ML20247H080
| ML20247H080 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/08/1998 |
| From: | Blaha J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| SECY-98-103, SECY-98-103-R, WIR-980501, NUDOCS 9805210059 | |
| Download: ML20247H080 (27) | |
Text
_ _ _
ON E
CASHINGTON, D. C. 20665 o
g INFORMATION REP 0RI..d$a......
May 8 1998 SECY 98-103 Enc:
The Commissioners Erom:
James L. Blaha Assistant for Operations. Office of the EDO
Subject:
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MAY 1. 1998 Contents Fnclosure Nuclear Reactor Regulation A
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B
Nuclear Regulatory Research C
Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data D*
General Counsel E*
Administration F
Chief Information Officer G
I Chief Financial Officer H*
Human Resources I
Small Business & Civil Rights J*
Enforcement K*
State Programs L*
Public Affairs M
International Programs N
i Office of the Secretary 0
Region I P
Region II P
G]/
3 Region III P
l Region IV P
Executive Director for Operations 0*
Ob/k Congressional Affairs R
- No input this week.
ffi/d ames L. Blaha Assistant for Operations. OEDO l
Contact:
Linda Smith. OEDO
?()DC 00 off1-G'/A l
9805210059 980501 l
PDR COMMS NRCC WEEKLYINFOREPT PDR
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Meetina with the Babcock and Wilcox Owners Grouo on Baffle Bolt Crackina Staff from DE. DSSA NRR Projects and RES met with the Babcock and Wilcox Owners Group (BWOG) on April 23. 1998. for a presentation on the status of the BWOG Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) Program with regard to the issue of baffle former bolt cracking and to discuss plans for continued NRC interaction on the subject.
The BWOG baffle bolt RVI Program is a six-year effort consisting of four major tasks:
- 1) irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) issues: 2) stress corrosion cracking (SCC) issues; 3) stress relaxation (SR) issues; and 4) irradiation embrittlement (IE) issues.
BWOG considered IASCC and SCC as current issues and SR and IE as license renewal issues.
The RVI program was presented by Framatome Technologies Inc.
BWOG previously met with the staff in August 1997 to provide a preliminary i
assessment of the impact of potential baffle bolt cracking on BWOG plants.
In I
that meeting, BWOG reported that baffle bolt cracking was not considered a safety issue for BWOG plants, based on the unique B&W baffle and bolt design features, and the results of a preliminary analysis performed under maximum normal and accident loading conditions.
In the presentation of the RVI program tasks. BWOG described plans to complete a detailed baffle former bolt safety assessment in the year 2000 and to l
prepare for a potential inspection in the year 2004.
l The staff raised the issue of the need for a documented justification for not requiring baffle bolt inspections in operat69 BWOG U.S. PWR plants prior to the planned completion of the safety assessment in the year 2000. The staff noted that an NRC letter to the Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG). dated April 9.1998. requested a similar assessment of the safety significance of the baffle bolt issue for operating U.S. WOG PWRs.
BWOG agreed to provide the l
requested justification.
Public Meetina with Winston and Strawn Reoresentina the Maintenance Rule Insoection Clearinghouse to Discuss Current Maintenance Rule Issues A public meeting was held at Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Headquarters on April 23, 1998.
Members from the NRC staff. Winston and Strawn. Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). industry representatives. licensee representatives, and members of the public attended this meeting. The meeting was held at the request of Winston and Strawn representing the industry Maintenance Rule Inspection Clearinghouse (MRIC) to discuss maintenance rule (MR) issues and the industry's general observations on the results of NRC maintenance rule baseline inspections completed to date.
The meeting was co-chaired by Lee Spessard. Suzanne Black and Rich Correia. DRCH.
May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE A
The MRIC provided observations in several areas including 1) scoping, 2) reliance on PPA. 3) when maintenance preventable functional failures are subject to enforcement, 4) adequacy of credited programs, and 5) on-going licensee MR resources.
MRIC also commented that the MR baseline inspection and enforcement was implemented consistently in all regions and suggested that the NRC continue to provide the same level of oversight to continue uniform inspection and enforcement as the inspection program transitions to the l
performance based phase.
Following the meeting, a utility representative expressed concerns regarding the NRC's inspection and enforcement of the MR.
l The concerns included 1) MR program is resource intensive, 2) compliance target is evolving. 3) definition of E0P SSC significance is unclear.
- 4) expanded scoping is diluting resources needed for risk significant areas and 5) MR guidance documents are ambiguous. The NRC discussed plans to issue a generic lessons learned communication, sponsor an industry MR workshop and i
l continue to oversee agency MR training and inspection activities following completion of the baseline inspections.
The meeting discussions were open and will be beneficial in implementing the transition from the maintenance rule baseline inspection process to a routine performance based inspection program.
Fermi Unit 2 Grid Concerns The Detroit Edison Company (DECO) has expressed concerns related to grid stability this summer during recent discussions with the NRC staff.
The concerns are related to the large number of nuclear units that are shut down in the region, including Clinton, D.C. Cook LaSalle. Quad Cities. Zion. and all of the Ontario Hydro units.
In addition, current predictions indicate this may be a very hot summer.
DECO has indicated that it has made arrangements for replacement power (2.300 MW).
However, the licensee is concerned that " congestion" on the grid interconnectors during peak demand may lead to an interruption of purchased power.
This could mean that significant areas would be blacked out.
DECO is taking what steps it can to alleviate this concern.
For example, it plans to spend roughly $50M to refurbish a pair of retired fossil units with a total capacity of 180 MW to make them available for service.
The licensee currently plans to shut down Fermi 2 starting in the latter half of August for a refueling outage.
The outage start date is being driven by the due dates of a large number of refueling frequency surveillance requirements (SRs) whose intervals (including the 25 percent tolerance) expire at that time.
There would be sufficient fuel remaining to operate longer.
Because of the grid concerns raised by DECO, the staff initiated a discussion i
to determine what actions the licensee planned to take to avoid a crisis in August precipitated by the shutdown of Fermi 2.
The licensee is currently l
evaluating its options (e.g., interval extensions for the SRs).
I i
May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE A l
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Calvert Cliffs Unit _1 On Aprfl 27, 1998. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) submitted their immediate and long-term actions to be taken to improve radiation safety during l
the Unit No. 1 refueling outage. A confirmatory action letter dated April 29, 1998, was issued by Region 1 confirming the licensee's corrective actions.
Immediate actions to be taken by BGE during the current Unit 1 outage are as follows:
1.
For radiological work that is determined to be " higher risk." department supervision from the task organization and the radiation protection organization will provide periodic oversight of pre-job planning activities sufficient to assure that appropriate radiation safety controls are established and integrated with the task, and attend job briefing effects to assure that radiation safety control requirements are effectively communicated to personnel responsible for the conduct and control of the work activity.
2.
For radiological work that is determined to be " higher risk." lead or supervisory personnel from the task organization and the radiation protection organization will provide direct oversight of field activities whenever actual work is being conducted to assure that planned radiation safety controls are effectively established and implemented.
3.
Establish and implement a planned series of surveillance or audits by i
either the quality assurance organization or other organizations, independent of the task organization and radiation safety organization, to determine the effectiveness of the actions described in items 1 and 2, above.
Management _ Changes On April 24, 1998, the Southern Nuclear Operating Company. Inc. (SNC),
announced the following management changes that become effective May 30, 1998:
Mr. Richard Hill, General Manager (GM) Farley Nuclear Plant (FNP) has been appointed GM Nuclear Support in SNC's headquarters office located in Birmingham Alabama: Mr. Michael Stinson. Assistant GM Plant Operations, has been appointed GM FNP: Mr. Don Grissette, Operations Manager, has been appointed Assistant GM Plant Operations; and Mr. Randy Johnson. Acting Maintenance Manager, has been appointed Operations Manager.
Mr. John Paul Cowan, formerly Vice President. Nuclear Production, has assumed the title of Vice President. Nuclear Operations and has been named Chief Nuclear Officer for Florida Power Corporation (FPC).
Mr. Roy Anderson, 1
May 1, 1998-ENCLOSURE A
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formerly Senior Vice President, Nuclear Operations, has assumed the title of Senior Vice President Energy Supply.
Reporting to Mr. Anderson will be Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Operations, Fossil Operations, Power Marketing and Energy Supply Administration and Financial Services.
Both Mr. Cowan and Mr. Anderson joined FPC in January 1997.
On April 24, 1998. TVA announced that Ike Zeringue will become President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Zeringue had been Chief Nuclear Officer and will report directly to the Board of Directors of TVA.
John Scalice, who is currently Senior Vice President for Nuclear Operations, will become Acting i
i Chief Nuclear Officer.
Mr. Scalice will report to Mr. Zeringue.
In this interim period, various vice presidents, including the Site Vice President for each of TVA's nuclear sites, will report to Mr. Scalice.
On April 27, 1998, the Detroit Edison Company (DECO or the licensee) announced that Paul Fessler, currently Fermi 2 Plant Manager, has been appointed to the new position of Assistant Vice President, Nuclear Operations. Also, William O'Connor, currently Nuclear Assessment Manager, has been appointed to the new position of Assistant Vice President, Nuclear Assessment.
Their current responsibilities and reporting relationships will not change as a result of the appointments.
Wisconsin Public Service, operator at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant, has announced that Mr. Mark L. Marchi, a former Kewaunee plant manager and currently Manager, Nuclear Business Group, will return to the site, effective May 11, 1998, in the newly created position of Site Vice President.
Wisconsin Electric Power Company has announced that Ms. Carol R. Peterson has assumed the role of Director, Nuclear Engineering for Point Beach Units 1 and 2.
.This position has been vacant since February 13, 1998.
Both the Design Engineering Manager (currently located at the corporate office in Milwaukee) and the Site Engineering Manager report to the Director, Nuclear Engineering.
Ms. Peterson is an employee of Duke Engineering & Services (DE&S).
She has most recently served as Vice President Midwestern Region for DE&S.
Ms.
Peterson's office will be located at the Point Beach site.
May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE A
O Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Multi-Aaency Radiation Laboratory Protocols Manual Workarouc Meetina On April 20-23. 1998. the Division of Waste Management staff hosted the 12th Multi-Agency Radiation Laboratory Protocols (MARLAP) workgroup meeting to discuss and develop a multiagency guidance manual on radioanalytical work j
primarily related to decommissioning and decontamination.
MARLAP's workgroup I
comprises representatives of Federal agencies (e.g., the Environmental i
Protection Agency. De w tment of Energy. Department of Defense. Department of Commerce. Department t.: the Interior. Food and Drug Administration. and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) as well as Agreement States representatives (e.g., State of Kentucky and State of California).
MARLAP's purpose is to promote consistency in radioanalytical protocols, provide criteria for assessment of radioanalytical results, provide guidance on evaluation of radioanalytical laboratories, and promote high quality radioanalytical work.
Twenty participants attended MARLAP workgroup sessions.
The overall :neeting focused on several issues including:
critical planning issues, sample receipt and tracking, sample preparation and preservation, selection of an analytical method, nuclear counting instrumentation, contracting a service laboratory, evaluating a radioanalytical laboratory, measurement statistics. and manual integration.
MARLAP's workgroup target is to issue a first draft MARLAP document for Agency review by November 1998 and a revised version for public l
review by February 1999.
First Federal Interagency Hydroloaic Modelina Conference During the week of April 20. 1998, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material l
Safety and Safeguards attended the First Federal Interagency Hydrologic l
Modeling Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, and presented a paper entitled
" Design of Channel Riprap Using Overtopping Flow Methods." The paper was based on flume studies conducted at Colorado State University under contract to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The new design methods discussed in the paper have been used by the Department of Energy at several reclaimed uranium mill sites.
It is likely that the new design methods will result in improved performance and substantial cost savings to applicants and licensees that use riprap for long-term stabilization and erosion protection.
I Environmental Protection Aaency Meetina with United Nuclear Corocration.
l Aoril 22.1998 On April 22. 1998, a representative from the Division of Waste Management participated in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meeting with United Nuclear Corporation (UNC). New Mexico Environmental Department, and the Navajo Nation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the EPA's draft five-year l
review of corrective action at UNC's Churchrock uranium mill site.
UNC's May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE C
Churchrock site is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed superfund site currently undergoing corrective action for a groundwater plume that developed from leachate generated by a uranium tailings impoundment.
UNC provided its comments on the draft as well as its plans for site closure.
The regulatory agencies provided comments on the tentative closure plans, and discussed options available to UNC for site closure including Alternate Concentration Limits and Technical Infeasiblity waivers.
British Nuclear Fuels Limited Acauired Sierra Nuclear Corocration On April 22, 1998, after several months.of negotiations. British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) completed the purchase of Sierra Nuclear Corporation (SNC).
l For the foreseeable future. BNFL will retain the SNC name. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with BNFL to discuss the purchase of SNC and l
the regulatory responsibilities associated with the purchase.
Acoroval of a New Shionina Container for Deoartment of Enerav - Naval Reactors On April 23, 1998, the Spent Fuel Project Office issued Certificate of Compliance No. 9795. for transport of the Department of Energy (DOE) - Naval Reactors Model A1G Irradiated Component Disposal and Shipping Container. The package will be used by DOE Naval Reactors for shipment of support structures and other miscellaneous irradiated components. The transportation package will also serve as the disposal container for burial. The package is constructed of minimum 5-inch thick stainless steel, and is approximately 10 feet in diameter and 11 feet in length.
Each package weighs approximately 200.000 pounds and is shipped by rail.
The maximum weight of the irradiated component contents is 36.300 pounds, containing up to 5.600 curies of radioactivity, primarily cobalt-60.
Meetina with Source Production and Ecuioment Comoany to Discuss Improvements to Ouality Assurance Proaram On April 23, 1998, representatives from the Source Production and Equipment Company (SPEC) met with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to discuss SPEC's action to improve their staff's
. commitment to quality assurance.
SPEC management discussed the organizational and procedural changes that they plan to implement once the Confirmatory
. Action Letter (CAL) restricting their fabrication activities is lifted.
NRC staff stated that the agency's decision on whether to lift the CAL would be issued shortly.
Atomic Safety and Licensina Board Rules on Private Fuel Storaae Standino and Contentions-On April 22. 1998, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) issued a ruling on standing and contentions in the Private Fuel Storage. L.L.C.
May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE B 4
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proceeding.
In addition to the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, on whose reservation the proposed away-from-reactor independent spent fuel storage l
installation would be constructed the State of Utah Castle Rock Land and l
Livestock. Skull Valley Company. Ensign Ranches of Utah (a group of three ranching, farming, and land holding companies). Ohngo Gaudadeh Devia (a group of Skull Valley Goshutes opposed to the facility), the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation (a separate Band of Goshutes with their own reservation), and David Pete (the chairman of the Confederated Tribes, filing as an individual) had made timely applications for standing.
These petitioners filed approximately 100 contentions with the ASLB.
In addition, a group called Scientists for Secure Waste Storage (SSWS) made a late filing for standing.
A prehearing conference was held in January 1998.
The Board ruled that the Skull Valley Band. Ohngo Gaudadeh Devia. Confederated Tribes, the State of Utah. Castle Rock Land and Livestock, and the Skull Valley Company have been standing.
Ensign Ranches. Mr. Pete and SSWS were denied standing. A total of 25 contentions were admitted. Among the contentions that were not admitted were those challenging the Commission's authority to license such an away-from-reactor facility.
The remaining contentions are concerned primarily with siting, cask design, and environmental issues.
Insoection of the VSC-24 Ultrasonic Examination Procedures at PaltMes Nuclear Plant On April 20-24, 1998, the Spent Fuel Project Office led a team inspection at Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades) to inspect a demonstration of the ultrasonic examination (UT) process proposed by the VSC-24 Owners Group (VSC-24 OG) to verify cask closure weld integrity.
The VSC-24 OG has revised welding methods to correct problems identified with earlier VSC-24 closure welds.
The VSC-24 OG includes the VSC-24 vendor. Sierra Nuclear Corporation.
and licensees using the VSC-24 system - Consumers Power (Palisades).
Entergy/ Arkansas Power and Light, and Wisconsin Electric Power Company (Point Beach). The VSC-24 OG plans to use this technique for examination of new VSC-24 casks to be loaded and the 19 loaded casks.
Participation in the Howard Huahes Medical Institute Conference On April 28. 1998, the Senior Level Advisor for Health Physics from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards attended and participated in the eighth annual Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Conference sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Chevy Chase Maryland.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff presented an overview of the final NRC guidance on security and control of radioactive materials (Enforcement Guidance Memorandum 98-004 issued April 24, 1998), which originated from discussions at an HHMI workshop on this subject conducted in June 1996. This l
overview was presented to the attendees as part of a discussion focusing on j
collaborative approaches to successful resolution of technical issues.
The May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE B
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forum was entitled " Supporting Science: Making Service and Compliance Compatible." and was well-attended by over 75 EH&S Directors from large l
university and research institutes from across the country.
NRC_ Briefing for_ Counter Terrorism Analysis _CoucSe On April 28, 1998. members of the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards provided an overview of Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism to students attending the Counterterrc-ism Analysis Course at the Defense Intelligence Agency Joint Military Intelligence Training Center. Bolling Air Force Base.
Washington D.C.
The course is run periodically during the year and provides training for U.S. government analysts entering the counterterrorism field.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been invited to provide briefings at subsequent classes to be held in the future.
l May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE B
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Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Items of Interest Week Ending May 1, 1998 FARO Fuel-Coolant InteractjDns_(FCI) Experiment L-28 During a severe accident, molten core material will interact with water leading to either energetic fuel-coolant interactions (steam explosions) or j
non-energetic interactions (quenching).
Steam explosions can threaten the reactor vessel and containment integrity, while quenching can enhance the likelihood of successful accident management. To understand the fuel-coolant i
interactions phenomena and to obtain data for the development of analytical tools (models and codes) for risk assessment, NRC is participating in the FAR0/KROTOS programs conducted at the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC). Ispra, Italy, under a Technical Exchange Agreement with JRC.
The FAR0 program is providing pertinent data for determining quenching and i
long-term coolability of core debris. The KROTOS program is providing pertinent data for determining the conditions under which steam explosions occur and the resulting explosion loads.
Both programs are conducted to simulate reactor conditions of interest and use reactor prototypic materials (i.e., U0 -Zr0 -Zr).
2 2
On April 2-3, 1998, JRC successfully performed the FAR0 L-28 test. This experiment, the eighth in the series, was conducted at 0.5 MPa (5 bars),
representative of a depressurized reactor, to investigate the effect of system pressure on melt fragmentation and quenching.
Previous FAR0 experiments were conducted at system pressures of 5 MPa and 2 MPa. The L-28 also investigated the effect of a longer pour on the quenching and fragmentation behavior.
Preliminary results indicate th9t the vessel pressurization, a consequence of steam generation from melt quenching, was lower in L-28 than in experiments with higher system pressure.
This would indicate different quenching behavior at lower pressure than that at higher pressure.
Further data analysis of L-28 is in progress and additional information on particle size distribution, debris bed characteristics, etc., will be available in the future to confirm any difference in quenching behavior.
Though the FARO experiments are designed to investigate quenching and not steam explosions, it is interesting to note that there were no spontaneous steam explosions in these experiments.
The experimental data from FAR0 will be used to assess FCI phenomenological models in the severe accident codes, and to improve the models as necessary.
The data will also provide the technical basis for evaluation of FCI risks and consequences, as well as the effectiveness of accident management strategies.
1 Draft _ Regulatory _ Guide M 07B Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1078, " Standard Format and Content of License Termination Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors," was issued on April 30, 1998.
L. Pittiglio, NMSS, was the task leader.
t May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE C
e Office of Administration Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 tLS Fnrichment Corporation _UJSEO DFS staff attended the following meetings:
On April 27, 1998 with NMSS. 0GC, DOE. and USEC personnel, to discuss USEC's new initial public offering (IPO) structure (revised by USEC since their February 1998 submission). A follow-on meeting was held with USEC to discuss foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) issues associated with bidders in the merger and acquisition sale process for the privatization of USEC.
Another FOCI meeting with DOE. USEC and one of the bidders is scheduled for May 1. 1998.
On April 28, 1998 - A briefing by USEC regarding its security plan for the proposed AVLIS facility.
USEC requested this meeting to ensure that its AVLIS facility security plan was on target to meet NRC requirements.
Security _ Support DFS is working with NRR and NMSS to provide security support for public meetings to be held in Las Vegas. NV on the University of Las Vegas campus (pre-licensing review for Yucca Mountain) on May 13. 1998 and in Parks Township. PA (decommissioning of a B&W shallow land disposal area) on May 27, 1998.
AnnualJ1 rug:Eree_Workplace_ Report The Federal Drug-Free Workplace Annual Report for the period October 1. 1996 through September 30, 1997 was signed by the DEDM on April 27. 1998 and forwarded to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on April 28.
1998.
HHS compiles this data from federal agencies and responds to inquiries from members of Congress and their staffs, public media representatives, representatives of private industry, and private citizens concerning the implementation of the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program.
Rulemating_ Activities A proposed rule that would amend the regulations to incorporate by reference the most recent version of a national consensus standard for power, instrumentation, and control portions of safety systems in nuclear power I
plants. IEEE National Consensus Standard (Part 50), was published in the Federal Register on April 23, 1998 (63 FR 20136).
The proposed rule supersedes an October 17. 1997 proposed rule that was published as a companion I
to a direct final rule published on the same date that was subsequently withdrawn. The comment period for this action closes May 26, 1998.
May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE F l
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Chief Information Officer Items of Interest Week Ending May 1, 1998 Ereedom_oLInformation and Privacy _Act_ Requests Received dur_ing the 5-Day Per_iod of Acril 24.199BMay 1.1998:
Amersham Corp, model 660 radiography camera.
(F01A/PA-98-174)
Part 50 and Part 72, communications by/with four specific utilities, Nuclear Energy Institute, the Eagle Alliance, and NRC.
(F01A/PA-98-175)
Contract solicitation 50875024, Gama Spectroscopy with Detector Upgrade.
(F01A/PA-98-176)
Named individual, licenses, reports of complaints or claims, F0IA requests made, or correspondence with.
(F01A/PA-98-177)
Radiation research records on self.
(F01A/PA-98-178)
Public Service Electric & Gas, civil penalties since 1977 for Salem and Hope Creek sites.
(F01A/PA-98-179)
Associated Press wire on 4/18/98 regarding Haddam Neck.
(FOIA/PA-98-180i Self IG report.
(F01A/PA-98-181)
Indemnification requests since 1986 under Public Law 85-804.
(F01A/PA-98-182)
San Onofre alleged discrimination. 01 4-96-056.
(F01A/PA-98-183) l Disciplinary or adverse actions against employees since 1994.
(F01A/PA-98-184)
Personnel records on self..
(F01A/PA-98-185)
Millstone site, operational safety team inspections between 4/13/98 and I
l 4/24/98.
(F01A/PA-98-186) l 1
Contracts with state of Illinois and Iowa, listing.
(F01A/PA-98-187)
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i May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE G 1
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Office of Human Resources Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Interagency _Ieamleetinglttended for the NationaLDay_of_ Volunteering for EederaLEmployees On April 28. 1998, Henry Rubin attended the first Interagency Team Meeting for the National Day of Volunteering for Federal Employees at the Department of Transportation. The purpose of the meeting was to organize the first National Day of Volunteering for Federal Employees, which is scheduled for Saturday.
June 13, 1998.
The goal is to organize as many federal employees as possible to perform volunteer work in their communities on that day.
Further details will be provided as to what volunteer opportunities will be available.
Arrivals BAKER. Julie Deputy Division Director OCF0 BURKHARDT. Lawrence Project Manager NRR Retirements GRUSZYNSKI. Billie Licensing Assistant RIV HARMON. Paul Reactor Inspector RII TAN. Chen Civil Engineer NRR YORK John Reactor Inspector RII Departures COOPER. Todd Resident Inspector RII WILLIAMS. Allison Reactor Engineer RI l
May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE I
Office of Public Affairs Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Media Interest Print and television media attended the decommissioning meeting at Humboldt Bay.
The Washinaton Times is planning a Sunday magazine story on alleged wasteful practices at the NRC.
'Jared Wermeil, NRR, was interviewed by the North County Times (San Diego) about the NRC's Year 2000 program.
The Millstone meeting and demonstration at headquarters drew media coverage.
School Volunteers Proaram Pat Santiago. OEDO introduced 70 third graders to the concept of nuclear energy with OPA's reactor model, at the St. Joseph's School.
Kim Gruss and Sherry Wu, NMSS, spoke to 5th - 8th graders at The Barn (Columbia Association) about radiation.
Press Releases Headquarters:
98-61 NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Hold Working Group Meeting June 10-11 on Yucca Mountain Issues 98-62 NRC Senior Management Assignments Announced 98-63 NRC to Meet With Public in Las Vegas on Pre-Licensing Program for Possible Waste Repository Regions:
I-98-44 Note to Editors: Millstone Meetings Scheduled l
I-98-45 NRC Assigns New Resident Inspector to Limerick Generating Station i
I-98-46 NRC Proposes $165.000 Civil Penalty for Boston Edison l
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Company for Variety of Violations at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant I-98-47 NRC Staff Proposes Fine Against Washington, D.C.
Hospital May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE M l
I-98-48 NRC to Hold Predecisional Enforcement Conference With PP&L I-98-49 NRC Confirms BG&E's Commitments to Address Radiological Control Program Weaknesses at Calvert Cliffs 11-98-33 NRC Staff Proposes $5,000 Fine Against Physician in Puerto Rico II-98-34 NRC Rates Surry Nuclear Plant " Superior" in Three Areas. " Good" in One Area of Latest Assessment Report III-98-29 NRC Staff to Meet With Public to Discuss Future La Crosse Decommissioning Activities IV-98-17 Waterford Plant Rated ' Good' in All Areas in NRC Assessment Report IV-98-18 NRC Proposes to Fine Wood River Medical Center $2.750 for Violations #n its Nuclear Medicine Program May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE M
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Office of International Programs Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 IAEA Vacancy Notices The following notice from the International Atomic Energy Agency has been i
posted on NRC bulletin boards:
P-4 Plant Breeder / Geneticist Plant 98/108 Breeder / Geneticist P-2 Computer Systems Specialist Nuclear Energy 98/019 D-1 Director Nuclear Energy 98/020 i
P-4 Radiation Therapy Specialist Research and 98/021 Isotopes P-4 Nuclear Engineer Nuclear Energy 98/022 P-4 Nuclear Engineer Nuclear Energy 98/601 l
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May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE N l
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Office of the Secretary Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Document Date Subject Memoranda Released to the Public 1-.
SRM 10/11/96 Staff Requirements - SECY-96-123 -
Proposed Changes to the NRC Operator Licensing Program
- 2. SRM 12/4/96 Staff Requirements - SECY-96-079 -
Alternatives for Regulating Fuel Cycle Facilities 3.
M980331A 4/28/98 Briefing on Fire Protection l
4.
M980402B 4/28/98 Briefing on Improvements to the Senior Management Process 5.
M980430B 4/30/98 Staff Requirements - Affirmation l
Session I
- 6. M980319 3/19/98 Staff Requirements - Affirmation Session. Thursday. March 19. 1998:
I.
SECY-98-022 - Petition for Commission Review of Director's Decision on Paducah Seismic Upgrades Certificate Amendment Request Commission Correspondence Released to the Public i
1.
Letter to Senator Olympia J. Snowe dated April 21. 1998 concerns the l
predecisional enforcement conference with representatives of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company scheduled for April 23. 1998 (Incoming of April 13.
l 1998 also released) 2.
Letter to The President dated April 20. 1998 concerns the proposed Agreement for Cooperation with Ukraine L
Federal Reaister Notices Issued 1.
NDT Services. Inc.: Docket No. 030-17711-EA: Establishment of Atomic l
Safety and Licensing Board (Bloch/Kelber/Kline) 2.
Northeast Nuclear Energy Company: Docket No. 50-423-LA: Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE 0
Region I l
Items of Interest l
Week Ending May 1. 1998 l
l Maine _ Yankee Enforcement Conference t
On April 23, 1998, an enforcement conference was held in Region I with Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (MYAPC).
In addition to RI staff, representatives of NRR, OE and 0GC were in attendance. The conference was requested by MYAPC in response to the December 19, 1997 NRC letter describing apparent violations related to three OI investigations, including small break loss-of-coolant accident analyses. The meeting was closed and transcribed.
Enforcement action is under consideration.
Visit to Safety _LighLCorporation On April 29, 1998, the Deputy Division Director, DNMS, visited the Safety Light site in Bloomsburg. PA. This site is on the Site Decommissioning Management Plan list. The visit included a tour of site facilities (including the groundwater monitoring system), review of environmental monitoring data, and discussion of the licensee's progress in developing a site remediation plan.
Calvert Cliffs Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BG&E). operator of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, was issued a Severity Level II violation and a $176.000 civil penalty on August 11, 1997, due to radiological control problems that resulted in the potential exposure of a diver to radiation fields in excess of 500 rem per hour in the spent fuel pool.
On April 29. 1998. Region I issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to BG&E due continuing performance problems involving the establishment and implementation of radiological controls and recurrent radiation safety issues at Calvert Cliffs.
The most recent event involved the unplanned exposure on April 9,1998, of a worker who was working in a 6 rem per hour high radiation area.
While no radiation exposure regulatory limit was exceeded, the continuing occurrence of radiological control problems indicates. ineffectiveness of corrective action and warranted an increased regulatory response.
Vermont Yankee l
On April 30. 1998, Region I DRP Branch Chief Curtis Cowgill and State Liaison Officer Robert Bores attended a meeting of the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel to discuss current topics regarding the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.
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May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE P l
Indian Point Unit 2 The Consolidated Edison Company's Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) team, which conducted an assessment of Indian Point 2 (IP-2) operations earlier this month using an inspection plan similar to NRC OSTI inspections, presented its results to the licensee on April 29, 1998.
Region I Administrator Hub Miller, the NRR Project Director, the ED0's Regional Coordinator, and members of the NRC. Evaluation Team (NET), which observed the ISA, attended.
The ISA was led by " Buzz" Carns and_ included ten other members with substantial industry. NRC. and INPO experience.
The ISA discussed Con Edison's performance, detailing areas where performance deficiencies exist as well as where performance improvement is merited to meet industry best practices.
The NET Manager Randy Blough, provided preliminary NRC conclusions, including:
_to be valid.
He also emphasized certain ISA findings in the Operations area.
Con Edison plans to review the report and evaluate its Indian Point Program for Excellence (IPPE) to determine whether the ISA findings and recommendations have been adequately addressed. Con Edison tentatively plans to meet with the.NRC on May 27, 1998, to discuss the ISA's findings.and the company's planned corrective actions.
IP-2 is currently in an extended outage to improve plant materiel condition and address human performance and process deficiencies.
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.May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE P LL______
4 Region II Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 National Radiological Emeraencv Preparedness Conference During the period April 27-29, 1998, the Region II State Liaison Officer attended the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference in Massachusetts. The Conference included numerous State and local government officials. Federal Agency and Industry representatives, and other outside organizations.
Dr. Jose De Leon (Isla Verde. PR)
On April 28, 1998. Region II issued a Severity Level III violation and proposed a $5,000 Civil Penalty to Dr. Jose De Leon for failure to follow his Quality Management Progiam for a Sr-90 eye applicator resulting in nine misadministration at his office and 14 at a local hospital.
A consultant to Dr. De Leon had made errors in calculation of the source output from the decay of the source.
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i May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE P l
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Region III Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Allied-Sianal. Inc.
'On April 29, 1998, a Predecisional Enforcement Conference was conducted in the Region III Office. Lisle Illinois, between management repre oitatives of Allied-Signal. Inc.
and members of the NRC staff.
The conference was conducted to discuss NRC inspection findings resulting from a January 27 1998, incident at the company's Metropolis Illinois, uranium processing plant.
In the January incident, a small amount of uranium hexafluoride was released inside the plant and three workers received minor burns or skin irritations.
The NRC conducted a special inspection called an Augmented Team Inspection (AIT). te review the circumstances of the release of the uranium compound.
The AIT inspection and a follow up inspection determined that plant personnel had not followed procedures during maintenance on plant equipment, leading to the small release of uranium hexafluoride.
The inspectors also found other instances where the actual plant practices do not comply with established procedures and identified other apparent violations unrelated to the January incident.
NRC Region III Deputy Regional Administrator James Caldwell participated in this conference.
Licensee Performance Review for ABB Combustion Enaineerina Inc.
On April 30. 1998, a Licensee Performance Review was conducted in Hematite.
Missouri, between management representatives of ABB Combustion Engineering.
Inc., and members of the NRC staff. The NRC review concluded that the facility's performance in radiological controls was "very good." Safety operations, safeguards, facility support, and licensing activities were evaluated as " generally adequate." NRC Region III Deputy Regional Administrator James Caldwell participated in this meeting.
Manaaement Meetina with Commonwealth Edison Comoany On April 27, 1998, a management meeting was conducted in the Region III Office. Lisle. Illinois, between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on the utility's performance as it relates to actions the utility has taken in response to the NRC's January 1997 letter regarding safety performance at Comed's nuclear facilities.
NRC Region III Regional Administrator A.
Bill Beach participated in the meeting.
Manacement Meetina with Commonwealth Edison Comaany - LaSalle On May 1. 1998, a management meeting was conducted in Mazon.
- Illinois, between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff.
The meeting discussion focused on the status and May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE P l
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4 effectiveness of performance improvement activities of the LaSalle Nuclear Power Station's restart plan NRC Region III Regional Administrator A.
Bill Beach participated in the meeting.
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May 1, 1998 ENCLOSURE P l
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Region IV Items of Interest Week Ending May 1. 1998 Palo Verde Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance The Deputy Regional Administrator and members of the Region IV and NRR staffs met with representatives of the Arizona Public Service Company (APS) on April 28. 1998, to discuss the results of the NRC Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP) for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
For the assessment period ending March 7. 1998. Palo Verde received a Category 2 rating in Plant Operations and Category I ratings in the Maintenance.
Engineering, and Plant Support functional areas.
In an April 22. 1998, letter to the NRC. APS formally expressed their disagreement with the Category 2 rating assigned to the Plant Operations functional area and requested that the assessment be reconsidered.
During the public meeting, the licensee reiterated their conviction that Plant Operations be rated Category 1.
The NRC representatives acknowledged APS's request for reconsideration, emphasizing that the process outlined in Management Directive 8.6 would be followed.
Washinaton Nuclear Plant 2 (WNP-2)
On April 30, 1998, the NRC WNP-2 Oversight Panel (comprised of Region IV and NRR managers and staff) met with senior managers from the Washington Public Power Supply System to discuss the licensee's performance self-assessment and the lessons learned from the March 11, 1998, main steam isolation valve closure and reactor trip event.
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l May 1. 1998 ENCLOSURE P 1
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