Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                           79 Equal Employment Opportunity Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                  79 S m all B u si n e s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79     1 Affirmative Action Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                   .............................. ..... .....                                          79 Civil Rights Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... ......... ........                                     '80 Small Busin e ss Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .           81 Historically Black Colleges and Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                           81 Office of Adminis tra tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                     81 Fa ciliti e s Progra m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         81 Se curi ty Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Prope rty M anageme nt Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                         82 Recycling Progra m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..........                          82 Rulemaking and Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... ....                        .. ... .. ..........                             82 Contract M ana gement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                  ... ....................                        82 Appendix N RC O rga n iza t io n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                85 I<,igures 1.1       Performance Indicators-Annual Industry Averages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . .....                                                          3 1.2       Distribution of ASP Conditional Core Damage Probabilities by Calendar Year . . . . . . . . .                                                             4 1.3       Haddam Neck Plant . . . . . . . . . . ..................... .............. .... .....                                                                   18 2.1       U.S. Map. Location of NRC Offices and Agreement States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                 29 3.1       Operating Spent Fuel Storage Sites (ISFSI) . . . . . . . . . . . ........ .. .. .........                                                              39 3.2       Potential Near-Term, New ISFSI Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                     40 5.1       Region II Administrator Luis Reyes Briefs NRC Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson During a November 1997 Visit to St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Near Ft. Pierce, Florida. Florida Power and Light Company Was Changing Steam Generators in Its Unit 1 Containment Building. . . ............ .........                                                .. .................                        63 5.2       NRC Official John Austin (left) and a DOE Facilitator Respond to Questions From the Audience During a Public Meeting at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Associated Universities To Discuss a Pilot NRC Plan To Simulate Regulation of DOE Activities at a DOE Radiochemistry Laboratory at Oak Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                            63 5.3       Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat from Connecticut) Tours the Millstone Plant With NRC Executive Director for Operations Joseph Callan in February 1998 . . . . . . . . . .                                                          64 5.4       Special Projects Office Director William Travers, a Unit 3 Operator, and Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson in the Control Room at Millstone Nuclear Power Pla n t in February 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                         64 5.5       Commissioner Nils D.iaz in the Control Room at Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Ap ril 19 9 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       65 5.6      The NRC's Public Affairs Office Arranged for News Reporters To Interview the Helicopter Pilot and Crew Who Would Perform Aerial Surveys Over Greensboro, North Carolina, in March 1998, To Search for Missing Cesium-137 Sources That Disappeared From Greensboro's Moses Cone Hospital                                           .............. ... .. . ...                                65

viii 1
5.7 Region II Official Charles Hosey Points to Map Locations During the Aerial Surveys Over Greensboro, North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                          ..      ...... ....              .   . 66 Tables 1.1 Agency Responses to Event Notifications during Fiscal Year 1998 ....                                           .   . .. ..         8 1.2 Agency Responses to Non-Reportable Events during Fiscal Year 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                  8 1.3 Events Reported to the NRC Operations Center during Fiscal Year 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                     9 1.4 Classification of Events Under Licensee Emergency Plans from Calendar Year 1990 to Fiscal Year 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                      .. . ........ .. ........                     9 1.5 Civil Penalty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         . . . .........                  .... ........ ..             23 2.1 Distribution of NRC Nuclear Materials Specific Licenses (as of October 1,1998) . . . . . . .                                      28 2.2 Nuclear Materials Reportable Events Submitted to the NRC and to Agreement States in 1998 by Event 'Pype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..                         ...... 33 2.3 Civil Penalty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..         . ..          ...      ... ....             . ..... 35 5.1 Congressional Hearings at Which NRC Witnesses Testified or Submitted Testimony D uring FY 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      . .................. ..... ....                          62

- Highlights 1 mwmw-f                                        .,[
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This 24th annual report of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998--October 1,1997, through                                 )                   1 September 30,1998-discusses regulatory activities that support NRC's performance goals and movement toward risk-informed, performance-
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based regulation of nuclear materials and facilities. Additionally, the        E                  rN N .         "~
report includes organizational changes and major support services for          h achieving NRC's overall regulatory mission. NRC regulates the Nation's         L                              ~
civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure     4 adequate protection of the public health and safety, to promote the                             4  4 common defense and security, and to protect -;ne environment.                  h[
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Its mission and purposes are defined by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, which (p' 'g provide the foundation for regulating the Nation's civilian uses of nuclear    F'                                     5 materials. In accordance with the 1974 Act, the President appoints five Commissioners, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and k'                                         *
[                         4 designates the Chairman of the Commission from among these                      {.,
Commissioners.                                                                  I<                                          ,
The NRC carries out its mission through a licensing, certification, and         [:M d
regulatory system comprising the following activities:                          b                                     ,g Rs                   -
o      licensing the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning       'f                l/\} ,
of nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities (such as nuclear fuel                        W-cycle facilities, uranium enrichment facilities, and test and research      -
g reactors);                                                                .                    ..
[c                   X o      licensing the possession, use, processing, handling, and exporting of    [                       -
nuclear materials; f '(h #                                   .
o      licensing the siting, design, construction, operation, and closure of     h.
low-level radioactive waste disposal sites under NRC jurisdiction        [                                       ,
and the construction, operation, and closure of geologic repositories    f for high-level radioactive waste; p
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o      licensing the operators of civilian nuclear reactors;                     [
F         1 o      inspecting licensed and certified facilities and activities;              [ ..w                                    #
o      certifying privatized uranium enrichment facilities; e                                       ",
o      conducting research on light-water reactor safety to gain independent expertise and information for making timely regulatory        (b.        ' ,
judgments and for anticipating problems of potential safety               F                                  .
significance;                                                                                        >.
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                                                                                                      ,           m o      developing and implementing rules and regulations that govern             [V                             . ,t licensed nuclear activities; El s y.
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i e   investigating nuclear incidents and allegations    Several key executives were reassigned in FY 1998 concerning any matter regulated by the NRC;        or shortly thereafter. In the Commission Staff offices, Annette L. Vietti-Cook became Secretary e    enforcing NRC regulations and the conditions       of the Commission; Janice Dunn Lee became the of NRC licenses;                                   Acting Director of the Office of International Programs; and G. Paul Bollwerk, III, became the e    conducting public hearings on matters of           Acting Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic nuclear and radiological safety, environ-          Safety and Licensing Board Panel. Wilham D.
mental concern, common defense and                Travers became the Executive Director for security, and antitrust matters;                   Operations, Frank J. Miraglia became the Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Programs, and e    developing effective working relationships         Malcolm R. Knapp became the Deputy Executive with the States regarding reactor operations        Director for Regulatory Effectiveness. In the staff and the regulation of nuclear material;              ffices, Michael L. Springer became the Director of the Office of Admmistration, Paul H. Lohaus o
maintaimng the NRC Incident Response               became the Director of the Office of State Programs, and James E. Dyer became the Program, including the NRC Operations Center;                                            Regional Administrator in Region III.
o   collecting, analyzing, and disseminating           The NRC organization as of September 30,1998, information about the operational safety of        is shown in the Appendix to this report, and the commercial nuclear power reactors and              NRC orgam,zation as of February 19,1999,;s certain nonreactor activities;                     shown m an addendum to this appendix.
CHANGES IN THE COMMISSION AND                                          FEES ORGANIZATION The Omr.ibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-508), as amended, requires that As of September 30,1998, Dr. Shirley Aim                in FY 1998, the NRC collect fees (under 10 CFR Jackson was Chairman of the Commission (her             Part 170) and annual fees (under 10 CFR Part term expires June 30,1999), and the Com-               171) that approximate 100 percent of the agency's missioners were Nils J. Diaz (his term expires          budget authority,less the amount appropriated to June 30,2001) and Edward McGaffigan (his term          the NRC from the Nuclear Waste Fund. Public expires June 30,2000). The two vacant                   Law 105-62 appropriated $472.8 million to the Commissioner positions were filled shortly after       NRC for FY 1998. Of the funds appropriated to the end of the fiscal year: Greta J. Dieus returned    the NRC, $15 million was derived from the to the Commission on October 27,1998 (her term         Nuclear Waste Fund and $3 million was appro-expires June 30,2003), and Jeffrey Merrifield was      priated for regulatory reviews and other assistance appointed to the Commission on October 23,1998         provided to the Department of Energy and other (his term expires June 30,2002).                       Federal agencies; both of which are excluded from license fee revenues. In FY 1998, the total amount On December 10,1998, the Commission approved           collected through fees and other charges was the staff's plan to streamline the Office for          $458.9 million. Of this total, $454.8 million offsets Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data by         the appropriation, bringing the net appropriation consolidating its functions in other program           for FY 1998 to $18 million. The remaining $4.1 offices, primarily the Offices of Nuclear Reactor      million will be used to reduce the total fees Regulation and Nuclear Regulatory Research.            assessed in FY 1999.

I L
l xi PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS                                 Process Improvements. NRC achieved the goals of standardization and a more stable and l                                                    predictable licensing process through certification of two next-generation reactor designs (Advanced Boiling Waei Reactor and System 80+) and issuance of final design approval for the AP600 Nuclear Reactor Safety                             design.
In addition, during FY 1998, NRC initiated steps In FY 1998, the NRC continued to monitor           to streamline the license renewal process. As a significant safety and regulatory issues at 103    result of these ongoing efforts, the NRC estimates commercial nuclear power reactors that are         that the license renewal process can be completed licensed to operate and at another 18 that are     in 26 months instead of the previously estimated undergoing decommissioning.                        period of 5 years.
Allegations. In FY 1998, the NRC received 1,026    Ucensing qtion Inventory. For W M8, me licensing a tion inventory decreased about 11, allegations, comprising 2,222 individual concerns. Percent and the median age of the mventory is Of the 1,026 allegations,693 involved reactor      down from 7.6 months to 7.1 months. Contmued issues, 244 involved materials issues, 69 involved efficiency gains are expected as the NRC works Agreement State issues, and 20 m.yolved other      with an outside consultant and stakeholders on non-NRC issues.                                    licensing action process improvements.
lidemnity. Regarding insurance for nuclear power plants, the 16th annual property insurance reports submitted by power reactor licensees indicated     Nuclear Materials Safety that cf the 68 sites insured,53 are covered for at least the $1.06 billion as required under our      Nuclear materials safety activities included regulations. The remamm, g 15 sites have sought or licensing, certification, inspection, and other have been granted exemptions from the full         regulatory actions concerned with production and amount of required coverage,                       use of reactor-produced radioisotopes (byproduct material). Nuclear materials regulation during FY Stkeholder Involvement. In FY 1998, the number      1998 comprised-of public meetings and stakeholder involvement in NRC initiatives substantially increased. For
* 3,437 licensing actions. Of this total,277 were example, the Commission held specific meetings           for new licenses,2,940 were for amendments, with stakeholders: more than 14 meetings were            67 were for license renewals, and 153 were held with stakeholders on improvements to the            sealed source and device reviews; regulatory oversight program; five meetings were held in the second half of FY 1998 on licensing
* 1,884 materials b,censee m, spections; process improvements, and numerous public meetings and workshops were held in all program e    10 reviews and 1 follow-up review of areas. These activities complement the agency.           Agreement State programs and 2 regional wide plain language initiative.                          integrated program reviews; e    101 licensing and certification actions (e.g.,
Reducing Licensee Burden. One imtiative t                new, amended, and renewed licenses or reduce licensee burden m FY 1998 was the        .        certificates) for enrichment, fuel fabrication, contmuation of the Improved Standard Technical           conversion, and other fuel cycle facilities; and Specifications (ISTS) program. Applications to                                                                ,
l convert to ISTS have been received for 57 units.
* 191 fuel cycle facility licensee and certificate Of these,43 have been approved. The staff has            holder inspections.
seen a 32-percent reduction in the number of license amendments per unit for plants that have   Assistance to Agreement States. To assist the converted to ISTS.                                 States in administration of materials licensees, the

xii NRC sponsored 34 training courses and                  for determining the desirability of NRC's workshops attended by 357 State radiation control      regulatmy oversight of DOE nuclear facilities and personnel during the fiscal year.                      to support a decision on whether to seek legislation to authorize NRC regulation of DOE Strategic and Special Nuclear Material                 nuclear facilities.
(S&SNM). In carrying out its mandate to regulate S&SNM in FY 1998, the NRC completed 60                 The NRC conducted three pilot projects in FY safety-related source and S&SNM license or              1998 for the following facilities:
certificate amendments,37 S&SNM technical reviews, and 4 S&SNM license renewals. The              1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; NRC staff performed 134 inspections at eight fuel cycle facilities and 57 inspections at the two         2. Radiochemical Engineering Development gaseous diffusion plants. The NRC renewed three              Center at the Oak Ridge National SNM licenses that included specific review of the            Laboratory; and criticality safety function and 10 nuclear criticality safety-related license or certificate amendments.      3. Recem. .ng Basm. for Offsite Fuel at the Using a risk-informed and performance-based                  Savannah River Site.
approach, NRC inspection staff confirmed that In general, NRC found that under the existing criticality safety was adequate at each fuellicensee regulatory framework, NRC could resolve most of and gaseous diffus on plant.
the technical, policy, and regulatory issues that the NRC staff encountered and that precedent for resolving many of these issues was in existing NRC policy and practice.
Nuclear Waste Safety Communicating With Licensing and Inspection Activities. The NRC received 36 applications for spent fuel storage and    Stakeliolders transportation package de signs and facilities and completed 35 of these apAcations in FY 1998,           Improving Communication With the Public. In including an independerat spent fuel storage           the spring of 1998, the staff presented the installation license for the North Anna Nuclear        Commission with an extensive report containing Station. Separately, the staff comp!eted it's          more than 40 recommendations aimed at technical review for the Holtec HI-STAR storage        improving the quality, clarity, and credibility of cask and approved the MP-187 transportation            the agency's communications with all those package. The NRC also received 103 applications        interested in the safety oversight of nuclear power, for transportation package designs for other           and, particularly, with members of the general radioactive materials and completed the review         public. One recent publication that points and approval of 96 applications in FY 1998. The        interested persons to NRC information is the NRC has approved 13 designs for spent fuel             " Citizen's Guide to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory storage under the use of either a general license      Commission Information" (NUREG/BR-0010, or as part of a site-specific license, and it has      Rev. 3), published in December 1998. It describes certified two cask designs for the transport of        various types of NRC information and how to spent nuclear fuel. Finally, the inspection staff      obtain it.
completed 18 inspections and 60 reviews related to quality assurance, a number of which resulted       In the fall of 1998, the NRC submitted the Plain in significant inspection findings.                    Language Action Plan in response to President Clinton's direction to all Federal Agencies about Pilot Program Regarding U.S. Department of             participating in the Plain Language Initiative.
Energy (DOE) Nuclear Facilities. In FY 1998, the       Implementing this plan will further our earlier NRC and the DOE jointly conducted a pilot              efforts to improve agency communications with its program to provide DOE and NRC information             stakeholders.

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xiii The Office of Public Affairs established a special      of enforcement cases, materials licensing cases, Internet Web page entitled "NRC's Changing              and reactor license amendment cases. It was l
Regulatory Environment" to keep stakeholders            reflective of the regulation of a maturing industry, and the general public informed of steps being          and differed significantly from the Panel caseload taken to improve the NRC's regulatory                   in previous decades, which consisted mainly of performance. The Internet address for this page is      construction permit and operating license cases
  <http://www.nrc. gov /OPNehanges.htm >. This            for licensing new reactors.
page discusses meetings that the NRC has held to involve its stakeholders in the changes to its regulatory environment and its efforts to clearly commumcate proposed changes to the regulatory SUPPORT SERVICES process through its Plain Language Initiative. As                                                                  l an example, the NRC recently published "New                                                                        !
NRC Reactor Inspection and Oversight Program"           Personnel, TYa. .nning, and (NUREG--1649), an easy-to-read description of
                                ,                         Employee Assistance how NRC is revampmg this program.
Programs Ccmmunicating With the Media. To reach the                                                                         ,
media, the NRC held a two-day workshop for               During FY 1998, the NRC expended a total of               l reporters that covered current issues facing             2,949 staff-years in carrying out its mission. Total nuclear utilities across the nation in April 1998 in     staff-years included permanent full-time staff, addition to electronically providing press releases      permanent part-time staff, temporary employees, and speeches of senior officials to about 1,000          and consultants. The NRC hired 116 permanent subscribers worldwide free of charge.                    full-time employees and lost 176 permanent full-time employees, the latter figure representing Each of the NRC's four Regional Administrators          an attrition rate of 6.11 percent.
conducted periodic news briefings during the year.       As part of the training program, the NRC Sessions were held at the Salem plant in New             developed a new acquisition curriculum to teach Jersey, the D.C. Cook plant in Michigan, and the
             ,                                             Acquisition for Project Managers and for Quad Cities plant in Ilhnois. Other sessions were
                              ,                            Supervisors of Project Managers. Comprising held in Stuart and Miami, Florida; Atlanta,             11 workshops, this curriculum focuses on pro-             4 Georgia; and Erwin, Tennessee.                          curement reforms resulting from the Federal               l Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Federal              1 Acquisition Reform Act.
During FY 1998, the Employee Assistance Adjudicatory Proceedings                                                         ,        ,,
Program (EAP) continued to give mdividual counseling and referral assistance to NRC As part of its broad initiative to increase effective-  personnel with such problems as chemical ness of the NRC's programs and processes, the           dependency, job stress, chronic illness, sexual Commission on July 28,1998, issued a policy             harassment, and family issues. Employee visits to statement entitled " Policy on Conduct of               the health center average 30 per day. The NRC Adjudicatory Proceedings." 63 FR 41872                  continued offering a variety of health and fitness (August 31,1998). This statement critically             programs in its fitness center located in Two reassessed the NRC's practices and procedures for       White Flint North. About 500 NRC employees conducting adjudicatory proceedings under the           participated in these programs offered by existing Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2,            professionally trained exercise physiologists and primarily subpart G, and set out certain measures       health professionals.
hearing boards and presiding officers should
,  employ to ensure efficient conduct of proceedings.                              ,      ,
Managing Diversity Thz Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. The Panel's FY 1998 caseload followed a trend, begun         The managing diversity process is a long-term in the late 1980s, of a docket primarily consisting      initiative designed to create and maintain an

? xiv environment in which every employee is valued       written by the staff. Some of them are posted to and works cooperatively to do his or her best       f he NRC's WWW site.
work. During FY 1998, three sessions of the Managing Diversity Leadership Seminars were held for headquarters managers and supervisors                , ,          ,
and one session in each of the agency's four        Administrative Services regional offices. To enhance information sharing with the small business community, the office Property Management Program. Executive Order mitiated a series of small business forums that are 12999, " Improving Mathematics and Science conducted quarterly and installed a toll-free, 24-hour voice mail system that has fax-on-demand     Education in Support of National Education capability.                                          Goals," directs Federal agencies to the maximum extent possible tc identify and transfer excess education-related equipment to elementary and secondary schools. Under these guidelines, the NRC established a program for donating used and obsolescent computer equipment to school Information Management                              systems nationwide. In FY 1998, the NRC donated more than 1,241 pieces of computer equipment, NRC's World Wide Web Site. Posting material to      including color monitors, system units, and NRC's World Wide Web site resulted in savings.      Printers.
For example, incorporating the information previously available at the Fedworld Web site, which had been maintained for NRC by the            Contract Management. Effective implementation National Technical Information System, saved an     of procurement reforms resulted in timely annual cost of $176,000. The agency also improved   contract awards for obligations totaling $73 access to the information by restructuring the      million. The agency also processed 5,093 indices by topic. In addition, posting agency       purchase-card transactions totaling $2.7 million announcements to NRC's internal Web site for        for an estimated savings of $255,000 during FY staff use saved 3400 reams of paper and $103,500     1998. Implementation of a new contract annually. The NRC Web site receives an average      information system has facilitated availability of of 75,000 hits a day. A hit is equivalent to        procurement data to staff and managers and has accessing a single page or graphic.                 improved the accuracy of the data. NRC continued to conduct reviews of DOE laboratory Publications. In FY 1998, the OCIO issued 283       agreements to ensure effective oversight for NUREG-series publications, many of which are        placement and monitoring of the agency's work cited in this report. Sixty percent of these were   performed under such agreements.

Nuclear Reactor Safety yz,__,
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p g            w I                                      1 The strategic goal for nuclear reactor safety is to prevent radiation-            b                                      l related deaths and illnesses and protect the environment in the use of            F9             sI'                H civilian nuclear reactors. In Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, the U.S. Nuclear            h                   4 fH g Regulatory Commission (NRC) met the associated performance goals and had (1) no civ.lian nuclear reactor accidents; (2) no deaths resulting      {/ ] .      .
                                                                                                  ,M,.g)         Qy from radiation or radioactivity releases from civilian nuclear reactors;         L
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(3) no substantiated breakdown of physical protection that significantly        [
weakens protection against radiological sabotage or theft or diversion of        if                      v special nuclear materials; and (4) no offsite releases of radioactive material from civilian nuclear reactors that have the potential to cause a        ,
serious adverse impact on the environment. Data for the fifth goal, environmental impacts, are considered through the National
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EnvironmentalPolicy Act (NEPA) process before regulatory action is              k taken and will be available for FY 1999.                                                    .
4 The primary mission of the NRC as it pertains to the Nuclear Reactor Safety Arena is to ensure that its licensees safely design, construct, and      {
op: rate civilian nuclear reactor facilities, as well as nonpower reactors. g '-
Tie NRC mission is accomplished through reactor licensing, inspection,          c-performance assessment, identification and resolution of safety issues, reactor regulatory research, regulation development, independent
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assessment of reactor operational events and experience, investigations of alleged wrongdoing by licensees, applicants, contractors or vendors,         {[
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and imposition of enforcement sanctions for violations of NRC requirements.
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Activities of the NRC staff during FY 1998 focused on four outcomes:
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: 1. maintaining safety;
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: 2.      reducing unnecessary licensee burden;
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: 3.      increasing public responsiveness and communication; and                                   '         '
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: 4.      increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of key processes.
Specific activities contributing to attainment of these outcomes in FY 1998 are discussed in this section.                                             lI-
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t MAINTAINING SAFETY                                                              0 f,
The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) is responsible for              [
ensuring the public health and safety through licensing and inspection activities at all nuclear power reactor facilities in the United States. It is [e        "
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E responsible for the oversight of all aspects oflicensing and inspection of
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I manufacturing, production, and utilization               Revisions to the Assessment facilities (except for facilities reprocessing fuel                                    .                                                                                 I and performing isotropic fuel enrichment), and           and Oversight Process receipt, possession, and ownership of source, byproduct, and special nuclear material used or          The NRC initiated efforts to develop a new produced at facilities licensed under 10 CFR             assessment and oversight process that focuses on Part 50," Domestic Licensing of Production and           regulated activities that pose the greatest risk to Utilization Facilities." In addition, the NRR staff      the public. This process is based on probabilistic develops policy and inspection guidance for              risk assessment (PRA) concepts and other programs assigned to the regional offices and             approaches to monitor and assess the per-                                                                       1 assesses the effectiveness and uniformity of the         formance of nuclear power plants. The NRC staff                                                                 I region's implementation of those programs. The           worked closely with the ACRS to develop staff also identifies, and in coordination with the      guidance documents and pilot applications on the regional offices, takes action regarding conditions      use of PRA in the regulatory process. The and licensee performance at such facilities that         continued development of a new risk-informed may adversely affect public health and safety, the       oversight process will continue into FY 1999.                                                                    l emironment, or the safeguarding of nuclear               Activities that occurred during FY 1998 were-
;     facilities. It assesses and recommends or takes action in response to incidents or accidents.
* Using a team of regional and headquarters experts, the NRC staff proposed a new assessment framework that builds upon the The NRC is responsible for licensing issues and                            cornerstones oflicensec performance that regulatory policy concerning reactor operators,                            must be monitored to ensure that nuclear including the initial licensing examination and                            power reactor operations do not pose requalification examinations; emergency                                    unacceptable risks to the public. As part of preparedness, including participation in                                   the assessment framework, the NRC staff has emergency drills with Federal, State, and local                            identified performance indicators, agencies; radiation protection; security and                               performance indicator thresholds, and safeguards at such facilities, including fitness for                       risk-informed inspections that would duty; and the inspection of nuclear component                              supplement and verify the validity of the supplier facilities. Regulatory responsibilities for                       performance indicator data.
reactors include the technical review, certification, and licensing of advanced nuclear         e                 Using a risk-informed approach, the NRC reactor facilities and the renewal of current power                        staff developed a proposed baseline reactor operating licenses. The staff also                                 inspection program that includes a exchanges safety and regulatory information with                           comprehensive list of inspectable areas within other nations having major nuclear power                                   each cornerstone of the assessment programs.                                                                  framework. A recent report,"New NRC Reactor Inspection and Oversight Program" In FY 1998, the NRC continued to monitor significant safety and regulatory issues at 103
* A public comment period on the new commercial nuclear power reactors that are                                 oversight process was used to seek comment licensed to operate and at another 18 that are                             on improvements to the assessment, undergoing decommissioning. Improving trends                               inspection, and enforcement processes.
contimied in that NRC tracked performance indic>tm and accident sequence precursors                e                 A workshop was held with the industry and (Fir.ms 2.1 and 1.2). For additional information                           the public to obtain and evaluate input on aboui 6e figures, see " Analysis of Operational                            recommendations for improving the Data for Reactors"in this chapter.                                         regulatory oversight process. Consensus was reached on the overall philosophy of the proposed process. The results of the Other noteworthy topics relating to the outcome                            workshop will be used as the foundation of of maintaining safety include the following areas.                         the new oversight process during FY 1999.

3 AnnualIndustry Averages                                                                     '
1985 -1998 Automatic Reactor Screms While Critcal SafetySptem Actuatons
        'lis i
n i
l P I; 6                                                                      .
4!
j     y
     . y               l                                              J3               t-N{ l                                                                          li         -q-b                    b!!HRana                                              !l NlSEhan Year gy gggggg,                                                       Safety System FWlures s                                                                       6 7                                                                 4
    %__1Hillha n
voar ForcMQggae. Rate v.ar Eqtapment Forced Outages /
1000 CommercialCrttcal Hours i so                                                 f d           7                                                   m j ''                   l         3 t i 'I S1                        1   ,c8      9 8
1 j
{
i } iac l l
2 s'           (1
                               +     2
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                .,)   [                  :j d
                           ;j   1     3                9 l  .
k     i h               -
                                                                                                             ?
j
:s lid                      $ !          b    ) j         l!                              113              ]O$ b H voar                                                               Year Collective Radiation Exposure (Persort Mdlisaevert) son        7                                                                      1998 value based on first three qu ,ie,s       t.
t
     ~
                )! f) )
l         >
1 ,0       ,
I         l u
   !=,'j]1j;q!l1'llli,;)=                        j
                                            ;;       o a   ;  -
         .!]dii                         il1 3 II1.
v..,
Figure 1.1 Performance Indicators-Annual Industry Averages

4 Conditional Core Damage Probability Results From ASP Program 20 81.0x10* to 1.0x10* B 1.0x10* to 1.0x10*
E 1.0x10* to 1.0x10* M Greater then 1.0x10*
IZ 1.0x10* to 1.0x10*
15  -       -
1 h,               !                                     %
4                                                  ?    $
k-10  -
I                            a a
s /j                              3 3         ,         I                              l    f g          1         ;         i              -
1      3                        3 Z          j-        '
                                          $      j j      j                        f 5       j         ;       9 j-       "     y
                                                                   -S j-S y
g
:q     <-                  ;              3 4      '
4      4
:                  >              e j                -   e    =
3      ;               ,              3 3
                                           !     ,       !                                                  l
:ll       !E        1               .      !I di i                  i     E           1B 1985 1985 1906 1987 1988 1989 1990* 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Year                                                      j
* The Vogue Event has been rounded up from 9.7x104 and plotted as 1.0x10*.
Figure 1.2 Distribution of ASP Conditional Core Damage Probabilities by Calendar Year
* The NRC suspended the Systematic                                  the ACRS to formulate the new inspection Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP)                         and assessment process.
process so that resources could be focused on developing assessment process                                The NRC staff conducted a self-assessment of the improvements,                                               way it reviews and evaluates events seencywide and developed recommendations from the                !
j analysis of this .c elf-assessment. The results were documented in a report that was completed in
* The Senior Management Meeting (SMM),                                                                              i which is a review and integration of the                     December 1998 and transmitted to the agency's observations and findings for nuclear               Commission in a paper identified as SECY              !
reactors, was changed from a semiannual to                   99-005 (see Chapter 5," Communicating With            !
an annual meeting. As a result of this                       NRC Stakeholders,"in this report for information meeting, the NRC staff worked closely with                   about Commission Papers with these designators).
l I                                                                                                                        I

f l
l 5
l   Yaar 2000 Problem in Nuclear                           systems, and components and the evaluation of potential changes to the body of Part 50 Pzwer Plants                                          regulations that would incorporate risk-informed I
attributes (e.g., deleting unnecessary or ineffective In FY 1998, the NRC continued its oversight of         regulations and including provisions for risk-nuclear Power Pl ant licensee efforts to address the   inf rmed alternatives to present requirements).
Year 2000 (Y2K) problem. As a result ofinter-          This is a natural continuation of recently actions between the NRC staff and the Nuclear completed work on the development of risk-              I Energy Institute (NEI) on the Y2K problem, NEI         informed regulatory guides (RGs) and the                 I issued " Nuclear Utility Year 2000 Readmess"           standard review plan (SRP) chapters. Together, (NEI/NUSMG 97 -07), dated October 1997,                these documents will serve to establish a which provided gmdance to nuclear power plant           risk-informed regulatory infrastructure by licensees on implementation of a program t              providing criteria for NRC to use in evaluating address the Y2K problem at their facilities. In         applications referencing risk insights. They will be May 1998, the NRC issued Generic Letter 98-01,          a key ingredient in attaining the goal of the NRC's Year 2000 Readiness of Computer Systems at            strategic plan for nuclear reactor safety.
Nuclear Power Plants," which requested licensees to confirm implementation of a Y2K readiness program consistent with the NRC accepted industry guidance document (NEI/NUSMG Allegations 97-07) and to confirm Y2K readiness of their facilities by July 1,1999, or to provide a status and  In FY ,1998, the NRC received 1,026 allegations, schedule of work remaining to achieve readiness.       comprismg 2,222 individual concerns. Of the 1,026 In August 1998, all licensees confirmed implemen,      allegations,693 mvolved reactor issues,244 tation of a Y2K readiness program consistent with      involved materials issues,69 m, yolved Agreement the NEI/NUSMG 97-07 guidance. In September             State issues, and 20 m, volved other non-NRC 1998, the NRC began to conduct 12 sample audits        issues. Of the 1,026 allegations received,201 were of licensee Y2K readiness programs in order to         purported to involve wrongdoing and 118 stated verify the effectiveness oflicensee efforts. In        that someone had been disenmmated against for mid-CY 1999, the NRC plans to review the Y2K           raising a safety or regulatory concern. In the same readiness program activities and contingency           time frame, the NRC completed action on 1,264            ,
planning development at all 103 operating nuclear      allegations, comprismg 3,087 individual concerns.
power plants. The audits will continue into the        In 35 percent of the allegations on which action early part of CY 1999.                                was completed, the NRC was able to substantiate the validity of at least part of the concerns raised.
The average time to complete the review of allegations was 117 days for allegations that did not involve wrongdoing and 354 days for                   i Making 10 CFR Part 50                                 allegations involving wrongdoing. This average is         l Risk-Informed                                         animpr vement ver the average time to complete reviews in FY 1997,119 days and 371 l
days, respectively.                                       l The staff began work on a proposed plan for the                                                                  '
Commission that discusses approaches to modifying the regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 to                        .
Indemnity, Financial make them risk-informed. This initiative is intended to contribute to maintaining safety by focusing NRC and licensee resources on those           Protection, and Property areas of greatest risk significance. The plan will     Insurance identify related policy issues for Commission consideration. Among other things, it will propose     As part of its responsibilities under the hice-the development of risk informed definitions for       Anderson Act, the NRC provides a summary to safety-related and safety-important structures,        Congress ofits key activities concerning

6 indemnity, financial protection, and property                                                                                                           internals, and part length control rod drive insurance. On September 17,1998, the                                                                                                                    mechanisms; Commission forwarded to Congress, NUREG/
CR-6617, a Congressionally mandated report on                                                                                                     e     participating in bilateral exchanges of safety the status of the Price-Anderson system and                                                                                                             and regulatory information with nations conclusions and recommendations that should be                                                                                                          having major nuclear power programs, which considered if Congress decides to extend                                                                                                                included France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Price-Anderson beyond the current August 1,                                                                                                             Spain, Korea, Taiwan, and Canada. (See also 2002, expiration date.                                                                                                                                  Chapter 4," International Nuclear Safety Support," in this report.) The main technical In addition, the 16th annual property insurance                                                                                                         topics included in these exchanges were safety performance of high burnup fuels, risk-I                                     reports submitted by power reactor licensees indicated that of the 68 sites insured,53 are                                                                                                           informed regulation, advanced digital covered for at least the $1.06 billion as required                                                                                                      instrumentation and control (I&C) systems, under our regulations. The remaining 15 sites                                                                                                           and recent events of regulatory significance.
have sought or have been granted exemptions                                                                                                             The NRC continued participation in a four-from the full amount of required coverage,                                                                                                             party working group (regulatory authorities of France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and l                                                                                                                                                                                              the United States) to exchange information            ]
Finally, the private nuclear energy liability insurance pool, American Nuclear Insurers, paid                                                                                                         on digital I&C systems and was also involved          !
policyholders a 32nd annual refund of premium                                                                                                           in compilation of material from NRC                   (
reserves under their Industry Credit Rating Plan.                                                                                                       publications for the U.S. national report for Under the plan, a portion of the annual premiums                                                                                                        the International Convention on Nuclear is set aside as a reserve available for refund to                                                                                                       Safety; and policyholders. The amount of the reserve available e      representing the United States on the for refund is determined on the basis of the lou Nuclear Energy Agency Committee on                    1 experienced by all policyholders over the preceding 10-year period. Refunds paid in 1998 Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). Tne             i I
CNRA focused, during this year, on Review (for the period from 1988 through 1998); totaled                                                                                                        Procedures and Criteria for different Regula-
                                       $32,057,988, which is approximately 43.6 percent of all premiums paid on the nuclear liability                                                                                                           tory Applications of probabilistic safety              l insurance policies issued in 1988. The refunds                                                                                                          assessment; Inspection Practices; Fuel Safety         l represent about 75.1 percent of the premiums                                                                                                            Margins, and, Future Regulatory Challenges.           l' The NRC was also active in support of placed in reserve in 1988.
selected IAEA nuclear safety programs.
Other key ongoing activities with respect to maintaining safety include-Incident Response Operations e    continuing to implement revised inspection procedures to ensure design basis is                                                                                                        The NRC conducts incident response activities to appropriately captured at licensed reactor                                                                                                  ensure that (1) it is prepared to carry out its role facilities;                                                                                                                                 in a radiological emergency at NRC-licensed nuclear reactor and materials facilities, e    publishing a draft rule to require licensees to                                                                                             (2) licensee responses are consistent with licensee complete safety assessments before                                                                                                          responsibilities, and (3) NRC responses are performing on-line maintenance, including                                                                                                   coordinated with other Federal response activities during shutdown conditions;                                                                                                                 and State and local government activities. To ensure that a reliable and high-quality incident e    overseeing industry initiatives on several                                                                                                  response program is maintained, the NRC-safety issues, including high pressure injection line cracking; guidelines for surveillance and                                                                                              a      maintains and implements the NRC incident maintenance of steam generators; and                                                                                                               response program in preparation for actual inspection and repair of BWR reactor vessel                                                                                                        operational events within the industry;

l 7
o    operates the NRC Operations Center 24                       During FY 1998, the NRC entered the Standby hours a day with engineers and scientists                   Mode and Monitoring Phase of Normal Mode for capable of receiving event reports and                     the Davis Besse loss-of-offsite-power Alert caused recognizing and communicating problems and                by a tornado. The Monitoring Phase of Normal emergencies to managers;                                   Mode was also entered for one Alert, four Unusual Events, and one non-emergency event as o    coordinates efforts to maintain the                       well as in anticipation of the potential onset of two functionality of the Federal Radiological                 hurricar s Tables 1.1 and 1.2 summarize the Emergency Response Plan, the Federal                      NRC's responses to both event notifications and Response Plan, and agreements between the                other non-reportable events during FY 1998.
NRC and other State, Federal, and international organizations and countries on             'I\vo events in Table 1.1, Washington Nuclear 2 and responses to nuclear events;                             Davis Besse 1, reached the threshold for evaluation by the Accident Sequence Precursor o    conducts a State outreach program to                    (ASP) Program. The Washington Nuclear 2 event improve the States' understanding of how the            has been preliminarily classified as an " interesting NRC, as the Lead Federal Agency, will                   event," with a conditional core damage probability coordinate the Federal response to a severe             (CCDP) not greater than 1E-06. The Davis accident at a nuclear facility; and                     Besse 1 event has been preliminarily classified as a precurtor event with a CCDP of approximately o   maintains the NRC Operations Center and               4E-4. While the implication for risk evaluation is regional functional procedures, response              still being assessed, there is no significance from tools, and training.                                  either of the events relative to the overallimpact on the public health and safety. The other events The NRC is prepared to respond to an event at all         described in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 were judged to be times by continually staffing the NRC Operations         oflesser risk significance.
Center with highly qualified Operations Officers,
  ,       by having an adequately staffed and trained               In addition to emergency event notifications, the incident response organization, and by having an         NRC Operations Center receives notifications of NRC Operations Center and an emergency                  events that do not meet the threshold for telecommunications system that are available            emergency classification under licensee under all circumstances. Upon notification of an        emergency response plans. The Operations emergency, the NRC promptly determines the             Center received reports of 1,836 events during FY appropriate response, rapidly staffs the NRC             1998, including 24 Unusual Events and 8 Alerts.
Operations Center with an appropriate                    (This data excludes emergency event report complement of responders, and conducts an retractions. One Alert and four Unusual Event independent assessment of plant conditions and protective action recommendations for both               notifications were retracted by licensees following event evaluation and response.) The events licensee personnel and the public.
reported to the NRC Operations Center during FY 1998 are summarized in Tables 1.3 and 1.4.
In the event of an emergency at an NRC-licensed facility (or associated with an NRC-licensed          Augmented Inspection 7bam Response. On June 17, activity), the licensee places an emergency             1998, owing to various equipment deficiencies and telephone call to the NRC Operations Center           maintenance errors, a rupture occurred in the immediately after notifying appropriate State and      firemain system at Washington Nuclear Power local agencies. The NRC's response to an event         Plant, Unit 2. The unit was in cold shutdown and may range from routine followup to a complete          preparations were underway for a plant startup.
activation of both the regional Incident Response      The rupture of the firemain system caused Center and the NRC Operations Center located in        flooding that entered safety-related equipment headquarters. The NRC utilizes the following           rooms and completely submerged one equipment formal modes for responding to events at its           room and rose to excessive levels in an adjacent licensed facilities: Normal, Standby, Initial          room via a failed drain sump cross-connect valve.
Activation, and Expanded Activation.                   To isolate the flooding, plant operators secured i

8 l
I Table 1.1 Agency Responses to Event Notifications during Fiscal Year 1998 Emergency Classification, Event Date, and NRC Response Mode            l Facility                         Description of Event NON-EMERGENCY - 03/04/98 - North                  Monitoring Phase of Moses Cone Health Systems                     Carolina Division of Radiation Protection         Normal report regarding 19 Cesium-137 brachyther-apy sources ranging from 12 to 60 millicuries missing from a hospital located in the Greensboro area ALERT - 04/17/98 - Strong odor of either          Monitoring Phase of Limerick 1 propane or acetylene in the Unit 1 turbine        Normal (GE/BWR-4) condenser area Washington Nuclear 2        UNUSUAL EVENT - 06/17/98 - Flooding               Monitoring Phase of of two emergency core cooling system pump         Normal (GE/BWR-5) rooms due to a broken fire header line Davis Besse 1               ALERT / UNUSUAL EVENT - 06/24/98 -                Standby and Monitor-ing Phase of Normal (B&W-R-LP/PWR) Tornado damage in the electrical switchyard, cooling tower, and turbine building and re-sulting in a turbine trip / reactor trip from 99%
power due to a loss of offsite power Brunswick 1,2                UNUSUAL EVENT - 08/25/98 - Issuance              Monitoring Phase of of a Hurricane Warning due to the potential       Normal (GE/BWR-4) onset of Hurricane Bonnie Thrkey Point 3,4             UNUSUAL EVENT - 09/24/98 - Issuance               Monitoring Phase of of a Hurricane Warning due to the potential       Normal                      s (E/PWR-3) onset of Hurricane Georges Waterford 3                  UNUSUAL EVENT - 09/26/98 - Issuance               Monitoring Phase of of a Hurricane Warning due to the potential       Normal (CE/PWR) onset of Hurricane Georges Table 1.2 Agency Responses to Non-Reportable Events during Fiscal Year 1998 NRC Response Event Dates           Description of Event             Facilities Involved           Mode 08/25 - 27/98       Anticipation of the potential         General Electric      Monitoring Phase of onset of Hurricane Bonnie             Nuclear Energy        Normal Harris 1
* Brunswick 1,2 Surry 1,2 09/25/98            Anticipation of the potential
* Turkey Point 1,2     Monitoring Phase of 09/27 - 28/98       onset of Hurricane Georges              *Waterford 3        Normal River Bend 1 Grand Gulf 1 Farley 1,2
* Brunswick, Thrkey Point, and Waterford made event notifications on these issues. (Refer to Table 1)

mummmmmmum 9 Table 1.3 Events Reported to the NRC Operations Center during Fiscal Year 1998 Non-Well Logging /
Emergency         Power        Fuel        Power                    Transport /
Class         Reactor     Facility     Reactor     IIospital      Materials       Other          Total Non-Emergency        1,213       295          1            57          120               118           1,804 Unusual Event            24'         0            0            0           0                 0            24*
Alert            4           4*           0            0           0                 0            8' Site Area Emergency        0           0            0            0           0                 0            0 General Emergency        0           0            0          0             0                0             0 Total            1,241*      299*         1          57            120               118          1,836*
* Data excludes emergency event report retractions (One Alert and four Unusual Event notifications _
were retracted by licensees following event evaluation and response.)
Table 1.4 Classification of Events Under Licensee Emergency Plans from Calendar Year 1990 to Fiscal Year 1998 Emergency Class        CY90       CY91        CY92      CY93        CY94      CY95      FY96      FY97         FY98 Unusual Event           151        170         135       103         97        66*       67*       49*          24*
Adert           10         9          20         8           4         8         10        4            8*
Site Area Emergency       1          2           1         1          0          0         1        0             0 General Emergency       0          0          0         0           0          0         0        0             0 Total            162        181        156        112         101       74*       78*      53*           32*
* Data excludes emergency event report retractions (During fiscal year 1998, one Alert and four Unusual Event notifications were retracted by licensees following event evaluation and response.)
NOTE: Calendar year values are shown for 1990 through 1995, and fiscal year values are used from 1996 on. Data for October 1,1995, through December 31,1996, is included in both calendar year 1995 and fiscal year 1996.
the fire pumps, which impaired the normal fire                An NRC augmented inspection team (AIT) was suppression capability of the station. On the basis           dispatched from Region IV and was on site from of these events, the plant operators declared a               June 17 to 23,1998. The results of the AIT were notification of unusual event and activated the               presented at a public exit meeting on site on plant emergency response organization.                        July 8,1998, and were documented in NRC

10 Inspection Report 50-397/98-16, which was             e     A confirmatory order was issued modifying issued on July 17,1998. A Preliminary                       post-TMI containment hydrogen monitor Notification of Occurrence PNO-IV-98-026,                   requirements for Arkansas Nuclear One-2.
which described this event, was issued on June 18, 1998, updated on June 19,1998, and updated            e     A pilot application of a risk-informed again on June 23,1998. Finally, NRC Information             inservice testing program at Comanche Peak Notice 98-31 was issued on August 18,1998,and               was completed.
provided further details related to the event.
* Pilot applications of risk-informed Inservice inspection programs were initiated at Vermont Yankee, Surry, and Arkansas Nuclear One-2.
REDUCING UNNECESSARY LICENSEE BURDEN                                       Rulemaking on 10 CFR 50.59 i
The NRC staff continued to pursue initiatives in      During FY 1998, the NRC prepared proposed FY 1998 that focused on the dual outcomes of          rulemaking for revisions to 10 CFR 50.59 and maintaining safety while reducing unnecessary         related requirements, concerning processes for      )
burden on its licensees. Initial feedback from        control of changes made by licensees to their       {
reactor licensees indicated that NRC initiatives      facilities without prior NRC approval. The           I are starting to be effective in reducing unnecessary purpose of the proposed rule is to provide clarity   .
burden at reactor sites. Some of these activities    through definitions and, also, flexibility through  I are summarized in the following sections.            revised criteria for when prior approval is needed.
The staff paper was forwarded to the Commission on July 10,1998 (SECY-98-171), and the              ;
Commission approved publication of a proposed rule for a 60-day comment period in a Staff         1 Issuance of Risk-Informed                             Requirements Memorandum dated September 25, License Amendments                                    1998. The proposed rule was published on October 21,1998 (63 FR 56098).
During FY 1998, the staff performed numerous risk-informed licensing reviews that resulted in the issuance of numerous license amendments. Many         Guidance for Updating Final                         I of these amendments modified technical                                                     .
specifications. The following are some examples       Safety Analysis Reports                            i of the results oflicensing reviews:
As a result of the lessons-learned from the e     Amendments were issued extending the            Millstone Nuclear Power Plant experience and the allowed outage times (AOTs) for (a) a single    discovery that updates to final safety analysis inoperable safety injection tank at San         reports (FSARs) at a number of plants did not Onofre-2 and -3, Arkansas Nuclear One-2,        contain the types of information expected, the and Millstone-2, and (b) a single inoperable    NRC determined that additional guidance was emergency diesel generator at Fermi-2,          necessa y. The staff developed a proposed generic Pilgrim, North Anna-1 and -2, and San           letter, but its issuance was deferred pending Onofre-2 and -3.                                resolution of differences between staff positions and those in a guidance document proposed by e    Approval of a Westinghouse proposal was         industry. During the summer of 1998, the staff and given that could be used by licensees of        industry met several times to resolve the Westinghouse plants of various vintage to       remainingissues. As of September 30,1998,the allow their extension of the AOTs for a single  staff was waiting for industry to submit its inoperable accumulator,                         guidance document for formal endorsement in a

1 l                                                                                                            11 l regulatory guide. FSAR guidance can be found at        toughness bases for nuclear plant pressure
  < htt p://www.n re. gov /O PA/gmoltip/tip41.ht m > . temperature (P-T) limits. This work established
[                                                        the technica' bases for changing the basic fracture toughness curves used in determining P-T curves l Other burden reduction initiatives pursued in FY                                  ,
and also provided a sigmficant burden reduction i 1998 include-i for the majon,ty of operating nuclear plants.
o    continuation of the Improved Standard Technical Specifications (ISTS) program.          Second, the NRC published " Improved Applications to convert to ISTS have been         Embrittlement Correlations for Reactor Vessel received for 57 units. Of these,43 have been      Steels" (draft NUREG/CR-6551), which l       approved. The staff has seen a 32-percent        provides much of the technical basis for revising l       reduction in the number oflicense                Regulatory Guide 1.99, Rev. 2, on Radiation            i l       amendments per unit for plants that have         Embrittlement. The industry is currently using the     l
!      converted to ISTS.                                work described in the report as the basis for a revision to ASTM Standard E-900 on Radiation o     improvements to guidance in a range of areas such as enforcement where guidance was
;       issued to clarify existing policy in handling of
                                    ,                    Third, the NRC completed detailed ultrasonic test non-risk sigmficant violations and Severity Level IV violations (see " Enforcement an',      (UT) examinations of welds removed from an RPV that had not seen service. The results of Investigative Actions ,in this chapter). In
              ,                                          these examinations are being used to develop an addition, concerns regarding comphance            accurate assessment of the flaw density and backfits as it relates to generic                distribution for RPV welds that will be used in        :
communications were addressed as well as          reevaluation of the bases for NRC's Pressurized       l actions to clarify guidance on the threshold     Thermal Shock screening criteria in 10 CFR 50.61.
for issuing a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to licensees.
Seismic Design of Piping. Several technical issues o     rulemaking improvements, such as changes to      were raised about the seismic design codes for regulations to eliminate requirements for         nuclear plant piping proposed in the Addenda of licensees to periodically update to the latest    the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The endorsed edition and addenda of the               proposed codes,if endorsed in the NRC American Society of Mechanical Engineers          regulations, could significantly reduce the safety (ASME) code, response to an industry              margins for some piping designs if the codes are rulemaking petition concerning changes to         used for plant modifications as well as new I       licensee Quality Assurance Plans, and a           designs. Because of these concerns, the NRC rulemaking plan to allow credit for more          initiated a research program to assess the accurate flow measurements in analyses for        technical basis for the proposed new codes.
emergency core cooling system performance.
The research project confirmed that some Reactor Pressure Vessels. During FY 1998 the provisions of the 1994 Addenda have inadequate i  NRC completed three major activities that have         techmcal bases and may not provide an adequate l contributed to the relaxation of overly margin f safety. Specifically, both fatigut w l  conservative criteria and that are contributing to                                                     ,
collapse failure modes need to be considered in the technical basis for a broad reassessment of the          ,      ,
re      ements for ensuring reactor pressure vessel
{P'ns ere        ly   fati e fa lu e ode More Y'                                        important, the work provided the NRC staff with l                                                         the technical basis to define an adequate level of First, working with the ASME Working Group,            safety margins, based on risk-informed the NRC undertook a reevaluation of the fracture       considerations, to calculate the design margin.

12 INCREASING PUBLIC                                      Regional Reactw Site Visits. In late 1997 through early 1998, the Sem,or Reactor Analysts (SRAt)
RESPONSIVENESS AND                                      conducted site interface visits with each facility in Region IV for the purpose of establishing COMMUNICATION                                           technical contact with the licensee's risk organizations. These visits usually lasted two days, and the first day was devoted to technical The final key outcome that was the NRC's staff discussions related to the status of the licensee's focus in FY 1998 was increasing public confidence.      risk analysis. Discussions centered around the Often, the specific activities affecting this outcome  plant-specific risk profile as well as how the are intertwined in programs and initiatives            current profile may have changed from that reported in the other outcome areas. A sampling submitted in the integrated plant evaluation (IPE) of some of the FY 1998 activities not previously       studies. During the second day, the SRAs,in mentioned are summarized below, conjunction with the plant staff, toured the plants for the purpose of gaining familiarity with the
* In FY 1998, the number of public meetings        major risk significant equipment and operator and the stakeholder involvement in NRC            actions at site. Whenever possible, the assigned initiatives substantially increased. For          resident staff participated in the visits. The visits example, the Commission held specific             included discussions with various plant meetings with stakeholders; over 14 meetings      organizations to gain an appreciation of how risk were held with stakeholders on improvements       insights are being integrated into plant operations.
to the regulatory oversight program; five meetings were held in the second half of FY       The visits yielded immediate short-term benefits.
1998 on licensing process improvements as         The SRAs were able to collect information that well as numerous public meetings and              allowed the region to gain valuable insights in the workshops being held in all program areas         following areas: outage plans, modification plans, (see Chapter 5, " Communicating With NRC          significant on-line maintenance activities, Stakeholders "in this report).                    risk-informed initiatives, and updated plant risk profile information. Additionally, the visits are       5 e     NRC sponsored its 10th annual Regulatory         expected to provide valuable long-term benefits in that new, formal hnes of commumcation have Information Conference (RIC). The RIC provides a communication forum for               been established with each licensee. These lines of managers and staff of NRC and utilities to       communication are expected to enhance safety by          j meet and enhance and promote a better             exploiting a new resource ofinformation that understanding ofindustry and regulatory           should provide a valuable risk perspective for ,
trends, processes, and initiatives for            imp rtant activities. As a followon to these visits, improving nuclear safety. The 1998 RIC was        a counterpart workshop is scheduled in the held April 14 and 15,1998, at the Capital         regional office for July 20-21,1999, to continue Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., and was         to develop the 1m, es of commumcation that were attended by over 750 people from industry;        established during the site visits and to provide a other Federal, State, and local government        forum f r discussion of current issues ofinterest.
agencies; and the general public.
* The priority of the review of petitions to modify, suspend, or revoke a license (2.206       INCREASING THE petitions) was raised and the timeliness geal for completion of these reviews was               EFFECTIVENESS AND emphasized.
EFFICIENCY OF KEY e    The increased use of the NRC web site as a        PROCESSES means for dissemination ofinformation was encouraged (see Chapter 6," Support               A continuing improvement outcome for the NRC Services,"in this report).                        staffis to increase the effectiveness and efficiency l

l 13 1
ofits key processes. Several areas and activities of  proceeding on schedule. To ensure the efficiency focus during FY 1998 are described in the next        and effectiveness of these initiallicense renewal four sections.                                        reviews, a License Renewal Steering Group,
}                                                       consisting of senior NRC managers,was i
established.
l l
l NRC/ Industry Licensing                                                                                       !
l Process Improvement Working                           Certification of Next-                                  ,
Group                                                 Generation Reactor Designs                              !
In July 1998, the staff conducted an NRC/NEI licensing interface meeting to discuss areas of       NRC achieved the goals of standardization and a stakeholder concern regarding the licensing           more stable and predictable licensing process process. Subsequently, the staff established an       through certification of two next-generation NRC working group to interface with an industry       reactor designs (Advanced Boiling Water Reactor working group for the purpose of facilitating         and System 80+) and issuance of a final design          l licensmg process improvements. The staff also         approval for the AP600 design. For the AP600, the       I
(
issued and conducted training on revised guidance     NRC issued a final design approval (FDA) and (NRR Office Letter No. 803, Revision 2," License      final safety evaluation report (FSER),
NUREG-1512, on September 3,1998. GE Amendment Review Procedures") to address stakeholder concerns regarding requests for           Nuclear Energy requested that the NRC terminate additional information and handling of regulatory     its review of the Simplified Boiling Water Reactor commitments and performance goals. For FY             design; the NRC staff completed its closecut 1998, the licensing action inventory decreased       action in 1998. Design certification is the highest about 11 percent and the median age of the            level of design approval ever issued by the NRC, inventory is down from 7.6 months to 7.1 months,      and it is the key process for early resolution of Continued efficiency gains are expected as NRR        licensing issues. The design certification process works with an outside consultant and stakeholders     prepares the NRC for future licensing of nuclear on licensing action process improvements.              yower plants in an effective and efficient manner.
The ACRS provided valuable insights and helped resolve key technical issues associated with the FDA of the AP600 passive plant.
License Renewal                                      Advanced Reactors. underiving most aspects of reactor safety is control of the nuclear reaction The Atomic Energy Act and NRC regulations limit        rate and the flow of coolant. Quantitative analysis commercial power reactor licenses to 40 years, but    of these parameters (referred to as thermal-also permit the renewal of such licenses. A           hydraulic codes) is necessary to design and l
l  nuclear power licensee may apply to the NRC as        operate a reactor safely. These codes are carefully early as 20 years before expiration of its current    fitted to each reactor design to produce a license to renew its license for up to 20 years. The  mathematical model that is validated with application would be subject to public hearings       experimental data. The NRC maintains its own and the formal adjudicatory process. During           independent thermal-hydraulic codes to analyze FY1998, the NRC staff reccived applications for       unanticipated events in operating reactors and to renewal from the licensees for the Calvert Cliffs     check licensee analyses that are submitted for and the Oconee facilities. Through ongoing efforts    action.
to streamline the license renewal process, the staff i
estimates that without a hearing, the review of       During FY 1998, NRC completed all model I  these two applications can be completed in            development, validation, and analysis that approximately 26 months, down from initial            supported the final design approval for the estimates that were as long as 5 years. The reviews   Westinghouse AP600 nuclear plant design, which for the Calvert Cliffs and Oconee facilities are      is published in a NUREG-series report.
l l

14 l
l l
After completing this work, NRC initiated work to   Probabilistic Risk Assessment. An International modernize the agency's thermal-hydraulic codes. Cooperative Probabilistic Risk Assessment The capabilities of the four old codes are bein;;   Research Group (COOPRA) was formed with the consolidated into two modernized codes, called     NRC serving as Chairman and with over a dozen TRAC-M and PARC-3D. They will be modular,           countries currently participating. The principal easy to use with graphical user interfaces, fast   objective of COOPRA is to facilitate the timely running, and robust. Many of these codes are       exchange of information among the member posted to NRC's WWW site <www.nrc. gov /RES/       countries about ongoing and planned research in rescodes.html>.                                    the PRA area. Additionally, the group is focusing on developing cooperative approaches in improving PRA methods that are needed to apply risk information in resolving safety issues.
Independent Program                                The NRC staff has actively and extensively been Assessment                                          Supporting the ASME in the development of .t
                                                       " Standard for Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plant Applications." This standard In July 1998, the NRC retained a consulting firm    will set forth the criteria and methods for (Arthur Andersen) to provide an independent
                  ,                                    developing and applying PRA methodology to programmatic assessment of NRR and provide          commercial nuclear power plants and will apply to assistance in the area of Planning, Budgeting, and  PRAs used to support design, procurement, Performance Management. Arthur Andersen is to       construction, operation, and maintenance.
perform an efficiency and effectiveness assessment of NRR. This assessment is intended      In the Individual Plant Examination of External to aid NRR in its transition from being output      Events (IPEEE) Program, the staff completed based to being outcome based through an             preliminary reviews of all 70 licensees' IPEEE Operating Plan for implementation. Arthur           submittals. The staff also completed final reviews Andersen is also reviewing and making               of seven submittals. The staff concluded in the recommendations for improvement in the areas of     Staff Evaluation Reports for each of these seven the licensing action review process and work        plants that these submittals met the intent of control process.                                    Supplement 4 to Generic Letter 88-20 (i.e., the IPEEE program). In January 1998, the staff issued Other activities that increased process efficiency  a draft report that previded preliminary and effectiveness include-                          perspectives on the IPEEE program based on approximately one-third of the reviews that were o     streamlining the hearing process associated   underway at that time.
with license transfers through rulemaking (see ,' Adjudicatory Proceedmgs" in this      The NRC has developed a set of simplified plant chapter) as well as completing Standard        analysis risk (SPAR) models for use in accident Review Plans for review of heense transfer    sequence precursor analyses and prompt applications;                                  assessments of the risk significance of operational events that occur at U. S. commercial nuclear o    implementing an automated system for           p wer plants. These plant-specific, train level models were designed for use with the SAPHIRE inspec.n.on plannm.g, schedulm.g, and trackm.g of findmgs;                                    suite of PRA codes developed for the NRC. NRC staff analysts use these Level 1 SPAR models with o    establishing a PRA Steering Group and          a user-friendly interface (the SAPHIRE/ GEM ,
c de) to estimate the resultmg conditional core Risk-Informed Licensing Panel to ensure damage probability (CCDP) given the occurrence appropriate managerial oversight on risk initiatives; and                                 f a Specific mitiating event or the existence of a specific condition at a plant.
o    increasing training of NRC managers and        Generic Safety Issues. A reactor generic issue is a staffin key areas such as PRA, budgeting, and  matter that may affect the design, construction, managing change.                               operation, or decommissioning of all or several

15 commercial nuclear power reactors or a specific        constant values for safety system failures and cM of reactors. During FY 1998, the NRC began          forced outage rate since 1985, and the lack of to reassess its Reactor Generic Issues Program to      improvement in equipment-forced outages per improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the        1000 critical hours since 1994. Industry average program. The study will be completed in FY 1999        unit availability and capacity factors also improved and revised as needed to correct any deficiencies. considerably between 1985 and 1995. However, this was due, not to fewer forced outage hours, but During the past 15 years,639 generic safety issues     to greatly reduced scheduled outage hours. This is (GSIs) have been reviewed. No unresolved safety        a consequence of longer fuel cycles, which result issues (USIs) were identified during this period.      in greater intervals between refueling outages and Of the 639 GSIs raised,624 of them have been           shorter refueling outages. Industry average resolved (or closed) and 15 issues remain open.        availability and capacity factors increased in 1998 During FY 1998, one GSI was resolved without           over the previous years of 1996 and 1997.
imposing new requirements on licensees. The issue that was resolved was GSI-171,
" Engineered Safety Features Failure From the          Accident Sequence Precursor Loss-of-Offsite Power Subsequent to a Loss of Coolant Accident."                                     Program The Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) Program is a formal program in which nuclear power plant events are an yzed, using PRA techniques. The ANALYSIS OF                                            ASP Program evaluates operational experience using a rigorous method that integrates actual OPERATIONAL DATA FOR                                      .
mitiating events, plant conditions, and the REACTORS                                               reliability of standby safety equipment into an overall quantitative assessment, which is expressed as a conditional core damage
                                 .                     probability (CCDP). An ASP is an operational Performance Indicator                                  event or plant condition that is an important element of a postulated core-damaging (severe ProEram                                                accident) sequence. Sequences considered in the ASP Program are those associated with Most of the analysis reports and data is reported      inahquate core cooling, which would be expected by fiscal year. In some cases, where noted, the        te result in core damage. Results of the ASP information is by calendar year-                       Program are peer-reviewed by outside consultants, other NRC offices, and the affected licensees.
The Performance Indicator (PI) Program has They are used in NRC initiatives such as the analyzed data and information m a consistent           Senior Management Meeting process. Figure 1.2 manner over a number of years. As measured .af         shows that there were five ASP events or these mdicators (see Figure 1.1), the U.S. m .ustry    conditions in calendar year (CY) 1997, none of average safety performance has improved r eadily.      which resulted in a CCDP equal to or greater than Five of the seven performance indicators-  ,            10-4 automatic scrams, safety system actuattora, significant events, equipment forced outages per 1000 critical hours, and collective radiation exposure-show statistically significant                Regulatory Effectiveness improvement since 1985. The number of initiating events resulting in scrams has declined                 Strategy significantly, and this is reflected in fewer and less complicated plant transients. However, equipment       In 1995, the NRC initiated a Strategic Assessment problems persist, as evidenced by the percentage       and Rebaselining Project that reassessed NRC of scrams caused by equipment failure (the             activities. Enhancing regulatory excellence was a leading cause of all scrams), the relatively           key output of the project. In FY 1998, the NRC

16 -
                                                                                                              )
i staff developed Strategy 5, one of thirteen           e    " Common-Cause Failure Database and strategies to enhance NRC effectiveness and                Analysis System: Software Reference efficiency. Strategy 5, now called Regulatory              Manual" (NUREG/ CR-6268, Vol. 4).
Effectiveness Strategy, is a systematic process to identify candidate issues for improving the           In addition to the CCF database, two effectiveness and efficiency of rules, standards,     common-cause related reports were completed in regulatory guidance, and their application.           CY 1998," Guidelines on Modeling Common-Cause Failures in Probabilistic Risk After developing the strategy, the staff began to     Assessment" (NUREG/CR-5485) and the implement the plan by a pilot effort to review        " Common-Cause Failure Parameter Estimations" operating experience and obtain stakeholder           (NUREG/CR-5497).
input. Consistent with the strategy,in September 1998, the NRC staff participated in a public meeting to solicit from external stakeholders comments on the developed process and the             Sfstem Reliabilit7 Studies identification of candidate issues for input into the process and to ensure that all the meeting            The NRC uses operational data to determine the comments were addressed. In November 1998, the        reliability of risk-significant systems in U.S.
staff identified three issues and completed its       commercial reactors. The data are obtained from analyses for improving regulatory effectiveness.      licensee event reports, special reports, and The identification ofissues is the first phase of the monthly operating experience reports. In CY overall strategy to be followed by the analysis and   1998, the following five reports were completed:
proposal phases.
: 1.   " Evaluation of Loss of Offsite Power Events at Nuclear Power Plants: 1980 -1996" (NUREG/CR-5496);
Common-Cause Failure                                  2.   " Rates of Initiating Events at U.S. Nuclear Database and Studies                                       Po _ve;,P5 -
ts: 1987-1995" (NUREG/
The NRC and the Idaho National Engineering and        3.       e ab         "                "8 Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) developed e   a er S > e       8    f95' (NUREG/CR-5500 Vol.1);
and maintain a common-cause failure (CCF) database for the U.S. commercial nuclear              4.   "Special Study: Operating Experience industry. The latest CCF efforts provided a                Feedback From Service Water System compact disk (CD) containing the CCF database, Failures and Degradations (1986-1995)"
CCF analysis software, and associated technical (AEOD/S98-01); and reports that were made available in CY 1998 to the nuclear power reactor licensees. The technical    5.   "High-Pressure Core Spray System reports on the CD were published as-                       Reliability,1987- 1993" (AEOD/S98 -02) o     " Common-Cause Failure Database and Analysis System: Overview" (NUREG/CR-6268, Vol.1);                         Abnormal Occurrences o    " Common-Cause Failure Database and              AEOD administers the Commission's program for Aaaiysis System: Event Definition and            reporting abnormal occurrences (AOs) to Classification" (NUREG/CR-6268, Vol. 2);        Congress. AOs are incidents or events that the       ,
Commission determines are significant from the       l o    " Common-Cause Failure Database and              standpoint of public health and safety. There were Analysis System: Data Collection and Event       no AOs at nuclear power plants in FY 1998. The Coding" (NUREG/CR-6268, Vol. 3); and             number of AOs at nuclear power plama since 1988
                                                                                                            ~
I

17 his remained low, averaging two per year. For       Although commercial reactor occupational information on the materials AOs, see Chapter 2,    exposures have been maintained at a low level, a
" Nuclear Materials Safety," in this report. A      few overexposures continue to occur. The number detailed description of AOs may be found in the     of occupational overexposures in NRC-licensed
" Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences,       reactor and nuclear materials facilities is given in Fiscal Year 1998" (NUREG-0090, Vol. 21).            REIRS. Although the data for FY 1998 have not yet been compiled, there have been no reports of deaths or significant radiation exposures owing to civilian nuclear reactors in 1998. REIRS gives the occupational overexposures reported by reactor licensees and those reported by radiography Radiation Exposures and                             heensees, the nuclear materials hcensee category Overexposures                                       of most concern because ofits high rate and             '
magnitude of overexposures. For more information on nuclear materials see Chapter 2.
All NRC licensees are required to monitor employee exposure to radiation and radioactive      Understanding Radiological Characterization of materials at levels sufficient to demonstrate       Sites. From October 1997 through January 1998, compliance with the occupational dose limits        the Region I staffled a special review of activities specified in 10 CFR Part 20. Licensees of power     conducted at the Haddam Neck Station in East reactors are required by 10 CFR 20.2206 to          Haddam, Connecticut (Figure 1.3). The 1825 Mwt provide to the NRC annual reports of exposure       Pressurized water reactor was permanently shut data for individuals for whom personnel             down by its operator, Connecticut Yankee Atomic monitoring is required. These data are published    Power Company,in December 1996, annually in " Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other         The objectives of this review were to gain a better Facilities" (NUREG-0713). The Radiation             understanding and appreciation of the scope and Exposure Information Reporting System (REIRS)       extent of previous radiological occurrences in provides data on exposures and overexposures.       order for the NRC to better assess the You may access REIRS through the Internet at        acceptability of the licensee's future site
<www.saic.com/home/nre_ rad >.                      radiological characterization efforts and subsequent remediation of affected areas, both on Almost all radiation doses from nuclear power       the site and in the environment, and to identify plants are occupational doses, that is, doses to    whether licensee activities that resulted m nuclear power plant employees and contractors       c ntamination of the site, uncontrolled or   ,
who work at the plant. The economics of             unmonitored effluent releases, or msufficient operating a plant creates a strong impetus to       e ntrol of heensed materials were considered for reduce exposures and achieve ALARA (as low as         r subject to action m accordance with existing retsonably achievable) objectives. As a result,     NRC regulatory requirements, mcluding utility violations of NRC limits on personnel       enf reement.
exposure are rare, and the vast majority of nuclear power plant personnel have annual exposures far     On the basis of available information and dose below NRC regulatory limits specified in 10 CFR     assessments to date, the team concluded that.-
Part 20. This is believed to result primarily from the licensees' extensive dose-reduction efforts.
* the conduct oflicensed activities at the Some measures that reduce collective exposure             Haddam Neck Plant over the last 30 years are an effective maintenance program,                     apparently did not result in any exposure to experienced and well-trained personnel, a good            the public or environment that exceeded the water chemistry control program, effective                limits in 10 CFR Part 20; d: contamination and cleanup practices, good fuel cladding integrity, effective radiation exposure    e     the licensee's review of any past radiological control programs, good housekeeping, and an               occurrences were appropriate and sufficiently ciert health physics staff.                               comprehensive; and

l 18
                                                       ?         .
A l
Figure 1.3 Iladdam Neck Plant
* NRC's inspection activities and application of           matters, and special Commission-ordered I
enforcement at Haddam Neck was generally                 proceedings.                                        I consistent with the agency's existing policy and practices that evolved over time.                    Panel Judges. Panel hearings are conducted by three-member licensing boards or a single presiding officer who are assigned from the Panel's pool of administrative judges. Panel judges are lawyers or technical members with expertise in a wide variety of disciplines. At the beginning of  I ADJUDICATORY                                                  FY 1998, the Panel consisted of 30 judges (12       1 fun-time nd 18 p rt-time). By year's end, this PROCEEDINGS                                                   number was reduced 25 percent by the death, resignation, or retirement of 1 full-time and 7 part-time judges, leaving the Panel with 11 full-time and 11 part-time judges. Five of these Atomic Safety and Licensing                                   remaining judges were lawyers, 8 were environmental scientists,6 were engineers or B03rdS                                                        physicists, and 3 were medical doctors. This 25-percent decrease in judges during the year Adjudicatory hearings at the NRC are conducted                c uld prove significant if estimated future by three-member licensing boards or a single                  increases m the Panel s caseload occurs.
presiding officer drawn from the Atomic Safety                Panel Caseload. The FY 1998 Panel caseload and Licensing Board Panel. These hearings                     comprised a total of 30 proceedings. Of these,12 pnmarily deal with nuclear reactor licensing,                 involved nuclear power plants or related facilities nuclear material heensmg, and enforcement and 18 involved other Commission licensees.
matters when licensees and other affected entities contest penalties or orders brought against them              These cases represent a 15-percent increase over by the NRC staff for alleged infractions of NRC               the total number of cases in FY 1997. In addition, regulations. Additional hearings are sometimes                21 new cases were docketed in FY 1998, a held that deal with antitrust licensing, personnel            40-percent increase over the previous year when I

19 15 new cases were docketed. A significant portion   Energy (DOE) facilities. A MOX fuel plant of the FY 1998 increase was attributable to        manufactures MOX fuel for use in power reactors reactor licensing cases, which increased 100       as a means of disposing of excess weapons percent over FY 1997.                              plutonium.
Types of cases on the FY 1998 docket included the   Significant FY 1998 Proceedings. FY 1998 marked f 11 wmg:
the advent of utilities seeking 20-year operating license extensions for reactors licensed by the Number      NRC During the year, these extensions were Cbse Type                              of Cases   requested by Baltimore Gas and Electric Company for its Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2 and Reactor License Amendment                  8 by Duke Power Corporation for its Oconee Units Reactor License Extension                  2       1,2, and 3. These applications were opposed by
                       .                            local public interest groups and individuals Reactor Operator Licensing                 1 residing near these facilities. Among other things, Enforcement                                9      petitioners in both proceedings contended that the extension requests should be rejected because a Materials Licenses                         7 final NRC staff determmation on some relevant Remand                                     2      technical issues had not been reached. At fiscal Other                                      1 year's end, licensing board decisions in both proceedings were pending with respect to the petitioners' standing to intervene and the The Panel's FY 1998 caseload followed a trend,      admissibility of contentions.
begun in the late 1980s, of a docket primarily consisting of enforcement cases, materials         Another especially significant case during the year     l licensing cases, and reactor license amendment      was the Private Fuel Storage proceeding. This case cases. It was reflective of the regulation of a     involved the first attempt by private utilities to maturing industry, and differed significantly from  jointly build an interim waste facility for offsib      l the Panel caseload in previous decades, which       st rage of spent fuel until the Yucca Mountain consisted mainly of construction permit and         Permanent facility is ready. This application was operating license cases for licensing new reactors. filed by a consortium of 11 utilities that had contracted with the Skull Valley Band of Goshute The materials licensing, reactor license            Indians to build an interim high-level waste amendment, and enforcement cases of the 1990s       storage facility on their Utah reservation located are expected to continue in the future.             about 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
Nevertheless, beginning in FY 1998 and gradually    Opposition to the application was substantial, and increasing over the next several years, new types   intervention was granted by a licensing board to of cases are expected that could be especially      the State of Utah, two Native American tribes and large-scale. These will include a series of reactor a Native American organization, and severallocal license extension cases as utilities attempt to     ranching companies. The board also accepted a extend the operatinglives of their reactors. They   number of the intervenors' safety, environmental, also will include an assortment of highly           and physical security contentions. Private fuel contested, high-level waste storage cases dealing   Storage, L.L.C. (Independent Spent Fuel Storage with the licensing of privately operated offsite    Installation), LBP-98-7,47 NRC 142 (1998);
interim spent fuel storage facilities and the       LBP-98-10,47 NRC 288 (1998); LBP-98-13, projected Yucca Mountain permanent high-level       46 NRC 360 (1998); LBP-98-17,48 NRC 69 waste storage facihty. Also on the horizon are       (1998). The first planned series of hearings on the potential highly contested cases involving the      contentions are scheduled to begin in November licensing of novel nuclear fuel and production      2000, facilities, such as a proposed new AVLIS enrichment facility, a MOX fuel plant for burning   Cases Closed During FY 1998. Cases closed by plutonium, and a tritium production facility, and   licensing boards and presiding officers during FY the proposed regulation of U.S. Department of        1998 included the following:

20 l
l Enforcement Cases                                      existing Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2.             j primarily Subpart G, and set out certain n easures       j e    Barnett IndustrialX-Ray Inc. (Stillwater,         that the hearing boards and presiding officers Oklahoma), LBP-97-19,46 NRC 237 (1997)            should employ to ensure efficient conduct of proceedings. As one of these measures, the e    21st Century Technologies, Inc. (Fort Worth,      Commission directed boards "to shorten the filing Texas), LBP-98-1,47 NRC1 (1998)                   and response times set forth in the regulations to e    PowerInspection, Inc., LBP-98-6,47 NRC            the extent practical in a specific proceeding,"
n ting that 10 CFR 2.718 gives presidm, g officers 140 (1998)                                        authority to alter the schedules established in e    NDT Senices, Inc., Slip Opinion (July 6,1998)     Part 2 for various filings. The Commission also directed licensing boards to establish procedures e    John Boschuk, Jr:, LBP-98-15,48 NRC 57            for electronic filing and to consider use of new (1998)                                            technologies to expedite proceedings. The policy e    Lourdes T Boschuk, LBP-98-16,48 NRC 63            statement further noted that the Commission itself may set milestones for the completion of (1998)                                            proceedings. If a licensing board determines that a Materials Licensing Cases                              Commission-set milestone may be missed by more than 30 days, the board must notify the e    Quirera Mining Company (Ambrosia Lake             Commission promptly, explaining the delay and Facility), LBP-97-20,46 NRC 257 (1997)            describing measures the board will take, where possible, to restore the overall schedule.
e    Intemational Uranium (USA) Corp. (White Mesa Uranium Mill), LBP-97-21,46 NRC              The Commission emphasized that byitself action by the boards will not achieve the objectives of the 273 (1997) policy statement. The parties to a proceeding must
* Atlas Corporation (Moab, Utah), LBP            satisfy their obligations and must adhere to the 18,48 NRC 78 (1998)                               specified time frames. Extensions of time may be granted, the Commission said, but "only when Remanded Case                                          warranted by unavoidable and extreme circumstances." With regard to contentions, the e    Louisiana Energy Services, L.R (Claiborne         Commission reminded parties that the burden Enrichment Center), LBP-97-22,46 NRC              remains on the proponent, not on the licensing 275 (1997); CLI-98-5,47 NRC 113 (1998)            board, to formulate the contention and provide necessary information to establish admissibility. A License Amendment Case                                 board may raise a matter on its own motion "only in extraordinary circumstances" and may not e    Enkee Atomic Electric Company (Yankee                                                         ,
proceed further with sua sponte issues without the Nuclear Power Station), LBP-98-12,47              Commission s approval.
NRC 343 (1998)
To reduce time spent in the prehearing stage, the policy statement directs the staff to establish a Greater Efficiency in                                  case file after the board completes its rulings on c ntati ns 'niis file, peri dica ly updated, shall Ad'udicatoIY 3                  ProceedinEs                     mclude the application at issue and relevant NRC reports and correspondence and will be made As part of its broad initiative to increase effective- available to the parties. No other discovery against ness of the NRC's programs and processes, the          the staff will be allowed until the staff has issued Commission on July 28,1998, issued a policy            review documents regarding the application. The statement entitled " Policy on Conduct of              boards should set reasonable bounds on discovery, Adjudicatory Proceedings." 63 FR 41872                 for example by limiting the rounds of (August 31,1998). This statement critically            interrogatories and depositions and the time for reassessed the NRC's practices and procedures for      their completion. The Commission concluded the conducting adjudicatory proceedings under the          policy statement by noting its intention to monitor i
_____________________J

                                                                                                                )
21 ,
proceedings to ensure their fairness and            In promulgating the new Subpart M, the Com-timeliness, to provide guidance to boards and       mission noted its expectation that the ongoing parties in individual proceedings, and to decide     restructuring of the electric power industry will issues"in the interest of a prompt and effective     cause a continuing high rate of requests for resolution of the matters set for adjudication."    approval oflicense transfers. Under Section 184 of the Atomic Enew Act, no license may be Pursuant to the policy set out in this statement,    transferred, assigned, or disposed of by transfer of the Commission issued case-specific orders in two   e ntrol unless the C,ommission finds the transfer proceedings on nuclear power plant operating        in accord with the provisions of this act and gives license renewal applications: Baltimore Gas &       its consent. " Typical staff review of such Electric Company (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power      applications," the Commission observed," consists Plant Units 1 and 2), CLI-98-14,48 NRC 39           largely of assuring that the ultimately licensed (1998); Duke Energy Corporation (Oconee Nuclear     entity has the capability to meet financial Station, Units 1,2, and 3) CLI-98-17,48 NRC         qualification and decommissioning funding 123 (1998). In each order the Commission           aspects of NRC regulations."In an increasingly established as a goal the issuance of a Commission  competitive environment, license transfer decision on the pending application in about 21/2   applications require expeditious decisionmaking.
years from the date the application was received. Moreover, these transfers generally do not involve The Commission set out several milestones that      the kind of technical issues with immediate the licensing board should adopt for conclusion of  impact on facility operation safety that may significant steps in the hearing. No extensions of  benefit from review under the complex and often time are to be granted " absent unavoidable or      time-consuming formal hearing procedures of 10 extreme circumstances." The Commission stated       CFR Part 2, Subpart G. The Commission noted its in each order: "We do not expect the Licensing
                                                ,      conclusion that the Atomic EnegAct does not Board to sacrifice fairness and sound decision-,    require formal, trial-type hearings but rather gives making to expedite any hearing granted on this the Commission flexibility to fashion its application."
procedures to meet the needs of the particular type of decisionmakingin question. Accordingly, the Commission concluded that for hearings on            l license transfers, uniform informal procedures            l should be adopted.
New Procedures for License                                                                                   l Wansfer Applications                                The informai Subpart M procedures are similar to those used by the Commission in cases involving export licensing hearings under 10 CFR Part 110.
On December 3,1998, the Commission issued a              ceedngs d be oral unless ay paqs agme to a written proceeding. The Commission itself will final rule amending its regulations to provide uniform procedures and rules of practice for        c nduct the hearing or will appoint a Presiding handling requests for hearings associated with      Officer to be responsible for collectmg evidence license transfer applications. These procedures     and developing a record, which will then be ,
are set out in a new Subpart M to 10 CFR Part 2,    submitted to the Commission for a final decision.
the "NRC's Rules of Practice for Domestic           Parties may present recommended questions to Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders."      the Presiding Officer, but only the Presiding The new procedures are informal and apply to        Officer may question witnesses. To improve transfers of material and reactor licenses and also efficiency, the rule imposes schedular milestones licenses issued under the regulations governing     for the filing of testimony and responses and for the independent storage of spent nuclear fuel and   the commencement of the oral hearings, subject to high level radioactive waste. The rule became       adjustment by the Presiding Officer. In routine effective immediately upon puMication in the        cases, these procedures are expected to result in Federal Register. 63 FR 66721 (December 3,1998). the issuance of a final Commission decision on the

22 license transfer within 6 to 8 months of the notice of receipt of the application.
pendjgg(jgjggtjon Thennal Science, Inc. u NRC, No. 98-3147 (8th Cir, stay denied September 10.1998)
This is the continuation of the effort by Thermal Dec. .isions                                             science to challenge NRC consideration of a proposed $900,000 civil penalty for alleged false statements to the agency about the testing of City of Benton n NRC, No. 95-1402 (D.C. Cir.,            Thermal Science's Thermo-Lag product. After a decided Feb. 27,2998)                                    lengthy delay, the district court dismissed the suit outright as premature and also refased to stay This long-running lawsuit challenged (on antitrust       administrative proceedings pending appeal.
grounds) two NRC license amendments issued in            Thermal Science then appealed and sought a stay 1995: one to transfer control of the River Bend         from the court of appeals. The NRC opposed the Nuclear Power Reactor from Gulf States Utilities        stay. In a one-sentence order, the court of appeals to Entergy Corporation, and one to transfer             denied the stay motion. The court also set a operating responsibility of River Bend to Entergy       briefing schedule on the merits of the appeal.
Operations, Inc. Originally, Cajun Electric Power       Theimal Science continues to argue that NRC Cooperative joined a group known as Arkansas            consideration of a civil penalty violates the Cities and Cooperative ( ACC) as petitioners, but       Constitution's Double Jeopardy Clause and is Cajun ultimately dropped out of the suit as a           beyond the agency's statutory authority. The court result of a settlement agreement in bankruptcy          of appeals will likely hear the case in early 1999.
proceedings.
The parties initially filed full briefs in the case in 1995. On the eve of oral argument, however, the         ENFORCEMENT AND court of appeals decided to hold the case in abeyance to await the outcome of the                     INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS then-pending Cajun bankruptcy proceeding. In 1997, after Cajun withdrew its petition for review, the court reinstated the case to its active docket.
The parties then filed fresh briefs. On Enforcement February 27,1998, the court (Williams, Sentelle &
Henderson, JJ.) dismissed the case in its entirety       The Commission has developed an enforcement for lack of jurisdiction.                               Program and Enforcement Policy to support the NRC's overall safety mission in protecting the public and the emironment. Consistent with that The court held, as we had argued in our brief, that      purp se, enf reement action is used as a deterrent ACC's petition for review was fatally defective for      to emphasize the importance of compliance with failure to challenge a final agency order. ACC's                         ,
regulatory requirements, and to encourage petition had designated for review the NRC staff's      prompt identification and prompt, comprehensive interlocutory finding of no significant antitrust       e rrection of violations.The Office of changes rather than the Commission's ultimate           Enforcement (0E) is responsible for managing order actually granting the license amendments.                    , ,
the Commission,s enforcement program. The The court stated that "[i]n a licensing proceeding,     NRC,s enforcement program is addressed in the it is the order granting or denying the license that    agency,s Enforcement Poh,ey, NUREG-1600, ordinarily is the final order," and concluded that      Rev.1, General Statement of Pohey and
     "[w]hatever order ACCintended to ask the court          Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions.,,
to review, it named the wrong order in its petition...
Escalated Enforcement Activities. All violations ACC did not seek certiorari in the Supreme              (except minor violations) identified through Court.                                                  inspections and investigations are subject to civil

23 enforcement action and may also be subject to              Table 1.5 Civil Penalty Information criminal prosecution. After an apparent violation is identified, the severity is evaluated in order to                                      IT 98 determine the appropriate enforcement sanction.       Number of Proposed Civil Severity levels range from Level I, for the most       Penalties                            47 significant violations, to Leve1 IV, for those of more than minor concern. Mm, or violations are Amount of Proposed Civil Penalties                        $4>936>000 not subject to formal enforcement action. The NRC considers violations categorized at Severity      Amount of Paid Civil Level I and 11 to be very significant, as well as      Penalties                        $5,008,000 enforcement actions consisting of multiple             Number ofImposed Civil Severity Level III violations. During FY 1998, the     Penalties                             1 cgency issued five Severity Level 11 violations, and six multiple Severity Level Ill violation actions to  Amount of Imposed Civil reactor licensees. No Severity Level I violations      Penalties                         $100,000 were issued during this period.
In addition to NOVs and civil penalties, orders The NRC uses three primary enforcement               may be used to modify, suspend, or revoke sanctions: Notices of Violation (NOV), civil         licenses. Orders may require additional corrective penalties, and orders. The NRC considers civil       actions, such as removing specified individuals penalties, orders, and NOVs, including Severity      from licensed activities or requiring additional Level I, II, and III violations, as escalated        controls or outside audits. Persons adversely enforcement actions.                                 affected by orders that modify, suspend, or revoke a license, or that take other actions may request a hearing. During FY 1998, the agency issued one order to a reactor licensee. In addition, one civil An NOV sets forth one or more violations of a legally binding requirement and normally requires    penalty imposition order was issued.
a response from the licensee describing the reasons for the violation, the corrective steps      A predecisional enforcement conference is taken or planned, and the date when actions will     normally conducted with a licensee or individual be complete. During FY 1998, the agency issued       before making an enforcement decision if 33 escalated NOVs to reactor licensees,              escalated enforcement action appears to be warranted and if the NRC concludes that it is necessary or the licensee or individual requests it.
A civil penalty is a monetary fine considered for    During FY 1998, the agency conducted a total of Severity Level III violations and normally            122 conferences for reactor and material assessed for Severity Level I and II violations and  licensees.
knowing and conscious violations of reporting requirements of Section 206 of the Energy .
                            ,                        The NRC issues a press release with a proposed Reorgamzaten Act. Section 234 of the Atomic          civil penalty or order. All orders are published in Energy Act (AEA) provides for penalties of up t      the FederaIRegister.
$100,000 per violation per day; but that amount was adjusted by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of1996 to $110,000. During FY 1998, the          Additional information on the NRC's agency proposed 47 individual civil penalties to    enforcement program and enforcement activities reactor licensees. Most licensees pay the civil      is available in the OE's FY1998 Annual Report.
penalty when it is proposed. However, in some        This document is available in the Public cases, the agency imposes the civil penalty through  Document Room and on NRC's WWW site at the issuance of an order. Table 1.5 includes         <www.nrc. gov /OE/>. This Web site also includes additional civil penalty information. Note that a   copies of significant enforcement actions that the civil penalty may be proposed in one fiscal year    agency has issued arranged by reactor, materials, and paid or imposed in another fiscal year,           and individual actions.

24           -
and NOVs at or above Severity Level III. In 39, or Investigations                                                     21 percent, of these actions, the OI investigative findings were factored into the decision to take The information in this FY 1998 NRC Annual                         escalated enforcement action.
Report is taken from the Office of Investigations (OI) annual report to the Commission of its activities and actions. A copy of the FY 1998 OI Annual Report (37 pages, including graphs and
                              ,                              ,        Advisory Committee on attachments) is available for your m, formation upon request to e-mail address <BSB@nrc. gov >.                    Reactor Safeguards 01 conducts investigations of alleged wrongdoing                   The ACRS, established by statute in 1957 by by mdividuals or organizations wh                                  nevision of the Atomic Enew Act of1954, provides e
advice to the NRC on potential hazards of are licensed by the NRC;                                                      ,
proposed or existing reactor facilities and the e                                                                  adequacy of proposed safety standards. The are applicants for licenses; or Atomic Enew Act also requires that the ACRS e     are licensee contractors or vendors.1                        advise the Commission with respect to the safety of operating reactors and perform such other There were 1,026 allegations regarding potential                   duties as the Commission may request. Consistent violations of its rules, regulations, or requirements              with the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the received by the NRC during FY 1998. Of these                       committee will review any matter related to the allegations, approximately 19 percent involved                     safety of nuclear facilities and activities of the potential wrongdoing. The total OI inventory of                    DOE that DOE requests. Upon request, the cases under investigation in FY 1998 was 292. Of                   ACRS also provides advice to the Defense these, OI closed 194 cases, or 66 percent of the                   Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the U.S. Navy.
inventory. Approximately 5 percent of these cases                  in addition, the ACRS, on its own initiative, contained multiple suspected wrongdoing                            reviews specific generic matters on nuclear facility violations.                                                        safety-related items.
OI surpassed its performance goal to complete                      The ACRS reviews requests for preapplication cases within an average of 12 months. The FY                       site and standard plant design approvals, as well 1998 average for completing a case was 6.3                         as applications for construction permits, operating months. 01 was also successful in reducing the                     licenses for power reactors,10 CFR Part 52 percentage of cases in the inventony open longer                   licenses, and certain test reactor facility licenses than 12 months to 8 percent. OI established an                     for construction and operation. With respect to additional goal in FY 1998 of bringing to a full                   reactors that are already licensed to operate, the conclusion, based on the merits of the case,75                     ACRS is involved in the review and evaluation of percent, or more, of cases within the inventory. OI                any substantive licensing changes, corrective surpassed this goal in FY 1998 by achieving a                      actions resulting from operating events and percentage of substantive cases of 93 percent.                     incidents, and the resolution of generic safety issues.
Of the194 investigations closed in FY 1998,53 cases were referred to DOJ for prosecutorial                       Activities of the ACRS are conducted in review. During FY 1998, OI supported two                           accordance with the FederalAdvisory Committee        j Federal grand juries. In addition, OI investiga.                   Act (FACA), which provides for public attendance tions resulted in four guilty pleas in Federal court.              at and participation in ACRS meetings. Consistent with the charter of the ACRS and FACA NRC took 182 escalated enforcement actions in                      requirements, unclassified ACRS reports are FY 1998, which included civil penalties, orders,                   made part of the public record. The ACRS Web         !
address is <http://www.nrc. gov /ACRSACNW/>.
INote that allegations invoMng NRC employees or contractors to the NRC come under the purview of the NRC's Office of the Inspector  The ACRS membership is drawn from various
      *"*''''""'"'""d*''"*P"***' ''
scientific and engineering disciplines. Its current

25 member 41ip includes those experienced in the     03/12/98 - Proposed Final Standard Review Plan arers of auclear power plant operations;          Sections and Regulatory Guides for Risk-probabilistic risk analysis; analysis of severe   Informed, Performance-Based Regulation for re:ctor accident phenomena; design of plant       Inservice Testing, Graded Quality Assurance, and structures, systems, and components; material     Technical Specifications sciences; mechanical, civil, and electrice.i engineering; and digital I&C systems.             03/16/98 - SECY-98-001, Mechanism for Addressing Generic Safety Issues During FY 1998, the ACRS and ACNW com-pleted a Report to Congress on Nuclear Safety 05/11/98- Elevation of CDF to a Fundamental Safety Goal and Possible Revision of the Research, dated February 24,1998, and a detailed Commission's Safety Goal Policy Statement report to the Commission on the NRC Safety Research Program:" Review and Evaluation of the   07/16/98 - Proposed Revisions to 10 CFR 50.59 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Safety Research     (Changes, Tests and Experiments)
Program" (NUREG 1635, Vol.1).
07/24/98 - General Electric Nuclear Energy The following reports were among the most         Extended Power Uprate Program and Monticello significant ACRS contributions during FY 1998:    Nuclear Generating Plant Power Level Increase Request 12/11/97 - Proposed Final Regulatory Guide 09/15/98 - Application for Power Level increase 1.174 and Standard Review Plan Chapter 19 for   , for Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 Risk Informed, Performance-Based Regulation and 2 12/16/97-Treatment of Uncertainties Versus        09/30/98-Impact of Probabilistic Risk Point Values in the PRA-Related Decisionmaking    Assessment Results and Insights on the Process                                           Regulatory System

Nuclear Materials Safety                                                                 '          '
( -
C                            :
{.
t The strategic goal for nuclear materials safety is to prevent                [
                                                                                                           ~
radiation-related deaths and illnesses, protect the emironment, and          L-                     I~
safeguard special nuclear material and facilities in the civilian use of     i1 ~                 '
source, byproduct, and special nuclear materials. In Fiscal Year (FY)        i 1998, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) met the associated performance goals and had (1) no radiation-related deaths resulting from civilian use of source, byproduct, or special nuclear         '
materials; (2) no increase in the number of significant radiation exposures resulting from loss or use of source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials; (3) no offsite releases of radioactive material from      p operating facilities that have the potential to cause an adverse impact on   ;
the emironment; (4) no significant accidental releases of radioactive material from the storage or transportation of nuclear material or           f nuclear waste; and (5) no loss, theft, or diversion of formula quantities of g strategic special nuclear materials or unauthorized enrichment of special    1-nuclear material regulated by the NRC. Data for the sixth goal,              [
environmental impacts, are considered through the National Emiromental Policy Act (NEPA) process before regulatory action is taken      0 and will be available for FY 1999.
1 The NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)            '
and the NRC's four regional offices regulate the safe use of nuclear materials under several broad programs. NRC regulates approximately                      ,
5,830 specific licensees, and the 30 Agreement States have formal             [
agreements with the NRC under which they have assumed regulatory                             X authority over approximately 15,000 radioactive materials specific            :                 ,
licensees. Other radioactive materials, primarily incorporated into          1               X devices, are used under general licenses issued by the NRC and                ,
                                                                                         ,   (j Agreement States. Material safety, fuel facility safety and safeguards, and   1 V          -
storage and transport of nuclear fuel are discussed in this chapter, and      L waste management activities are discussed in Chapter 3.                       '
Activities covered in this chapter include licensing, certification,          t inspection, and other regulatory actions concerned with the production        .
2 and use of reactor-produced radioisotopes (byproduct material). Nuclear        ,
materials regulation during FY 1998 comprised-o     3,437 licensing actions. Of this total,277 were for new heenses, 2,940 were for amendments,67 were for license renewals, and 153         ,
were sealed source and device resiews;                                   j o     1,884 materials licensee inspections;                                   [
o     10 reviews and 1 followup review of Agreement State programs and        i 2 regional integrated program reviews, L: ;
t       .
[.
                                                                              )f i

28 e    101 licensing and certification actions (e.g.,    license renewals, and 153 were sealed source and new, amended, and renewed licenses or             device reviews.
certificates) for enrichment, fuel fabrication, conversion, and other fuel cycle facilities; and  In FY 1998, the staff issued six draft and three final reports (various volumes of NUREG-1556)
* 191 fuel cycle facility licensee and certificate  of revised program-specific guidance for licensees holder ins'pections.                             and reviewers that were developed using business process redesign techniques. These reports consolidate guidance from a number of different sources and will help to streamline the licensing process. When issued in final form, they are GENERIC MATERIALS                                      intended for use by APPlicants, licensees, NRC license reviewers, and other NRC personnel. They LICENSING AND                                         take a risk-informed, performance-based approach to regulation.
INSPECTION ACTIVITIES In FY 1998, NRC completed a study, and developed a Commission paper, based on the 1996 The materials program is designed to ensure that activities involving uses of radionuclides do not     en rts of an NRC/ Agreement State Workm, g Group, on mereased oversight of general licenses.
endanger public health and safety. As of NRC developed a plan reg trding the control and September 30,1998, the NRC administered                                                 ,
accountability of specifically licensed and approximately 5,830 specific licenses for the 8enerally licensed devices with changes to the possession and use of nuclear materials in medical current heensmg and inspection programs for and industrial applications. This administration device users. The Commission plan meluded a represents a reduction of about 70 specific licenses                                                  ,
pr p sed rule, implementation of a registration in the past year. Table 2.1 shows the distribution of  Program, and follow-up activities with users who licenses by region. The 30 Agreement States do not register with NRC or who have mdicated administer about another 15,000 specific licenses.
that they cannot account for their devices.
The staff also coordinated with DOE to accept Table 2.1 Distribution of NRC Nuclear                                                         ,
se m a rphaned sources under an existmg Materials Specific Licenses (as of October I,1998)                       enmra um         n erstandmgyese ranged from gauging devices to well-loggmg sources. In Region I                                 1,765       addition, NRC worked with the Conference of Region II                                  834 Radiation Control Program Directors' E-34 Committee on Unwanted Radioactive Material in Region III                               2,171       development of a national orphan source Region IV                                  842       Program.
Headquarters                               218 Total:                                   5,830       Medical Use of Byproduct Material The NRC regional staff completed 1,884 inspections of materials facilities in FY 1998. The    NRC has published a proposed rule to revise its regions oversee almost all materials licensees,        regulations governing the medical use of with the exception of those holding exempt             byproduct material. The overall goal of the distribution licenses and sealed source and device     proposed rule is to focus NRC's regulations on design licenses.                                       those medical procedures that pose the highest risk and to structure NRC's regulations to be risk The NRC completed 3,437 licensing actions during       informed and performance based.Three public the fiscal year. Of this total,277 were for new        workshops were held (San Francisco, California; licenses,2,940 were for amendments,67 were for         Kansas City, Missouri; and Rockville, Maryland)     ;
l

29 l
l I
l l
Locations of NRC Offices and Agreement States Region IV                                     Region lli MN                                NH
                  !mWA',           MT        II N.Dt]                                      VT, jqt                           SD
                                                                -:           MI                       MA Region 1
:OR4        to        WY                      IA'S  .. e                             RI PA 9 yggy,                   g    IN    OH NJ CT I          bT     (Ch)     ' g.f                       WV DE 9 %            o4 <                                                                                        ;
MD                                        1 DA~                   1
                     '' :        [4- h,pgg    ,
OK                                VA                                            !
k               j5Nic;.
                                                .Ix yy8 Ae AL    g AK Hi                         -
                                      #v7                                          R o4                               Region ll                     Region il PR                                                            61 Forsyth Street, SW, Suite 23T85 Atlanta,GA 30303 8 Regional Office Q Headquarters                                                 404 562-4400, 1-800-577-8510 C 30 Agreement States Region lil (approx.15,800 licensees)                     Headquarters                    801 Warrenville Road Washington, D.C. 20555-0001      Lisle,lL 60532-4351 O 20 Non-Agreement States (approx. 6,000 licensees)                    301-415 7000, 1-80 4 368-5642 630-829-9500, 1-800-522-3025 Note: Alaska and Hawaii are included in          Region i                         Region IV Region IV, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands        475 Allendale Road               611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 in Region ll The District of Columbia in         King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415 Artington, TX 760118064 Region i                                         610-337-5000,1 800-432-1156 817-860-8100, 1-800-952-0677 sooe.pm 102098 Figure 2.1 U.S. Map. lecation of NRC Omces and Agreement States.
to solicit comments from stakeholders and other                             radioactive material licenses issued in the United members of the public. The NRC anticipates                                  States. The States of Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, publishing the final rule in FY 2000.                                       Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin continue to actively work toward becoming Agreement States.
AGREEMENT STATES                                                            Cooperation With States PROGRAM                                                                     NRC continued activities to ensure early and substantive involvement of Agreement States in
                                                              .             NRC rulemaking and other regulatory issues.
A total of 30 States have formal agreements with                            These activities included early opportunity to the NRC by which those States have assumed                                  comment on draft rulemaking plans and the use of regulatory responsibility over byproduct, source, electronic communication, via e-mail and bulletin and small quantities of special nuclear material.                           boards, to facilitate the transfer ofinformation.
Approximately 15,000 specific radioactive materials licenses are regulated by the Agreement                           A current list of Agreement States (including States, .upresenting about 70 percent of all                                names, addresses, and telephone numbers of

30 responsible officials) may be obtained upon,.
request from NRC,s regional offices. Or visit the Review of State Regulatory NRC Office of State Programs'(OSP's) Home           Programs Page <http://www.hstd.ornl. gov /nrc> and choose
               " Directories" and then " State Program Directors."
Joint NRC-Agreement State Working Groups            The Atomic EncigyAct ofl954, as amended, have also continued to be effectively used to       requires that NRC ensure that public health and                                         l l              address common issues and to evaluate               safety are being adequately protected and that
!              improvements in the regulation of radioactive       Agreement State programs are compatible with material. NRC's participation in the Annual All     NRC's program. NRC uses the Integrated Agreement States Meeting also affords an            Materials Performance Evaluation Program opportunity for further information exchange and    (IMPEP) to periodically evaluate NRC's regional cooperation.                                        office and Agreement State materials licensing and inspection programs. The IMPEP uses five common performance indicators: status of materials inspection program; technical staffing and training; technical quality of licensing; Technical Assistance to States                                                  ,
techmcal quality of mspection; and response to incidents and allegations. Program areas unique to The NRC continued to provide technical              NRC regions and Agreement States are reviewed assistance to Agreement States by responding to     as noncommon performance indicators. These requests for Ib snsing and inspection information,  reviews were conducted using interdisciplinary reviewing and commenting on proposed changes        teams with members drawn from NMSS, OSP, the to State regulations, and by dealing with specific  NRC regions, and the Agreement States. A                                                i or unusual radiation applications requiring         Management Review Board provides a senior                                                I specialized expertise and knowledge,                panel review of the IMPEP team's recommen-dations and issues the official NRC findings to the                                      ,
region or the Agreement State. An Agreement State management liaison representative serves on
                     . .                                           this board. The IMPEP has proved to be effective Dalning Offered State                               both in terms of evaluating the adequacy and                                             !
Personnel                                           wmpatibility of the materials programs and in improving technical and programmatic exchange ofinformation between NRC and the Agreement The NRC sponsors training courses and               States. Followup or special reviews are also workshops for Agreement State and NRC staff to      conducted, as needed.
assist State radiation control personnel meet their goal of maintaining high-quality regulatory programs. Course subjects are diverse, covering health physics, industrial radiography safety,      During FY 1998, NRC continued implementation well-logging, environmental monitoring, irradiator  of the IMPEP to evaluate Agreermot State and technology, transportation of radioactive nuclear   NRC regiornal materials programs. NRC materials, site decommissioning characterization,   Performed 10 IMPEP reviews and 1 followup nuclear medicine, inspection procedures, and        review of Agreement State programs. Ten of the                                          i materials licensing. In addition, special workshops Agreement State IMPEP reviews were found on specific topics are held, as needed. The NRC     adequate and compatible with NRC's oversight sponsored 34 training courses and workshops         programs, and one Agreement State's program attended by 357 State radiation control personnel   was found adequate but needs to be improved and                                           ;
during FY 1998. The sessions were also attended     to be made compatible with the others. NRC also                                           l by NRC staff and by military personnel,in           performed two regional IMPEP reviews and found addition to officials from foreign countries.       those programs adequate.                                                                  l I

31 Operational Events in                              Fuel Cycle Facilities Agreement States In FY 1998, the NRC completed 60 safety-related source and special nuclear material (S&SNM) license / certificate amendments,37 S&SNM Information on events that have occurred in         technical reviews, and 4 S&SNM license renewals.
Agreement States involving the use of radioactive   Environmental assessments were completed for byproduct material is routinely exchanged with the  the following licensing actions: Shieldalloy NRC and incorporated into the Nuclear Materials     Metallurgical Corporation (New Jersey) source Events Database. Safety-significant Agreement       materiallicense renewal, General Atomics State and NRC operational events are discussed at   (California) Site Decommissioning Plan, and periodic NRC staff meetings, and they emphasize     Fansteel (Oklahoma) authorization to process identifying the cause of each event. During the     onsite source material. All other fuel cycle past year, Agreement , State personnel investigated licensing actions, including research and material events involvmg overexposures,             development facility license renewals and fuel unplanned contamination, leaking sources,           cycle license amendments, were determined to industrial radiography, lost or stolen equipment,   meet the environmental criteria in 10 CFR Part and equipment failure, as well as incidents         51," Environmental Protection Regulations for involving the administration of radioactive         Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory byproduct material to individuals for medical       Functions," and did not require an environmental diagnosis and therapy. When short- and long-term    review. During FY 1998, NRC performed 134 analysis of operational events lead to effective    inspections at eight fuel cycle facilities and 57 generic remedies that reduce the likelihood of      inspections at the two gaseous diffusion plants event recurrence, the information is disseminated   (GDPs).
to the appropriate regulatory agencies and users.
During FY 1998, NRC :enewed three SNM lirenses that included specific review of the criticality safety function and 10 nuclear criticality safety (NCS) related license or certificate amendments. Using a risk-informed and performance-based approach, the NRC inspection The Conference of Radiation                         staff confirmed that criticality safety was adequate at each fuellicensee and GPD.
Control Program Directors, InC.                                                In FY 1998, NRC inspections and United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) self-assessments identified significant shortcomings in the implementation of the NCS program at the The NRC, through the OSP, continues to be a         Portsmouth GDP. Of the 183 event reports made Federalliaison to the Board of Directors of the     to the NRC for the Portsmouth GDP,155 deali Conference of Radiation Control Program             with NCS. NRC used a Special Inspection Team to Directors, Inc. (CRCPD), to help ensure that        inspect nuclear criticality safety issues. As a result State and Commission programs for protection        of this investigation, a comprehensive NCS against the hazards of radiation are coordinated. corrective action program was initiated and a The CRCPD was formed in 1968 to provide a           corrective action plan was implemented that forum in which Federal, State, and local radiation  required ongoing quarterly updates of progress on control program officials could address             the completion of plan milestones. A significant governmental radiation protection issues, mainly    reduction in the number of NCS-related events through working groups and committees. As many      indicates that Portsmouth GDP is improving its ts 15 NRC resource persons are represented on       compliance with NCS requirements.
pproximately 18 committees and working groups, which meet throughout the year. The NRC             During FY 1998, all inventory differences between contributed $110,000 in FY 1998 to the CRCPD.       book and measured inventories of SNM reported 1
1                     .

32                                                                                         +
by licensees to the NRC were either within           Commission affirmed in part, reversed in part, regulatory limits or within expected ranges. No      and remanded for further proceedings, the Atomic investigations or anomalous conditions were         Safety Licensing Board's decision of May 1,1997,   j reported during the report period.                   against LES on several environmental justice issues. See also " Adjudicatory Proceedings" in   j The NRC maintained two full-time resident            Chaper 1 of this report.                          {
inspectors at each GDP and one resident On June 29,1998, USEC announced its decision      !
mspector at each of the two highly enriched uramum fuel fabrication facilities. The regional     to privatize through an initial public offering of l securities. The U.S. Treasury Department staffs have continued to be active in improving the inspection focus on identification of criticality    aP. Proved the decision, and USEC was formally safety issues in fuel facilities. The regions have   Privatized on July 28,1998.
worked with NMSS to ensure that the inspection planning process is based on licensee performance                                                       l and that all inspections are integrated and coordinated. As examples of this progress, the       ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS staff significantly improved the safety margin (1) by holdmg an Operational Readm, ess Review
                                                     . OPERATIONS at Siemens for a new process begun in FY 1998 and (2) by conducting preoperational and start-up                              .
inspections at Nuclear Fuel Services for new         Nuclear Material Licensees processes and for the restart of processes that had been idle for an extended time.
and AEreement States The NRC licenses the use of reactor-produced During FY 1998, the NRC continued its support of isotopes, the milling of uranium, and the the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford subsequent processing of both natural and Tank Waste Remediation System Privatization enne d uranium, as well as other special nuclear (TWRS-P) Pr I'ect under a DOE-NRC                                           ,
material. The NRC directly regulates heensees in Memorandum of Understanding, dated 20 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S.
January 29,1997. The purpose of the cooperative Territories. The remaining 30 States, known as agreement between the two agencies is t Agreement States, have entered into agreements establish the basis for the development and with the NRC under Section 274 of the Atomic execution of a comprehensive regulatory program EnergyAct, as amended, whereby the NRC by DOE that is consistent with NRC s regulatory relinquishes and the States assume regulatory approach for protecting workers, the general, authority over the use of byproduct materials, pubhe, and the environment. Durmg this year, the source materials, and other special nuclear NRC has been providing technical assistance and material in quantities not capable of sustaining a regulatory perspective to the DOE Regulatory chain reaction' Unit at the Hanford Site that is responsible for the TWRS-P project by assisting in the review of         The NRC collects and reviews nuclear materials DOE and DOE contractor documents invohing            event information reported by NRC licensees and the establishment of design criteria and design      Agreement States. NRC licensees submit reports standards. NRC has an assigned site                  directly to the NRC regional or headquarters representative at Richland, Washington, and the      offices. Agreement State licensees submit reports NRC staff at headquarters is also supporting this    to the States, which,in turn, voluntarily transmit activity.                                            summary reports to the NRC under an informal information-sharing agreement. NRC maintains On April 22,1998, Louisiana Energy Services, L.P. this information in the Nuclear Material Events (LES), formally withdrew its application for a       Database (NMED). In FY 1998, NRC received license to construct and operate a gas centrifuge    770 reports of events involving nuclear materials uranium enrichment plant near Homer,                 licensees that were required to be reported, as Louisiana, after a 7-year effort and $34 million in  shown in Table 2.2. None of these events resulted costs to LES. This withdrawal was made after the     in radiation-related deaths.

1 33 i l
Table 2.2 Nuclear Materials Reportable         Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors Events Submitted to the NRC and to Agree-        and Other Facilities" (NUREG-0713). The ment States in 1998 by Event Type           Radiation Exposure Information Reporting System (REIRS) provides data on exposures and
           'Iype of Event             Number         VereXPosures. You may access REIRS through the Internet at <www.saic.com/home/ntc_ rad >.
Misadministrations                     36 The number of individuals overexposed in nuclear materials applications typically exceeds the Radiation overexposures                 11 number overexposed at reactor sites. The n nreactor Heensees of most concern for Loss of control oflicensed            213                                ,
        .                                          overexposures are radiographers. The special material radiological problems of industrial radiography have been known for some time, and the NRC has Leaking sources                         18 provided guidance, a trammg document, and a Release of material
                                         .8       videotape to address those problems. Although the data for FY 1998 have not yet been compiled,
 'Ihnsportation                          37        there have been no reports of deaths.
Equipment problems                     170 Fuel cycle facility problems          255       Abnormal Occurrences Test, research, and training              2      In the " Report to Congress on Abnormal reactors                                         Occurrences, Fiscal Year 1998" (NUREG-0090, Vol. 21), NRC described five proposed abnormal Total         770       occurrences (AOs) that were reported by NRC nuclear materials licensees. One event involved a Note: Not all Agreement State reports had        seismic risk at a GDP. Two events involved been received at the time this table was         multiple brachytherapy misadministrations, one prepared.                                        involved a radiopharmaceutical misadministration, and one involved an exposure to a minor. The report also addresses one proposed AO, a brachytherapy misadministration Radiation Exposures and Overexposures All NRC licensees are required to momtor
                                         .        RULEMAKING employee exposure to radiation and radioactive    SUPPORTING NUCLEAR m:terials at levels sufficient to demonstrate comphance with the occupational dose limits       MATERIALS SAFETY specified in 10 CFR Part 20. Licensees of power reactors and licensees involved in industrial     In early FY 1998, the NRC took steps to further r diography, the manufacture and distribution of  improve the effectiveness and efficiency ofits r:dioactive materials, fuel fabrication and       rulemaking activities by transferring the processing, low-level radioactive waste disposal, rulemaking activities related to materials from the and independent spent fuel storage, are required  Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research to the by 10 CFR 20.2206 to provide to the NRC annual    Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
reports of exposure data for individuals for whom personnel monitoring is required. These data are  Rulemakings promulgated by the NRC in FY 1998 published annually in " Occupational Radiation    contributed in a significant way to NRC's success

34 in achieving its performance goals. These                  requirements for prototype testing (10 CFR rulemakings provided burden relief to licensees            Part 32).
and led to improvements in the regulatory framework.
Improvements in the Licensee Burden Reduction                            Regulatory Framework The following rulemakings were promulgated t         A draft proposed rule and associated draft Stand-reduce burden on licenseet, which, m turn,           ard Review Plan for 10 CFR Part 70, " Domestic allowed licensees to redirect their limited          Licensing of Special Nuclear Material," which resources to activities that have greater safety addressed changes requested in petition s gnificance.
PRM-70-7 and the public comments received on
                                              ,           the petition, were developed by the staff and e     A proposed rule to shorten or eliminate the    provided to the Commissioners. In preparing the 30-day delay for the loadiag of spent reactor  draft proposed rule and the associated Standard fuel into an Independent Spent Fuel Storage    Review Plan, the staff held several public meetings Installation (ISFSI) following completion of   to solicit public comments on the subject.
preoperational testing;                        Subsequently, the staff briefed the Commission and held a public meeting to discuss the proposed e     A proposed rule (10 CFR Part 76) that          rule changes. NRC worked on the following applies to such items as certificate renewals  initiatives to improve the regulatory framework:
and appeals for GDPs to streamline the amendment processes and to make these          e processes more effective and efficient;              A proposed rule to expand applicability of requirements dealing with completeness and
* e                                                          a curacy finf rmation submitted to NRC to A final ru:e to Provide criteria that allow
                                       .                        melude additional parties, such as holders of qualifym.g nonprofit entities and and applicants for certificates of compliance nonbond-issumg busm, ess corporations to use         and their contractors, subcontractors, and self-guarantee as an additional mechamsm for financial assurance;                             consultants (10 CFR Part 72),
e     A final rule to exempt canisters holding
* A proposed rule to correct a number of vitrified waste containing plutonium from the        inc nsistencies, clarify the applicability of packaging requirement for double                     several sections, and modify the data for containment (10 CFR Part 71);                        submittal of dry cask storage effluent reports (10 CFR Part 72).
* A final rule to eliminate the 5-year term for medical use licensees and to set the new       e     A final rule to extend the requirements of the terms of up to 10 years, which are the same as       deliberate misconduct rule to apply to the the license terms set for other material             applicants for NRC licenses, certificates of licensees; however, some licenses may be             compliance, and reciprocity (10 CFR Parts issued for shorter terms if warranted by the         30,40,50,60,61,70, and 72).
circumstances oflicense applicants (10 CFR Part 35); and                                  e     A final rule to provide minor clarifications and to revise the monitoring criteria (1) for e     A final rule to establish the same regulations       minors from 0.5mSv (0.05 rem) to 1 mSv (0.1 for distributing timepieces containing gaseous       rem) in a year and (2) for declared pregnant    ;
tritium light sources as is now used for the         women from 0.5 mSv (0.05 rem) to 1 mSv (0.1     i timepieces containing tritium paint and to           rem) during their pregnancies (10 CFR Part      i remove from the reguiations the specific             20).

35 ENFORCEMENT AND                                      The NRC uses three primary enforcement sanctions: notices of violation (NOVs), civil INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS                                penalties, and orders. The NRC considers civil penalties, orders, and NOVs, including Severity Level I, II, and III violations, as escalated See also "New Procedures for License Transfer         enforcement actions.
Applications"in Chapter 1.
An NOV sets forth one or more violations of a legally binding requirement and normally requires a response from the licensee describing the reasons for the violation, the corrective steps Enforcement                                          taken or planned, and the date when actions will be complete. During FY 1998, the agency issued
              ..                                       57 escalated NOVs to materials licensees.
The Commission has developed an enforcement program and an Enforcement Policy to support         A civil penalty is a monetary fine considered for the NRC's overall safety mission in protecting the   Severity Level III violations and normally public and the environment. Consistent with that     assessed for Severity Level I and II violations and purpose, enforcement action is used as a deterrent   knowing and conscious violations of reporting to emphasize the importance of compliance with       requirements of Section 206 of the Energy regulatory requirements, and to encourage           Reorganization Act. Section 234 of the Atomic prompt identification and prompt, comprehensive     Energy Act (AEA) provides for penalties of up to correction of violations. The Office of               $100,000 per violation per day; but that amount Enforcement (OE) is responsible for managing         was adjusted by the Debt Collection Improvement the Commission's enforcement program. The            Act ofl996 to $110,000. During FY 1998, the NRC's enforcement program is addressed in the        agency proposed 29 individual civil penalties be agency's Enforcement Policy, NUREG--1600,             imposed on materials licensees. Most licensees Rev.1, " General Statement of Policy and              Pay the civil penalty when it is proposed.
Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions."               However,in some cases, the agency imposes the civil penalty through the issuance of an order.
Table 2.3 includes additional civil penalty information. Note that a civil penalty may be proposed in one fiscal year and paid or imposed in Escalated Enforcement                                another fiscal year.
Activities Table 2.3 Civil Penalty Information All violations (except minor violations) identified                                             FY 98 through inspections and investigations are subject      Number of Proposed                       29 to civil enforcement action and may also be             Civil Penalties subject to criminal prosecution. After an apparent violation is identified, the severity is evaluated in   Amount of Proposed                     $270,600 order to determine the appropriate enforcement          Civil Penalties sanction. Severity levels range from Level I, for       Amount of Paid Civil                   $330,350 the most significant violations, to Level IV, for       Penalties those of more than minor concern. Minor                 Number of Imposed                          5 violations are not subject to formal enforcement Civil Penalties action. The NRC considers violations categorized at Severity Level I and Il to be very significant, as   Amount ofImposed                       $65,650 it does enforcement actions consisting of multiple      Civil Penalties Severity Level III violations. During FY 1998, the agency issued two Severity Level I violations, five Severity Level II violations, and three multiple      In addition to NOVs and civil penalties, orders Severity Level III actions to materials licensees. may be used to modify, suspend, or revoke

36 licenses. Orders may require additional corrective     a total of 122 conferences for reactor and material actions, such as removing specified individuals        licensees.
from licensed activities or requiring additional controls or outside audits. Persons adversely          The NRC issues a press release with a proposed affected by orders that modify, suspend., or revoke    civil penalty or order. All orders are published in a license, or that take other actions, may request a   the FederalRegister.
hearing. During FY 1998, the agency issued seven orders to materials licensees. In addition, five civil Additional information on the NRC's penalty imposition orders were issued.                 enforcement program and enforcement activities is available in the OE's Fiscal Year 1998 Annual A predecisional enforcement conference is              Report. This document is available in the public normally conducted with a licensee or an               document room and on NRC's World Wide Web individual before making an enforcement decision       (WWW) site. The address for OE's Home Page is if escalated enforcement action appears to be           <http://www.nrc. gov /OE/>. This WWW site also warranted, and if the NRC concludes that it is         contains copies of significant enforcement actions necessary or the licensee or the individual            that the agency has issued arranged by reactor, requests it. During FY 1998, the agency conducted      materials, and individual actions.
I I
                                                                                                              )
i i

i Nuclear Waste Safety                                                                                    -
                                                                                                ---, .sc p
p                                     j iy              .
The strategic goal for nuclear waste safety is to prevent adverse impacts to the current and future public health and safety and the environment as a result of uranium recovery, facilities decommissioning, cleanup of IO. ie contaminated sites, and disposal of radioactive wastes. In Fiscal Year
[ h-(FY) 1998, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) met the                p associated performance goal and had no radiation exposures or releases          E                                       ''
of radioactive material that are likely to occur now or in the future that     b.
will have significant adverse impacts on the health and safety of the                                               M public and the environment resulting from uranium recovery, facilities          n decommissioning, cleanup of contaminated sites, and disposal of                 k radioactive wastes. The NRC's target for the FY 1999 performance goal           F to establish the regulatory framework for high-level waste (HLW)                hdn disposal, consistent with current national policy, is to issue a final rule     !-
after promulgation of the standard by the end of FY 1999 or early FY            !
2000.                                                                             LL p
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SPENT FUEL                                                                     E L
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The Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO in the NRC's Office of Nuclear             i               .               7 Material Safety and Safeguards was cr)eated in April 1995, primarily to        I                          1 review the Department of Energy (DOE) design for a multipurpose canister (MPC) for the transportation, storage, and disposal of spent           [p                   x      ,
nuclear fuel. After the creation of SFPO, the MPC program was                    F canceled, and DOE replaced its MPC program with a policy to rely on              !                              j private-sector development of canisters for transportation and storage.
Thus,instead of the review of the technology for a single MPC, the NRC staff is now reviewing technologies for several canisters used for h( %.
                                                                                                       .\/ L
                                                                                                         ~
transportation and storage (dual-purpose canisters). Staff reviews of applications for dry cask storage licenses are increasing because               p.
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practically all of the Nation's nuclear power plants are now seeking (or will seek) licenses for dry cask storage. As nuclear plant spent fuel pools reach capacity, the licensee's capability to offload a full core of fuel rods J{N .                              "
is reduced.                                                                     b U
y in addition to reviewing technologies for dual-purpose canisters, the staff     F is responsible for-i a        ,
o      the licensing and certification of facilities and technologies           p'       ,                             F
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associated with the safe storage and transportation of spent fuel        y from the Nation's nuclear utilities;                                     y                  _
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38
* safety inspections of dry storage and transport The NRC is involved with DOE in various package licensees, certificate holders,         licensing, certification, and inspection-related applicants, designers, and fabricators; and     activities. For example, the NRC's DOE-related licensing, certification, or inspection-related
* the review of quality assurance (QA)            projects include-programs for the fabrication and use of                Fort St. Vrain ISFSI license transfer review; transportation packages.
* Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) fuel debris Thus far, the NRC has approved 13 designs for ISFSI heensmg review; spent fuel storage under the use of either a generallicense or as part of a site-specific license,
* Non-site-specific central interim storage and it has certified two cask designs for the                             .
fac lity topical safety analysis report review; transport of spent nuclear fuel. Figure 3.1 shows            ""
the locations of the currently operating independent spent fuel storage installations
* Dry Transfer System topical safety analysis (ISFSIs) and the spent fuel storage technologies             report review.
associated with each facility, while Figure 3.2 shows the locations of the potential near term        During this fiscal year, the staff continued its ISFSI sites. In general, the SFPO staff maintains     involvement with DOE in the return of foreign oversight of its licensed and certified entities      research reactor spent nuclear fuel, including through licensing reviews and safety inspections. transportation package certifications, route approvals, and inspection of shipments.
The NRC received 36 applications for spent fuel storage and transportation package designs and        To complement the licensing and certification facilities and completed 35 of these applications in   reviews, NRC developed and implemented an FY 1998, including an ISFSI license for North         inspection program to monitor the performance of Anna. Separately, the staff completed its technical    storage and transportation certificate holders and review for the Holtec HI-STAR storage cask and         licensees. During FY 1998, the staff monitored the approved the MP-187 transportation package.            industry's progress on resolving the problems of The NRC also received 103 applications for             cracks in the closure welds for the VSC-24 cask transportation package designs for other               design. Inspectors observed the demonstration of a new nondestructive examination technique used radioactive materials and completed the review for assessing the condition of the VSC-24 cask and approval of 96 applications in FY 1998. The staff also accomplished the following activities       closure weld. Inspectors also observed te w initial during FY 1998:                                        implementation of an improved weld proces on the VSC-24 cask closure welds at the Arkansas
* Issued dual-purpose dry cask review              Nuclear One, Point Beach, and Palisades power schedules to all vendor applicants. These        plants. These observations, coupled with a review technical reviews are either on schedule or      of the capabilities of the new nondestructive are being changed at the applicant's request. technique, ultimately led to the lifting of the confirmatory action letters previously issued to e    Continued to review the Trojan reactor vessel    Sierra Nuclear (now BNFL Solutions) and the shipment application and issued the approval     three power plants using the VSC-24 cask system package in October 1998 for the                  to allow resumption of fuel loading in the Commission's consideration, using risk-based    VSC-24 casks. The NRC also continued to assess information to support the package approval. industry responses to NRC Bulletin 97-02,
                                                             " Puncture Testing of Shipping Packages Under
* Issued the scoping report for the                10 CFR Part 71." Inspectors noted that several environmental impact statement associated        certificate holders experienced the same problems    I with the Private Fuel Storage, Limited            as those discussed in the bulletin and that Liability Corporation, application for an        appropriate corrective actions were being taken.
j ISFSI located on the Skull Valley Band of        During FY 1998, the staff developed guidance l
Goshute Indian Reservation in Tooele             resulting in the issuance, in January 1999, of a l
County, Utah, on September 16,1998.              generic communication to existing certificate i
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i 41 holders. Finally, the inspection staff completed 18   evaluated during the pilot project were                ,
inspections and 60 QA reviews of dry storage and      stand-alone facilities at a complex site, and NRC      l transport licensees, applicants, designers, and       determined that it would be impractical to license vendors, a number of which resulted in significant    these individually without licensing the whole site inspection findings.                                                                                         j because of their dependence on the shared-site infrastructure for many of the key elements of safe Annual exposure data for NRC's ISFSI licensees        operation. Additionally, safeguards was an issue at    j is given in REIRS. You can access REIRS through       these two facilities. The interfaces, relatedness, the Internet at <www.saic.com/home/nrc_ rad >.        and associated risks among the safety, safeguards,     ;
See Chapter 2 of this report for additional           and security programs should continue to be            '
information about radiation exposure.                 reviewed as part of the Pilot Program.
1 PILOT PROGRAM FOR                                                                                            l DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY                                  HIGH-LEVEL WASTE                                       '
NUCLEAR FACILITIES                                   The NRC's HLW regulatory activities are mandated by the Nuclear %ste Policy Act of1982 In FY 1998, the NRC and the DOEjointly                (NWPA), the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments conducted a pilot program to provide DOE and         Act fl987, and the Energy Policy Act ofl992 NRC information for determining the desirability      (EnPA). The NWPA specifies a detailed approach of NRC's regulatory oversight of DOE nuclear         I f the long-range undertakmg of HLW disposal, f:cilities and to support a decision on whether to   givmg the DOE operational responsibility and the seek legislation to authorize NRC's regulation of    NRC regulatory responsibility for HLW disposal.
DOE nuclear facilities. The pilot program was        The Nuclear Waste PolicyAmendments Act directs established to test regulatory concepts for at least  DOE to characterize only one candidate site, the six DOE facilities over 2 years by evaluating the     Yucca Mountam site m the State of Nevada, pilot facilities and their standards, requirements,   Accordingly, NRC's activities are focused on procedures, practices, and activities against the     Yucca Mountam. In the EnPA, Congress directed           l st:ndards that NRC believes would be appropriate      the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for each of these types of facilities.                to issue final environmental standards that are
                                                      " based on and consistent" with the 1995 findings The NRC conducted three pilot projects in FY          and recommendations of the National Academy of 1998 for the following facilities:                   Sciences. Once final EPA standards are established, NRC must modify its technical
: 1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;        requirements and criteria under Section 121(b) of the NWPA (i.e.,10 CFR Part 60) to be consistent
: 2.      Radiochemical Engineering Development         with the new EPA standards. To issue final Center at the Oak Ridge National              regulations within the short time allotted by Laboratory; and                               EnPA, NRC completed a strategy for a site-specific rulemaking (SECY-97-300) in
: 3.      Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuel at the       parallel with the ongoing development of the Savannah River Site.                           EPA's new standards for Yucca Mountain. This rulemaking will ensure that DOE will have the In general, NRC found that under the existing         necessary regulation for preparing its license regulatory framework, NRC could resolve most of       application for an HLW repository. Finally, a the technical, policy, and regulatory issues that the proposed rule,10 CFR Part 63, was prepared for NRC staff encountered and that precedent for          the Commission's approval (SECY-98-225).
r: solving many of these issues was in existing NRC   The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste policy and practice. Each of the first three sites    (ACNW) worked closely with the NRC staff to could be licensed by NRC and continue to operate      formulate this risk-informed site-specific rule for with very few changes. 'IWo of the three facilities   the Yucca Mountain HLW repository.

42 In FY 1998, the NRC continued its refocused          e     increased NRC monitoring of DOE's HLW prograra (1) to resolve, at the staff level, the       implementation ofits QA Program with four Key Technical Issues (KTIs) most important to              performance-based observation audits and       ;
repository performance and (2) to give DOE                 director-level NRC/ DOE meetings. These feedback before the publication of its viability           audits and meetings led to identification of a assessment (VA) for the Yucca Mountain site.               major concern with implementation of DOE's Eventually, the KTIs will be used to develop the           QA program. Subsequently, NRC agreed with      !
Yucca Mountain Review Plan. Issue Resolution               DOE on a corrective action plan.
Status Reports ( IRSRs) are the primary mechanism for documenting issue resolution and       Finally, for performance assessment, the NRC they include acceptance criteria that are the bases  completed KTI-level and system-level sensitivity for determining resolution at the stafflevel. The    studies to assess the relative importance of ACNW provided technical insights to the NRC          technical issues to performance. The results of staff during the development of the issue            these studies will allow the staff to have a resolution process. In FY 1998, the staff            quantitative, risk-informed basis with which to completed initial development of IRSRs for eight     prioritize issues, allocate resources, and improve issues:                                              the technical basis for review.
: 1. Unsaturated and Saturated Flow under Isothermal Conditions,
: 2. Thermal Effects on Flow,                        LOW-LEVEL WASTE
: 3. Evolution of the Near-Field Environment,                          .
Nuclear waste is a byproduct of the use of
: 4. Structural Deformation and Seismicity of the    radioactive materials. Low-level radioactive waste Yucca Mountain Site,                            results from reactor operations and from medical, academic, industrial, and other commercial uses,
: 5. Repository Design and Thermo-mechanical         and this waste generally contains relatively limited Effects,                                        concentrations of radioactivity. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of1980, amended in
: 6. Container Life and Source Term,                 1985, made States responsible for providing for the disposal of commercial low-level waste (LLW)
: 7. Igneous Activity, and                           generated within their borders. The act encouraged States to enter mto compacts that
: 8. Total System Performance Assessment             would allow several States to dispose of waste at a (TSPA) and Integration.                         regional disposal facility. Most of the States have entered into compacts, and several States are In addition to preparing the IRSRs in FY 1998,       Proceeding with plans to construct and operate the NRC staff's technical exchanges with DOE         new disposal facilities. Although some compact contributed to issue resolution by-                  disposal facilities have been planned, none has been opened with the exception of the Envirocare o    presenting the staff's preliminary analysis of  facility in Clive, Utah, which accepts only certain DOE's TSPA-VA methodologies and results         categories of LLW. Regulatory responsibility for to DOE and the Nuclear Waste Technical          special nuclear materials at the Barnwell and Review Board;                                  Hanford disposal sites was transferred to the States of South Carolina and Washington, e    completing development of and preparing         respectively. Consistent with its goals, the NRC     ,
user's manuals for NRC's Total Performance      continues to provide support to the Agreement        j Assessment Codes 3.1 and 3.2. These codes       States. During FY 1998, NRC activities in the are used to perform KTI-level and               LLW program were limited to consultation with system-level performance sensitivity studies    States, review of an Envirocare license and will be used to support review of the VA    application, and technical assistance to State and evaluation of the license application; and  regulatory agencies.

43 Annual exposure data for NRC's LLW licensees is      e    develop a standard review plan and a given in REIRS, which you may access through              regulatory guide to implement the license the Internet at <www.saic.com/home/nre_ rad >.            termination rule; and e    phase out or revise existing SDMP guidance documents to be consistent with the license
                                                             **""i"^""'"'*'
REACTOR AND SITE Fonnatenal duommissioning,in FY IW8, DECOMMISSIONING                                      consistent with the goal to remove three sites from the SDMP each year, NRC succeeded in removing The Decommissioning Program encompasses the          three sites from the SDMP: Cabot Corporation, regulation of decontamination and the                Boyertown, Pennsylvania; Clevite, Cleveland, decommissioning of power reactor, fuel cycle         Ohio; and Schott Glass Technologies, Dunea, ficility, and materials licensees. This program      Pennsylvania. For reactor decommissioning, the includes the-                                        NRC issued draft guides for comment entitled
                                                       " Regulatory Guide on the Format and Content of o      development of associated regulation and      Nuclear Reactor License Termination Plans" and guidance;                                     a " Standard Review Plan (SRP) for Evaluating           ,
Nuclear Power Reactor License Termination               !
I o      review of site characterization plans for     Plans." These documents are being developed to complex cases;                                ensure the quality and uniformity of licensee submittals and NRC reviews. The final regulatoy o      review and approval of decontamination and    guide will be issued in 1999.
decommissioning plans; NRC also began a pilot study to facilitate o      development of environmental assessments      decommissioning of materials sites by reducing and environmentalimpact statements            the submittal and review processes. In March associated with these reviews;                 1998, NRC conducted a public workshop to explain this streamlining initiative. The purpose of o      regulatog oversight of decommissioning        streamlining, in addition to accomplishing health actions;                                      and safety review objectives, is to complete a licensing decision in a time period that meets the o      review of final survey reports;               licensee's needs. This process is intended to facilitate reviews and licensing decisions in o      conduct of selected confirmatory surveys;      accordance with schedules defined and agreed upon by both the licensee and NRC. The March o      termination oflicenses; and                    1998 workshop was attended by NRC licensees and representatives of industry, the media, and o      development of policy to ensure efficient and the NRC. Following this workshop, five consistent licensing actions.                  stakeholders agreed to participate in the pilot study.
g In 1998, the NRC implemented a transition from
~
the Site Decommissioning Management Plan              During FY 1998, NRC participated in a Citizen (SDMP) to a comprehensive decommissioning            Task Force (CTF). The CTF was formed by the program. The major components of the                  New York State Energy Research and comprehensive decommissioning program are             Development Administration with the to--.                                                 participation of DOE to assist in developing a preferred alternative for the completion of the o      maintain the SDMP site list to track progress  West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and at complex decommissioning sites;              closure of the site. The CTF met two evenings per month from January 1997 to June 1998 to learn o      shift decommissioningissue resolution from     about the site and to discuss the various the SDMP to the Agency Operating Plan;         alternatives for completion of the WVDP and

44 closure of the site. NRC, as a cooperating agency     addresses questions raised during the panel in the West Valley Environmental Impact              discussions. The workshop and the NUREG-series Statement, participated in these meetings by          report are useful to participants because they were making periodic presentations and by a video          designed to provide t echnical bases and teleconference to discuss NRC's activities and       discussions to support development of the responsibilities under the WVDPAct.                  decommissioning guidance.
During FY 1998, NRC participated in public meetings concerning decommissioning of nuclear                                                              j power plant facilities and sites listed in the Site Decommissionmg Management Plan (SDMP).               URANIUM RECOVERY These meetings included decommissioning of the Enrico Ferms Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1,              LICENSING AND                                         '
Monroe, Michigan; the Peach Bottom Atomic             INSPECTION Power Station, Unit 1, Delta, Pennsylvania; and the Babcock and Wilcox site, Parks Township, Pennsylvania. NRC attended a seminar by Nuclear       The NRC's uranium recovery program licenses Risk Management for Native Communities to             and regulates uramum recovery facilibes, which inform Native Americans of the current state of       extract or concentrate, and thus recover, uramum decommissioning the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation        fr m uramum ores. Historically, uranium recovery (SFC) Fuel Cycle Facility in Gore, Oklahoma.         was performed at conventional uramum mills, NRC observed a public meeting at the SFC              which process uranium ore obtamed from open pit ,
Facility in conjunction with site visits to the          r underground mmes. At the mill, the ore is Fansteel, Inc., plant in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and     crushed and chemically processed to produce the Kaiser Aluminum Specialty Products site in        uranium as yellowcake. After processmg, the             i
    'Ibisa, Oklahoma.                                     remainder of the ore, called uramum mill tailings,     j still contams hazardous and radiorctive substances     '
and is disposed in a tailings pile.
    .in March 1998, NRC conducted a public workshop to explain a streamlining initiative to facilitate Most newer uranium recovery facilities use an in decommissioning of matenals sites by reducing         situ leach (ISL) process. At ISL facilities, wells are l the submittal and review processes. The workshop      drilled into the rock formations containing the was attended by NRC licensees and repre-              uranium ore. Water, with chemical additives, is sentatives of industry, the media, and NRC.           injected into the wells to dissolve the uranium into Following this workshop, five stakeholders agreed
              ,             ,                             the water. The water is then pumped back to the to participate m, the pilot study.
surface, where a processing plant removes the In support of developing guidance for implementing the final rule on " Radiological          NRC's uranium recovery regulatory activities, are Criteria for License Termination," NRC organized       mandated by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation a 2-day public workshop on review of dose              Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), as amended.
modeling methods. The workshop presenters             Title I of UMTRCA applies to 24 abandoned discussed dose modeling needs for licensing           uranium mill tailings sites. Title I directs the DOE reviews, development of guidance related to dose      to clean up surface contamination and ground modelir.g and parameter selection, and the EPA        water contamination at these sites, and to stabilize dose assessment model. Computer                       the tailings at disposal sites for up to 1000 years.
demonstrations of the dose codes were also            UMTRCA also requires that NRC review rad provided to the attendees, who included               evaluate DOE's remedial action plans for the representatives of Agreement States, indust y,        cleanup and disposal of contaminated materials at consultants, national laborstories and Federal        these sites and that NRC concur that DOE has agencies, and interested members of the public. A     completed each remedial action to meet standards report of the workshop proceedings (NUREG/            set by the EPA. The completed dispostJ sites are CP-0163) was published, which outlines the            licensed to DOE by the NRC for lonF-term care.
presentations made during the workshop and            Congress mandated that the DOE ccmplete the

45 1
ace remediation of the sites by September 30,     RESEARCH SUPPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE SAFETY One of NRC's uranium recovery performance measures for FY 1998 was to review DOE plans           Research in the area of nuclear waste safety is and actions for Title I sites to fulfill the           focused on improving the regmatory framework Congressionally mandated completion date.              and reducing unnecessary burden on licensees in During FY 1998, NRC concurred in construction          the area of assessing the performance of waste completion at 2 of the DOE sites, and licensed 4       disposal and storage, contaminated site cleanup, disposal sites to DOE for long-term care. This         uranium recovery operations, and meant that by the end of FY 1998, NRC had              decommissioning activities. Some current concurred in all remedial actions submitted by         assessment techniques use overly simplistic or DOE, leaving 3 sites remaining for DOE to              conservative assumpticns to account for complete. Final completion of one site, the Grand      uncertainties and to ensure that dose estimates Junction disposal site, will not occur until 2023, so  are conservative in order to adequately protect that the site remains open to accept disposal of       public health and safety. Research is focused on tailings from other locations. Activities for the      improving supporting data, reducing uncertainties, groundwater remediation phase, which are not           and providing more realistic models of natural subject to the 1998 deadline for the surface           processes that control the movement of remediations, also continued during FY 1998. In        radionuclides in the enviromnent. This work is FY 1998, NRC concurred with DOE's plans for            applicable most effectively at complex sites with groundwater remediation for 5 sites.                   large radionuclide inventories where the simple approaches dictate extraordinary actions to achieve compliance with regulatory standards. In Under Title II of UMTRCA, NRC's uranium                 1998, the most significant accomplishments of the recoven program is responsible for the licensing       program included the following activities.
and regulation of (1) operations at uranium recovery facilities (mills and ISLs), (2)               In FY 1998, the research was completed on the reclamation and disposal of uranium mill tailings,      analysis of single- and cross-hole pneumatic tests and (3) decommissioning of uranium recoven              in unsaturated fractured rock at the Apache Leap facilities.                                             Research Site (reported in NUREG/CR-5559).
This work, conducted by the University of Arizona, provided significant insights into the In FY 1998, there were 26 NRC-licensed uranium          processes that will be important to assessing         I recovey facilities in the Title 11 program. Of          performance of an HLW repository at Yucca these,1 conventional mill was operating,2 mills        Mountain, Nevada. Field activities related to were in standby, and 14 mills and 1 heap leach site     testing and evaluating ground water monitoring were in various stages of decommissioning and           strategies at the University of Arizona's Maricopa reclamation. There were also 6 commercial ISL          site were also completed. Information, including facilities,1 disposal facility for tailings received   the technical bases, was provided to the NRC from other sites and 1 nonoperational ion              licensing staff, Agreement State regulators and exchange facility. During FY 1998, NRC                 their consultants, the U.S. G:ological Survey, and completed the review of the application for a new       DOE scientists through two workshops. One ISL facility, and issued this facility a performance-  workshop was a " hands-on" technology transfer based license. Also during FY 1998, NRC                workshop, which was held at the Maricopa site, reviewed the operating history and the safety and       and the second workshop was a " lessons-learned" environmental aspects of 2 operating ISL facilities    workshop held at NRC headquarters.
end issued these facilities performance-based, renewed licenses. In addition, NRC reviewed and         Work was completed on the interagency                j concurred with 4 plans for site reclamation. The        cooperative agreements with the Agricultural         !
NRC performed over 30 inspections at licensee           Research Service (U. S. Department of                l facilities to evaluate licensee programs and            Agriculture), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the regulatory compliance.                                  National Institute of Standards and Technology       !
i

46 (NIST). An intergovernmental agreement with the     radionuclide releases to soils under actual Johns Hopkins University was also completed to       environmental conditions and presented their combine and share resources and improve the          findings at the Waste Management '98 efficiency of NRC research in specific areas.        Symposium. These findings from the research These activities have resulted in a significant     were published in a report (NUREG/CR-6569).
increase in staff research activities as direct contract funds have decreased. The cooperative      The NRC developed a technology transfer and work with the Agricultural Research Service deals   training course on a newly developed dose with field testing ofinfiltration instrumentation    assessment code, "MEPAS within FRAMES." The methods and analyses for ground water movement      course was held at the NRC headquarters in 'he unsaturated zone. The cooperative research   computer training facility for EPA, DOE and v sth the U.S. Geological Survey involves the        DOE's national laboratories, and NRC licensing a pplication of mechanistic models of sorption      staff working on decommissioning reviews.
pocesses to radionuclide transport in the                                                               l er vironment. In 1998, a uranium-contaminated       See also " Licensee Burden Reduction"in Chapter fidd site with complex chemistry (Naturita,          2 for two rules related to waste.
Co'orado) was selected by the NRC and the Sur rey for a demonstration project on the app ication of mechanistic models to performance asst ssment. The cooperative research with NIST deris with the verification and testing of 4 SIGHT,  ADVISORY COMMITTEE a computer code developed by NIST. This code is intended to predict degradation of concrete ON NUCLEAR WASTE barriers over time. In 1998, staff from the NRC                                                          i and NIST collected weathered samples of              The NRC established the Advisory Committee on       I concrete on which laboratory analyses will be        Nuclear Waste (ACNW)in 1988. The ACNW
     ,erformed to quantify degradation rates of          reports to and advises the NRC on nuclear waste coa.m under environmental conditions. The            disposal facilities as directed by the Commission; intergovernmental agreement with the Johns           by " Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in  i Hopkins University is to characterize and quantify   Geologic Repositories" (10 CFR Part 60),
the degradation rates for contaminated slags. The    " Licensing Requirements for Land Disposal of contemporary slags were collected from three         Radioactive Waste" (10 CFR Part 61), a proposed sites in Pennsylvania and ancient slags (200 to     Part," Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes 1500 years old) were collected from archeological   in a Proposed Geological Repository at Yucca sites in mining districts in the Czech Republic and Mountain, Nevada" (10 CFR Part 63), published the United Kingdom.                                  in the FederalRegister on February 22,1999 (64 FR 8639-8679), and other applicable regulations; The ,in-house,, research on remediation of m. situ
                                             .        . and by legislative mandates such as the NWPA, leach uranium mines to determme pore                 the Low-LevelRadioactive Waste PolicyAct, and the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation ControlAct, as volumes necessary to achieve cleanup standards continued.                                           amended. In performing its work, the committee will examine and report on those areas of concern    l referred to it by the Commission and may             i The investigation continued on (a) the               undertake studies and activities on its own radionuclide source terms and scaling factors from   initiative, as appropriate, activated metals and ion-exchange resins obtained from nuclear power stations, (b) determining         ACNW reports, other than those that may contain solubilities and leaching properties of              classified material, are made part of the public radionuclides in slags and soils as a function of    record. The ACNW Web address is chemical parameters (e.g., pH), (c) radionuclide-    <http://www.nrc. gov /acrsacnw>. Activities of the chelating complex behavior from decontaminated       committee are conducted in accordance with the reactor component leachates. The staff completed     FederalAdvisory Committee Act, which provides for field lysimeter studies involving field testing of   the public to attend and participate in committee cement and vinyl-ester waste form behavior and       meetings. The ACNW membership is drawn from

l l
l 47 l i
scientific and engineering disciplines and includes 06/19/98 ACNW Comments on NRC's Review of individuals experienced in geosciences, risk                  the DOE Viability Assessment essessment, radioactive waste treatment, environmental engineering, and nuclear engmeermg.
07/29/98 Comments on NRC's Total System The following reports were among the most                     Sensitivity Studies for the Proposed important ACNW contributions during FY 1998:                  High-Level Radioactive Waste 03/06/98 NRC High-Level Waste Issue-Resolution Process and Issue-Resolution Status Reports 09/09/98 Issues and Recommendations 03/26/98 Risk-Informed, Performance-Based                     Concerning the Near-Field Environment Regulation in Nuclear Waste                       and the Performance of Engineered Management                                        Barriers at Yucca Mountain

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security, supporting U.S. foreign policy objectives, and demonstrating                               79                 3 U.S. reliability as a supplier of goods and services. In support of these         >                 j    41 efforts, NRC-g                     ,
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for U.S. nuclear nonproliferation activities;                           f o      maintains some 34 arrangements and letters of agreement signed          H               ' '
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50 foreign regulatory personnel to the NRC and    included export authorizations for a 10 MWt by obtaininginformation on foreign              TRIGA Research Reactor to Thailand and reactor regulatory approaches and operational          components to China via Canada. The NRC experience that helps to improve NRC's          reviewed nine Department of Energy (DOE) domestic nuclear regulation;                    subsequent arrangement proposals, including a request from Argentina to recover and use o    participates and takes a leadership role in     U.S.-supplied unirradiated highly enriched         )
standing committees and senior advisory         uranium for medical isotope production. Finally, groups of the International Atomic Energy      NRC also reviewed 17 nuclear technology transfer Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for         cases that DOE is considering for approval. A Economic Cooperation and Development's         number of these requests concerned the transfer Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) on            of nuclear power reactor technologies and services issues such as safeguards application,         to China to assist the civilian nuclear power standards development, training, technical     program in the wake of the implementation of the assistance, physical protection of nuclear     U.S.-China Agreement for Cooperation in the materials, reactor safety research and         Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the lifting of regulatory matters, radioactive materials      sanctions on nuclear-related commerce.
safety radiation protection, risk assessment, waste management, and transportation;           NRC participated in the March 1998 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Plenary in Scotland, e   facilitates the implementation of IAEA          where working groups were established to initiate Safeguards Agreement with respect to those      open-ended consultations on legal and technical licensee facilities selected by the IAEA for    issues relating to intangible technology transfer, the implementation of safeguards measures       and on implementation and policy issues. Latvia and provides support to the strengthening of   was welcomed as a new NSG member. The group international safeguards and nonproliferation   decided to hold a second Seminar on the Role of efforts;                                        Export Controls in Nuclear Non-Proliferation in New York in the spring of 1999, before the e   assists in the development ofinternational      Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) legal instruments establishing the basis for a  Preparatory Committee meeting.
global nuclear safety culture; In FY 1998, the Commission was consulted and e   plays a leading role in the activities of the  gave its formal views to the President and the International Nuclear Regulators Association    Department of State (DOS) on proposed nuclear (INRA); and                                    trade and cooperation agreements with Kazakhstan, Romania, and Ukraine.
e   supports U.S. and international activities concerning the Year 2000 computer problems. The NRC participates in a range of U.S. inter-agency and international nuclear non-proliferation activities. Perhaps most important are the contributions NRC makes toward aiding the United States to meet its export control and EXPORT CONTROL AND                                  technology transfer obligations under Article IV     l NON-PROLIFERATION                                      f the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including support for bilateral and IAEA-sponsored exchanges of equipment, materials, and scientific In FY 1998, the NRC completed 90 export license     and technological information on the peaceful cases. Most of the new casework involved exports    uses of nuclear energy. NRC staff also provided oflow-enriched uranium to Japan, South Korea,       technical assistance to U.S. policy makers in Taiwan, and Western Europe for use as fuel in       connection with the U.S.-Russia agreement to         I nuclear power reactors. In addition, there were     make permanent the cessation of plutonium two export authorizations to supply high-enriched   production for nuclear weapons; the U.S.-Russia-uranium target material to Canada for medical       IAEA Trilateral Verification Initiative on excess isotope production. Other notable actions           weapons material; the process of making decisions

I I
51  .
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of how to dispose of plutonium excess to U.S.
* the Subgroup on IAEA Safeguards in the weapons program needs (e.g., safe storage,               United States, which is responsible for long-term disposal or use as mixed oxide fuel in         addressing issues related to I AEA safeguards     .
commercial power plants); and the Fissile                implementation in the U.S. (this committee is     l Material Cutoff Treaty. NRC is also represented          chaired by the NRC); and                          l on the Nonproliferation Steering Committee,                                                               i which coordinates and shapes U.S.
* the Subgroup on Safeguards Technical             I Government-wide activities.                              Support, which is responsible for providing technical assistance to the I AEA through The NRC is also responsible for meeting obliga-          providing personnel with needed technical tions under Bilateral Agreements for Peaceful            expertise and development of new safeguards Nuclear Cooperation. In meeting these obliga-            technologies.
tions, the NRC must respond to requests for                                                                !
information on the imported or obligated nuclear   The dominant issue currently before the inter-          I materials submitted by the bilateral agreement     agency safeguards committees is the development partner.                                           of systems and proced' ires for implementing the new Additional Protocol to the U.S.-IAEA               .
Over 200 facilities licensed by the NRC have been  Safeguards Agreement. This protocol was signed         I placed on the list of U.S. Facilities Eligible for in May 1998 and is being prepared for submittal to IAEA Safeguards. From this list, the I AEA         the Senate for Advice and Consent. The protocol currently has selected six facilities: one for     will provide additional legal authority to the inspection and reporting of accounting data (BWX   IAEA for implementing the safeguards Technologies downblending facility) and five for   strengthenmg measures to assure the accuracy and the reporting of accounting data (the five LEU     completeness of State declarations. The United fuel fabricators). During I AEA inspections of     States provides the largest share of voluntary licensee facilities, the NFC accompanies the       techmcal support and financial assistance to the inspectors to ensure that the inspector's requests IAEA of any IAEA Member State.
are within the scope of the Safeguards Agreement and to facilitate the accesses and transfers of    In support ofits program to ensure that effective information necessary for the inspector to         physical protection arrangements are provided for accomplish the inspection. The NRC also ensures    U S -Supplied special nuclear materials m. other that the licensec information is properly          countnes, the United States participates with submitted for electronic transfer to the IAEA's      ther U.S. government agencies m physical Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. NRC staff         Protection information exchange tnps for the ,
routinely meet with representatives from the       purp se f discussmg and obserymg other physical IAEA to resolve problems associated with IAEA      Protection programs. During FY 1998, bilateral safeguards implementation.                         physical protection visits were made to Denmark,       !
Austna, Germany, South Afnca, and the Netherlands. In addition, representatives from The NRC participates on the following U.S.
Japan and Germany accompam,ed NRC staff to government interagency committees for the observe Physical Protection Performance implementation and strengthening of IAEA Evaluation Reviews at U.S. facilities.
safeguards:
To further support strengthening of international o    the IAEA Steering Committee, which is a       physical protection practices, NRC co-chaired senior management-level committee that        IAEA's working group responsible for revising the establishes U.S. government policy on IAEA    IAEA's physical protection guidance document, issues;                                       which serves as the international criteria for         <
acceptable physical protection programs. An NRC o    the Subcommittee on International             staff member participated in IAEA's Safeguards and Monitoring, which is           " International Physical Protection Advisory responsible for addressing and recommending   Service" (IPPAS) mission to Poland, along with policy solutions to international safeguards  representatives from the United Kingdom, issues;                                       France, and Germany.

52 International Nuclear Safety Remnstruction and Development (EBRD/NSA).
in each of these groups, NRC provides important Activities                                            technical advice and policy guidance in framing U.S. nuclear safety proposals and evaluating those NRC currently participates in 34 arrangements           f ther governments, especially activities with foreign national regulatory authorities, which   inv lvmg regulatory assistance.
provide the framework for most of NRC's .             In FY 1998, the NSWG continued to work to bilateral cooperation and assistance activities.
effectively implement the Memorandum of During FY 1998, NRC entered into a new Understanding (MOU) with Ukraine, which classified information exchange arrangement with provides for closure by the year 2000 of the Canada, and renewed standmg general four-unit Chornobyl nuclear power plant. A key mformation exchange and cooperation            .      element in the MOU has been stabilization of the arrangements with Chma, Greece, Indonesia, deteriorating sarcophagus entombing Unit 4, with Israel, Japan, and The Netherlands. NRC als a goal to transform the sarcophagus to a safer and implements an on-the-j,ob trairing program for     . more environmentally stable condition. At a cost assignees from other countrie. s usually from their  of $750 million and covering 22 integrated tasks, regulatory organizations, operating under the work under the Shelter Implementation Plan aegis of the bilateralinformation exchange (SIP) began in the fall of 1997 and is scheduled to arrangements. During FY 1998, eight people from      be completed in 2005. A dedicated fund was Chma, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, established at the EBRD to finance sarcophagus Spam and Switzerland participated in the improvement activities. This fund, which is pr gram.
separate from the Nuclear Safety Account, solicits The NRC conducts confirmatory regulatory             contributions from both public and private donors.
research in partnership with nuclear safety          The Ukraiman Nuclear Regulatory Authon,ty agencies and institutes in more than 25 countries.    (NRA) will play a key role m the realization of the Much of this activity is concentrated in four major  SIP, most notably m, the creation of critena to subject areas: (1) severe accident research; (2)     imp lement shelter improvements.
thermal / hydraulic code maintenance and
                                 ,                        Since 1992, the G-24 NUSAC has coordinated assessment; (3) probabilistic nsk assessment; and    safety assistance programs worldwide for the (4) steam generator tube m, tegrity. These mternational research agreements provide for         countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In March shared use of facilities,jomt fundmg                  1998, NRC attended the G-24 NUSAC Plenary arrangements, prompt exchange of experimental        Committee meeting. NRC has also been actively results, coordinated analyses, and other forms of                                                         1
                      ,                                   involved in efforts to restructure the G-24 cooperation to yield confirmatory safety data of     NUSAC coordination process, reflecting the mutual benefit m a t,mely i    and cost-effective maturity and experience that has been gained manner.
since 1992.
The EBRD/NSA is a supplementary multilateral mechanism to address immediate operational Implementation of U.S. Policy                        safety and technical safety improvement measures at the least-safe Soviet-design reactors not on Nuclear Assistance                                covered by bilateral programs. Admmistered by a      ;
steering body of representatives from the 15 donor NRC continued its active involvement in support      countries, the NSA is coordinated with and of the three nuclear safety institutions that have   assisted by the G-24 NUSAC and is managed by emerged from the annual Group of Seven (G-7)         the EBRD. In FY 1998, the NSA and the economic summits: the G-7 Nuclear Safety             Government of Ukraine began implementation of Working Group (NSWG), the Group of                   the grant agreement signed in 1997 for Twenty-four Nuclear Safety Coordination              approximately $125 million in assistance to mechanism (G-24 NUSAC), and the Nuclear              support the Chornobyl plant closure initiative.
Safety Account at the European Bank for              Other NSA projects include $30 million for safety

53 upgrades and improvements at the Bulgarian        slowed in the latter part of the reporting period Kozloduy nuclear power plant; approximately $50   because of financial restrictions related to U.S.       .
million for safety upgrades and improvements and  foreign policy concerns. NRC requirements, and          !
the conduct of a safety assessment at the         fiscal limitations. In addition, serious economic Lithuanian Ignalina plant; and approximately $70  influences in these countries impede the ability of million for safety upgrades and improvements at   the regulators to regulate-because of small the Russian Kola and Novovoronezh plants and      budgets-and of the operators to comply-the support for licensing these activities by     because oflow revenues.
Gosatomnadzov (GAN). Key to most of these projects is the strengthening of the national     NRC actively participates in the biannual nuclear regulatory authorities,in which NRC has    meetings of the U.S/ Russian Joint Commission had a substantial role. NRC has also provided      on Economic and Technological Cooperation, technical assistance in other bilateral and        which has established a policy framework for multilateral EBRD/NSA projects.                    implementing nuclear nonproliferation and safety        1 activities. During the reporting period, NRC worked closely with its counterpart Russian regulatory authority, GAN, in such areas as Bilateral Cooperative and                         development of a regulatory training center and
        .                 . ..                     an emergency response capability, and review of Assistance Activities                              reguiatory standards and criteria. Of particular nuclear safety and nonproliferation significance is A major focus of U.S. and G-7 international        the continuing bilateral effort to convert Russia's nuclear policy is to enhance the safety of the     three operatmg plutonium production reactors to nuclear programs in the countries of the FSU and   district electricity and heat uses, developmg a CEE. The NRC safety assistance program is          design that would not produce weapons-grade             ]
designed to aid the nuclear regulators in the FSU  plutonium. In support of formal U.S.-Russian l
and CEE to develop regulatory techniques           Government agreements to begm, implementation common in the West and to establish regulatory       I this initiative, NRC and GAN announced the process independent of the user of nuclear         initialing of an implementing arrangement to, technology. Of these countries, those with the     enhance regulatory oversight of core conversion largest nuclear programs are Russia and Ukraine. activities, with the m, tent of ensurmg that safety Under Presidential Decision Directive-41, the      remam at the heart of the project. NRC and GAN NRC supports the nuclear regulators in Ukraine,    w 11 f cus n such areas as the verification of Kazakhstan, and Russia in their efforts to         design and accident analysis codes, quahty strengthen their national programs for nuclear     assurance, design requirements for criticah,ty  ,
materials protection, control, and accounting. control systems, and probabilistic risk analysis.
By the end of FY 1998, most of NRC's activities    In FY 1998, NRC completed its sixth year of originally planned for these countries had been    providing bilateral assistance in nuclear safety and completed. Virtually all of the equipment,in the   safeguards to Russia and Ukraine, and its third form of computers, simulators, and                 year of providing nuclear safety and safeguards communications equipment, had been delivered.      assistance to Armenia and Kazakhstan. NRC has This more advanced infrastructure is facilitating  focused its assistance on helping its regulatory the implementation of technology transfers and     counterparts in such areas as developing their the management of growing regulatory               basic nuclear legislation, enhancing analytical responsibilities. Measurable accomplishments       analysis capabilities, enhancing emergency have been achieved in both countries for           response and emergency preparedness capa-implementing nuclear legislation, preparing        bilities, and developing inspection procedures.
documents on which to base licensing decisions,    Further, NRC has continued to provide technical constructing state-of-the-art training and         assistance on developing systems of nuclear emergency response facilities, and developing fire materials protection to the regulatory bodies of safety standards and learning to perform complex   countries of the former Soviet Union possessing risk assessments. However, the program was         these materials.

54 Supporting Commissioner Dicus's participation in   In the fall of 1997 the Commission approved the the Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation     implementation of three nuclear safety projects Effects Research (JCCRER), including her visit to with the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Russia in May 1998 for a JCCRER meeting, NRC      (AERB) of India. In support of this decision, NRC conducts joint research in health effects of       hosted a visit by AERB Chairman P. Rama Rao in radiation on the population affected by the        March 1998, and Chairman Jackson in turn visited Chornobyl disaster; health effects of exposure on  India in April 1998. These projects-in fire safety, workers in radiation zones; and information        emergency response and preparedness, and design technologies in radiation effects.                 modifications-were to have commenced in May 1998, but were suspended as a result of the Indian The NRC has continued its extensive assistance     Government's nuclear detonations on May 11 and      i program to the countries of CEE, drawing on         13,1998, and the imposition of U.S. sanctions funds provided by the Agency for International     legislation.
Development (AID). The NRC program is aimed                                                  .
at transferring to local regulators western safety Although the scheduled U.S., South Africa Binational Commission meetings were canceled, principles and NRC safety review and licensing methodology. The combined efforts of western          wmg to U.S. military actions taken against Iraq, donor countries has brought about a noticeable     NRC continued to implement its nuclear safety increase in safety culture and awareness in the    8"'.tiatives with the South African Department of CEE countries, to the point that many of them are  Minerals and Energy and with the Council for now capable of nuclear safety assistance to other Nuclear Safety. Other Commissioner travel CEE countries. The NRC also continued its close included Commissioner Diaz' visit to Mexico to cooperation with the IAEA on a range of CEE        address the Conference of Mexican Nuclear activities, including participation in I AEA-      S ciety, and Chairman Jackson's visit to the Czech initiated Technical Cooperation Program review     Republic to address a conference on Plant Life meetings to help monitor ongoing assistance        Management Extension, both of which meluded activities and to assist in defining future        discussions with national nuclear authorities and site visits.
assistance.
The NRC has traditionally maintained strong ties with the countries of Western Europe and Canada, many with active and mature nuclear Cooperation with Multilateral programs. Visits by the NRC Chairman,              Organizations Commissioners, and the staff to Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom             NRC works closely in the area of nuclear safety advanced knowledge ofimportant new technical       with the IAEA and the OECD/NEA. Through its developments, both for operating facilities and    participation in technical committee meetings, new designs, and aided in harmonization of         advisory group meetings, and the Advisory regulatory approaches.                             Commission on Safety Standards (ACSS), in which the NRC provides the sole U.S.
The Commission continues to place a high priority  representative, and its attendant Advisory on safety cooperation with Pacific Rim countries. Committees, NRC participates in, and provides NRC conducts an active bilateral safety program    active technical support for, a wide range of IAEA with China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea,        nuclear safety-related activities. NRC also attends which was underscored by Commissioner and staff    meetings of the IAEA's policy making bodies-the visits to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan during    Board of Governors, the Technical Assistance and the reporting period. Under the NRC-Korean         Cooperation Committee (TACC), the General Ministry of Science and Technology arrangement,    Conference-serving as a principal lead on one Korean technical expert completed a            matters related to nuclear safety. In this way, year-long on-the-job training assignment at NRC,   NRC helps to determine the direction of future and one NRC staff member (supported by one         technical assistance programs as well as provide NRC contractor) participated in an advisory        input to IAEA budgetary matters. In FY 1998, mission to Korea on human factors engineering. NRC staff participated in nearly 50 advisory

l 55 I
group, technical committee, and consultants          Technical Coordinating Committee for the meetings in the areas of reactor safety, waste      Program on Safeguards for the Final Disposal of disposal, and radiation safety. NRC staff also      Spent Fuel in Geologic Repositories. The standing attended several planning meetings to help plan     advisory group reviews critical technical and policy nuclear safety-related Technical Cooperation (TC)    issues of current importance and makes projects for the IAEA 2000-2001 TC program.         recommendations to the Director General and Because of its ongoing relationship with the        through him to the Board of Governors. NRC staff IAEA, NRC is also able to provide urgent,           further participated in the strengthening of IAEA near-term support for unplanned nuclear safety       safeguards through participation in I AEA advisory issues that may arise. For example, NRC also        group, consultants and experts meetings, and provided key support to help the IAEA address        safeguards technical seminars.
intergranular stress corrosion cracking in Soviet-designed RBMK reactors, a matter that         The NRC is actively involved in the OECD/NEA could impact closure schedules for plants such as    budget formulation, and development ofits Chornobyl in Ukraine.                                Program of Work, and contributions to the OECD policies on sustainable development, by serving on NRC also funds a nuclear safety attache position at the U.S. delegation to the Steering Committee, the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in   participation in its Standing Technical Committees Vienna, Austria. As the sole member of the U.S.      and Working Groups, and the Group of Mission to focus on nuclear safety, the member       Government Experts on Third-Party Liability. The represents U.S. policy and tecimical views on        NRC's research program is expanded through nuclear and radiation safety, and waste management   cooperative international research in projects such     1 issues to the IAEA Secretariat and programmatic      as the Halden Reactor Project, the Information and policy oversight to the U.S. Government on the   System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE), the IAEA's nuclear safety program.                       International Cooperative Program on the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities, and the The NRC provides support for IAEA-sponsored          RASPLAV Project on reactor pressure vessel international safeguards activities for deterring    accidents. Much of the NEA's technical nuclear proliferation and for strengthening and      cooperation exchange work is directly related to implementing IAEA safeguards. Through                the NRC domestic nuclear safety priorities, Cooperative Threat Reduction and Lisbon              Particularly operational safety, radiation Initiative program funding, NRC assists the         Protection, and radioactive waste. During the regulatory authorities of Russia, Ukraine, and       reporting period Chairman Jackson was the guest Kazakhstan to establish national regulatory         speaker at the official dinner for the 40th systems for materials control and accounting and     Anniversary Celebration of the OECD/NEA.
physical protection. NRC staff contribute to the     Former Commissioner Rogers completed his                '
U.S. Program of Technical Assistance to IAEA         appointment as a member of the High Level Safeguards, which provides the largest share of      Advisory Group on the Future Role of the voluntary technical support of any IAEA member       OECD's Nuclear energy Agency. The Group state. In support of its review of physical          presented its report," Nuclear Energy in the protection arrangements for U.S.-controlled          OECD: Towards an Integrated Approach" to the materials in other countries, the NRC participates   OECD Council in January 1998.
jointly with other U.S. Government agencies in information exchange trips for the purpose of        A large share of the NEA's technical work is discussing national physical protection programs. related to NRC domestic nuclear safety priorities, During FY 1998, visits were made to Denmark,         particularly operational safety. Cooperative Austria, Germany, South Africa, and The              international research on high priority safety areas Netherlands. The NRC also works closely with the     under the auspices of the NEA complement and IAEA to strengthen safeguards implementation.        expand NRC's research program in a cost In support of these activities, the NRC supplies     effective manner. See the following list of IAEA the U.S. representative to the IAEA Director         and NEA conferences, committees, and meetings General's Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards      in which representatives of the NRC participated Implementation and the Chair to the international    in FY 1998.
l l

56                                                   -
IAEA AND NEA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES, COMMITTEES, AND TECIINICAL MEETINGS ATI' ENDED IN FY98 e   IAEA General Conference and Senior Regulators Meeting e   IAEA Board of Governors Meetings e   IAEA International Conferences on Topical Issues in Nuclear, Radiation and Radioactive Waste Safety             j Safety of Radiation Sources and Security of Radioactive Materials e   IAEA Advisory Commission on Safety Standards                                      i e   IAEA Advisory Committees on Nuclear Safety Standards Radiation Safety Standards Transportation Safety Standards e   IAEA Director General's Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards Implementation e   IAEA Advisory Group Meetings on Radiation Protection Against Medical Exposure OA Programs for Licensing Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials Safeguards for Spent Fuel Disposal e   IAEA Technical Committee Meetings on Transport Safety Databases PSA Applications to Improve Nuclear Power Plant Safety Safety Guide on Radiation Protection in Medical Exposure o   IAEA Specialists Meeting on Training Simulators in Nuclear Power Plants e  IAEA Working Group on Life Management of Nuclear Power Plants
* IAEA Consultants Meetings on Requirements of Living PSA's Effectiveness of Regulatory Programs on the Safety of Radiation Sources Biosphere Concept for Long Term Safety Assessment                             !
Scientific Program Committee for Conference on Safety of Radiation Sources International Data Base on Reactor Pressure Vessel Materials Investigation of Accidents with Radiation Sources International Reporting System Safety Guide on Decommissioning of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities PSA Applications User Qualification / User Effect on Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants Peer Discussions on Regulatory Practices Safety Guides on Reactor Coolant Systems and Heat Sink / Transport Systems Integrity and Brittle Fracture Safety Assurance for Mohovce NPP Safety of Radiation Sources and Security of Nuclear Materials

57 i i
l i
o  NEA Steering Committee on Nuclear Energy                                   I o  NEA Standing Technical Committees on                                       I Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA)
Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH)                         l Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)
Radioactive Waste Management (RWMC) o  NEA Group of Governmental Experts on Third Party Liability o  NEA/CNRA Meetings on Ageing Reactors l
Inspection Practices o NEA/CSNI Principal Working Groups on Operational Experience and Human Factors Task Group on Human Factors Coolant System Behavior and Accident Prevention Task Group on Degraded Core Cooling Task Group on Thermal Hydraulic Applications Task Group on Fuel Safety Criteria Integrity of Components and Structures Subgroup on Seismic Behavior of Structures Containment Management and Severe Accident Management Risk Assessment o NEA/CSNI Senior Experts on Safety Research Joint Research Project Meetings (Halden, Rasplay, Sandia Lower Head) o NEA/CSNI Nuclear Fuel Cycle Safety Group o NEA/RWMC Workshop on Performance Assessment Scenario Development l
l l
l l

58 nuclear safety regulation. These key elements Development ofInternational                                          ,
were commumcated to INRA member national Legal Instruments                                    governments for reference in nuclear safety assistance and cooperation efforts. Further, a In FY 1998, NRC continued to support U.S.            Paper on " Ensuring Nuclear Safety in an Government efforts to develop an international       Increasm, gly Competitive Electricity Sector,"
legal basis for a global nuclear safety culture, as  along with the key elements list, were transmitted to the March 1998 Energy Ministerial in Moseow, represented in the Convention on Nuclear Safety                               ,   ,
and to the May 1998 Birmmgham G-7 Sumnu,t.
(CNS); the Joint Convention on the Safety of                     ,
Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of           Durm, g this reporting period, INRA also Radioactive Waste Management (the Joint              exchanged letters with the IAEA to provide for enhanced communication and possible future Convention); and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear               cooperation.
Damage. NRC worked closely with DOS and DOE to seek Senate ratification of the CNS, and to complete the interagency review of both the Joint Convention and the Supplementary
                               ,                          Year 2000 Activities Compensation Convention so they can be sent to the President to be forwarded to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. When the         NRC has developed a Year 2000 (Y2K)
United States becomes a CNS Contracting Party,       contingency plan in coordination with the U.S.
NRC will be the lead Federal agency in               nuclear power industry; other Federal agencies, implementation activities related to U.S.            such as the Federal Emergency Management obligations under the Convention, including the      Agency; State governments, and international development of the U.S. National Report. When        nuclear regulatory organizations. The draft plan the U.S. becomes a Contracting Party to the Joint    includes provisions to collect and disseminate Convention, NRC will provide technical advice to     information on Y2K-related events that occur in the DOE, which will be the lead Federal agency in    countries in time zones ahead of the United States e the Joint Convention's implementation activities. and to conduct an international Y2K contingency When the supplemental funding convention and         plan exercise in October 1999, which will be the associated protocol to amend the Vienna          closely coordinated with Canada and Mexico.
Convention on Liability are ratified, the U.S. will be able to participate in an international liability NRC is also actively promoting international regime in the event of a nuclear accident.           awareness of the possible impact of Y2K computer problems on the safety of nuclear installations. During the 42nd General             I Conference,IAEA Member States adopted an International Nuclear                                NRC-drafted resolution on Y2K as it applies to the safety of nuclear power plants, fuel cycle ReEulators Association                                       ,                      ,
facilities, and other enterprises usmg radioactive materials. The resolution urged Member States to    l In FY 1998, Chairman Jackson and the heads of        submit information to the IAEA on activities        i the national regulatory bodies of Canada, France,    underway to inventory and remediate Y2K Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the United        problems at the nuclear facilities and designated Kingdom met in January and July 1998 to              the IAEA as the coordinator for disseminating exchange views on a broad range of regulatory        information about Member State Y2K activities.
policy issues. The Association continued their       In addition, NRC identified a U.S. Cost-Free discussions of salient differences and common        Expert to help the IAEA implement a Y2K features in national regulatory approaches and       program related to the safety of nuclear power identified a set of fundamental elements in          plants.

With C@mmunicatin[ers NRC Stakehol                                                                   da dn.
                                                                               - , .yy
[     , .
t Building and maintaining public trust is critical to carrying out the U.S. i               ^
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) mission. To be an effective         [Y                         4 i"h steward for nuclear safety, the public, those we regulate, and other        [
stakeholders in the national and international community must have respect for and confidence in NRC's regulatory actions. NRC assigns a       F high priority to earning public trust and confidence through early          I identification of public concerns and through facilitating interaction with i the public and participation by the public in regulatory decisions of substantial interest to NRC stakeholders. The " Citizen's Guide to U.S.
[
{
e Nuclear Regulatory Commission Information" (NUREG/BR-0010, Rev.                                          . .
3), published in December 1998, describes various types of NRC information and how to obtain it. This information may be of interest to
{[                         4 u.
all stakeholders.                                                           I                            s i                           &
i a
p' p
PUBLIC INFORMATION                                                          i g1 9,
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The NRC continued its mission to protect public health and safety while     ;
prosiding full and fair access to our decisionmaking process to all who     i.
are interested. To foster greater understanding of and confidence in the    U     y       7 agency's regulatory oversight of the nuclear power industry and the                       i
[t licensed users of radioactive material, the NRC is committed to providing               .
complete, clear, and accurate information about our programs, policy                 X decisions, and activities. This goal is accomplished primarily through news releases, pamphlets, fact sheets, and other published materials.
i
[      I x                    r Much of this information is available electronically on the NRC World Wide Web (WWW) site <http://www.nrc. gov >. Additionally, NRC
[.
h                , ,'
closely follows news coverage of the agency and responds to press and       [.
public inquiries in a timely, courteous, and professional manner. The       [
agency also administers a cooperative program with schools to educate       [
students and teachers about the agency's responsibilities.                  t'        A           x
                                                                            !       CD In the spring of 1998, the staff presented the Commission with an           k extensive report containing more than 40 recommendations aimed at           i.
improving the quality, clarity, and credibility of the agency's             [  y' communications with all those interested in the safety oversight of         [
nuclear power, and particularly with members of the general public. The     [~
Commission approved most of the recommendations, and the staffis            [
currently implementing them. These initiatives include the-                 [
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                                                                                ,]
in e   .
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E                          a V                   .. ; l }

f 60 e    development of an audio /visuallibrary for photographs to be used in briefings and Media Workshop publications; In April 1998, the NRC held a two-day workshop e    review of training programs to incorporate    for reporters that covered current issues facing communications techmques;                    nuclear utilities across the Nation. At the workshop, senior managers and staff specialists e                                                  spoke to more than a dozen reporters from all updating of the glossary on NRC's WWW Page; and over the country about allegations pertaining to safety concerns, reactor and materials e
decommissioning, regulation of medical facilities, development of a pubh. .c mvolvement the integrated nuclear power plant assessment handbook as a staff reference and training   program, spent fuel storage, nuclear plant license tool, renewal, and other current issues reporters may write about. Reporters took the opportunity to The communications plan will assist the agency by  interview the NRC staff on particular issues of identifying public concerns earlier, providing     interest and toured the NRC Operations Center.
clearer oral and written communications, allowing  The reporters expressed enthusiasm about the earlier public involvement in NRC activities,      workshop and said it should help them better responding more effectively to public concerns,    understand and report on events at nuclear and improving public access to information.        facilities in their communities.
In July 1998, the Commission met with several invited stakeholders to discuss concerns about the NRC's regulatory program and to invite their comments on nuclear reactor and spent fuel Published Information programs, specifically concerning inspection and enforcement, use of performance mdicators and       During FY 1998, NRC published a fact sheet on performance assessment, risk-informed               the accident at Three Mile Island and updated regulations, regulatory pohcies, and the timeliness and published reports and brochures targeted at of NRC processes. The stakeholder meeting was       specific technical issues. These reports and positively received and the Commission will         brochures included the " User's Guide to Physical penodically continue these types of dialogues.      Protection Documents Published by the NRC" (NUREG/BR-0250)in addition to the following, The Office of Public Affairs established a special  which were published for comment:
Internet Web page entitled "NRC's Changing
* Staff Responses to Frequently Asked Regulatory Environment" to keep stakeholders Questions Concerning Decommissioning of and the general pubhc mformed of steps bemg taken to improve the NRC's regulatory                     Nuclear Power Reactors (NUREG-1628) performance. The Internet address for this page is  e     Proposed Standard Technical Specifications
      < http://www.nrc. gov /OPA/ changes.htm >. This for Permanently Defueled Westinghouse page includes the text of Chairman Jackson's August 7,1998, tasking memorandum to the staff            Plants (NUREG-1625) calling for priority action in a number of areas to e     Draft Standard Review Plan for the Review of address concerns raised during a Senate Oversight         a Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings Sites Committee hearing on July 30,1998. The                    Under Title II of the Uranium Mill Tailings memorandum is at <http://www.nrc. gov /NRC/
TASKING /19980807 memo.html>. Staff responses Radiation Contml Act (NUREG-1620) to the tasks in the memorandum are being posted     The NRC also continued to expand its information as updates are issued. This Web page also includes  on the WWW site by providing plant status and subsequent staff requirements memoranda,            event reports that NRC licensees submit. This meeting transcripts, prepared testimony, and        collection of reports is updated daily. A new responses to congressional questions and speeches   section called "NRC's Changing Regulatory related to the changing regulatory environment. Environment" contains information on major

61 external and internal events that have been          Quad Cities plant in Illinois. Other sessions were shaping the agency in recent times. The NRC also     held in Stuart and Miami, Florida; Atlanta, continues to offer current information on our        Georgia; and Erwin, Tennessee. In March 1998, a regulatory program, including press releases and     press conference to discuss NRC assistance with speeches, reports of high public interest on          DOE overflights searching for missing cesium-137 regulatory oversight of specific licensees, and      applicators was held in Greensboro, North                !
updates on current information affecting the         Carolina (Figure 5.6), and Region II gave nuclear industry. The agency continues to provide    information on the aerial surveys (Figure 5.7).           .
press releases and speeches of senior officials       Press conferences were held at Lynchburg,                '
electronically to about 1,000 subscribers            Virginia,in August 1998, following a special            ,
worldwide free of charge.                            inspection of a new food and materials irradiator       l complex, and following presentations of                 j Systematic Assessments of Licensee Performance (SALPs) at Oconee and Summer (South Carolina), Watts Bar and Sequoyah (Tennessee),
Br "'ns Ferry (Georgia), Farley (Alabama), and News Conferences                                     Turkey Point (Florida). See also " Revisions to the Assessment and Oversight Process"in Chapter 1.          ]
Chairman Jackson held a number of news conferences both at headquarters and at nuclear      Decommissioning meetings were held regarding plant sites around the country after visits to those the Big Rock Point and Fermi plants (Michigan),
facilities. She held a press conference and public   Lacrosse (Wisconsin), and the Zion and Dresden meeting to discuss Millstone (Connecticut) in        plants (Illinois). A public meeting was held in February 1998 and held a press briefing at Three     Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss inspection findings Mile Island (Pennsylvania) in August 1998. She        related to concerns about radioactive held press conferences after her trips to Yucca       contamination at Advanced Medical Systems,Inc.
Mountain (Nevada) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California) in January 1998.
She also held press conferences at St. Lucie (Florida) during her review of a major steam generator outage (Figure 5.1). Press conferences were held to discuss the pilot program for            School Volunteer Program simulating NRC oversight of Department of Energy (DOE) activities at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) in March 1998 (Figure 5.2), and at       NRC employees continued their commitment to Savannah River (South Carolina) in June 1998.        their communities by volunteering in area schools through the School Volunteer Program. This year, Senator Lieberman and the EDO toured the             approximately 100 employees visited area schools Millstone plant in February 1998 (Figure 5.3), and   near headquarters and the regional offices to           ,
Chairman Jackson and the Special Projects Office     judge science fairs, tutor students, and participate    i Director visited the Millstone control room          in career days.                                         l l
(Figure 5.4).
NRC provided judges for the Montgomery Area Commissioner Diaz briefed the press at Catawba       Science Fair in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and (South Carolina) in February 1998 and at             invited special award winners to explain their Millstone in April 1998. Figure 5.5 shows him in     winning projects before the Commission and other the Millstone control room,                          employees at headquarters.
Each of the NRC's four Regional Administrators        NRC also hosted Montgomery County teachers conducted periodic news briefings during the year. for a 1-day workshop at headquarters, focusing on       j Sessions were held at the Salem plant in New         agency employees' careers and skills, fundamen-Jersey, the D.C. Cook plant in Michigan, and the     tais of radioactivity, and basic reactor operations.
I

62 and their staffs, keeps the Congress informed of COMMUNICATION WITH                                                                       ,
current agency activities, and keeps the NRC THE CONGRESS                                                 apprised of congressional concerns and interests.
The Office of Congressional Affairs is responsible           During Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, NRC witnesses for developing, managing, and coordinating                   testified or submitted testimony at eight hearings relations with the Congress, and this staff is the           before congressional committees and principal point of contact between the agency and            subcommittees, as shown in Table 5.1. The Congress. The office coordinates the appearances             Congressional Affairs staff attended and prepared and testimony of all NRC officials at hearings,              summaries and reports for over 50 hearings and                                                   i monitors and tracks bills relevant to the NRC,               legislative markups (i.e., legislation marked for coordinates briefings for Members of Congress                revision) during the fiscal year.
Table 5.1 Congressional Hearings at Which NRC Witnesses Testified or Submitted Testimony During FY 98 Date                         Committee                                                                    Subject 03/20/98    Committee on Appropriations                                FY 99 NRC Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water Development (House) Testimony Supplied for the Record 03/25/98    Committee on Commerce                                      FY 99 NRC Authorization Subcommittee on Energy & Power (House) 05/14/98    Committee on Science                                       Millennium Short Circuit:
Subcommittee on Technology                                 The Y2K Effect on Energy (House)                                                    Utilities 05/20/98    Committee on Commerce                                      External Regulation of DOE Subcommittee on Energy & Power                             Facilities (House) 05/21/98    Committee on Science                                       External Regulation of DOE                                                            i Subcommittee on Energy & Environment                       Facilities and Subcommittee on Basic Research (House) 06/12/98    Special Committee on the                                   Y2K and the Power Grid Year 2000 Technology Problem (Senate) 07/30/98    Committee on Environment and Public Works                  NRC Oversight Hearing Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, l                 Private Property, and Nuclear Safety (Senate) 09/03/98    Committee on Armed Services                                DOE's Low-Level Waste Subcommittee on Strategic Forces                           Disposal Practices (Senate)

63 J.l' n                                                                                   ..         t
            . A        '
::6 Figure 5.1 Region II Administrator Luis Reyes Briefs NRC Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson During a Novem.
ber 1997 Visit to St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant Near Ft. Pierce, Florida. Florida Power and Light    '
Company Was Changing Steam Generators in Its Unit 1 Containment Building.
                                                                                    ~....,
                                                            $~.m.,4' ,1. '
Figure 5.2 NRC Omcial John Austin (left) and a DOE Facilitator Respond to Questions From the Audience During a Public Meeting at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Associated Universities To Discuss a Pilot NRC Plan To Simulate Regulation of DOE Activities at a DOE Radiochemistry Laboratory at Oak Ridge.

64 m
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l Figure 5.6 The NRC's Public Affairs Office Arranged for News Reporters To Interview the IIelicopter Pilot and Crew Who Would Perform Aerial Surveys Over Greensboro, North Carolina,in March 1998 To Search for Missing Cesium-137 Sources That Disappeared From Greensboro's Moses Cone llospital.
l

66
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Figure 5.7 Region II Official Charles llosey Points to Map locations During the Aerial Surveys Over Greensboro, North Carolina.
of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC),
STATE AND LOCAL                                                      as they relate to nuclear issues and spent fuel GOVERNMENTS AND                                                      disposai and storage. Commissioner oicus represented the Commission as a member of the AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES                                               NARUC Subcommittee on Nuclear Waste Issues.
The NRC staff met with State and local officials throughout the year to discuss the results of the One of NRC's priorities is to maintain open lines                    SALPs of nuclear power plants and outreach of communication and close liaison with State and                    activities related to emergency response planning.
local government officials and their organizational                  The NRC also maintained cognizance of the representatives, as well as with Native Americans                    activities of other State-related organizations, and organizations representing American Indian                       such as the National Governors' Association, the Tribes. These relationships are developed in an                      Western Governors' Association, and the National effort to foster public confidence by fully                          Conference of State Legislatures.
addressing concerns and to promote increased understanding ofissues related to NRC                                The NRC also implements a policy allowing State regulation, inspection, and oversight activities to                  officials to observe or participate in NRC protect public health and safety.                                    inspections at reactors,in accordance with the policy statement on " Cooperation With States at The NRC continued to pursue cooperative                              Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear activities with the States and their national                        Production or Utilization Facilities" (57 FR 6462).
organizations in 1998. In addition to routine                        In some cases, States may observe special interaction with State and local government and                      inspections as well. The NRC policy statement on Indian Tribe officials, NRC representatives                          Cooperation With States identifies the participated in a number of State-related events,                    governor-appointed State Liaison Officer (SLO) including the activities of the National Association                 as the primary State contact for all requests

67 involving observation of NRC inspections of plants      Commission. Duric.g FY 1998, the Commission or facilities. The SLOs also serve as the NRC's         held 72 meetings that were open to public primary points of contact with the States about all     observance. Of particular note, the Commission relevant NRC decisions and actions. The NRC             held an open public meeting on July 17,1998, to hosts a national SLO meeting every 3 years and          meet with a selected group of stakeholders regional SLO meetings are held on an as-needed          representing the nuclear industry, public interest basis in the off-years,                                 groups, and informed individuals, as well as the NRC staff, to conduct a dialogue on the NRC's The NRC maintains communications with those             nuclear reactor and spent fuel regulatory American Indian Tribes and their national               programs. The Commission discussed stakeholder organizations potentially affected by or otherwise      concerns about the NRC and its regulatory interested in NRC regulatory activities. Tribal         programs and potential short- and long-term interest in nuclear-related activities, including that  actions to address those concerns. A copy of the of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, the Prairie         transcript of this meeting may be found in the Island Dakota Indian Community in Minnesota,            public document room (PDR) or on the NRC the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the        WWW site <http://www.nrc. gov /NRC/
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation          COM MI SSIO NfrRANSC RIPTS/index.html >.
in Utah, and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, has provided for a number of government-to-government exchanges ofinformation related t             Copies of viewgraphs and the principal staff NRC's regulatory authority m the areas of high-         papers to be considered at open meetings are and low-level radioactive waste storage, disposal,      normally made available at the entrance to the emergency response, transportation, and Conference Room before the meeting begins. At reclamation.
the conclusion of each open meeting, a transcript of the meeting is placed in the PDR for inspection and copying, along with any papers made available to the public at the meeting. A copy of the transcript is also made available in electronic form on the WWW site. In addition, the Commission COMMISSION MEETINGS                                    makes available videotapes of open Commission meetings for reviewing and copyingin the PDR.
AND RFsLATED ACTIVITIES The NRC Commissioners meet to discuss agency            In all cases, the Commission attempts to provide business in the Conference Room of the NRC              advance notice of each meeting at least I week Headquarters building located at One White Flint        before it is held. To provide its stakeholders with North,11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.        additional advance information about its meeting Members of the public are welcome to attend and         dates and topics, the Commission publishes a observe most Commission meetings. However, a            weekly schedule in the FederalRegister and posts Commission meeting may be closed to members             the schedule to the NRC Web site <http://
of the public if it is convened to deal with one or     www.nrc. gov /SECY/smj/ schedule.htm >. The more of certain subjects specified in the               schedule for Commission meetings and voting Govemment in the Sunshine Act. Specifically, the        sessions are regularly announced on a recorded Sunshine Act allows the closing of meetings             telephone message (301-415-1292). Copies of involving classified documents, information             advance schedules are posted in the PDR and also deemed confidential by statute, trade secrets,          distributed via e-mail over the Internet system.
investigations, adjudicatory matters, internal          The schedule includes the time, place, and subject personnel matters, matters involving personal           matter of the meeting; states whether it is an open privacy, or similar information. Members of the         or closed meeting; and gives the name and public attend open Commission sessions as               telephone number of an official designated to observers, but they may not actively participate        respond to requests for information about the unless specifically requested to do so by the           meeting.
i

i, 68 Commission Decisionmaking
* the personal papers of former Government officials and others m, volved m regulatory Documents                                                                                    issues.
The primary decisionmakm.g tool of the collegial The History Office is currently conducting Commission is the written issue paper submitted                                          research for the third volume of a detailed, by the staff, commonly called a "SECY paper."                                           scholarly history of nuclear regulation. The agency Policy, rulemaking, and adjudicatory matters, as                                        historian, J. Samuel Walker, recently published an essay on the NRC in A Historical Guide to the U.S.
well as general information, are provided to the Govemment, ed. George T. Kurian (New York:
Commission for consideration in SECY papers.
Oxford University Press,1998). "A Short History As a general policy, all SECY papers will be ..                                         of Nuclear Regulation,1946-1990"(NUREG/
released to the pubh,c unless they contam specific, limited types ofinformation (adjudicatory,                                              BR-0175), is available by contacting the enforcement or mvestigatory, lawyer-client or                                          . Government Printing Office (GPO), or by sending legal work product, classified or propnetary, or                                        an e-mail request to <jsw@nrc. gov > or by looking on NRC's WWW site <http://
personal privacy) that the Com, mission has                            .
www.nrc. gov /SECY/smj/shorthis.htm > .
specifically agreed should be withheld. Along with the SECY paper, the Commission also releases the " staff requirements memorandum" (SRM)                                                                                   .
Proceedings and Litigation and the " Commission voting record" (CVR) associated with the paper. The SRM includes a concise statement of the Commission's decision                                          The Secretary of the Commission manages the on the recommendation of the SECY paper and a                                           official NRC adjudicatory dockets for the clear statement of any additional requirements or                                       Commission. The adjudicatory dockets contain the tasks to be performed by the staff. The CVR filings of all parties to the Commission's licensing contains a clear indication of the individual votes                                     and enforcement proceedings that are initiated by of the Commissioners, a copy of each                                                    a party's request for a hearing or petition to Commissioner's vote sheet, and a comment                                                intervene. The hearing docket also contains resolution section indicating the extent to which                                       transcripts of the hearings held in each case, the differing views,if any, were expressed, and how                                          exhibits, and all orders and decisions issued in they were accommodated, resolved, and reflected                                          such proceedings by the Commission or its Atomic in the final decision. SECY papers, SRMs, and                                            Safety and Licensing Boards (ASLBs). The CVRs are available through the NRC's PDR or                                             Secretary also serves orders of the Commission may be downloaded from the NRC WWW site and the ASLBs on the parties to proceedings and
    < http://www.nrc. gov /NRC/COM MISSION /
certifies docket indexes to the United States SECYS/index.html>. During FY 1998, the Courts in agency litigation. See " Adjudicatory Commission released 254 papers to the public.                                            Proceedings"in Chapter 1.
Currently, filings in Commission adjudications are available to the public by ordering them on-line or Commission Histo                                                ProEram                 by telePhone or by visiting the Commission's PDR. Case documents are also available m local public document rooms usually established in Through the Commission History Program, the                                             community or university libraries in the areas in origins and evolution of NRC regulatory policies                                        which licensees' plants or facilities are located.
are explored and set forth in their historical                                          The Commission also publishes Commission and context. Research on the evolution of these                                             ASLBP orders in the " Nuclear Regulatory policies is drawn from-                                                                 Commission Issuances" (NUREG-0750), a case law publication available to the public through o     the archives of a number of Government                                            Federal and State and local law libraries and some agencies;                                                                         general public libraries. Certain decisions of the Commission are posted on the NRC WWW site.
o     perscnal interviews; and                                                          During FY 1998, parties to adjudicatory

f' i
l                .                          ..
69 I                                                                                                               !
proceedings were allowed by the Commission to         Panel. In FY 1998, the committees held a total of utilize e-mail as a method of filing pleadings and    68 meetings and issued 48 reports to the other documents with the Commission. The Office       Commission on a variety of subjects. The reports of the Secretary established an e-mail address for    proved to be very helpful to the Commission in this purpose: <hearingdocket@nrc. gov >.              formulating its decisions on issues involving However, when required by rule or order, signed       reactor safety and regulatory processes, nuclear paper copies must also be sent to the Secretag. In    isotope usage, nuclear waste disposal, and revision    ;
the future, all case file documents will be available of the Commission's regulations for the conduct of     l to the public through the Commission's document       future hearings on a high-level radioactive waste management system or by posting on NRC's              facility. A complete summary of the activities of      l I
WWW site. See "Agencywide Documents Access            the NRC's Committees for 1998 can be found in end Management System"in Chapter 6 of this            the NRC's Annual Report on Advisory report.                                               Committees filed with the General Services Administration (GSA) at <http://policyworks. gov /
org/ main /mc/index-r.htm>. Detailed meeting schedules, transcripts, and copies of reports for ADVISORY COMMITTEES                                   the ACRS and the ACNW (the two committees that meet on a regularly scheduled basis) can be found on the NRC's WWW site <http://
The NRC engages the expertise and experience of       www.nrc. gov /ACRSACNW/>.
a wide segment of the public through the service of certain members of the public on the               In accordance with the requirements of the Commission's standing advison committees and          FederalAdvisory Committee Act, NRC advisory on its ad hoc committees. Members of NRC              committees meet in public sessions at committees are drawn from a broad cross-section       headquarters locations and in venues throughout of the scientific and technical communities, as well  the United States. Notices of advisory committee as from State and local governmental                  meetings are published in the Federal Register and organizations, the National Congress of American      in NRC press announcements. Notices of meeting Indians, and private citizens. The committees         dates and topics are also posted on NRC's WWW provide advice and recommendations to NRC on a        site <http://www.nre. gov /NRC/PUBLIC/
large range of issues affecting NRC policies and      meet.html> and at the PDR. Transcripts or programs.                                             minutes of meetings are also available for inspection and copying at the PDR. Persons During FY 1998, the NRC had four Chartered            interested in committee meetings or the activities Advisory Committees: the Advisory Committee on        of a particular committee may write to the NRC Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), the Advisory Com-          Advisory Committee Management Officer, Office mittee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW), the Advison           of the Secretary, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Committee on the Medical Uses ofIsotopes, and         call 301-415-1968, or send an e-mail to the Licensing Support System Advisory Review           < alb@nrc. gov >.
l l

Support Services
                                                                                                    .,,neng
[..
t Several U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) c. ganizations                                b                                                   c 1
provide support services to the program area staffs who are executing their regulatory mission activities. The senior manager for two of these offices serves on NRC's Executive Council with the Executive Director k}):
D
                                                                                                                   'no q i
                                                                                                                                ) (.
for Operations: the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief                                11                        yNl Information Officer (CIO). This chapter describes major support                                                             'p.g activities achieved in Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 in the areas of personnel and                     b[
training, security and facilities, and in the management and dissemination                     fu ofinformation.                                                                                 h g>                                                 ;
7 -_g                            is 9j-f p            11 t
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER                                                          k' L_
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)is responsible for the                          ,                                  ,
NRC's overall planning and financial management.                                               O y                                   :         ,
s
                                                                                                                         *+                   +
n':
The Chief Financial Officers Act The ChiefFinancial Officers Act requires that an agency CFO oversee all
                                                                                                                  @m                            jI
                                                                                                "                   g                ,
financial management activities relating to the programs and operations                                                                         y of the agency, which includes establishing financial management pohcies                          ,                  X and requirements; monitoring operation of agency financial management t[( ."h, /-'
systems; monitoring financial execution of the agency's budget; and developing an annual financial statement that is auditable.
The NRC has produced an annual financial statement each year since FY                          p'1               %                          7$
1992 and has received an unquahfied audit opinion on every statement                                               ;
beginning with FY 1994. FY 1998 was the fifth year that the NRC                                       L'               A.                i achieved an unqualified opinion. Of the 24 agencies that have CFOs, the                         h                 M                             t NRC was one of ten agencies to achieve an unqualified opinion on its FY                         [o 1998 Financial Statements.                                                                                               p The NRC's goals and strategies for improving financial management are consistent with the goals and strategies for implementing Government-                           p                 ,q wide financial management and the priority initiatives discussed in the                         S           ; '1, .  '        '
1998 Federal Financial Management Status Report issued jointly by the                           h United States CFOs Council and the Office of Management and Budget                              y*                                     '
(OMB). To ensure the integrity of the financial information reported to                           y NRC stakeholders, the NRC has adopted the accounting standards                                  i recommended by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board and                              [            ;L ^; ;~ D rpproved by OMB.                                                                                %.
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72                                                                                                       -                                 -
                                                                                                                                                 ==
Government Performance and                                               Improving Financial Results Act                                                              Management The OCFO has continued a process ofiterative improvements to financial management, including i        The Govemment Performance and Results Act                                 financial systems, processes, reporting, and requires Federal agencies to develop and submit                          tramm, g.
l strategic and performance plans that focus agency                        Financial Systems. The OCFO, in collaboration planmng and activities around the achievement of with the OCIO,is implementing an agencywide goals and desired outcomes. Agency performance integrated resource management system is measured toward the achievement of these (STARFIRE), which provides for the automation goals m terms of performance outcomes. This act and integration of systems critical to the support requires each Federal agency to develop a tnennial strategic plan, an annual performance                            of financial management, which in turn supports the programs of the agency. The overarching goal plan, and an annual accountability report.
is to eliminate multiple, ancillary financial tracking systems within the agency by establishing a single source of financial management data that The NRC's first strategic plan, which covered FY                          are commonly available to all managers. The 1997 through FY 2000 was submitted to Congress                            benefits inherent in the implementation of in September 1997. NRC's first performance plan                           STARFIRE are more than financial. The system was for FY 1999; it was submitted to Congress in                          will provide NRC with the tools required to meet February 1998. The Performance Plan sets annual                           growing demands for faster and inexpensive goals with measurable performance indicators that                         management information.
are linked to the Agency's Strategic Plan. The performance indicators are used to measure or                             STARFIRE will comprise the following financial assess the relevant output, service levels, and                           systems: general ledger, budget formulation, funds outcomes related to the agency's performance                              control, travel, cost accounting, and fee billing.
goals. Of the 24 agencies that have CFOs, the                             The core financial system will include accounts congressional staff ranked NRC sixth in the                               Payable and accounts receivable / collection quality and completeness of its " Strategic Plan"                         applications. Mixed systems will include and ranked its " Performance Plan" fourth. The                            procurement, payroll / personnel, labor cost NRC is working to improve its next strategic plan.                        distribution, performance measurement, and The OCFO incorporated the NRC's second                                     Property reportmg.
annual Performance Plan with its FY 2000 Budget Managing Receivables. The Omnibus Budget that was recently submitted to the Congress. .
Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-508),
Currently, the NRC is m the process of updatmg as amended, requires that in FY 1998, the NRC the Strategic Plan to reflect fully the regulatory reform efforts underway.                                                  collect fees (under 10 CFR. Part 170) and annual fees (under 10 CFR Part 171) that approximate 100 percent of the agencys budget authority,less the amount appropriated to the NRC from the For the past 4 years, the NRC has participated in a                       Nuclear Waste Fund. Public Law 101-508 pilot project, along with other Federal agencies, to                      appropriated $472.8 million to the NRC for FY streamline financial management reporting by                              1998. Of the funds appropriated to the NRC, $15 consolidating performance-based reporting into a                          million was derived from the Nuclear Waste Fund single accountability report. The NRC's FY 1998                           and $3 million was appropriated for regulatory Accountability Report contains the agency's                               reviews and other assistance provided to the audited financial statement, program performance                          Department of Energy and other Federal results, and the Chairman's statement on                                  agencies, both of which are excluded from licensee management controls, agency financial                                     fee revenues. In FY 1998, the total amount management systems, and final actions on Office                           collected through fees and other charges was of the Inspector General audit recommendations.                           $458.9 million. Of this total, $454.8 million offsets

                                                                                                            )
73 the appropriation, bringing the net appropriation Management Control Program. A management for FY 1998 to $18 million. The remaining $4.1    control program is organized within the context of million will be used to reduce the total fees     the National Performance Review and the most assessed in FY 1999.                              recent revision to OMB Circular No. A-123,
                                                     " Management Accountability and Control." Each Delinquent Debt. The OCFO has steadily            year, an annual statement to the President and improved the collection of receivables and        Congress is prepared that reports the agency's reduced the amount of delinquent debt owed to     evaluation of its management control and NRC. As of September 30,1994, the delinquent      financial management systems. For FY 1998, the debt owed to NRC was $16.5 million. As of         agency's assessment disclosed no material September 30,1998, the delinquent debt owed to    weaknesses m the NRC's programs or adminis-NRC had been reduced approximately 90 percent     trative activities. Management did identify to $2.1 million.                                  managerial cost accountmg as a significant weakness pursuant to the FederalManager's FinancialIntegrityAct and as a substantial Prompt Payment. On-time payments subject t        noncompliance with the Federal Financial               I the Prompt Payment Act have nncreased steadily     Afanagement Improvement Act. A corrective action from 82 percent in FY 1994 to 96 percent in FY    plan is being developed to resolve this deficiency.
1998. Indicative of this performance, the amount of interest penalties incurred have decreased from
  $15,000 in FY 1994 to $6,100 in FY 1998.
Electronic Payments. The percentage of OFFICE OF THE CHIEF employees paid via electronic funds transfer       INFORMATION OFFICER (EFT) has increased from 96 percent in FY 1994 to 99 percent in FY 1998. The percentage of                              .
The Chief Information Officer manages, m.
vendor payments made via EFT has increased                         ,
accordance with Federallaws and regulations, the       j from approximately 32 percent in FY 1994 to 85 percent in FY 1998. More emphasis will continue    technology to create information and to on electronic payments to vendors with the         dissemmate NRC s information to appropriate audiences.
l passage of the Debt Collection Improvement Act, and the President's Electronic Commerce initiative.
Year 2000 at the NRC Finncial Performance Reporting. Financial performance reporting is accomplished via the
                             ,                       The NRC has an active Year 2000 (Y2K) program monthly Budget Execution Report,"which will
                   ,                                 to address software, hardware, embedded chip, contmue to be issued to the agency's Executive
                               ,                     and regulatory issues associated with the Y2K Council and agency financial managers. The         computer problem. The OMB developed a report, designed to allow agency finan,cial        strategy and established guidelines and milestones managers to routinely consider financial ..        to be followed by all Federal agencies. The major implications m agency discussions and decisions,   milestones comprise five distinct program phases:
measures the agency and program office financial performance against established goals and targets. 1. Awareness;
: 2. Assessment; Financial Training. The OCFO,in conjunction with the Office of Human Resources, developed a    3. Renovation; four-part seminar on financial management and            Validation; and 4.
administrative control of funds for all NRC managers and supervisors, allowance financial      5. Implementation.
mrnagers, and funds certifying officials.
Approximately 250 staff received this training in  Internal Program. During FY 1998, NRC was 1998.                                              deeply involved in remediating its computer

74 l
l       systems and embedded-chip systems that have           All agency building systems were assessed. We l       Y2K problems, accomplishing tasks associated          determined that there are four building system with the previously mentioned phases. As of the       categories that could have Y2K issues:
end of FY 1998, NRC has renovated, validated,         environmental, fire protection, security access and implemented 50 percent ofits mission-critical     control and alarms, and elevator. Building system systems,75 percent of it business-essential           vendors for these systems were contacted, and we systems, and 39 percent of its non-critical systems,  received written responses from them. We have As of February 5,1999, remediation and                determined that continued safe operation of implementation of all NRC computer information        systems in these four categories will not be systems needing repair because of the Year 2000       affected by the Y2K date rollover.
problem were completed.
NRC sent letters to its various telecommuni-Additionally, the staff has assessed all areas of the  cations quipment vendors nationwide in order to agency that have the potential to exchange data       determme their progress m addressmg the Y2K with other Federal, State, and local governments,      pr blem as it relates to their products. All of the and with the international and commercial             vendors have responded, been contacted by entities. Three systems were identified that           telephone, or had their Internet site accessed to exchange data with NRC. Two of these systems           determme status. Responses and research m, dicate exchange data with one source; one system              that 94 percent of our telecommum, cations l                                                             inventory is Y2K-compliant or is not affected by exchanges data with six sources.
Y2K issues. A small number of these vendors (6%) have been identified as non-compliant and Discussions with NRC data exchange partners            will be retired or replaced. We have also reveal that two exchanges are already                  contacted our telecommunications service Y2K-compliant and that five exchanges do not           providers to determine their plans to achieve Y2K require NRC to make any changes. The final data compliance. All of our service providers have i      exchange is contained in one of NRC's responded that they are compliant or will be mission-critical systems. This system is on            compliant by mid-1999.
schedule for implementation in March 1998.
Finally,in the area of business continuity and We have analyzed and identified where embedded        contingency planning, NRC has an established l      chip systems exist at the NRC. Forward date           Program that develops, maintains, and updates the testing of some embedded chip systems is              agency's business continuity plans, in accordance problematic since access is limited to embedded       with Federal guidance, including OMB Circular chip system control programs. As a result, both       A-130, Appendix III," Security of Federal industry and NRC rely on manufacturers'                Automated Information Resources." The certification to establish compliance and, where       objective of this program is to ensure that possible and appropriate, in-house testing to          appropriate business continuity plans are put in confirm compliance.                                    place for all Federal general purpose systems and major applications, which include the In the area of microcomputers and laser printers'     mission-critical applications identified under the we have successfully tested our hardware with          Y2K program. The process of developing the available testing software to determine                Pl ans has several steps:
compliance. NRC has a program underway t replace all microcomputers that have Conduct Business impact AnalYsis and Risk non-compliant chips by December 1998.                        Assessment In the area oflocal- and wide-area network computer components, one of our mission-critical
* Test Security Plan systems being replaced covers all of the infrastructure for these components. This
* Certify and Accredit the System mission-critical system is now 76 percent complete.
* Develop Disaster / Business Continuity Plan
(

75
* Train personnel and test the Disaster /         continued to expand the information and improve Business Continuity Plan,                       its useability for both the public and the staff on its Web site <http:// www.nrc. gov > by-
* redesigning the NRC Home Page to add OCIO uses contractor resources, obtained                  information titled Radiation Protection, through General Services Administration's                 Public Participation & School Programs, and (GSA's) multiple award contract for Computer              Reference Library; Security Services, to assist with our work in this area, including the conduct of facilitated risk      =    incorporating the information previously assessments and development of plans.                     available at the Fedworld Web site, which had been maintained for NRC by the National NRC's business continuity plans cover a wide              Technical Information Service for an annual range of possible events from routine software and        cost of $176,000. The agency also improved hardware problems to major natural disasters.              access to this information by restructuring the One such event would be a software failure                indices by topic; stemming from an undetected Y2K problem. NRC has tried to ensure that contingency plans for its
* adding new areas to the toolbar at the bottom mission-critical systems contain elements that               f the page: Commission Information, What's specifically address failures arising from the Y2K         New, Domg Busmess m,th NRC, Contactmg problem.                                                   NRC, Site Disclaimer, and Viewers and Plugins; Compared to large, complex applications dealing       a with millions of records and complex real time             responding to all e-mail m.quiries from the processes, NRC mission-critical systems are                pubhc and the NRC staff each day, updating relatively simple and deal with a volume of                the telephone directory monthly, updatmg information that is small enough to manage by              NRC meetmgs open to the pubhc weekly, manual means,if necessary, should automation be            Posting NRC's Weekly Information Reports temporarily unavailable. Our contingency plans             regularly, postm, g notices of Commission  ,
are commensurate with the nature of our                    meetmgs, and revising NRC organizational mission-critical systems. We are confident that            charts as needed; NRC's plans are sufficient to address Y2K issues.
* posting and maintaining the following NRC's seven mission-critical systems support               collections (over 9,300 files total):
three core functions. One system supports the              - information on Commission activities:
interchange ofinformation agencywide and is                      over 510 Commission meeting transcripts integral to all agency operations. Three                         (for all public meetings since 1991),340 interrelated systems support our response                        Commission papers and staff require-capability in the event of a nuclear emergency.                  ments memoranda, and related The remaining three systems support the tracking                 documents, with both chronological and and inspection of nuclear materials. These three                 topic hyperlinked indices.
groups of systems are independent of each other and have no complex interrelationships with any            - all generic communications to NRC other systems except for dependencies on the U.S.                licensees issued since 1971: over 2,700 telecommunications infrastructure.                               files with annual hyperlinked indices for administrative letters, bulletins, circulars, generic letters, and information notices.
World Wide Web Site                                        - a fina NRC Regulatory Guides approved by the NRC s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research for online display, The NRC Web site receives an average of 75,000                   which initially included 42 guides, a main hits a day. A hit is equivalent to accessing a single            index containing background information p ge or graphic. During FY 1998, the agency                      on the guides; and links to indexes of the

e 76 10 divisions into which the guides are       Other information concerning reactors includes an categorized; and 10 division indexes,        information notice about Strontium-90 eye each containing the number, title, and       applicators, individual plant examination data, release date of every draft or final guide   geospatial site locations, a video about a spent in that division.                            fuel cask gas burn at Point Beach, and an Office of the Inspector General's report titled "NRC Needs the complete text of Title 10 of the Code    Comprehensive Plan To Resolve Regulatory ofFedemlRegulations (over 3,100 HTML          Issues."
files,50 graphic images, and dozens of hyperlinked indices), which includes all      On the agency,s internal Web site, the staff began changes to the regulations announced in       Posting Yellow and Weekly Announcements, the FedemlRegister (FR) to date. This         which will save the agency 3400 reams of paper collection is updated as final rules are      and $103,500 annually.
noticed in the FR and is therefore the most current version of NRC's regulations in an easy-to-access location.
NUREG-Series Publications the complete text of NRC Inspection The NRC has a formal report series that Manual (IM)(over 1,800 files and                                                                  <
hyperlinked indices), which contains         c mprises brochures; conference proceedings; guidance to NRC inspectors about their       books; and reports, meluding those prepared for activities 1.t commercial nuclear power      international agreements. The OCIO staff edits plants licemed by the NRC. The online        many of these reports prepared by the NRC staff; collection includes all changes to the IM      s responsible for the review of all manuscripts, announce-1 by change notice. This            whether prepared by the staff or contractors for collection is therefore the most current     the staff; and for ensurm, g that they are prmted m, version of the IM in an easy-to-access        accordance with the regulations of the Joint location'                                    Committee on Printmg. In FY 1998, the OCIO issued 283 publications (60 % of these were the complete text of NRC Part 21             written by the staff), many of which are cited in I
Reports (over 800 files and four hyper-      hj3;rt Some of them are posted to the NRC,s linked indices), which NRC receives from its licensees when a licensed facility, activity, or basic component fails to comply with the Atomic EnergyAct o/          Agencywide Documents Access 1954, as amended, or other NRC regulations, as described in Part 21 of      and Management System Title 10 of the Code ofFederal Regulations. The online collection           Effective management of information is critical to includes all reports received by NRC and     NRC's performing its mission. Much of this is therefore the most current version of     information is in the form of documents. The the Part 21 reports in an easy-to-access     Commission's policies, decisions, and bases for location.                                    regulatory action depend on these documents.
Today, the NRC operates in a predominantly
     - numerous technical reports about               paper-based environment with an aging, nuclear power reactors and other             microfiche-based, legacy document-indexing            ,
licensed activities, including NUREG-        system oflimited functionality to support its         I series publications about such diverse       needs. To take advantage of current technology topics as standards for operator licensing   and better accommodate the information needs of examinations,in-service testing, guidance    the licensees, the public, and the staff, the NRC is to materials licensees, and the              developing and implementing a modern, fully comprehensive "1997 Information              functional document management capability Digest."                                     called ADAMS (Agencywide Documents Access

l 77 and Management System). The system will be             and for evaluating the success of completed composed of off-the-shelf software.                    projects.
ADAMS will be an enterprise system in which NRC documents will be captured in electronic form and stored electronically in a central            OFFICE OF HUMAN repository, thus ensuring the integrity and completeness of the agency's document collection.      RESOURCES It will provide functionality to support electronic concurrence and signatures, version control, and electronic distribution. ADAMS will allow the staff to complete full-text searches and view          NRC Staff-Years Expended electronic images of documents at their workstations. It will allow the public to access       During FY 1998, the NRC expended a total of              I publicly available documents through the Internet      2,949 staff-years in carrying out its mission. Total     I at the NRC's Web site, using a standard Web            staff-years included permanent full-time staff, browser,                                               permanent part-time staff, temporary employees, and consultants.
Agencywide deployment of ADAMS is scheduled                                                                     I for FY 1999. The Cost Benefit Risk Analysis                                                                     l conducted for the project in FY 1997 indicates that ADAMS has the potential for significant improvements in staff productivity and efficiency Recruitment                                              1 and will thus support its mission-related functions.              .
Through implementation of ADAMS, the NRC               During this report period, the NRC continued to should achieve a substantial increase in the level     provide recrmtment services and oversight for a of NRC staff, licensee, and public satisfaction with   variety of professional, techmcal, and                   ;
the accuracy and availability of a key category of     admimstrative positions. The NRC recruits new            '
the information in agency documents.                   employees by conducting recruitment trips to educational institutions, participating in job fairs, and advertising in various news media (e.g.,
newspapers, trade journals, the Internet).
Applications received by the agency are managed Capital Planning and                                   and controlled through an automated applicant tracking system. During FY 1998, the NRC hired Investment Controi                                     116 permanent fuii. time emgioyees and iost 176 permanent full-time employees, the latter figure r gresenting an attrition rate of 6.11 percent.
The Clinger-Cohen Act ofl996 requires each Federal agency head to design and implement a Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC)
Process for evaluating information technology (IT) projects. During FY 1998, NRC used less ans       Awards and RecoEnition learned in working with a preliminary CPIC process during FY 1997 to finalize its CPIC            During FY 1998, the NRC continued to recognize process. The new process streamlines documen-          employees for their performance. At the Annual tation requirements but ensures rigorous               Awards Ceremony, the NRC honored numerous managerial review. Only those projects that            employees through the presentation of awards clearly demonstrate support for NRC's mission,         such as the Distinguished Service Award, the positive return on investment, and compatibility       Meritorious Service Award, Performance Awards, with NRC's IT architecture are approved for            Special Act Awards, High Quality Increases, submission to the NRC's budget fonnulation             Distinguished and Meritorious Rank Awards for process. The CPIC process additionally provides      . Senior Executive Service members, and awards for for monitoring the progress of ongoing projects       Senior Level System employees.

I 78 Benefits                                            techniques for improving their managerial and supervisory skills and to commumcate concepts of performance measurement and results that can be The NRC provided advice and guidance to             applied to their day-to-day work activities. The numerous employees in many areas, including         NRC developed a new acquisition curriculum to retirement, life and health insurance, the Thrift   teach Acquisition for Project Managers and for Savings Plan, leave programs, and voluntary early   Supervisors of Project Managers. Comprising 11 retirement. Appropriate open seasons were           workshops, this curriculum focuses on conducted, retirement training was offered, and     procurement reforms resulting from the Federal     1 individual counseling was provided to ensure that   Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Federal employees understood the various benefits           Acquisition Refonn Act. The curriculum for afforded Federal employees.                         computer applications continued to be a            ;
significant part of the NRC's training program. 1 Instruction sessions in ACCESS database software    i and Wordperfect 6.1 were heavily attended.
H nds- n training was pmvided to prepare Labor Relations                                     employees for the new Windows NT upgrade with Corel 8 software. Hands-on computer training was    l On October 1,1993, the President signed             provided to remote sites from the headquarters      '
Executive Order 12871 dealing with                  training facility using televideo training Labor-Management Partnerships in the Federal        equipment.
Government. The order calls for a more cooperative and a less confrontational relationship The Individualized Learning Center provided between labor and management. In accordance         employees with the latest audio / video, with this order, the agency, together with the      computer-based, and multimedia training in union, established an agency partnership            project management, communication, committee as well as office and regional            management and supervision, computer skills, partnership committees to foster a cooperative      secretarial skills, and employee assistance.       ,
relationship and to identify problems and propose                                                      I solutions. The agency has also provided training in The agency also sponsored a number of programs mterest-based bargammg, helpmg parties work         to help employees develop the skills necessary to together to achieve partnership objectives-         meet the NRC's future clerical, administrative, technical, and management needs. Developmental programs sponsored by the agency included-
   'Itaining and Development
* the Certified Professional Secretaries Program; During FY 1998, the Office of Human Resources        e provided about 1,000 onsite mstructor-led training        the Administrative Skills Enhancement sessions and about 400 self-study sessions in IT,         Pmgram.   ,
management and supervision, equal employment opportunity, regulatory skills, communication
* the Computer Science Development skills, acquisition, financial management, and            Program; special disciplines. The NRC aise wnsored a wide variety of training and des - ~ ental
* the Women's Executive Leadership Program; programs conducted at colleges as aversities, at other Government agencies, and in .ne private
* the Graduate Fellowship Program; sector.
The agency continued to offer Program and
* the Intern Program; and Resource Management training to managers and supervisors to provide them with tools and
* the Congressional Fellowship Program.

79 Employee Assistance, Health,                        OFFICE OF SMALL cnd Fitness Programs                                BUSINESS AND CIVIL RIGHTS During FY 1998, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) continued to give individual counseling and referral assistance to NRC Equal Employment personnel with such problems as chemical            Opportunity Program dependency, job stress, chronic illness, sexual harassment, and family issues, as well as guidance The Office of Small Business and Civil Rights and training to supervisors. The agency continued  administers the agency's Affirmative Action, Civil to make EAP services readily accessible to          Rights, and Small Business Programs, and the regional and field personnel through contractors. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) initiative. Durm, g FY 1998, major The EAP provided advice and guidance t activities included biannual briefings to the supervisors on deah,ng with troubled employees.      Commission that presented status reports on the Education and awareness programs on a variety of     Agency's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) topics, including stress and smoking cessation,      Program. Each briefing included a presentation by were presented.                                       two Office Directors or Regional Administrators who provided information on the implementation of EEO programs and policies within each of their Hummer Associates continued to operate the           '#8E*** " 'E""izations. Implementation of a
                                     .                managmg diversity process contmued.
health center. The staff, consistmg of a full-time physician, two full-time nurses, and a medical       The managing diversity process is a long-term receptionist, provided a variety of services to      initiative designed to create and maintain an employees. Services included limited treatment        environment in which every employee is valued for on-the-job illness and injuzy and referral to    and works cooperatively to do his or her best community resources; screening for diabetes,          w rk. During FY 1998, three sessions of the gliucoma, high blood pressure, and breast and         Managing Diversity Leadership Seminars were prostate cancer; immunizations; and health            held for headquarters managers and supervisors and one session m each of the agency,s four awareness programs on topics such as coronary         regional offices.
artery disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, Lyme disease, and skin cancer. Employee visits to the health center average 30 per day. The EAP, the health center, and the fitness center jointly     Small Business sponsored a health fair and continued publishing a quarterly newsletter to provide information on        To enhance information sharing with the small health, fitness, substance abuse, and mental health   business community, the office initiated a series of issues.                                               small business forums that are conducted quarterly and installed a toll-free,24-hour voice mail system with fax-on-demand capability.
During FY 1998, the NRC continued offering a variety of health and fitness programs in its fitness center located in Two White Flint North. About        Affirmative Action Program 500 NRC employees participated in these programs offered by professionally trained            The Affirmative Action Program,which includes exercise physiologists and health professionals.      activities of the Federal Women's Program,

7 80 develops and provides oversight of the agency's        of participants remains at 40 mentors and 60 affirmative action employment !nitiatives related      mentees.
to the utilization of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. It also includes review                                                            )
and assessment of program and regional offices' EEO accomplishments. Oversight is provided to          Civil Ri Slits ProErarit the agency's seven EEO Advisory Committees, whose cooperative goal is to identify and provide       The Civil Rights Program provides for the recommendations on EEO-related issues that             prompt, fair and impartial processing of impact equal opportunities for all employees.           discrimination complaints filed against the agency    l under applicable Federal statutues. Collectively,     l During FY 1998, the office staff developed the                                                             ,
these statutes prohibit disenmmation on the basis     I agency's Affirmative Employment Plan and issued   '        ####' # ' #* national ongm, gendu, reprisal for it to all em oYces. This P lan Provides a strategic                     .
participation m or opposition to activity protected framework oridentifym.g and pursuing EEO by civil rights statutes, age (individuals age 40 and i goals and supports the agency,s managmg diversity over), mental or physical disabilities. In addition,  !
mitiative. It also meludes four gmdmg pnnciples by Executive Order, sexual orientation was added      i for achieving a standard of EEO excellence. These as a basis for discrimination.
guidm, g pn,nciples have been meluded in the agency's o rating plan and, thus, wil the bases or the reporting of offices,l  EEO            During be used   as FY 1998, the agency's EEO Counseling Program continued to serve as an effective means accomplishments. Establishing and implementm.g an Affirmative Employment Plan meets the                of addressing employee concerns. Our cadre of 29 EEO Counselors (18 at headquarters and 11 in guidelines set forth by the Equal Employment the agency's four regional offices) handled 18 Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
informai inquiries. Twelve formal complaints were The NRC completed a review of the EEO                   filed and two settlement agreements were Advisory Committees' recommendations that               executed.
focused on three areas of primary concern:
(1) perception of preselection; (2) monitoring          During this fiscal year, the staff developed a new programs that are in place to faci.litate EEO; and      EEO Counseling Administrative Procedures (3) support for implementing a managing diversity       Manual, which includes standard operating process. In response to these recommendations,          Procedures and resource maten,al to assist the the agency implemented several initiatives as           counselors m better performm, g their duties and to follows: (1) adopted a merit staffing checklist to      ensure greater consistency m their handling of assist managers in thinking through the merit           EEO activities. A summary of complaint activity selection process in the early stages so that           during this penod is as follows:
selection criteria are not unduly restrictive and candidates are able to compete fairly and equitably; (2) remstituted the Agency's Intern                        STATUS OF COMPIAINTS FISCAL YEAR 1998 Program to facilitate diversity m the agency's workforce; (3) and implemented a managing                TOTAL COMPLAINTS PENDING                       7 diversity process.                                       AT BEGINNING OF FISCAL YEAR Filed during fiscalyear                        12 The agency's Facilitated Mentoring Program continued to provide opportunities for employees          Remands                                       2 to improve their skills, productivity, and potential     closed during fiscal year                      9 for advancement. Through this program, a more
                                              ,                      ,                             Dismissals                         3 expenenced employee is paired with an employee              Settlements                        3 who requests career deve lopment guidance. Three Mentoring Program Orientation sessions were                 Final agency decision of no dis nnunation                      3 conducted for new participants to provide guidance on their roles, responsibilities, and           TOTAL COMPLAINTS PENDING AT                    12 parameters in the mentoring process. The number          END OF FISCAL YEAR

81 Small Business Program                               to NRC technical assistance projects at 10 different DOE laboratories where a majon,ty of this work is performed. Assignments were made The agency continued its commitment to small          on the basis of the participants' major fields of businesses, Section 8(a) businesses, small            study and interests. Six participants were assigned distdvantaged businesses, and small women-            to on-campus research projects, and three of these owned businesses. At the beginning of FY 1998,       projects are scheduled for completion in FY 1999, the " Forecast of Procurement Opportunities" was published that identified anticipated procurement actions for that fiscal year. This information was mide available on the NRC's World Wide Web (WWW) site at <http://www.nrc. gov >. During FY       OFFICE OF 1998, the staffinitiated Quarterly Small Business Forums to provide opportunities for repre-            ADMINISTRATION sentatives of small business concerns to discuss their capabilities and skills with agency project            ,    ,
m nagers. A toll-free,24-hour voice mail system thr.t has fax-on-demand capability was installed Facilities Program th:t provides recorded information on doing During FY 1998, the Office of Administration busmess with the NRC and a schedule of Small Business Forums. The system can be accessed by        (ADM) continued the interior renovation of the calling 1-800-903-SBCR.                               One White Flint North building. The project consists of replacing all the interior finishes that have deteriorated during the 10 years NRC has occupied the building. It also provides work space enhancements, such as supplemental air Historically Black Colleges                          conditioning in large cor.ference rooms, revised end Universities                                         f6 * *""6 8"'"'i "'' ""d ** *'^ffi* P^"''"S '
facilitate movement of employees and visitors.
Improvements of physical security include The principal goals of the Historically Black         additional alarms, card readers, and guard patrol Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Research            verification stations. During FY 1998, work was Participation Program are to enhance academic         completed on floors 5,11,12, and 16. This project studies in science, mathematics, and engineering,     will be completed in FY 2000.
e s, and re ate p ofe sio a s.      e program  Thg NRC successfully coordinated installation of a introduces HBCU faculty and graduate and              major upgrade of the air conditionmg system m undergraduate students to the research and            the 0ne White Flint North building to replace development activities of the NRC. The program         deten,oratmg pipes and install new air exchange provides participants a mechanism by which to (1)      equipment to improve air quality.
become familiar with research areas and the needs of the NRC; (2) participate in scientific, engineering, and other research and development activities related to NRC's mission; and (3) gain      Security Program experience that enhances participants' academic and scientific credentials. The agency's HBCU         As a part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ's)
Program is conducted through a cooperative            facilities security upgrades following the egr:ement with the Oak Ridge Institute for            Oklahoma City bombing, NRC replaced the Science and Education.                                existing black and white closed-circuit television cameras with a new generation of higher During FY 1998, the agency awarded $227,862 in        resolution color cameras and installed additional r:se:rch grants to 16 faculty members and 8           cameras throughout the White Flint North students at 15 HBCUs, thus exceeding its goal of      complex. The Headquarters Central Alarm
$200,000 by 14 percent. Participants were assigned    Station undenvent extensive upgrades, including

82 the installation of equipment for monitoring the new cameras. This mstallation was completed m Recycling Program In FY 1998, the NRC Headquarters Recycling Program generated more than $42,000 in revenue In support of the Office of Nuclear Material         through an area-wide contract administered by the Safety and Safeguards, the staff participated in     General Services Administration. The revenue actions leading to the privatization of the U. S. generated by the program is available for agency Enrichment Corporation (USEC). Specifically, it      use on a discretionary basis and will be used for developed requirements that would restrict           employee programs, including tuition assistance foreign control or ownership of the USEC, thus       for employees whose children would otherwise be avoiding the possibility of compromising classified  unable to attend the onsite child care center.
information pertaining to the corporation's operations.
The staff also conducted a reactive security         Rulemaking and Directives inspection of USEC's Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in February 1998, and an initial inspection of The staff provided rulemaking review support for the USEC Headquarters in June 1998 to effect the     220 rulemaking actions, docketed four petitions transfer of security oversight from the U.S.         for rulemaking, and published 45 rulemaking Department of Energy (DOE) to NRC.                   documents in the FederalRegister during FY 1998.
The NRC submitted 100 percent of its general notices in electronic form to the Office of the Federal Register for publication, resulting in a savings of $56,274 during FY 1998.
Property Management Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.
Program                                              On March 29,1996, President Clinton signed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Faimess Act. The act ensures that Federal agencies notify The NRC conducted an FY 1998 headquarters            Congress of " major actions" (as defined by the inventory of sensitive items and equipment valued    act). In FY 1998, NRC submitted 57 final actions at more than $300. More than 20,000 equipment        to the Office of Management and Budget for items were inventoried. Regional offices             review. One action, NRC's 100-percent fee conducted self-inventories and submitted fully       recovery rule, was determined to be a " major" reconciled reports to the headquarters staff. A      rule under the act.
supply module was added to the NRC's automated Property and Accounting System to improve control and accountability for furniture and supply stock assets.                                        Contract Management Executive Order 12999," Improving Mathematics        During FY 1998, the NRC continued to improve and Science Education in Support of National         the efficiency of the procurement process through Education Goals," directs Federal agencies to the    a variety of electronic commerce activities and maximum extent possible to identify and transfer     through streamlining measures under its excess education-related equipment to elementary     procurement reinvention laboratory. ADM's and secondary schools. Under these guidelines,       Home Page on NRC's WWWinternal site the NRC established a program for donating used      provides direct links to electronic catalogs, such as and obsolescent computer equipment to school         GSA Advantage!, the Air Force Country Store, systems nationwide. In FY 1998, the NRC donated      and the UNICOR catalog, enabling staff to more than 1,241 pieces of computer equipment,        procure goods and services efficiently. In another including color monitors, system units, and          initiative, the OMB sent NRC's electronic printers.                                            streamlining procurement innovation, " Focused

83 Source Selection," to Congress for review. This     program offices and procurement personnel innovation represents a streamlined approach to     improve processing times for simplified competitive acquisitions, using the Internet and    acquisitions, competitive contract awards, and negotiating with the best-rated proposer. NRC       contract closeout activities. During FY 1998, NRC plans to implement this innovation after the        offered three satellite broadcasts and three l
required 270-day congressional review period has    in-house training opportunities for procurement       ,
clapsed. Use of oral presentations in lieu of       and technical staff, including courses on Past        I lengthy written proposals continues to improve      Performance, Performance-Based Service efficiency in the procurement process at NRC. In    Contracting, and Streamlined Source Selection.
recognition of its pioneering efforts in the use of                                                       !
oral presentations, NRC's Acquisition Reform        Effective implementation of procurement reforms Team was nominated to receive a National             resulted in timely contract awards for obligations Performance Review " hammer" award in FY            totaling $73 million. The agency also processed 1998. The WWW also was used for an extensive        5,093 purchase-card transactions totaling $2.7 market survey, using the Commerce Business Daily     million for an estimated savings of $255,000          ;
(CBD) Internet (CBDNet) and ADM's Web sites,         during FY 1998. Implementation of a new               '
to determine the availability of contractors and     contract information system has enhanced              ;
educational institutions to assist the NRC in areas  availability of procurement data to staff and         l in which sources could be limited for conflict-of-   managers and has improved the accuracy of the interest reasons if NRC's regulation of DOE's        data. NRC continued to conduct reviews of ficilities is expanded.                              Department of Energy laboratory agreements to ensure effective oversight for placement and The NRC continues to provide extensive training      monitoring of the agency's work performed under in the use of streamlining measures to help NRC      such agreements.

85 Appendix NRC Organization (Current as of September 30,1998)
COMMISSIONERS Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman Nils J. Diaz Edward McGaffigan Inspector General Hubert T. Bell i
!                               Chief Financial Officer                              i l                                    Jesse L. Funches l
l                              ChiefInformation Officer Anthony J. Galante l
l The Commission Staff                                l Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication-John E Cordes, Jr., Acting Director Office of Congressional Affairs-Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of the General Counsel-Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel Office of International Programs-Carlton R. Stoiber, Director Office of Public Affairs-William M. Beecher, Director Secretary of the Commission-John C. Hoyle, Secretary Executive Director for Operations Executive Director for Operations-L Joseph Callan Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Effectiveness-William D. Travers Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Programs-Hugh L. Thompson, Jr.
Deputy Executive Director for Management Services-Patricia G. Norry Assistant for Operations-James L. Blaha Program Offices Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards-Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation-Samuel J. Collins, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research-Ashok C. Thadani, Director

86                                                       -
1 l
l NRC Organization (continued)
EDO Staff Offices Office of Administration-Edward L. Halman, Director                            l Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data-Thomas T. Martin, Director Office of Enforcement-James Lieberman, Director Office of Investigations-Guy P. Caputo, Director Office of Human Resources-Paul E. Bird, Director Office of Small Business and Civil Rights-Irene P. Little, Director Office of State Programs-Richard L. Bangart, Director i
Regional Offices Region I, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-Hubert J. Miller, Regional Administrator Region II, Atlanta, Georgia-Luis A. Reyes, Regional Administrator Region III, Chicago, Illinois-James L. Caldwell, Acting Regional Administrator Region IV, Dallas, Texas-Ellis W. Merschoff, Regional Administrator Other Offices Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste-B. John Garrick, Chairman Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards-Robert L Seale, Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel-B. Paul Cotter, Jr., Chief Administrative Judge RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE                                 Responsibilities of the OFFICES, THE REGIONS,                                   Executive Council AND THE ADVISORY                                        The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) oversees the COMMITTEES AND                                          financial management of NRC's programs and Perations and provides advice to the Chairman LICENSING PANELS                                        on financial management matters. The CFO establishes financial management policy for the agency and provides policy guidance to senior managers on the budget and all other financial management activities, including systems, Office of the Inspector General                         personnel, structure and functions, performed by component financial management organizations; The Office of the Inspector Generalis an                oversees the development and maintenance of independent and objective unit that conducts and        financial management and accounting systems to supervises audits and investigations relating to        provide reliable information for internal and NRC programs and operations, identifying ways to        external financial management reporting; improve agency activities resulting from the            establishes agency-wide financial data and detection and prevention ofinstances of fraud,          reporting format requirements, and provides an waste, and abuse; and, keeps the head of the            agency-wide management control program for agency and the Congress fully and currently             financial and program managers that provides for informed of serious issues and concerns relating to     timely corrective actions regarding material the administration of programs.                         weaknesses disclosed through audit findings and

87 reports provided under the FederalManagers'          the Commission's guidance, after presentation of FinancialIntegntyAct,                                options; and for consulting with the Office of the General Counsel in identifying options to be The ChiefInformation Omcer (CIO) plans,              presented to the Commission and in drafting the directs, and eversees the NRC's information          final decision to be presented to the Commission.
resources, including information technology infrastructure and delivery ofinformation           The Omce of Congressional Affairs provides m:nagement services, to meet the mission and         advice and assistance to the Chairman, the goals of the agency. The CIO provides principal      Commission, and the NRC staff on all NRC cdvice to the Chairman to ensure that Information    relations with Congress and views of Congress            l Technology (IT) is acquired and information          toward NRC policies, plans, and activities; resources across the agency are managed in a        mamtam, s han, son with congressional committees and members of Congress on matters ofinterest manner consistent with Federal Information Resources Management (IRM) laws and                 to the NRC; serves as primary contact for all NRC regulations; assists senior management in            communications with Congress, reviewing and rrcognizing where information technology can add     concurrmg in all outgomg correspondence to value while improving NRC operations and             members of Congress; coordinates NRC internal services delivery; directs the implementation of a   activities with Congress; plans and develops sound and integrated IT architecture to achieve      NRC's legislative program; and monitors NRC's strategic and IRM goals; monitors and          legislative proposals, bills, and hearings.
evaluates the performance of information The Office of the General Counsel directs matters technology and information management of law and legal policy, providing opinions, advice, programs based on applicable performance and assistance to the Commission and staff with measures and assesses the adequacy of IRM skills     respect to all activities of the agency.
of the agency; and provides gmdance and oversight for the selection, control, and evaluation The Office ofInternational Programs provides of information technology investments.               advice and assistance to the Chairman, the
,                                                       Commission, and the NRC staff on international The Executive Director for Operations (EDO) is       issues. The office formulates and recommends the chief operational and administrative officer of  policies concerning nuclear exports and imports, the Commission and is authorized and directed to      international safeguards, international physical discharge licensing, regulatory, and administrative   security, non-proliferation matters, and functions of the NRC and to take actions              international cooperation and assistance in necessary for day-to-day operations of the agency. nuclear safety and radiation protection. The office The EDO supervises and coordinates policy             plans, develops, and implements programs to development and operational activities of EDO         carry out policies established in these areas; plans, staff and program offices and implements              develops, and manages international nuclear Commission policy directives pertaining to these      safety information exchange programs; and offices.                                              coordinates international research agreements.
The office obtains, evaluates, and uses pertinent information from other NRC and U.S.
Government offices in processing nuclear export The Commission Staff                                  and import license applications; establishes and maintains working relationships with individual countries and international nuclear organizations, The Omce of Commission Appellate Adjudication         as well as other U.S. Government agencies; and is responsible for monitoring cases pending before    ensures that all international activities carried out presiding officers; for providing the Commission      by the Commission and the staff are properly with an analysis of any adjudicatory matter
                       , ,       ,                      coordinated internally and Government-wide and requiring a Commission decision (e.g., petitions      are consistent with NRC and U.S. policies, for review of Initial Licensing Board decisions, certified questions, interlocutory referrals, staff   The Omce of Public Affairs develops policies, requests), including available options; for the       programs, and procedures for informing the public drcfting of any necessary decisions, pursuant to      of NRC activities; prepares, clears, and

88 disseminates information to the public and the       with other NRC offices in coordinating safety and news media concerning NRC policies, programs,        safeguards programs and in recommending and activities; keeps NRC management informed        research, standards, and policy options necessary of media coverage of activities ofinterest to the    for their successful operations.
agency; plans, directs, and coordinates the activities of public information staffs located at the Regional Offices; conducts a cooperative         The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation ensures program with the schools; and carries out assigned   the public health and safety through licensing and activities in the area of consumer affairs.          mspection activities at all nuclear power reactor facilities in the United States. The office oversees The Office of the Secretary of the Commission        all aspects of licensing and inspection of provides executive management services to            manufacturing, production, and utilization support the Commission and to implement              facilities (except for facilities reprocessing fuel Commission decisions; advises and assists the        and performing isotopic fuel enrichment), and Commission and staff on planning, scheduling,        receipt, possession, and ownership of source, and conducting Commission business; prepares         byproduct, and special nuclear material used or the Commission's meeting agenda; codifies            produced at facilities licensed under 10 CFR Part Commission decisions in memoranda directing          50. The office develops policy and inspection staff action, monitors staff compliance of pending   guidance for programs assigned to the regional actions, and tracks commitments through the          offices and assesses the effectiveness and automated Commission tracking system; manages        umformity of the Regions' implementation of the staff paper and COMSECY systems; initiates       those programs. The office identifies and takes and monitors the status of office automation         action in coordination with the regional offices initiatives into the Commission's administrative     regarding conditions and licensee performance at system; processes and controls Commission            such facilities that may adversely affect public correspondence; maintains the Commission's           health and safety, the environment, or the official records and acts as Freedom of              safeguarding of nuclear facilities and assesses and   1 Information coordinator for Commission records;       recommends or takes action in response to maintains the official adjudicatory and rulemaking   incidents or accidents. The office is responsible dockets of the Commission and serves                 for licen, sing issues and regulatory policy Commission and Atomic Safety and Licensing           concernmg reactor operators, including the initial Board issuances in all adjudicatory matters and       licensing examination and requalification public proceedings; directs and administers the       examinations, emergency preparedness, including NRC Historical Program; and functions as the          participation in emergency drills with Federal, Federal Advisory Committee Management                 State, and local agencies; radiation protection, Officer,                                              security and safeguard at such facilities, including fitness for duty; and the inspection of nuclear supplier facilities. The office also conducts technical review, certification, and licensing of advanced nuclear reactor facilities and renews Responsibilities of the                               current power reactor operating licenses.
Program Offices The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research plans, The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and             recommends, and implements programs of Safeguards licenses, inspects, and regulates          nuclear regulatory research, standards facilities and materials associated with processing,  development, and resolution of safety issues for transporting, and handling nuclear materials, as      nuclear power plants and other facilities regulated well as disposing of nuclear waste and regulating     by the NRC. It develops and promulgates all uranium recovery facilities. The office also          technical regulations; coordinates research regulates related facility decommissioning. The       activities within and outside the NRC, including safeguard staff of the office reviews and assesses    appointment of staff to committees and protection against potential threats, thefts, and     conferences; and coordinates national volunteer sabotage for licensed facilities, working closely     standards efforts.

89 The Regional Offices are under the supervision        accordance with the Small Business Act, as and direction of the Executive Director for           amended, ensuring that appropriate consideration Operations and carry out NRC regulatory               is given to small business firms, including programs originating in the various Headquarters       women-owned and minority businesses. The office offices.                                               develops and recommends NRC policy providing for equal employment opportunity, and develops, monitors, and evaluates the affirmative action program to ensure compliance with the policy.
Responsibilities of the Support                        The oma also serves as contact with local and national pubh,c and private organizations with Staff Offices                                          related interests and administers the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program.
The Office of Administration directs the agency's     The Office of State Programs is responsible for programs for contracting and procurement;             establishing and maintaining good community transportation services; security of personnel and    relations between the NRC, the States, local facilities; rulemaking support; management of         governments, other Federal agencies, and Indian space and equipment; and other administrative         Tribe organizations; serves as primary contact for services.                                              policy matters between the NRC and these groups; keeps the agency apprised of activities of The Office for Analysis and Evaluation of              these groups as they may affect NRC, and conveys Operational Data provides agency coordination          to NRC management the groups' views on NRC for the collection, storage, and retrieval of          policies, plans, and activities; coordinates liaison operational data associated with licensed              with other Federal agencies through the Federal activities, analyzes and evaluates such operational    Liaison Program; administers the State experience and feeds back the lessons of that          Agreements Program; provides training and experience to NRC licensing, standards, and            technical assistance to Agreement States; inspections activities staff. The office is also       integrates Federal regulatory activities with the responsible for the NRC incident response              States; and maintains cooperative and liaison program and he Technical Training Center, as well      activities with the States.
as the tracking of licensee performance indicators.
The Office of Enforcement develops policies and programs for the enforcement of NRC                    Other Offices requirements, manages major enforcement actions, and assesses the effectiveness and The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste was uniformity of regional enforcement actions.
established by the Nuclear Regulatory The Office of Human Resources plans and                Commission in 1988 to advise the Commission on implements NRC poh,cies, programs, and services
                                                       . nuclear waste disposal facilities, as directed by the Commission.
to provide for the effective organization, recruitment, placement, utilization, and               The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards is development of the agency's human resources.           a statutory committee established to advise the Commission on safety aspects of proposed and The Office of Investigations conducts, supervises,     existing nuclear facilities and on the adequacy of and assures quality control of investigations of       proposed reactor safety standards and to perform licensees, appheants, contractors, or vendors,         such other duties as the Commission may request.
including the investigation of all allegations of      The committee conducts a continuing study of wrongdoing by other than NRC employees and             reactor safety research and submits an annual contractors. The office develops policy,               report to the Congress. The committee also procedures, and standards for these activities.        administers a fellowship program.
The Office of Small Business and Civil Rights          The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel is a develops and implements the NRC's program in           panel of lawyers and others with expertise in 1

90 various technical fields from which three-member                                                   it by the NRC staff and gives expert opinions on Licensing Boards are drawn to conduct public                                                       the medical uses of radioisotopes. The committee hearings and make such intermediate or final                                                       also advises the NRC staff, as required, on matters l
decisions as the Commission may authorize in                                                       of policy.
proceedings to grant, amend, suspend, or revoke NRC licenses.
The Licensing Support System Advisory Review The Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of                                                      Panel, established in 1989, advises the NRC's Isotopes, established in 1958, is composed of                                                     Licensing Support System Administrator and the qualified physicians and scientists, employed                                                     Department of Energy on selected aspects of the under yearly personnel services contracts. The                                                    design, development, and operation of the support committee considers medical questions referred to                                                 system.

91 Addendum to the Appendix NRC Organization (Current as of February 19,1999)
COMMISSIONERS Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman Greta J. Dieus Nils J. Diaz Edward McGaffigan Jeffrey Merrifield Inspector General Hubert T. Bell Chief Financial OfHeer Jesse L Funches ChiefInformation Officer Anthony J. Galante The Commission Staff Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication-John E Cordes, Jr., Acting Director Office of Congressional Affairs-Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of the General Counsel-Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel Office ofInternational Programs-Janice Dunn Lee, Acting Director Office of Public Affairs-William M. Beecher, Director Secretary of the Commission-Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary Executive Director for Operations Executive Director for Operations-William D. Travers Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Effectiveness-Malcolm R. Knapp Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Programs-Frank J. Miraglia Deputy Executive Director for Management Services-Patricia G. Norry Assistant for Operations-James L. Blaha Program Offices Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards-Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation-Samuel J. Collins, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research-Ashok C. Thadani, Director i
i     .

92 EDO Staff Offices i                                                                                     Office of Administration-Michael L Springer, Director Office of Enforcement-James Lieberman, Director Office of Investigations-Guy P. Caputo, Director Office of Human Resources-Paul E. Bird, Director Office of Small Business and Civil Rights-Irene P. Little, Director Office of State Programs-Paul H. Lohaus, Director Regional Offices Region I, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-Hubert J. Miller, Regional Administrator Region II, Atlanta, Georgia-Luis A. Reyes, Regional Administrator Region III, Chicago, Illinois-James E. Dyer, Regional Administrator Region IV, Dallas, Texas-Ehis W. Merschoff, Regional Administrator Other Offices Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste-B. John Garrick, Chairman Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards-Dana A. Powers, Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel-G. Paul Bollwerk III, Acting Chief Administrative Judge l
l l

F 4>
INDEX A                                         Austria,51,55 Abnormal Occurrences,16,33 Accident Sequence Precursor Program,15 B
Adjudicatory Proceedings, xiii,18                 Bilateral International Cooperative and Decisions,22                                       Assistance Activities,53 Greater Efficiency in,20                       Byproduct Material, Medical Use of,28 New Procedures for License Transfer            Bulgaria,53 Applications,21 Pending Litigation,22 Administration, Office of,81-83                            C Administrative Services, xiv,71--83               Canada,6,50,52,54,58,60 See also Support Services Capital Planning and Investment Control,77 Advisory Committees,24,46,69,89 Medical Uses of Isotopes,90                     Central and Eastern Europe,52 Nuclear Waste,46,69,89                          Certification of Next-Generation Reactor Reactor Safeguards,24,69                            Designs,13 Affirmative Action Program,79                     Chief Financial Officer, Office of the,71-73, 85 - 86, 91 Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS),76                            Chief Financial Officers Act,71 Agreement States Program,29-32                    Chief Information Officer, Office of the,73-77, Conference of Radiation Control Program             85,87,91 Directors, Inc., The,31                     China,50,52,54 Cooperation with States,29
        ,                                             Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant,52,54,55 Licensees,32 Operational Events in Agreement States,31       Civil Rights Program,80 Review of State Regulatory Programs,30          Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of, Technical Assistance to,30                          68,85,87,91 Training Offered State Personnel,30             Commission, The, x, 85,91 Allegations,5                                      Changes in the Commission and Organization, x Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data,       Decisionmaking Documents,68 Office of,86,89                                History Program,68 Data for Materials,32-33                         Meetings and Related Activities,67 Data for Reactors,15-17                          Staff,85,87,91 Analysis of Materials Operations,27-36           Co mon-Cause Failure Database and Studies, Analysis of Operational Data for Reactors,15-17 Communicating with NRC Stakeholders, xi, xii,59 Argentina,50                                       Advisory Committees,69 Armenia,53                                         Commission Meetings and Related Activities, 67-69 Assessment and Oversight Process, Revisions to     Congress, The, 62 the Regulatory,2 Media Workshop,60 Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards,18-20,86,92     News Conferences,61

94 Proceedings and Litigation,68                          p Public Information,59 Published Information,60                      Facilities Program,81 School Volunteer Program,61                   Fees,x State and Local Governments and American Indian Tribes,66-67                       Financial Management, Improvements in,72 Congress, Communication with the,62             Former Soviet Union,52,53 France,6,51,52,54,56,58,60 Congressional Affairs, Office of,62,85,87,91 Contract Management,82
                                                      "        '" ^       ''
Cooperation with International Multilateral Organizations,54-57                                  G Cooperation with States,29-30                   General Counsel, Office of the,20-22,85,87,91 Czech Republic,54                               Generic International Participation,49 Generic Materials Licensing and Inspection Activities,28 D                                       Germany,51,54,55 Government Performance and Results Act,74 Decommissioning, Reactor and Site,43 Denmark,51,55, 59                                 re$ r Efficiencyin Adjudicatory Proceedings, Department of Energy, xii,37,41,45-46,82        Greece,52,56 l      Pilot Program for Nuclear Facilities, xii,41 l
I    Development of International Legal Instruments, 58                                                    H Diversity, Managing, xiii                       High-Level Waste,41-42 Highlights, ix-xiv Adjudicatory Proceedings, xiii E                                         Administrative Services, xiv                                 ,
Changes in the Commission and Organization, x Employees, NRC.                                   Communicating With Stakeholders, xii See Human Resources                              Fees,x
                                .                      Information Management, xiv Enforcement and Investigative Actions,22-24,      Managing Diversity, xiii uclear atedals Safety,p Enforcement,22-23,35-36
                                    .                  Nuclear Reactor Safety, xi Escalated Enforcement Activities,35-36 Nuclear Waste Safety, xii Investigations,24 Personnel, Training, and Employee Assistance Enforcement, Office of,86,89,92                       Programs, xiii Pilot Program Regarding U.S. Department of Equal Employment Opportunity Program,79               Energy Nuclear Facilities, xii                          "
Executive Council, The,86                       Historically Black Colleges and Universities,81 Executive Director for Operations,85,87,91      History Program, The Commission's,68 Export Control and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Human Resources, Office of,77-79,86,92 Materials,50-51                               Awards and Recognition,77

Benefits,78                                     Korea,6 Employee Assistance, Health, and Fitness Programs,79 Labor Relations,78                                       L Recruitment,77 Staff-Years Expended,77                         Labor Relations,78
      'Itaining and Development,78                    Latvia,50 License Renewal, xi,13
;             l                                       License Transfer Applications, New Procedures for,21 Incident Response Operations,6                     ucensee Burden Reduction,10,34 Indemnity, Financial Protection, and Property      Lithuania,53 Insurance,5 Litigation, Pending,22 Indonesia,52
                .               .   .                 Low-Level Waste,42 Information Management, xn..i, xiv, 73-77 Inspector General, Office of the,85-86,91 International Nuclear Regulators Association,58             M International Nuclear Safety Support,49-58         Media Workshop,60 Bila eral Cooperative and Assistance Activities, Medical Use of Byproduct Material,28 Cooperation with Multilateral Organizations,54   Mexico,54 Development ofInternational Legal Instruments,58 Export Control and Non-Proliferation,50                   N TRIGA Research Reactor,50 Generic International Participation,49           Netherlands, The,51,52,55 Implementation of U.S. Policy on Nuclear         News Conferences,61 Assistance,52
                                  .                   Next-Generation Reactors, xi,13 Nuclear Regulators Association,60 Nuclear Safety Activities,52                     Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Material,50 Year 2000 Activities,58                       NRC Staff-Years Expended,77 International Programs, Office of,49-58,85,87,      NRC/ Industry Licensing Process Involvement 91                                                Working Group,13 Investigations,24                                   Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Office of, Investigations, Office of,24,86,89,92                   27 -36, 85,88,91 Israel,52                                           Nuclear Materials Safety, xi,27-36 Agreement States Program,29 Analysis of Materials Operations,32 J                                            Radiation Exposures and Overexposures,33 Conference of Radiation Control Program Japan,6,50,51,52,54,56,58,60                                 Directors, Inc., The,31 Cooperation with States,29 Fuel Cycle Facilities,31 K                                            ucensees,32 Operational Events in Agreement States,31 Kazakhstan,50,53,54,57,59                               Review of State Regulatory Programs,30

Technical Assistance to,30                 Nuclear Waste Safety, xii,37-47 Training Offered State Personnel,30           Advisory Committee on,46-47 l                                                     Analysis of Materials Operations,32              Decommissioning, Reactor and Site,43 Abnormal Occurrences,33                       Department of Energy,41 Licensees and Agreement States,32               Pilot Program for Nuclear Facilities,41 Enforcement and Investigative Actions,35         High-Level,41 Generic Materials Licensing and Inspection       Low-Level,42 Activities,28                               Research,45-46 Medical Use of Byproduct Material,28          Spent Fuel,37-41 Rulemaking,33                                    Uranium Recovery Licensing and Inspection, 44 -45                                        j Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Office of,1-25,85, 88,91                                      NUREG-Series Publications, xiv,76 Independent Program Assessment of,14 Nuclear Reactor Safety, xi,1 Adjudicatory Proceedings,18 Q
Allegations,5                                 Operational Events in Agreement States,31 Analysis of Operational Data for Reactors,    Organization, NRC, x,85-92 15-19 Abnormal Occurrences,16 Accident Sequence Precursor Program,15               P Common-Cause Failure Database and                      .
Studies,16                              Pacific Rim,54 Performance Indicator Program,15            Performance Indicator Program,15 Radiation Exposures and Overexposures,17    Personnel, Training, and Employee Assistance Regulatory Effectiveness Strategy,15            Programs.
System Reliability Studies,16                 See Human Resources                             *'
Ass sment and Oversight Process, Revisions t Plain Language Initiative, xi Incident Response Operations,6                 Poland,51 Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Proceedings and Litigation, xii,21-22,70 Cer ifi a on of ext-Generation Reactor
                                                                                                     '  E'"" "         ''  *E"'"  " I' Designs,13                              Property Management Program,82 Independent Program Assessment,14           Public Affairs, Office of,59-61,85,87,91 License Renewal,13 Public Responsiveness and Communication, NRC/ Industry Licensing Process Involvement Increasing,12 Workmg Group,13 Indemnity, Financial Protection, and Property  Public Information,59 Insurance,5                               Published Information,60 Making 10 CFR Part 50 Risk-Informed,5 Public Responsiveness and Communication, Increasing,12                                      R Reducing Unnecessary Licensee Burden,10 Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc., The Final Safety Analysis Reports, Guidance for Conference of,31 Updatmg,10 Risk-Informed License Amendments, Issuance     Radiation Exposures and Overexposures,17,33 of,10                                     Reactor and Site Decommissioning,43 Year 2000 Problem in Nuclear Power Plants,5 Reactor Designs, Certification of Next Generation Nuclear Waste,37-47                                 of,13

97 Recruitment,77                                    Small Business Program,81 Recycling Program,82                              South Africa,51,54,55,58,59 Regions I, II, III, and IV,86,92                  South Korea,50,54,58 Regulatory                                        Spain, 6,52, 54,56,58, 60 Effectiveness and Efficiency of Key Processes,   Spent Fuel,37-41 Increasing the,12                                   Department of Energy,37,41 Effectiveness Strategy,15                        State and Local Governments and American Framework, Improvements in,34                            Indian Tribes,66 Republic of Korea,52                             State Programs, Office of,29-31,66-67,86,89, Research Supporting Nuclear Waste Safety,45 Review of,30 Research, Office of Nuclear Regulatory,85,88,91 Support Services, xiii,71-83 Research Supporting Nuclear Waste Safety,45 Risk-Informed Regulation,5                             Administration, Office of,81 Contract Management,82 Responsibilities of the Offices, the Regions, and          Facilities Program,81 the Advisory Committees and Licensing                  Property Management Program,82 Panels,86-90                                           Recycling Program,82 Advisory Committees and Licensing Panels,                Rulemaking and Directives,82 89 -90                                               Security Program,81 Commission Staff, The,87                               Chief Financial Officer, Office of the,71-73 Executive Council, The,86-87                             Chief Financial Officers Act,71 Support Staff,89                                         Government Performance and Results Act,72 Risk-Informed License Amendments, Issuance                 Improving Financial Management,72-73
. of,5,10                                               ChiefInformation Officer, Office of the,71-73 Agencywide Document Access and Risk-Informed Regulation,5 Management System (ADAMS),76 Romania,50,54                                              Capital Planning and Investment Control,77 NUREG-Series Publications,76 Rul    a ng on 10 CFR 50.59,10                           W rid Wide Web Site,75 Supporting Nuclear Materials Safety,33 H an Re o r s,Of           of, 77-79 Rules and Directives,33,82                                 Awards and Recognition,77 Russia,50,53,57,59                                         Benefits,78 Employee Assistance, Health, and Fitness Programs,79 Lab r Relations,78 S                                                  NRC Staff-Years Expended,77 Safety Analysis Reports, Guidance for Updating             Recruitment,77 Final,10                                                Traming and Development,78 5 nall Business and Civil Rights, Office of, Safety, Maintaining,1-2                                      79 - 81 Scotland,54                                                Affirmative Action Program,79
                           . .                               Civil Rights Program,80 Secreta of the Commission, Office of the, Equal Employment Opportunity Program,79 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Security Program,81-82                                         81 Small Business and Civil Rights, Office of,79-81,          Small Business Program,81 86,89,92                                       Support Staff,89

98 Switzerland,52                                                                                                               y System Reliability Studies,16                                                                                 U.S. Policy on Nuclear Assistance, Implementation of,52 Ukraine,50,52,53,56,57,59 United Kingdom,6,51,54,58 T                                                 uranium Reeovery,44 i
Taiwan,6,50,54,58 Thailand,50,54 Western Europe,50,54,58 The Netherlands,56,59                                                                                          World Wide Web Site, xiv,75 Raining,30,80 Daining and Development of NRC Employees, 78 Y
Training Offered State Personnel,30                                                             Year 2000 at the NRC,5,58,73-75 Printed on recycled paper Federal Recycling Program ISBN 0-16 050102-4 1          90000 9 780160 501029

1                       .
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