| |
Search Options | |||
| Index | Site Map | FAQ | Facility Info | Reading Rm | New | Help | Glossary | Contact Us | |
|||
|
INFORMATION REPORT SECY-07-0106 June 29, 2007
Contact: U. Shoop, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) 2007 Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking of Alloy 600 International Conference On June 11-13, 2007, the NRC staff attended the 2007 Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking of Alloy 600 International Conference in Atlanta, GA. At the meeting, the staff made presentations discussing regulatory activities related to reactor pressure vessel head inspections and a status report on the activities surrounding the findings of primary water stress corrosion flaws in reactor coolant system butt welds. NRC Hosts Digital Instrumentation and Control Meeting for Foreign Representatives On June 18, 2007, the NRR, New Reactors, and Nuclear Regulatory Research hosted an all-day meeting with multiple foreign representatives to discuss diversity and defense-in-depth related to digital instrumentation and control issues. The countries participating were France, Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Canada. The discussion was informative in sharing similar unresolved issues throughout the international community in defining what is acceptable diversity and defense-in-depth in digital systems. License Renewal Application Acceptance Review for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 On June 18, 2007, the NRC staff issued a letter to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) regarding the acceptance review of the license renewal application (LRA) for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3. In its letter, the NRC staff informed the applicant that certain information is needed for the staff to complete its acceptance review, specifically, the current licensing basis for Unit 2 was not fully represented. In this regard, the LRA did not include information on the gas turbines currently credited as an alternate power supply for the safe shutdown requirements and station blackout (SBO) requirements. The letter requested Entergy to respond within 14 days of receipt of the NRC's letter and inform the staff of how it plans to resolve the acceptance issue. Meeting with Nuclear Energy Institute On June 19, 2007, representatives of the NRR and RES staffs met with representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the PWR Owners Group, and PWR licensees regarding Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191, "Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump Performance." The staff communicated results of two systematic efforts to identify and disposition remaining technical questions regarding GSI-191, and brought up 11 specific technical issues licensees need to address. With respect to chemical effects, industry testing remains a work in progress. The staff also reported on a proposal for NRC-sponsored scoping analyses intended to disposition issues raised by an NRC-sponsored peer review report on chemical effects. Finally, the staff discussed concerns with licensees' progress in learning from and addressing repeat open items identified in NRC audits of licensee corrective actions for sump performance. The staff stated that improved licensee performance is expected in the future, to be verified by the staff in future audits and in review of licensee submittals to address GSI-191. Office of New Reactors (NRO) Safeguards Protection Orders On June 15, 2007, the staff issued an Order to General Electric imposing Safeguards Information (SGI) protection requirements and fingerprinting and criminal history records check requirements for access to SGI. This Order was issued in preparation of the sharing of the Commission-specified aircraft impact characteristics as directed in SECY-06-0204. Orders to the remaining new reactor vendors will be issued as they are prepared. On June 15, 2007, the staff received Westinghouse's response to the Order issued on June 8, 2007. The staff is in the process of reviewing the response. If the response is found acceptable, the SGI-level Commission-specified aircraft characteristics will be provided to Westinghouse. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Observation Audit of Yucca Mountain Groundwater Infiltration Model On June 18, 2007, the staff completed observation of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management's quality assurance audit of the current groundwater infiltration model for Yucca Mountain. This latest model was done by Sandia National Laboratory for the Yucca Mountain Project. Staff provided its observations on the audit to DOE. An NRC observation report will be published after the staff reviews the DOE audit report. Quarterly Management Meeting on Yucca Mountain On June 14, 2007, NRC and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) staff members held a "Quarterly Management Meeting," in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Yucca Mountain project. The meeting was open to the public. It focused: on project-schedule updates; the availability of reference material supporting a license application; certification of DOE documents in the Licensing Support Network; the status of recent Appendix 7 meetings; future technical exchanges; and DOE quality assurance activities. Structural Steel Samples from Remnants of I-580 Overpass Accident/Fire Obtained On June 13, 2007, staff from the NRC and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses/Southwest Research Institute (CNWRA/SwRI) traveled to a California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) storage site, in Oakland, California, to meet with CALTRANS representatives, and obtain structural steel samples from remnants of the I-580 overpass that was damaged by a gasoline tanker accident fire, on April 29, 2007. The samples are now at CNWRA/SwRI laboratories, for metallurgical testing, with the objective being to identify the upper range of temperatures that the samples may have been subjected to during the fire event. This data will be used to help assess the performance of spent fuel shipping containers under similar real-life accident conditions. Meeting with NAC International on MAGNASTOR Dry Cask Storage System On June 20, 2007, staff met with representatives of NAC International (NAC), to discuss NAC's plans for the resubmittal of the MAGNASTOR dry cask storage system application. The application for a Certificate of Compliance, under 10 CFR Part 72, had been withdrawn by NAC on January 26, 2007, in order to address several open issues identified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff. At the meeting, NAC described its revised methods and analyses, and proposed revisions to the MAGNASTOR safety analysis report (SAR). NAC has revised its analysis for the structural stability of the spent fuel basket assembly, in response to specific staff comments on the methods and assumptions previously used. NAC also described its planned approach for analyzing and controlling thermal cycling of the spent fuel cladding, during cask preparation activities. It plans to submit a revised thermal analysis for the transfer cask, to demonstrate that component temperatures will remain within acceptable limits. NAC further described its plans for the format of the revised SAR and the submittal of a supplemental document, to identify all changes made to the previous application. NAC indicated its intent to resubmit the application for NRC review and approval by July 31, 2007. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) Public Meeting of the Task Working Group (TWG) to Address Digital System Communications that Involve Equipment Assigned to Different Safety Divisions in New and Operating Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Facilities On June 14, 2007, the subject TWG met with stakeholders to discuss issues related to licensing digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems and to address the use of nonsafety control stations for control of safety-related equipment and human factors considerations. During a closed session, a proprietary prioritization module used to establish priority among multiple controls addressing a single safety-related actuator was discussed. Oak Ridge National Laboratories presented an overview and background information concerning a report that they prepared for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research concerning safety/nonsafety interactions. American Nuclear Society (ANS) Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Methodology Standard Meeting On June 11-15, 2007, staff from RES and NRR participated in the subject meeting to address public comments on the revised draft of the fire PRA methodology standard. The standard had been recently released by the ANS for public review and comment for a second time, due to extensive changes from the previously-released 2006 version. The standard will support analyses and reviews relevant to the risk-informed, performance-based fire protection rule, 10CFR50.48c, endorsing National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805. The current schedule calls for the standard to be issued for use in October 2007. Publication of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.206, "Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power Plants (LWR Edition)" On June 20, 2007, the staff issued the subject RG. The RG, prepared by the Office of New Reactors, provides guidance regarding the information to be submitted in a combined license (COL) application for a nuclear power plant. This guide addresses many of the application options promulgated in the proposed amendment to 10 CFR Part 52. Although a COL applicant is not required to conform to this guidance, its use will facilitate both the preparation of a COL application by the applicant and the timely review of the application by the NRC staff. The RG is available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS; package ML070720184) and on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/power-reactors/active/01-206/. Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)
Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration (ADM) Administrative Changes (AI18 - 10 CFR Chapter I) On June 18, 2007, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (72 FR 33386) that updates a telephone number and Web site location for the Office of Information Services. The final rule became effective June 18, 2007. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests Received During the Period of June 15 through June 21, 2007:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) OPA received significant media inquiries on the following: Tritium contamination at the Brunswick nuclear power plant in North Carolina. Pennsylvania's plans to become an Agreement State. Forbes inquiry about the licensing process for new reactors. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel decision on the Oyster Creek Plant's license renewal application that will likely result in a hearing in September. NRC's request to Entergy for additional information on the Indian Point nuclear power plant license renewal. Other Public Affairs Items: OPA facilitated an interview between the Office of New Reactors (NRO) and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) staff and a reporter from Nikkei Publication in Japan on new reactor licensing, the record of purchase (ROP), and how the agency shares operational experience with the public, industry and internationally.
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Commission Correspondence
Federal Register Notices Issued
Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Privacy Policy |
Site Disclaimer |
