ML033250584

Confirmatory Action Letter - University of California, Irvine Nuclear Research Reactor Facility - Site-Specific Compensatory Measures Implementation Plan

ML033250584
Person / Time
Site:	University of California - Irvine
Issue date:	03/26/2004
From:	Matthews D Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs
To:	Geoffrey Miller University of California - Irvine
Madden P, NRC/NRR/DRIP/RNRP 415-1188
References
NRR-04-007
Download: ML033250584 (5)

Text

March 26, 2004 CAL No. NRR-04-007 Dr. George E. Miller, Facility Director Nuclear Research Reactor Dept of Chemistry, UCI Irvine, CA 92697-2025

SUBJECT:

CONFIRMATORY ACTION LETTER - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE NUCLEAR RESEARCH REACTOR FACILITY - SITE-SPECIFIC COMPENSATORY MEASURES IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Dear Dr. Miller:

By letter dated January 23, 2003, Mr. William D. Beckner of my staff initiated a process to address compensatory measures (CMs) related to security and safeguards at your facility.

Mr. Beckners letter requested that you develop a site-specific CM implementation plan. In accordance with that letter, you have provided us your final site-specific CM implementation plan marked version 4.0. It is our understanding that the best effort for the documentation of certain background checks will not be applied to the verification of identity, nationality, immigration status or character and reputation. Further, it is our understanding that you have taken or will take the actions in accordance with the schedule as specified in your final plan.

Pursuant to Section 182 of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2232, you are required to:

1) Notify me immediately if your understanding differs from that set forth above;

2) Notify me if for any reason you cannot complete the actions within the specified schedule and advise me in writing of your modified schedule in advance of the change; and

3) Notify me in writing when you have completed the actions addressed in this Confirmatory Action Letter.

You may, under certain circumstances, request Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval, in writing to change the commitment you made for any of the proposed actions you took to implement your site-specific CMs. The enclosed guidance provides the conditions under which the staff would consider approving changes to the proposed actions you took in response to implementing your initial site specific CMs.

Issuance of this Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) does not preclude issuance of an order formalizing the commitments you have made in your final site-specific CM implementation plan or requiring other actions. In addition, failure to take the actions addressed in this Confirmatory Action Letter may result in enforcement action.

Dr. G. E. Miller In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, and any response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRCs Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

To the extent possible, any correspondence between you and the NRC relating to your response to this CAL should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. Due to the direct relationship of the CMs, which the NRC has classified as unclassified-sensitive information exempted from public disclosure under the provisions of 10 CFR 73.21 (safeguards information), your site-specific CM implementation plan is considered safeguards information, and thus, is not authorized for public release. If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21. The use of non-sensitive cover letters to transmit safeguards information as a separate enclosure is encouraged.

Sincerely,

/RA/

David B. Matthews, Director Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-326 License No. R-116

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page

University of California at Irvine Docket No. 50-326 cc:

Dr. Richard Chamberlain, Chair Department of Chemistry University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-2025 Mr. Steve Hsu Radiological Health Branch State Department of Health Services P.O. Box 9442732 Sacramento, CA 94234-7320 Test, Research, and Training Reactor Newsletter University of Florida 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611

Dr. G. E. Miller March 26, 2004 In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, and any response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRCs Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

To the extent possible, any correspondence between you and the NRC relating to your response to this CAL should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. Due to the direct relationship of the CMs, which the NRC has classified as unclassified-sensitive information exempted from public disclosure under the provisions of 10 CFR 73.21 (safeguards information), your site-specific CM implementation plan is considered safeguards information, and thus, is not authorized for public release. If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21. The use of non-sensitive cover letters to transmit safeguards information as a separate enclosure is encouraged.

Sincerely,

/RA/

David B. Matthews, Director Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-326 License No. R-116

Enclosure:

As stated cc: See next page DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC RNRP\R&TR r/f MMendonca AAdams DHughes CBassett TDragoun PMadden JLyons SMorris ATardiff RFranovich DMatthews JCraig JDyer ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML033250584 TEMPLATE #: NRR-106

• Please see previous concurrence OFFICE RNRP:LA RNRP:PM RNRP:SC NSIR NAME *EHylton:rdr *MMendonca *PMadden *SMorris DATE 03/ 02 /04 11/ 21 /03 11/ 21 /03 03/ 10 /04 OFFICE RNRP:PD DRIP:D ADIP NRR:OD NAME *JLyons *DMatthews JCraig JDyer DATE 03/ 12 /04 03/ 16 /04 03/ 18 /04 03/ 19 /04 C = COVER E = COVER & ENCLOSURE N = NO COPY

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY Conditions for requesting approval of Safeguards and Security Compensatory Measure Commitments - Research and Test Reactor Licensees During the development of the Compensatory Measures (CM), the staff realized that changes to the initial commitments made during the implementation of the actions needed to meet the objective of the individual CMs. The following circumstances or conditions may result in a licensees need to change its commitments:

1. The initial commitment was temporary and a more permanent measure was implemented. For example, routine monitoring of experimental and researcher activities were being performed once every four hours by an operator. A closed circuit TV monitoring system was installed which allowed the operator in the control room to monitor these activities more frequently. Prior to taking the action to implement the more permanent measure (change in commitment) the licensee should submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for approval: a) description of the commitment change and how it meets the objective of the CM; and b) a proposed schedule for implementing the change in commitment.

2. Identifying conditions where the original commitment does not accomplish the objective of the CM and a temporary change in commitment is needed in order to meet the objective. For example, all commercial package deliveries for the reactor are made to a central receiving area. The packages are inspected at this central facility. The licensee changes its business policy and the packages are now delivered to the reactor. The licensee needs to make a temporary change to its commitment, until it can develop a more permanent solution, to receive only expected deliveries at the door to the facility reception area and inspect them in this area prior to allowing them into a vital area.

Upon taking this action the licensee should submit to the NRC: a) description of the necessity for this temporary change and a description of how they intend to restore the actions needed to meet the original commitment and the objective of the CM; and b) a proposed schedule for restoring the objectives of the original commitment and the CM.

3. Identifying that the implementation of the actions to meet the objective of a CM results in a personnel or reactor safety impact. For example, emergency exit/access door from the protected or vital areas is locked and barred shut such that it can not be used in the event of a facility emergency. This action has resulted in the facility not being able to meet its compliance with local fire codes. Upon discovery of such condition the licensee should submit to the NRC: a) description of the adverse safety condition that was caused by the implementation of the actions needed to meet the objective of the CM; b) proposal for correcting the adverse safety condition; c) a commitment describing your revised actions; and d) the schedule for re-establishing the objective of the CM.

Absent NRC approval of a change to the CM actions, all actions taken in response to the CMs and confirmed by the site-specific confirmatory action letter (CAL) shall be maintained until the Commission determines otherwise.

Enclosure