ML20202J127

Forwards NRR Ofc Ltr 1302,Rev 1, Procedure for Reporting Abnormal Occurrence Events. Subj Ltr Supersedes Ofc Ltr 1302,dtd 880129

ML20202J127
Person / Time
Issue date:	11/05/1997
From:	Richards S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
References
NRRL-1302, NUDOCS 9712110054
Download: ML20202J127 (6)

Text

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OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULA TION O WN Office Letter Transmittal TO: All NRR Employees J

SUBJECT:

NRR OFFICE LETTER NO 1302, REVISION 1. " PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING ABNORMAL OCCURRENCE EVENTS"

, PURPOSE: Office Letter 1302, Revision 1, supersedes NRR Office Letter 1302, dated January 29, 1988. It establishes the procedures to be used by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) for the reporting of abnormal occurrences and other related information. The revisions relate to organizational changes, conversion to a new office letter format, and recent legislative and policy changes. It implementsManagementlitective(MD)8.1(Hanual Chapter 0212), " Abnormal Occurrence Reporting Procedure."

DIVISION OF

) ORIGIN: Division of Reactor Program Management CONTACT: Stuart A. Richards, 415-1168 DATE APPROVED: November 5, 1997

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AVAILABILITY: Roberta Ingram, 415 1219

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• l NRR OFFICE LETTER NO.1302, REVISION 1 PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING ABNORMAL OCCURRENCE EVENTS POLICY

! i Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 required the Comission to submit to the Congress each quarter a report listing any abnormal occurrences (A0s) associated with ariy facility licensed or otherwise regulated by the Comission. The law also specified that information on such events be i

disseminated to the public as widely as reasonably possible. An A0 is an unscheduled incident or event that the Comission determines is significant from the standpoint of public health or safety.

An NRC Policy Statement, published in the Federal Register on February 24, 1977 (42 FR 10950), established the criteria for the threshold of reporting an event as an A0. A revised policy statement was published in the Federal Re.gister on April 17,1997 (62 FR 18820h.Since the primary purpose of the revised policy statement was to revise the dose threshold for reporting

, unintended exposures and to revise the criteria applicable to medical licensees, the criteria for identifying events involving reactor facilities did not change significantly. NRC HD 8.1, " Abnormal Occurrence Reporting Procedure," issued August 21, 1997, defines a system for staff coordination of the A0 reporting process, including identification, evaluation, and processing of reports on these events. This office letter provides procedures to ensure that NRR responsibilities are fulfilled in accordance with HD 8.1.

On December 21, 1995, the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act, PL 104 66, was signed into law. It specifies that the A0 report to Congress be submitted annually rather than quarterly. On November 7, 1996 " Staff Requirements - SECY-96 193 Abnormal Occurrence Reports" was issued to require the NRC staff to file incident information in the public document

rooms (PDRs) on potential A0s as soon as possible after the staff determines that the incident meets the A0 criteria, that is, considered a potential A0.

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2-DEFINITIONS Abnormal Occurrence: An unscheduled incident or event that occurs at or is associated with any facility licensed, cert!?ied, or otherwise regulated by the NRC that the Commission detensines is significant from the standpoint of public health or safety. The criteria for such detenninations are addressed

, in the Commission Policy Statement and are also given in Handbook 8.1.

Part !!: Part I of the handbook identifies the review, selection, and processing of potential A0s.

Events Considered for Abnormal Occurrence Reporting: Events considered as potential A0s but that after further review are judged not to meet the criteria for A0 reporting.

Other Events of Interest: Any event that the Commission determines may be perceived by the public to be of health or safety significance and involves substantial regulatory response but does not otherwise meet the A0 criteria.

An example is an event that upon final a veluation by an NRC Incident Investigation Team, or in an equivalent response from an Agreement State is found not to meet the criteria for an AD.

Patential Abnormal Occurrence: An event that the staff decides meets the criteria for A0 reporting.

Proposed Abnormal Occurrence: An event that has been suggested by any member of the public or the staff for consideration as a potential A0, but has not yet been approved by NRR management for submittal to the Commission as a potential A0.

RESPONSIBILITIES AW AtRHORITIES Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), or designee

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a. Ensures that provisions of the management directive are implemented in accordance with this office letter.

b. Approves correspondence to the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AE00) pertaining to A0s and other events of interest and for matters involving new policy issues or controversial issues.

3 Director, Division of Reactor Program Management (DRPH), NRR

a. Coordinates NRR activities related to reporting of A0s and other events l

of interest and acts as the NRR representative on matters pertaining to l such items.

b. Ensures that (1) an evaluation is made of those events being proposed as A0s as a result of screening by DRPM or by the staff in other NRR divisions or by other NRC offices (2) a recomendation is made regarding reporting the event as a potential A0 with the applicable A0 criteria identified and (3) a basis is provided for some other disposition.

c. Signs correspondence to AE00 pertaining to potential A0s, other events of interest, and related items when such correspondence does not involve new policy issues or controversial issues. A copy of memoranda that transmit potential A0s, evaluations of proposed A0s, or other documents sent to AE00 also will be sent to the PDR.

Division Directors, NRR

a. Review events within the technical purview of the division and transmit any resulting proposals for A0s to the Director, DRPM, for office review and consideration.

b. Upon request, assist DRPM in evaluating or developing e armation on proposed A0s, other events of interest, or related itene. This assistance may include preparation of potential A0 report writeups and technical evaluations of events proposed as either an A0 or an other event of interest, comments and concurrence on material prepared by DRPM for submittal to AE00, or support for Commission briefings on events proposed to the Commission by AE00 for A0 reporting.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS Operational events, which are reported pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR, and other operational experience are evaluated as discussed in HD 8.5,

" Operational Safety Data Review," and NRR Office Letter 1301, " Analysis and Feedback of Operational Safety Data." The more significant events are to be proposed or idatified for consideration as A0s, using solely the criteria in HD 8.1 and the associated handbook.

4 For each considered event or condition judged to meet one or more criterion for an A0, a concise writeup will be prepared that describes the circumstances of the event, the date and place of occurrence. the components and systems, involved, the actual or the potential consequences, the cause(s), and any  ;

actions taken by the licensee or the NRC to prevent recurrence. The specific basis for reporting the event should be stated. DRPM coordinates NRR activities relating to A0 reporting and shall provide the information to AE00 for incorporation into a Commission paper that presents a proposed annual report to Congress and to the public. A copy of all such information sent to AE00 shall also be provided to'the PDR. In addition. HD 8.1 states that the following sentence should be included in the memorandum placed in the PDR:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has identified the attached event as a potential abnormal occurrence (AO), and it may be ,

included in the A0 report that the NRC prepares annually to inform

, Congress of events reported by NRC and Agreement State licensees which the Commission has determined are significant to public health and safety. -x- *

' ? draft A0 report submitted to the Commission by AE00 includes staff sommendations on those events judged to be potential A0s or other events of interest. Therefore, the final A0 report to Congress may include both A0s and other events of interest. After being approved by the Commission, the A0 writeups are submitted to Congress in NUREG 0090. " Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences." and are also disseminated to the public through such means as Federal Register notices.

For those events from other offices that have been designatod as a potential A0 or that have been submitted as proposed A0s to NRR for review or comment, the staff shall prepare a brief discussion of the event, factors for considering it to be an A0. a conclusion that the NRR staff believes it does or does not meet the A0 criteria, and a basis for the staff's determination.

This synopsis or determination shall be sent to AE00 and a copy placed in the PDR.

EfjECTIVEDATE This~ office letter is effective immediately.

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REFERENCES k

NRC MD 8.1, " Abnormal Occurrence Reporting Procedure" NRC MD 8.5, " Operational Safety Data Review" i -J  !

NRR Office Letter 1301 " Analysis and Feedback of Operational Safety Data" NRC Policy Statement on Abnormal Occurrence Reports: Implementation of Section 208 Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, Final Policy Statement, 62 FR 67072. December 19, 1996.

cc: J. Callan, EDO H. Thompson, DEDR A. Thadani, DEDO P. Norry, DEDM J. Blaha, OED0

- H. Miller. RI ,- .-

L. Reyes, RII '

A Beach, RIII L. Herschoff, RIV

, J. Lieberman, OE  :

E. Halman, ADH-4 G. Caputo. 01 H. Bell, 0!G F. Congel, AE00  !

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