ML20154N466

Weekly Info Rept for Wk Ending 980925

ML20154N466
Person / Time
Issue date:	10/02/1998
From:	Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
SECY-98-229, SECY-98-229-R, WIR-980925, NUDOCS 9810210295
Download: ML20154N466 (26)

Text

. . _ _ _ - _ - .. ..

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• NUCLEAR RE2ULATCRY COM@SSION wAsMWGTON, D. C. 20055

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, October 2. 1998 INFORMATION REPORT ****"*ECY 9 S For: The Commissioners From: James L. Blaha. Assistant for Operations. Office of the EDO Subiect: WEEKLY :NFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 25. 1998 Contents Enclosure j Nuclear Reactor Regulation A Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B Nuclear Regulatory Research C Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D General Counsel E* l Administration F Chief Information Officer G i Chief Financial Officer H* i Human Resources I '

Small Business & Civil Rights J >

Enforcement K*  :

State Programs L*

Public Affairs M International Programs N*

Office of the Secretary 0 Region I P Region II P Region III P*

Region IV P*

Executive Director for Operations 0*

Congressional Affairs R p,

• No input this week.

frMo 3mes L. Blaha

. i$

ssistant for Operations. OEDO

Contact:

G. Sanborn, OEDO I

9810210295 981002 E - l h 0 PDR [ /I' h' ' '

.. . . _ - . . - _ . = _. . -.

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation  :

Items of Interest  :

Week Ending September 25, 1998

' Year 2000 Problem Proaram Audit at Monticello During the week of September 14, 1998, staff from the Instrumentation and Controls Branch conducted the first of a series of planned sample audits of nuclear power plant licensee Year 2000 (Y2K) problem programs at the '

Monticello Nuclear Power Plant owned by Northern States Power Company. The staff assessed licen.see progress on the Y2K problem program implementation including an evaluation of how the licensee established the inventory of systems to be assessed, detailed assessment methods, plans for and status of remediation of impacted systems and contingency planning. The major findings from the audit were as follows:

'1. The. licensee did not begin implementation of the Y2K program at Monticello until May 1998. Consequently, they are somewhat behind in ,

their initial assessment and remediation efforts. However, they have completed the inventory of mission critical systems and have not identified a large number of computer-based systems requiring detailed assessment or remediation as yet. Further, while the licensee began implementation of a corporate Y2K program in 1996, they did not formally integrate Monticello into the corporate program until May 1998.

2. The licensee is participating with the BWR Owners Group Y2K efforts.

This sharing of information will permit them to accomplish some system remediation far more quickly than if they had to do the work on their own. The licensee is also participating in an alliance of nuclear power plants (Kewaunee, Point Beach Duane Arnold, and Prairie Island) to share additional Y2K information.

3. The licensee has not begun its contingency planning activities, but will begin them soon and will utilize the NEI/NUSMG 98-07 contingency planning guidance.

The results of completed audits will be shared with the industry at a workshop planned for December of this year and will be provided on the agency external website. The audit findings will assist the staff in determining if additional action on the Y2K problem is needed.

Meetina with Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Licensees on On-Line Bonitorina of Instrumentation Performance Tooical Reoort On September 22, 1998, staff from the Instrumentation and Controls Branch (HICB) and the Technical Specification Branch met with representatives from ,

EPRI and two licensees in the NRC offices in Rockville, MD on the issue described in EPRI Topical Report EPRI TR-104965, " Calibration Through On-Line September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A

Performance Monitoring of Instrument Channels." The HICB staff has worked with EPRI and-the industry for several years on development of EPRI TR-104965 and the issues involved in acceptance of on-line monitoring of instrument performance. In EPRI TR-104965. EPRI proposes a significant departure f:om

. the current technical specification requirement to perform safety-related instrument channel calibrations during every refueling outage in order to ensure that the instruments are operating within required tolerances. Rather.

EPRI specifies the requirements for a system to continuously monitor instrument performance on-line, and thereby identify degrading instrument performance and the need to calibrate based on actual performance. EPRI TR-104965 proposes that calibrations be performed as needed based on instrument performance or on one channel on a staggered basis per refueling outage.

South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. has had an on-line monitoring system in operation at the Virgil C. Summer plant for a number of years and has been able to successfully collect data on instrument performance using the system.

The staff indicated that it would try to complete its review of EPRI TR-104965 i within six months as requested by EPRI and the licensees. i San Onofre Unit 2 i Southern California Edison (SCE) the licensee for San Onofre Unit 2 I (SONGS-2), detected steam generator (SG) leakage on Friday. September 18. i 1998. The licensee made the decision to shut down the plant at almost 200 gpd. This leak rate did not exceed the Technical Specifications leak rate  :

limit.  !

The licensee determined the leakage was through a plug on the cold leg side of ,

SG ~88." The plug was a Westinghouse ribbed (mechanical) plug made of alloy 690. The licensee determined the water was leaking from between the tube and  !

plug. This indicated that the leakage was due to an inadequate seal between the tube and plug, and was not due to degradation of the plug.

SCE reviewed the installation history of this plug. installation history of i all other alloy 690 plugs installed at SONGS-2 and SONGS-3, and previous  ;

SONGS-2 experience with leaking alloy 690 plugs. The licensee noted the  !

following: during installation, a wedge is drawn through the plug to expand I the plug and form a mechanical seal between the tube and plug. The licensee noted that plugs in which the wedge had traveled a distance outside the normal range, although_still acceptable per the plug design, tended to leak once the original tube degradation reached 100% throughwall. Therefore, the distance the wedge travels during the installation process is indicative of the quality of the seal between the tube and plug. The only other alloy 690 plugs in SONGS-2 in which the wedge traveled a distance outside the normal range were previously repaired. No tubes in SONGS-3 contained alloy 690 plugs in which the wedge traveled a distance outside the normal range.

Therefore. SCE has no further SG inspections planned. The tube with the leaking alloy 690 plug has a welded plug repair installed. The licensee plans September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A 1

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to start up within less than a week. NRR/DE staff plan to pursue this issue with Westinghouse to consider potential generic implications.

Issues Associated With Graded Quality Assurance (0A) Imolementation at South Texas Proiect (STP)

STP met with the staff to discuss difficulties STP is having fully realizing all the benefits it anticipated in its OA program. In November 1997, the staff approved STP's 50.54(a) change request allowing STP to apply ,

programmatic OA controls in a graded manner commensurate with the safety significance of individual systems, structures and components (SSCs). During implementation of graded QA. STP realized that changing only 0A programmatic controls without changing technical requirements, such as American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). E0 Class 1E. and seismic qualification, only provides about 10% of the expected benefit. It was concluded that design changes or amendment requests are needed under the current regulatory structure to change these technical requirements. It was noted that individual requests for each of the literally thousand of SSCs would result in significant licensee and staff resources being devoted to these low-safety significant items, in direct conflict with risk-informed regulation's purpose.

The staff and the licensee agreed to work together to more fully explore different options and try to develop a process which would reduce the resources needed to allow these types of design changes on low safety significant SSCs.

Fire Protection Functional Insoection Workshop The staff is making arrangements for the Fire Protection Functional Inspection Workshop described in SECY-96-267 and SECY-98-187. The workshop is tentatively scheduled for November 3. 1998, and will be held in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Site Visit to Turkey Point to Walkdown an Aooendix R Exemotion Reauest On September 14, 1998, staff of the Fire Protection Engineering Section. Plant Systems Branch. Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, met with Florida Power and Light (the licensee) at Turkey Point Plant to discuss with the licensee its requests for exemptions from Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 for certain outdoor fire zones and the turbine structure. The licensee discussed the progress to date of its Thermo-Lag Upgrade Project. and the details of the  ;

exemption requests.

Following the discussions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff and the licensee's representatives walked down the turbine building zones that are the subject of the exemption request. During the walk down, the staff assessed postulated turbine lube oil fires with emphasis on the condensate pits and the routing of protected safe shutdown circuits. Tne staff also .

observed the work completed and discussed the detailed bases for the exemption l September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A

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requests and the scope of the Thermo-Lag Upgrade Project for the turbine I structure. The staff also discussed with the licensee outstanding questions regarding fire zones 106R.118. and 131 and walked down fire zones 106R and 118 to review the roof construction and the layout of post Fire safe shutdown  !

circuits. As a result of the meeting the licensee will revise some aspects of

.its exemption submittal and will submit by mid-October 1998, additional information needed by the staff to complete its review. The staff will issue '

a full meeting summary.  ;

Meetina with BWROG and NET Recardina Post-Fire Circuit Analysis '

i On September 17.- 1998. staff and technical assistance contractors of the Plant  !

Systems Branch. Electrical Engineering Brancn. and Probabilistic Safety i Assessment Branch (SPSB) of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR),  ;

and the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Branch of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory ,

Research (RES) met with representatives of the Boiling Water Reactor Owners l Group (BWROG) Appendix R Committee and the newly-formed Nuclear Energy i Institute (NEI) Circuit Analysis Issue Task Force. The purpose of the meeting

• i was to discuss the efforts of these. industry groups to develop Probabilistic i Safety Assessment (PSA) related circuit analysis tools and information (NEI .

t Task Force) and a non-PSA related circuit analysis issues guidance document l i (BWROG) to address issues associated with post-fire safe shutdown circuit  ;

analysis. NEI stated it is coordinating the two efforts and, in the near-

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term, would submit a letter that describes its technical efforts and its  ;

>- . coordination role. In the longer-term. NEI plans to submit its technical proposals for staff review at the start of calendar year 1999, and the BWROG l plans to submit a topical report for staff review during the spring of 1999.

i The staff _ indicated that it would reflect these industry initiatives in its

! circuit analysis resolution plan (CARP). and that it would consider these industry efforts in its plans for addressing the circuit analysis issue. The staff. and the industry representatives agreed to hold a two day meeting in November to discuss NEI and BWROG progress to date. It was also agreed that another meeting with the BWROG in January 1999, would probably be needed to complete discussions. The staff will issue a meeting summary.

Meetina with Salem to Discuss Raceway Fire Barrier Wrao Proiect On September 23, 1998, the staff of NRR and Region I met with representatives of Public Service Electric & Gas Company (the licensee) to discuss the raceway fire barrier wrap project at Salem Units 1 and 2. Representatives of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Nuclear Information and Resources Service, the State of New Jersey, and a reporter attended the meeting. The licensee described its three-phase project approach (analysis, design, and implementation), and provided the status and progress to date of its post-fire safe shutdown reanalysis, discussed its evaluation of the raceway fire barrier materials currently installed at Salem and discussed its resolution strategies. The licensee confirmed that its approach and schedule had not changed from the commitments it made during the summer of 1997, prior to plant September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A

i restart. The staff and the licensee agreed to hold another meeting after it  !

completes the safe shutdown. reanalysis (March 1999, time frame).

i Seabrqgk j

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On September 17. 1998, the Commission issued an Order directing the Board to i halt all Seabrook proceedings pending further Commission order. The  !

Commission is taking sua sponte review of the segmentation issue raised by the .

- Seacoast Anti-Pollution League (SAPL) and of the Board's intervention rulings. l SAPL is opposing a license amendment request submitted by North Atlantic ^

Energy Service Corporation that would change the surveillance requirements for i Seabrook's steam generator tube inspections from 18 to 24 months. i Millstone Unit 3 I On August 25, 1998. the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ruled that i the Citizens Regulatory Commission (CRC) had standing in the CRC's request to intervene in a Millstone Unit 3 license amendment. The proposed license amendment would revise the Millstone-Unit 3 licensing basis by eliminating the i a - requirement to have the recirculation spray system (RSS) directly inject into i the reactor coolant system following a design basis accident, with the  :

exception of loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenarios involving a long term  ;

. passive failure. A prehearing conference (conference call) was held on September 3. 1998, to discuss the contentions. The ASLB stated that they i would make the final decision concerning the contentions by.the end.of September. ,

On September 2. 1998, the ASLB ruled that the CRC did not have standing in its I petition to intervene in a license amendment dated April 1. 1998. The ,

proposed amendment would revise the Millstone Unit 3 licensing basis by adding a new sump pump subsystem in the engineered. safety feature (ESF) building to i address groundwater inleakage through the containment basemat. On  ;

September 11. 1998, the CRC filed a notice of appeal. In its appeal, the CRC stated th6t the license amendment proposed a band-aid approach to a serious 4 safety issue and the CRC is rightly concerned and possesses a legal right to participate. The licensee and NRC have until September 28. 1998, to respond to the appeal.  :

i Performance Assessment Process Imorovements (IRAP. Industry ProDosal. and Pls) f The staff finalized preparations for the September 28 - October 1. 1998.

Performance Assessment Workshop. The joint NRC/NEI workshop is open to all  ;

members of the public. The workshop agenda is structured to provide  !

discussion and agreement on the philosophical approach to regulatory oversight (cornerstone framework) and defining the principles that should govern oversight process development. In addition, the workshop will provide i detailed development of selected' cornerstones.  :

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September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A

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1 Several meetings were conducted during the week of September 21. 1998, to keep the staff and management informed of the progress made in the assessment i improvement effort. The Inspection Program Branch (PIPB) briefed the Executive Director for Operations on September 24, 1998. In addition, on September 25. 1998. PIPB briefed the Commissioners' technical assistants and the regional staff on the upcoming workshop.

Risk Informed Baseline Core Insoection Program PIPB developed a staffing plan for engaging internal stakeholders in the rebaselining effort. PIPB briefed the Executive Director for Operations and the Commission Technical Assistants on the plans to rebaseline the core inspection program and the interrelationship with the assessment process and enforcement program. Inspection team members met with the Office of Research (RES) and their contractors to discuss how to keep the RES input integrated with the rebaseline effort.

Reactor Proaram System (RPS)

The first five modules of RPS were deployed in the Regions on the client / server platform in March 1998. The Item Reporting (IR) and Analysis Modules (AM) will be deployed on September 28, 1998. The IRAM modules include three main functions, item reporting, analysis capability and the closecut of inspection procedures. IRAM will replace the Inspection Follow-up System (IFS) and the current method of maintaining the Plant Issues Matrix (PIM).

IR is an input vehicle for collecting and storing inspection report item information and independent non-inspection related information (e.g.. LERs).

Users can generate reports on violations, open items, unresolved issues, etc.

Because RPS was designed with an integrated database, it can easily be used to generate the most recent PIM list for an individual plant as well as analyze data in relation to plant characteristics, peer groups, previous time periods, and other regions. IRAM training has been completed in Regions I. II and IV.

Region III staff will be trained during the week of October 5.

AM provides both standard reports and graphs, and ad hoc query and report generation capability. The NRR staff is currently working with the regions to identify and develop additional standard reports to support regional and headquarters requirements as well as reports that will support the Operating Plan process.

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The requirement and analysis phase of the Licensing and Other Planning (LOP) module. the headquarters part of RPS, which will replace WISP and SIMS, has been completed. Development of this module has started, with deployment planned for late 1999.

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE A r

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest Week Ending September 25, 1998 d

International Conference on'the Safety of Radiation Sources and the Security of Radioactive Materials During September 12-18. 1998, staff of the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety (IMNS) participated in the International Conference on the 1

Safety of Radiation Sources and the Security of Radioactive Materials held in Dijon. France. The international conference was attended by approximately 350 individuals involved with the safety and security of radiation sources. The meeting was sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. INTERPOL, and the World Customs Organization. IMNS staff led the technical session on assessment of the effectiveness of national programs for the safety of sources, including development of performe+0e indicators.

Recuested Delay for Fort St. Vrain License Transfer By letter dated September 14, 1998, the Department of Energy. Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID), informed staff that it would not be able to declare readiness to accept transfer of the Fort St. Vrain Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation license prior to the staff's planned inspection, scheduled for the week of September 21, 1998. DOE-ID indicated that it needed additional time to address the findings of its recent internal readiness review. DOE-ID proposed that the staff's inspection be rescheduled for the week of November 16. 1998. The staff is in the process of rescheduling the readiness inspection; however, the staff plans to observe and inspect DOE-ID's Fort St.

Vrain Emergency Exercise on Leptember 23, 1998. In addition, staff is working to complete its safety evaluation, except any inspection related items, by mid- October 1998. However based on the delay in staff's closecut  !

inspection, the expected license transfer date will be slipped to mid-December 1998. .

l Meetina with Transnuclear on the TN-32 Dry Cask Storaae Desian On September 17. 1998, management and staff of the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFP0) met with Transnuclear (TN) to discuss the on-going review of the TN-32 dry storage cask application for general license utilization. SFP0 conveyed to TN its expectations. approach to licensing reviews, and schedule. TN also presented its approach to addressing several of the staff's issues noted in our request for additional information on the TN-32 cask design. Utility representatives from Virginia Power. Duke Energy Corporation, and Wisconsin Electric Power Company were present at the meeting.

September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE B l

Multi-Aaency Radiation Laboratory Protocols Workaroup Meetina On September 14-17. 1998, staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Division of Regulatory Applications, hosted the 15th Multi-Agency Radiation Laboratory Protocols (MARLAP) workgroup meeting. Twenty participants attended the meeting representing .several federal agencies which included the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Environmental Protection Agency. Department of Energy. Department of Defense.

National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The MARLAP workgroup revised several MARLAP chapters, discussed numerous technical issues pertaining to radiological laboratory analysis, and discussed integration of the MARLAP manual. The analytical issues discussed

, included: sample receipt, inspection, and tracking: particulate subsampling ano subsample representation: sample preparation for alpha beta , and gamma-counting; the radioanalytical planning process: selection of analytical method  ;

us'ng a performance-based approach; and quality assurance / quality control protocols. The MARLAP manual will include 20 chapters; several chapters were 1 completed for inclusion in the manual, others required additional revisions. '

and a few chapters will need major revision or be rewritten. The MARLAP 1 workgroup intends to meet more frequently (e.g., every 6 weeks) to expedite completion of chapters and integration of the overall manual. The workgroup intends to issue a preliminary draft MARLAP manual for agency review by April 1999.

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. Atlas Site Visit and Public Meetina On September 16. 1998, staff from the Division of Waste Management accompanied l contractors from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses and the l University of Montana on a site visit to the Atlas Corporation uranium mill )

tailings site near Moab. Utah. The contractors are beginning an effort to l model past and future drainage from the Atlas pile and the resultant ground- i water contamination. The visit allowed the contractors to become familiar '

with the site and its environs. Although the site visit was advertised in the local newspaper as open to the public, no member of the public attended. In the afternoon, staff and contractors visited several locations along the Colorado River where a local resident had stated that bank erosion was occurring. The locations were accessed from boats provided by the U.S.

National Park Service. Three members of the public, including the individual who had identified the erosion, participated.

In the evening, a public meeting was held at the local high school. In addition to representatives from the State of Utah and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about two dozen members of the public attended. Following a brief presentation of the status of the Atlas review, the staff answered questions from the audience for about two hours.

f September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE B

Public Meetinas on Reaulatorv Oversiaht of the White Mesa Uranium Mill On September 17. 1998, staff from the Division of Waste Management, held two public meetings in southeastern Utah to discuss the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) regulatory oversight of International Uranium Corporation's (IUC's) White Mesa Uranium Mill, which is located near Blanding.

Utah. In the first meeting which was held in Bluff. Utah, the staff met with approximately 65 interested members of the public, which included representatives from and members of the Navajo Nation, a San Juan County (Utah) Commissioner, and members of the media. The second meeting was held in Blanding. Utah, and was attended by approximately 70 individuals. including a member of U.S. House of Representative Chris Cannon's (R-Utah) staff, members

'of the nearby.Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the media. In addition to addressing NRC's regulatory oversight of the White Mesa mill, the staff discussed its prtcedures for evaluating applications from uranium mill licensees to process materials other than natural uranium ores. The staff's approval of such applications from IUC has raised local public interest the most recent being the June 23, 1998, authorization of IUC to receive and process uranium-bearing materials from the formerly utilized sites remedial action project site near Tonawanda. New York.

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Idaho State University. Pocatello. Idaho On September 16. 1998. Special Nuclear Material (SNM) License. SNM-1373. for the Idaho State University (ISU). Pocatello Idaho, was renewed for a 10-year term. This action followed publication of a " Notice of Consideration of License Renewal Request for the Idaho State University and Opportunity for Hearing".in the Federal Reaister. The license authorizes ISU to use uranium-235 in the. form of fuel plates and fails for the study of a '

subtritical assembly. The work is conducted for education and research to  !

strengthen the existing undergraduate and graduat.e programs in the areas of 't nuclear science and engineering. ,

Trilateral Initiative on Released Weaoons Proaram Material l

On September 17-18. 1998, a representative of the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards participated in the U.S.-Russia-International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Trilateral Initiative Working Group Meeting held in Vienna, Austria. The Trilateral Initiative Working Group is responsible for )

preparing bilateral verification agreements which will specify how the IAEA ]

will verify that classified and unclassified plutonium and high-enriched j uranium released from the Russian and U.S. weapons programs is not returned to  ;

weapons use. The September Working Group Meeting addressed the 1998 Progress I Report and the 1999 Work Plan. The documents approved by the Working Group were presented to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Russian Minister of Atomic Energy. and IAEA Director General on September 22, 1998, for their approval I and signature. The current target is to achieve approval of the U.S. and 1 Russian bilateral agreements with the IAEA by September 1999.

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE B  !

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Workshoo Conducted in Kiev. Ukraine On September 14-16, 1998, a Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff member, accompanied by two contractor employees, conducted a workshop on Operational Experience with Older Radioactive Waste Storage and Disposal Facilities in Kiev, Ukraine. The workshop, which was supported by the U.S.

. Agency for International Development under the Lisbon Initiative, described experience in the U.S. at all operating and formerly operating commercial low-level waste facilities and, where appropriate, significant experience at the Department of Energy operated facilities. The impact of this experience on the licensing and regulatory approach in the U.S. was also discusser'.

Attendance totaled about thirty, including representatives from the Ukrainian Nuclear Regulatory Administration.

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September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Rcgulatory Research i Items of Interest l Week Ending September 25. 1998 NAS Panel Convenes "Workshoo on Conceotual Models of Flow and Transoort in the Fractured Vadose Zone" At the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on conceptual '

models of ground-water flow and contaminant transport, held on September 18. '

1998 in Washington. DC. Division of Regulatory Applications staff presented an invited talk on NRC staff's rationale and expectations for an upcoming NAS workshop being supported by NRC RES and DOE grants. The purpose of the  !

workshop is to study the process through which conceptual models, involving i radioactive and non-radioactive contaminant transport in the fractured vadose  !

zone, are developed, tested, refined, and reviewed. At the conclusior, of the  !

workshop, the NAS Panel will produce a consensus report of its findings and conclusions. Upon receipt of the NAS report. NRC staff will identify technical bases for use in licensing reviews of site characterization and  !

performance assessments. The NRC staff will also review the NAS report for  ;

information to assist RES in developing a methodology to evaluate and test  !

conceptual models of groundwater flow and transport. NMSS and CNWRA scientists were invited guests of RES, and participated in the open session  !

discussions. The NAS Panel, consisting of nine prominent scientists and  ;

engineers, began planning the scope, topics, and list of invited speakers for  ;

the.two-day workshop, tentatively set for March 18-19, 1999 in Irvine. '

California. The workshop attendees will consist of specialists from the  !

hydrogeologic, geochemical, soil science, and related fields who will present j and discuss the current state of knowledge, lessons learned from field i investigations and needs for future research. A series of individually  ;

authored papers that would be specifically prepared for the workshop will be '

appended to the NAS report. The report is intended to: provide information on contemporary philosophies, approaches, and techniques for conceptual model building: provide NRC and DOE information on the review of conceptual models: ,

bring together knowledge and experiences from related disciplines: and  !

identify future research needed to further the technical basis for developing  :

and evaluating conceptual models of flow and transport in the fractured vadose j zone.

Meetina with the Particioants in a Round Robin Exercise to Analyze a Prestressed Concrete Containment Model Beina Pressure Tested to Failure  ;

A Containment Model Testing Program is being supported by the Ministry of f Trade and Industry of Japan (MITI) and the NRC. MITI is responsible for the  ;

design and construction of the prestressed concrete model and NRC provides the '

analyses. The organizations performing the work are the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) for MITI and SNL for the NRC. A model of a prestressed concrete containment structure is currently under construction at SNL. It will be tested to failure by overpressure in FY 2000.

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE C l

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t 0n' September 15'- 18. the NRC project manager and SNL principal investigator

• met with the European participants as part of a round robin exercise supporting that test program. One objective was to provide an update on construction progress to participants. Another was to answer any questions on a' package of as-built model specifications sent to the participants in August i 1998.-The meetings were productive. The level of interest and activity observed suggests that the round robin will be successful.

The' participants included: from the United Kingdom (the Nuclear Installations-  !

Inspectorate (NII).-Glasgow University and NNC Limited): from France (Institute for Protection and Nuclear Safety-(IPSN). the Commissariat a '

l'Energie Atomique (CEA) and Electricitie de France (EDF): from Spain ,

(Principia): and from Germany (Gesselschaft fur Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS)).' l The round robin exercise is an integral part of the joint NRC/MITI Containment  !

Model Test Program. In the exercise, each participating. organization j provides at their own expense, pre- and post-test calculations. The analyses will determine the ability of state of the art analytical methods to predict  ;

the' actual failure modes and margins for prestressed concrete containments. j Methods of this type are used to predict containment capacities in risk ,

calculations and to estimate degradation effects for aging containment  :

structures. l i

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September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE C l

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Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data Items of Interest Week Ending September 25. 1998 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS

1. PNO-I-98-044. Horizon Hospital System. POTENTIAL RADIATION OVEREXPOSURE

2. PNO-II-98-040. Georgia Power Co. (Hatch 2). INJURED WORKERS ON SITE -

NEWS MEDIA INTEREST

3. PNO-II-98-941. Southern Aluminum Castings. CONTAMINATED MAGNESIUM SCRAP

4. PNO-II-98-042. Florida Power & Light Co. (Turkey Point 3 & 4).

PREPARATIONS FOR HURRICANE GEORGES

5. PNO-IV-98-038A Louisiana License (Global X-Ray). STOLEN INDUSTRIAL' '

RADIOGRAPHY EXPOSURE DEVICE

6. PNO-IV-98-040. Entergy Operations. Inc. (Waterford 3) SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS

7. PNO-IV-98-041. Southern California Edison & San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

(San Onofre 2) PLAT SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS DUE TO STEAM  ;

GENERATOR TUBE LEAKAGE

8. PNO-IV-98-042. Quad Cities Construction Co. DAMAGED MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE AT A CONSTRUCTION SITE (STATE OF WASHINGTON LICENSEE)

9. PNO-IV-98-043. Siemens Nuclear Power Corporation. DISCOVERY OF APPR0XIMATELY 9.2 KG OF SOLID. LOW ENRICHED URANIUM IN DISASSEMBLED DUCTWORK (NRC BULLETIN 91-01 REPORT) 8 t

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Admi1istration Items of Interest Week Ending September 25, 1998

-Garaae Reoair Proiect Beginning September 21, 1998, the entrance to the 0WFN garage was closed for two weeks to complete the concrete repairs in the entrance drive aisle. All vehicles are now using the TWFN garage exit as both the entrance to and exit from the garage. Additional _ security guards have been assigned to help direct traffic flow into and within the garage. The OWFN entrance will reopen on October 5, 1998.

Emoloyee Buildina Satisfaction Survey - Uodate More'than 35% of the survey forms distributed to NRC Headquarters employees have been completed and returned. Through a contract with GSA, the Gallup Organization is now evaluating the results of the survey and will provide NRC a report by October 30, 1998. Summary results will be provided to NRC employees by mid-November 1998.

Transfer for Disoosal and Manifests: Minor Technical Conformino Amendment A final rule that amends the regulations concerning low-level waste shipment manifest information was published in the Federal Register on September 21, 1998 (63 FR 50127). The final rule makes a number of technical conforming

' amendments that are needed because the codified regulations reflected a dual implementation procedure established in the March 27, 1995, final rule that established new manifest procedure. This-document reflects the fact that the period for the dual procedure has expired an the new requirements are mandatory. The final rule becomes effective November 20. 1998.

Financial Assurance Reauirements for Decommissionino Nuclear Power Reactors (Parts 30 and 50)

A final rule that amends the regulations governing financial assurance requirements for the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors was published in.the Federal Register on September 22, 1998 ( 63 FR 50465). The final rule responds to the potential rate. deregulation in the power generating industry and NRC concerns regarding whether current decommissioning funding assurance requirements need to be modified. The final rule requires power reactor licensees to submit periodic repcrts concerning the status of their decommissioning. funds and on ch%1ges in their external trust agreements and other financial assurance mechanisms. The final rule becomes effective November 23. 1998.

September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE F

Financial Protection Recuirements for Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors (Parts 50 and 1401 A document that solicits additional comments on a proposed rule that would allow licensees of permanently shutdown nuclear power reactors to reduce onsite and offsite insurance coverage was published in the Federal Register on September 23, 1998 (63 FR 50815). The action is taken in response to a late comment letter from the Nuclear Energy Institute that argued for a lower required level of onsite insurance coverage. The comment period on this action closes September'23, 1998.

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Chief Information Officer Items of Interest Week Ending September 25. 1998

. Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Reauests received durina the 5-Day Period of Seotember 18. 1998 - Seotember 24. 1998:

i IMPAC list. (F01A/PA-98-349)

Point Beach, allegations / investigation of named individual regarding 5/13/98 incident. (F01A/PA-98-350)

Environmental Qualification of Equipment. Main Steam Line Break Effect on (IE

, Information Notice 84-90). (F01A/PA-98-351)

Browns Ferry. TVA, internal correspondence re Inspection Rpt 50-259/97-0401.

(F01A/PA-98-352)

White Mesa mill, environmental impact statement and/or assessments.

(F01A/PA-98-353) i Isotopes Specialties Co. 703 South Main St. Burbank. CA. (F01A/PA-98-354)

Named individuals, radiation exposure records. (F01A/PA-98-355)

Contracts, active listing for identified SIC codes. (F01A/PA-98-356)

Pathfinder Atomic Plant, final survey report, available June 1993.

(F01A/PA-98-357) l I

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE G I

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i Office of Human Resources  !

Items of Interest'  !

l Week Ending September 25. 1998  ;

I Arrivals ,

BIANCHI, Josephine

• Secretary HR Retirements l l

t AUSTIN. John Chief. PAHL NMSS j TOMS. Dean Information Security Specialist ADM l

• Transferring from Region IV

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4 1 Office of Small Business & Civil Rights Items of Interest Week Ending September 25, 1998 Minority Enterorise Develooment Week On September 21, 1998. Von Deloatch. Small Business Program Manager. Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, participated in the 16" Annual National Minority Enterprise Development Week (MEDWEEK). The theme for this year's event was. " Creating A Competitive Advantage In A Changing Business Environment." Approximately 2.500 minority business owners from across the country attended and participated in the seminars and workshops. A Procurement Partnership Pavilion was added to this year's activities, with a focus on procurement and purchasing in Federal agencies. The Honorable William M. Dailey Secretary of Commerce, one of the keynote speakers at the i event, provided his support for " minority-owned businesses to have an equal opportunity to compete in the global marketplace."

National Historically Black Colleaes and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference Mr. Deloatch also attended the National HBCU Week Conference on September 22.

1998, held in Washington, DC. Presidents of HBCU's. Deans of Research

Programs, and other faculty members were in. attendance. Two panel topics that l generated a great deal of discussion were: " Preparing Young People for the 215' Century Workforce" and " Current and Future Trends in Federal Research Activities. The event was highlighted by presentations from four Cabinet Secretaries: Secretary of Education. Richard Riley: Secretary of Labor.

Alexis Herman: Secretary of Transportation. Rodney Slater: and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Andrew M. Cuomo.

September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE J

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Office-of Public Affairs  !

Items of Interest  :

Week Ending September. 25, 1998

.. ' Media Interest ,

i Jennifer Barsky, a new reporter at the Energy Daily, interviewed Tom Boyce, i Alan Madison, Dave.Gamberoni, Michael Johnson. NRR, and Mike Tschiltz.- OEDO,  ;

about the SALP program.

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There was media interest in New England about the Commission's decision to  ;

halt proceedings in the Seabrook license amendment case. The press also i reported on the Nine Mile Point meeting discussing delay of the next core  ;

shroud inspection.

l There was press coverage of the Y2K audits at some reactors. f 1

Press Releases i

Headquarters:

l 98-172 NRC Auditing Nuclear Power Plant Year 2000 Readiness l Programs  !98-173' Commission Orders Halt to Proceedings in Seabrook I License Amendment Case 1 98-174 Commission Grants Group More Time to File Contentions in Calvert Cliffs License Renewal Case- l 98-175 NRC Recommends Extension.-Modification of Price-  :

Anderson Act to Continue Public Liability Coverage Regions:

I-98-109 Barry Letts Received NRC Meritorious Service Award for Investigating Excellence 11-98-56 NRC Names New Senior Resident Inspector at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant IV-98-36 NRC California Field Office to Close September 30 1

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Office of the Secretary ,

Items of Interest '

Week Ending September 25, 1998 Documents Released Date Subject to Public Decision Documents

1. SECY-98-160 7/2/98 NRC'S 1998 Report to Congress on the Price-Anderson Act SRM on 98-160 9/14/98 (same)

Commission Voting 9/14/98 (same)

Record on 98-160 Negative Consent Documents

1. SECY-98-206 9/1/98 National Academy of Sciences / National Research Council Grant to Fund the Biological Effects of Ionization Radiation Study Number VII (BEIR VII)

SRM on 98-206 9/24/98 (same)

Hemoranda

1. M980826B 9/22/98 Staff Requirements - Briefing on Status of Activities with Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis l and HLW Program. Wednesday August

26. 1998 Commission Corresoondence 4

1. Letter to President of the U.S. Senate Albert Gore Speaker of the U.S.

House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, and Robert Murphy. GA0. dated September 18, 1998 provides final amendments to the Commission's rules in 10 CFR Parts 30 and 50 " Financial Assurance Requirements for Decommissioning Nuclear Power Reactors."

2. Letter to W.R. McCollum. Jr. . Oconee Nuclear Site, dated September 17, 1998 concerns a request for an exemption from a duplicative license fee (Incoming dated July 9. 1998 also released).

3. Letter to Senator Richard Bryan dated September 17 1998 concerns the safety of high-level radioactive waste disposal at Yucca Mountain (Incoming dated July 21, 1998 also released).

September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE O

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l' 4. -Letter to President of the U.S. Senate Albert Gore and Speaker of the  !

U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich dated September 17. 1998  !

.provides the.NRC's Report to-Congress on.the Price-Anderson Act. l

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5. Letter to Lars H6gberg. Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, dated l

. September 17 1998 confirms.that Carlton Stoiber. OIP. will be attending '

the Organizational Meeting of Contracting parties to the. Convention on l Nuclear Safety (Incoming dated September 11, 1998 also released).  !

6. Letter to Senator Pete Domenici. et al., dated. September. 16. 1998 concerns the House and Senate versions of the NRC's appropriation bill l; (H.R. 4060).

Federal Reaister Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards:-Procedures for Meetings.

2. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste: Procedures for Meetings. }

~3. 10 CFR Part 50! Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear )

Power Plants: Proposed Rule.  :

-Historical Research  !

Sam Walker. NRC Historian, spent the week of September-21 conducting research l in the papers of Morris K. Udall which have recently opened at the library of  !'

the University of Arizona in Tucson. He copied several hundred pages of

. material. mostly on the period between the fall of 1971 and the end of 1979.

The Udall p. apers are a very large and rich collection that supplied much  !

information that is not available elsewhere on congressional perspectives on i Three. Mile Island, safeguards, and NRC activities in general.

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4 Region I Items of Interest Week Ending September 25, 1998 Ninc Mile Point Units 1 and 2 Two public meetings (reference NRR Meeting Notices 1998-0934 and 0935) with Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NMPC) were held at the State eUr versity of New York - Oswego campus, on September 24, 1998, to discuss NMPC's request for an extension to its Unit 1 core shroud vertical weld inspection interval from 10.600 hours0.00694 days <br />0.167 hours <br />9.920635e-4 weeks <br />2.283e-4 months <br /> to 14.500 hours0.00579 days <br />0.139 hours <br />8.267196e-4 weeks <br />1.9025e-4 months <br /> of hot operations. The first meeting was between '

the NMPC and NRC staffs. The second meeting was between the NRC and public to receive comments and questions on NMPC's request. The meetings were prompted by public interest and concern over the as-found condition of core shroud welds at both NMPC units.

Beaver Vallev Unit 2 Beaver Valley Unit 2 is preparing to start up after a 9-month maintenance outage. Unit 2 shut down on December 16. 1997, due to inability to meet single failure criteria for the control room emergency ventilation system.

The unit remained shut down to address problems with technical specification surveillance compliance, high head safety injection gas binding and containment isolation check valve binding.

Unit 2 entered Mode 3 on September 24. The licensee's current schedule  ;

indicates reactor criticality on September 25, with synchronization on '

September 26.

IMPEP Review on the Maine Radioloaical Health Proaram (RHP)

During the week of September 14.-1998, an Integrated Material Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) review was conducted on the Maine Radiological Health Program (RHP). The three-member review team consisted of the Regional State Agreements Officers from Regions I and III and the Radioactive Materials  :

Supervisor from the State of Mississippi. Preliminary findings were presented to Maine Department of Health management on September 18 by the review team. ,

The team's preliminary findings for the six performance indicators included 1 four " satisfactory" and two ' satisfactory with recommendation" and an overall finding that the Maine RHP was adequate and compatible. The team's findings will be reviewed and assessed later this year by the Management Review Board.

Financial Assurance Trainina Staff from NMSS and contractor personnel presented training on financial assurance requirements for NMSS licensees at the Region I offices on October 23. 1998. In addition to RI personnel, representatives of Agreement September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE P l

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4 and non-Agreement States, including Maryland. Pennsylvania. New York and-

' Arkansas, attended.

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4 Region II ,

Items of Interest Week Ending September 25, 1998 Hurricane Georaes Florida Power and Licht Comoany - Turkey Point '

Florida Power and Light Company declared an unusual event on September 24 when a hurricane warning was issued for the area. Unit 3 had shutdown on September 21 for a refueling cutage. The licensee _ reduced power in Unit 4 to ,

50 percent in anticipation of potential debris or grass intrusion into the  ;

intake canal, Hurricane Georges passed over Key West on September 28. Turkey i Point experienced approximately 40 mph winds and periods of heavy rain.

Region 11 staffed its Incident Response Center and dispatched personnel to the site, the Florida Power and Light Emergency Operations facility and the State Emergency Operations Center.

Material Licensees in Puerto Rico Widespread power, water and telephone outages remain in Puerto Rico from -

Hurricane Georges. No reports of problems from NRC licensees in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands-have been received. RII communicated with the two irradiators in Puerto Rico-(Baxter and Isomedix): no damage occurred to either and both have restarted.  !

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September 25, 1998 ENCLOSURE P t

Office of Congressional Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending September 25. 1998 CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE. NO. 30 3

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@$MW@"MCOPMITTEE!

MFi pOMMMant:J'" al e kWiiMd d IPi_ACEis:J iL;# ' Mi 6:W% i 'ii T ~MJ T5% 2%: RC DU i ~t7dl'f M ' [ d Portner 10/01/98 11:00 Greta Dicus. Jeff' Confirmation Hearing to be Senators Chafee/Baucus 406 DSOB Merrifield NRC Commissioners Environment and Public Works TENTATIVE 9:30 Senators Bennett/Dodd Gerke 10/02/98 TBA Y2K and General Government 192 DS0B Emergency Preparedness Special Y2K Computer Problem Gerke 10/02/98 10:00 TBA Energy Security: What Will Reps. Schaefer/ Hall 2322 RHOB the New Millennium Bring? Energy and Power

ommerce September 25. 1998 ENCLOSURE R

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