ML18179A090
| ML18179A090 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/17/2018 |
| From: | Dapas M Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Baker B NRC/OIG |
| Pham T | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18029A097 | List: |
| References | |
| OEDO-16-00856, OIG-03-A-15 | |
| Download: ML18179A090 (3) | |
Text
AUDIT OF THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION'S REGULATORY OVERSIGHT OF SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL OIG-03-A-15 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 1:
Conduct periodic inspections to verify that material licensees comply with Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) requirements, including, but not limited to, visual inspections of licensees' special nuclear material inventories and validation of report information.
Remaining condition:
Document the basis for risk-informing the MC&A program (and apply it to the program) with respect to conducting periodic inspections.
July 2018 Status:
In its February 7, 2006 memorandum, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) stated that two of the three conditions identified by the OIG that need to be met to close this recommendation have been satisfied. The remaining condition is completion of the documentation of the basis for risk informing the MC&A program (and apply it to the program) with respect to conducting periodic inspections. In response to the staffs status report dated December 29, 2017, the OIG requested an updated status of this recommendation.
In SECY-05-0143, Proposed Changes to the Material Control and Accounting Program, the staff recommended that the Commission approve the staffs proposed enhancements to the MC&A regulations, inspection program, and licensing process. This was further delineated in the MC&A rulemaking plan (SECY-08-0059, Rulemaking Plan: Part 74 - Material Control and Accounting of Special Nuclear Material) dated April 25, 2008. The staff requirements memorandum for SECY-08-0059 was issued on February 5, 2009, and the Commission approved the staffs rulemaking Option 4, directing the staff to only revise and consolidate current MC&A regulations into Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 74. In accordance with Commission direction, the staff consolidated and clarified the regulations, and a proposed rule [NRC-2009-0096], titled Amendments to Material Control and Accounting Regulations, and associated guidance documents [NRC-2013-0195] were completed and published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2013. Completion of this rulemaking has been delayed to January 2019.
In April 2018, the staff requested an extension to the schedule for the final rule package based upon the need to address the complexity and interdependency of different rulemaking areas identified in the draft final MC&A rule. Of note, the new schedule continues to include time for a formal review by the Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR) and for a public meeting to discuss the implementation period for the draft final rule.
In accordance with Commission direction with respect to the rulemaking, the staff completed other activities that risk inform the MC&A program, including revising NRC Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 2683 and associated exhibits detailing MC&A inspection procedures for all fuel cycle facilities. The revision of IMC 2683 is documented in Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) under Accession Number ML14098A105. The IMC establishes the inspection program requirements for MC&A systems at fuel cycle facilities, incorporating graded performance standards that are based on the dominant relative Enclosure
safeguards risks associated with the form, quantity, and enrichment of special nuclear material.
Applicable inspection procedures are routinely used by the staff in NRC headquarters and regional offices for conducting MC&A inspections of licensed facilities. In addition, NRC staff are revising the following relevant guidance documents to be consistent with the revised rule and to incorporate the graded approach to MC&A programs:
- NUREG-1280, Revision 2, Acceptable Standard Format and Content for the Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) Plan Required for Strategic Special Nuclear Material;
- NUREG-2159, Acceptable Standard Format and Content for the Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) Plan Required for Special Nuclear Material of Moderate Strategic Significance;
- NUREG-1065, Revision 3, Acceptable Standard Format and Content for the Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) Plan Required for Special Nuclear Material of Low Strategic Significance;
- NUREG-2158, (formerly NUREG/CR-5734), Acceptable Standard Format and Content for the Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) Plan Required for Low Enriched Uranium Enrichment Facilities;
- NUREG/BR-0096, Revision 2, Instructions and Guidance for Completing Physical Inventory Summary Reports; and
- DG- 5057, Special Nuclear Material Control and Accounting System for Non-Fuel Cycle Facilities.
The revised guidance documents will be completed at the time the rulemaking package is provided to the Commission.
Target Completion Date:
As noted above, the staff has requested a schedule extension and expects to deliver the final rulemaking package to the Commission in January 2019. Thereafter, if approved, the final rule will be published in the Federal Register. The staff recommends that Recommendation 1 be closed following Commission action on the rulemaking.
Recommendation 3:
Document the basis for the approach used to risk inform the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's oversight of MC&A activities for all types of materials licensees.
July 2018 Status:
Since Recommendation 3 also pertains to risk-informing the inspection program, see the discussion above regarding the status of staff activities to address Recommendation 1.
Target Completion Date:
As noted above, the staff has requested an extension to deliver the final rulemaking package to the Commission in January 2019. Thereafter, with the Commissions approval, the final rule will be published in the Federal Register. The staff recommends that Recommendation 3 be closed following Commission action on the rulemaking.
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