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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-07-0123 July 27, 2007
Contact: R. Taylor, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Generic Safety Issues (GSI)-191 Audit at North Anna On July 16-20, 2007, the staff participated in a GSI-191 audit at North Anna. The staff's involvement in this audit focused on protective coatings, debris, and chemical effects. The staff identified several open items as a result of exceptions taken to the current guidance for qualified coating assessment and unfinished chemical effects testing. These items will be closed when the applicable test data is provided by the licensee and reviewed by the NRC staff as part of the final resolution of Generic Letter 2004-02. Meeting with Industry on Advanced Finite Element Analyses of Pressurizer Nozzle Weld Flaws On July 17, 2007, staff members from NRR and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research met with representatives of industry responsible for conducting the advanced finite element fracture mechanics analyses. These analyses were undertaken to address NRC staff's concerns regarding primary water stress corrosion cracking in pressurizer nozzle welds. Industry submitted a draft report on the analysis results on July 10, 2007. The purpose of the meeting was for NRC staff to provide comments on the draft report. Industry provided the NRC staff with the results of additional analyses that were performed after the issuance of the draft report that address NRC staff comments recommending additional treatment of multiple flaws initiation sites. Industry also discussed its planned approach for addressing Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards comments. A public meeting is scheduled for August 9, 2007, to provide a comprehensive discussion of analyses and conclusions. Monthly Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Public Meeting On July 18, 2007, the staff held the monthly ROP public meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to allow discussion of staff initiatives and provide a forum for industry feedback. Meeting attendees discussed mitigating systems performance index implementation, safety culture integration into the reactor oversight process, performance indicator issues, and open and new frequently asked questions for the ROP. Work-Hour Information Gathering On July 16-18, 2007, the staff conducted site visits to the Salem and North Anna facilities to gather information regarding the control of work hours for personnel performing safety-related functions during refueling outages. The information will be used in the regulatory analysis for the Part 26 Fitness for Duty Programs rulemaking. License Renewal Application for Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant On July 17, 2007, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) Panel held oral arguments on the pending 10 CFR 2.309 petition for hearing on the Shearon Harris License Renewal Application. The hearing, held in Raleigh, NC, discussed the four contentions filed by North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network and Nuclear Information and Resources Service. The ASLB is scheduled to render a decision by September 2007. Rejection of 10 CFR 2.206 Petition On July 12, 2007, the Petition Review Board comprised of multiple NRC offices, including NRR, Region III, the Office of Enforcement and the Office of General Council rejected a 10 CFR 2.206 petition request by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The UCS, represented by Mr. David Lochbaum, petitioned the NRC to take enforcement actions against the Davis-Besse plant (the licensee) and other pressurized water reactors in the U.S. depending upon the results of the NRC's independent review of a consultant-prepared report for the licensee's parent company, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC). The report, known as the Exponent report, was prepared as part of FENOC's dealings with its commercial insurer, Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited, in an attempt to capture costs associated with replacing the Davis-Besse reactor vessel head. The NRC either denied or rejected all requested actions in the proposed petition. Millstone Unit 3 Stretch Power Uprate (SPU) Application By application dated July 13, 2007, the licensee requested a 7% SPU for Millstone Unit 3. The application requests NRC approval of the amendment by June 30, 2008, with an implementation period of 12 months following NRC's approval of the amendment. Issuance of Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2007-17, Preparation and Scheduling of Operator Licensing Examinations On July 12, 2007, the NRC staff issued the subject RIS to inform addressees of the NRC staff's need for updated information on projected site-specific operator licensing examination schedules, as well as the estimated numbers of applicants planning to take operator licensing examinations and the NRC's generic fundamentals examinations. This information will help the NRC to more effectively use its resources. Office of New Reactors (NRO) Receipt of Partial Combined License Application (COLA) On July 13, 2007, UniStar Nuclear submitted the first part of its COLA for a U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor designated as Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNP) Unit 3 to be located in Lusby, Maryland, adjacent to CCNPP Units 1 and 2. This partial application was supplemented on July 16, 2007, and contained the environmental report, safety analysis report Chapter 2, "Site Characteristics," and other information such as financial qualifications and copies of state and local emergency response plans as required by 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5). The staff is currently performing an acceptance review of the partial application and, if found acceptable, the staff will docket the application. The second and final part of the CCNPP Unit 3 COLA should be submitted by March 2008. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Public Meeting on Post-closure Performance of a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain On July 11-12, 2007, the NRC held an Appendix 7 meeting with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in Las Vegas, on topics related to post-closure performance of a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain - specifically, multiscale thermohydrologic models, the chemistry of water in the near-field environment, and colloids and in-package chemistry. Members of the public attended as observers. Quarterly Management Meeting with USEC Inc. On July 9, 2007, a quarterly management meeting was held with USEC, related to its gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plants. Management and staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, and Region II, discussed the status of several licensing actions, the completion of the mandatory hearing, and the upcoming quality assurance inspection. USEC made a presentation and discussed its licensing status, organizational changes, manufacturing status, lease status, construction status, and planned activities at the plants, in the next six months. NRC and DOE Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Global Nucear Energy Partnership (GNEP) On July 13, 2007, NRC and DOE signed an MOU covering NRC involvement in DOE's GNEP. NRC Executive Director for Operations Luis Reyes signed the MOU with Paul Lisowski, DOE's Deputy Program Manager for GNEP. The MOU covers: (1) NRC participation in DOE technical information exchanges; (2) NRC review and analysis of reports and engineering studies; (3) NRC observation of tests, simulations, and demonstrations; (4) NRC participation in facility tours, meetings, and conferences; and (5) development of NRC staff's knowledge base in GNEP. A separate Interagency Agreement is being developed to cover the specific tasks outlined in the MOU. Meeting with Florida Power and Light (FP&L) Regarding Planned Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSIs) On July 18, 2007, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation staff met with representatives of FP&L, in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss FP&L's plans for ISFSIs, at the St. Lucie, Seabrook, and Turkey Point sites. FP&L intends to use the Transnuclear Incorporated, NUHOMS® HD dry cask storage system, under the general license provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, at all three sites. Construction is underway at both St. Lucie and Seabrook; FP&L plans to transfer the first loaded casks to the ISFSIs at those sites in March and August of 2008, respectively. Initial cask loading at the Turkey Point ISFSI is scheduled for 2011. FP&L described its proposed design and licensing changes for the NUHOMS® HD system, which include the need for a longer transfer cask and canister for the St. Lucie fuel, the addition of fuel types not currently approved in CoC No. 1030, and the likely need for an exemption regarding the low ambient temperature limit to allow loading at Seabrook. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) RES Publication of NUREG/CR-6938, "Final Report - Assessment of Potential Phosphate Ion-Cementitious Materials Interactions" On July 12, 2007, NUREG/CR-6938 was published, documenting the results of research conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on the potential effects of phosphate ions on cementitious materials used in concrete nuclear structures. Laboratory studies indicated that no harmful interactions occurred between phosphate solutions and concrete samples after exposure of up to eighteen months. The research also provided improved information which can be utilized to assess the effects and concentration of phosphate ions in groundwater and soil. The results of the subject research will support NRC's review of license renewal applications. RES Publication of Draft Regulatory Guide 1132 (DG-1132), "Qualification of Safety-Related Cables and Field Splices for Nuclear Power Plants" On July 16, 2007, the subject draft regulatory guide was issued, describing a method that the NRC considers acceptable for complying with its regulations for qualification of safety-related cables and field splices for nuclear power plants. RES Informational Seminar on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Piping Failure Data Exchange (OPDE) Database On July 20, 2007, the staff presented an informational seminar on the OPDE database, which is the product of an international cooperative effort to establish a comprehensive database on pipe degradation and failure in commercial nuclear power plants. The OPDE database provides data that is useful for operating experience and trending analysis, probabilistic risk analysis, risk-informed inservice inspections, probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis, and mitigation strategies evaluation. Fire Modeling Phenomena Identification Ranking Table (PIRT) Meetings During the week of July 9, 2007, RES held the second of three fire modeling PIRT meetings. This is the first time the PIRT process is being formally applied to fire modeling. Sandia National Laboratories is moderating the PIRT for the NRC and is preparing a summary report for issuance at calendar year's end. RES expects to use the completed PIRT to assist in the development of the Fire Modeling Users Guide and future experiments. Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) Meeting On July 18, 2007, the staff held a public meeting with PBMR (Pty) Ltd to discuss the staff's ongoing review of four white papers that have been submitted regarding a pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor design that is being proposed for submittal as a design certification application. The application is expected to be submitted in the later part of 2009. The subjects of the white papers are: (1) PBMR's approach to probabilistic risk assessment; (2) the identification of licensing basis events; (3) the classification of structures systems and components; and (4) the defense-in-depth approach. In addition to the technical discussions, PBMR (Pty) Ltd presented its plans to submit about 15 additional white papers before the end of 2008. The staff provided information about NRC's current priorities and resource constraints as applicable to its pre-application review. Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)
Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration (ADM) List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC) PC Revision 5; Confirmation of Effective Date (AI13 - Part 72) On July 13, 2007, the NRC published a document in the Federal Register (72 FR 38469) that confirms the July 24, 2007, effective date for a direct final rule amending the entry for the NAC International, Inc., NAC-MPC cask system in the list of approved spent fuel storage casks (Amendment 5). This action modifies the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) by revising the Technical Specifications to incorporate changes to the reporting and monitoring requirements to allow for visual inspection of the air inlet and outlet vents instead of thermal monitoring, and to replace all references to backfilling the cask with air to backfilling with inert gas. The rule also revises the CoC description to remove the requirement for tamper-indicating devices on the Vertical Concrete Casks. Denial of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-86) On July 18, 2007, the NRC published a document in the Federal Register (72 FR 39354) that denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by Sherwood Martinelli. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations to provide financial protection for individuals harmed by releases of nuclear material following an incident or attack at a nuclear facility, and to require licensees to pay for satellite communication systems for nuclear power plant communities to "protect human health and the environment." The petitioner also requested that nuclear facilities licensed by the NRC or the Federal government provide adequate funding to enable every family living within 10 miles of a nuclear facility to build, stock, and maintain a personal family shelter to allow families to shelter in place during releases of nuclear material following an incident or attack at a nuclear facility. The NRC is denying this petition because the NRC has determined that PRM-50-86 requests the NRC to take actions that exceed the NRC's authority, requests that the NRC address issues that the NRC has already considered in previous rulemakings, and fails to adequately support its requests to revise NRC regulations. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests Received During the Period of July 13 through July 19, 2007:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) received significant media inquiries on the following: A flood of media inquiries regarding the earthquake at the Japanese reactor complex. Regulatory requirements for distribution of irradiated gemstones, and NRC's proposed rule on the expanded definition of byproduct material. Oyster Creek's reactor scram triggered by a feedwater pump and the insignificant release of steam with low levels of tritium. Other Public Affairs Items: OPA set up Chairman Klein's interview by CNN's Situation Room to assure the public about U.S. plants and their earthquake resistence designs. OPA supported Commissioner McGaffigan's interview on Federal news radio on Tuesday where he discussed the NRC's action to fix the weakness in our materials licensing program pointed out by the GAO "sting." OPA supported Kristine Svinick's Confirmation Hearing Tuesday that was covered by Las Vegas Review-Tribune, BNA, Platts, McClatchy Newspapers and Exchange Monitor. OPA provided factual information and expert references to a reporter on studies of populations near nuclear power plants showing no adverse health effects. This was in contrast to what others claimed at a public session on the Shearon Harris plant license renewal application. No story has been published to date.
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Commission Correspondence
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region II (RII) V. C. Summer Pre-Decisional Enforcement Conference On July 17, 2007, representatives from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company attended an open Pre-Decisional Enforcement Conference in the RII Office. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of inspection findings. Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
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