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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-07-0151 August 31, 2007
Contact: J. Raber, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Meeting on the Development of a Code Case on Dissimilar Butt Welds On August 13, 2007, the Task Group on Alloy 600 met and finalized a significant portion of the draft Code case that the ASME is developing The Code case will provide appropriate examination frequency requirements for nickel-based dissimilar metal butt welds in reactor coolant pressure boundary piping of pressurized water reactors This action is intended to result in the incorporation of inspection requirements into the ASME Code that are similar to those contained in MRP-139, "Materials Reliability Program: Primary System Piping Butt Weld Inspection and Evaluation Guideline." The Code case will be issued for review and comment to the responsible ASME committees in September 2007, with the intent of gaining ASME approval of the Code case by April 2008. ASME Section III and Section XI Meeting During the week of August 13, 2007, the staff participated in several ASME Section III and Section XI meetings at the working group, sub-group, and subcommittee levels Section XI Working Group on Containment discussed proposed revisions of a consolidated list of certain ambiguous provisions in ASME Subsections IWE and IWL to clarify the current wording and improve understanding of intended requirements. The Commentary for Subsection IWE was recommended for publishing Additionally, in reaction to the recently published NRC Regulatory Guide 1.207, "Guidelines for Evaluating Fatigue Analyses Incorporating the Life Reduction of Metal Components Due to the Effects of the Light-Water Reactor Environment for New Reactors,' a draft ASME Code non-mandatory appendix to address environmental fatigue was presented to the Section III, Subgroup Design and Subcommittee on Nuclear Power The Section III, Subgroup and Subcommittee voted to proceed with the development of the nonmandatory appendix Updates on staff activities were also presented to the various subcommittees. Operator Licensing Regional Counterparts and Industry Focus Group Meetings On August 23, 2007, the staff from Division of Inspection and Regional Support (DIRS) conducted a counterparts meeting with Regional staff to review a number of issues related to the operator licensing program The discussion topics included simulator fidelity and testing, public comments on the Draft Supplement to Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, AOperator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ and the associated Knowledge and Abilities Catalogs (NUREGs -1122 and -1123), requalification training and examinations, and operator licensing issues at new reactors The meeting was followed, on August 24, 2007, by a public meeting with the Industry Focus Group on Operator Licensing, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to review a similar set of issues Staff from DIRS hosted the public meeting with support from the Associate Director for Operating Reactor Oversight and Licensing, the Regional staff, and representatives from the Office of New Reactors. Monthly Reactor Oversight Process Public Meeting On August 22, 2007, staff from DIRS held the monthly Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) public meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to allow discussion on staff initiatives and provide a forum for industry feedback. Meeting attendees discussed mitigating systems performance index implementation, safety culture integration into the ROP, performance indicator issues, and open and new frequently asked questions for the ROP. Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2007-19 On August 20, 2007, the staff issued RIS 2007-19, AProcess for Communicating Clarifications of Staff Positions Provided in Regulatory Guide 1.205 Concerning Issues Identified During the Pilot Application of National Fire Protection Association Standard 805. NFPA 805 Frequently Asked Questions Monthly Meeting On August 23, 2007, the staff participated in a monthly teleconference with representatives from the NEI NFPA 805 Task Force and other stakeholders to address questions related to the adoption of NFPA 805. Office of New Reactors (NRO) Technical Training to the Chinese on the AP1000 Design From August 6-17, 2007, staff from NRO, and the Offices of Human Resources, Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) and International Programs provided technical training to the Chinese on the AP1000 design and the NRC's design certification review in Beijing and Beidaihe, China. In addition, the staff was briefed on nuclear and radiation safety in China by managers from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) of the People's Republic of China This training program was the first cooperative activity under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) between the NRC and the NNSA signed in May 2007 The MOC agrees to cooperation on the nuclear safety review and inspection for the siting, design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning and operation phases of the AP1000. The NRC-NNSA Steering Committee on Nuclear Safety Cooperation will meet annually to determine future cooperation activities. Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology Conference From August 12-August 17, 2007, staff from NRO, RES, and the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards presented papers at the 19th Session of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology in Toronto, Canada. Additionally, Commissioner Lyons gave an opening address and participated in the Leadership Forum NRC staff also chaired a session on "Seismic Fragility Methods." There was also considerable interest in the plenary sessions on "New Reactors: U.S. Plans, Process, and Progress,' and "Knowledge Management at the NRC - Capturing the Past to Prepare for the Future." The NRC participants also held brief discussions with two members of the International Atomic Energy Agency mission who went to Japan and toured the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa site. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Technical Exchange on Pre-Closure and Post-Closure Criticality at Yucca Mountain On August 16, 2007, NRC staff met with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at a public Technical Exchange at NRC Headquarters The meeting focused on criticality safety during the pre-closure and post-closure periods, at the potential high-level waste repository, at Yucca Mountain, Nevada DOE explained its approach for analyzing and screening criticality-event sequences, and its plans to obtain additional data to support the use of burn-up credit in post-closure analysis. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Signed by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Department of Energy On August 23, 2007, the MOU between the NRC and DOE, for the Protection of Classified Information and Related Security Activities at Uranium Enrichment Facilities, was signed. The purpose of this MOU is to define and set forth the mutual understanding of the assistance DOE will provide NRC in carrying out its responsibilities, with respect to certain classified information technology systems, and related security activities, at specified uranium enrichment facilities, licensed or otherwise regulated by NRC. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) Meeting with Hyperion Power Generation, Inc. (HPG) on the Hyperion Reactor Design On August 22, 2007, staff from RES, and the Offices of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, New Reactors, and Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response met with representatives from HPG to discuss items related to pre-application review of the Hyperion reactor design NRC staff opened the Category 1 public meeting by presenting high-level questions HPG then presented an overview of their organization, followed by a presentation regarding the major concepts of their proposed design HPG indicated that formal analysis and design documentation suitable for NRC pre-application review would be available in late Fiscal Year 2009 Members of the public in attendance included representatives from Areva NP, Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty) Ltd., Platts, and Westinghouse. Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR) Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration (ADM) EnergySolutions; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-88) On August 21, 2007, the NRC published a document in the Federal Register (72 FR 46569) that requests comment on a petition for rulemaking submitted by Thomas E. Magette of EnergySolutions (PRM-50-88). The petitioner requests NRC amend its regulations to allow funds from licensees' decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of disposal of "major radioactive components' that have been removed from reactors before the permanent cessation of operations The comment period for this action closes November 5, 2007. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests Received During the Period of August 17 through August 23, 2007:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) OPA received significant media inquiries on the following: Nuclear Fuel Services' recent hearing request, recent staff proposals, NRC's Official Use Only policy, the Atomic Safety Licensing Board process and upcoming Commission decision. Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's possible strike, a new batch of KI pills for community, and deterioration of a bank of forced-air cooling towers. Indian Point nuclear plant's new siren system, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) review of system and license renewal reviews. MOX hearing on proposed plant. Other Public Affairs Items: OPA participated and coordinated interviews at the mixed oxide (MOX) Hearing in Augusta, GA. OPA participated in the Vogtle License Renewal public meeting. OPA participated in the Hatch exercise. OPA responded to a Forbes article about an unbalance cybersecurity article - OPA reiterated that rector safety systems and their controls are physically isolated form the internet and cannot be manipulated remotely.
Office of International Programs (OIP) Export License Issued For Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Japan On August 20, 2007, OIP issued a license (XSNM3485) to the U.S. Department of Energy/New Brunswick Laboratory authorizing the export of gram quantities of natural and high-enriched uranium to Japan for use at the Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant to carry out material accountancy analyses using the Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry method. Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region II (RII) Hatch Emergency Exercise On August 22, 2007, RII participated in the biennial Federal Emergency Management Agency exercise with the Southern Nuclear Company's Hatch Nuclear Plant A RII Base Team staffed the RII Incident Response Center with the Director, Division of Reactor Safety as the Base Team Manager A RII Site Team participated under the direction of the Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations, who was the Site Team Director in the Emergency Operations Facility in Birmingham, Alabama. The State of Georgia participated at the Forward Emergency Operations Center in Vidalia, Georgia, and the NRC had liaison participation with the state there, in Birmingham, and thru the Base Team in Atlanta The Joint Information Center was activated and the RII Public Affairs Officer participated from that location. Region IV (RIV) Commissioner Lyons' Visit to Diablo Canyon On August 23, Commissioner Lyons toured the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant He was accompanied by the RIV Deputy Regional Administrator They met with senior plant management and discussed plant performance Commissioner Lyons also met with San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services personnel and the Chairman of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. |
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