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SECY 99-089

March 25, 1999

Contact:  M. Evans, OEDO

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Meeting with EPRI on Risk-Informed ISI (RI-ISI) Methodology

On March 2 and 3, 1999, representatives of EPRI and its contractors met with the NRC staff at the NRC's offices in Rockville, Maryland to discuss the EPRI RI-ISI Topical Report. EPRI presented technical details of its RI-ISI methodology and addressed staff's questions and comments. Two pilot applications, Vermont Yankee and ANO-2, which were based on an earlier version of EPRI Topical Report, have been reviewed and approved by the staff. EPRI will incorporate the lessons learned from these pilots into its revised Topical Report. The staff anticipates that the generic assessment of the revised methodologies and techniques that have been demonstrated through the pilots will be straightforward. However, EPRI has presented alternative methodologies to be included in the topical that were not utilized as part of the pilot reviews. For example, EPRI will propose that applicants that change the Section XI inspection program on Class 1 piping only, need not perform a plant specific change in risk evaluation. The supporting generic risk evaluation and associated screening methodology to demonstrate that the generic evaluation is applicable to an individual plant has not yet been submitted to the staff for review. Also, since the RG and SRP explicitly exclude changes to a plant's current augmented program, the staff and industry have begun to investigate how the augmented inspection programs can be risk informed and improved.

The meeting was productive and concluded in establishing some major milestones to complete the final staff safety evaluation (September, 1999), including schedules for ACRS and CRGR presentations.

Meeting with NEI

The Director, Division of Inspection Program Management and members of the Operator Licensing and Human Performance Branch staff, met with members of the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI ) Initial Licensed Operator Task Force at the NEI offices on March 11, 1999. The public meeting was convened to update the industry on the status of the operator licensing rule change and the associated implementation guidance in Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." It was agreed that the NRC and NEI would establish a working group to promote the consistent and efficient implementation of Revision 8 and to consider long-term enhancements for the initial examination format.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

10 CFR Part 70 Website

All of the draft proposed 10 CFR Part 70 rule language has been posted on the Part 70 Website. The nuclear criticality safety and decommissioning Standard Review Plan (SRP) chapters have also been posted on the Website. The draft proposed rule and SRP were revised to address public comments. Work on the SRP to address public comments received to date is continuing. There will be a public meeting held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 23-24, 1999, to discuss the draft proposed Part 70 rule, and sections of the associated draft SRP.

Meeting with Oak Ridge National Laboratory

On March 10-11, 1999, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to discuss revisions to the schedule for the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). PFS submitted a license application to operate an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation on the reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. ORNL is providing technical assistance to the staff for the preparation of the EIS. The staff is revising the schedule to include additional activities required by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Indian Affairs, cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS. This includes an additional EIS scoping meeting requested by BLM as a result of an amendment which proposes the construction and use of a rail line on BLM property. At this time, the staff does not believe that the schedule changes will impact either the completion of the EIS or the hearing schedule.

Meeting with British Nuclear Fuels, Limited, Fuel Solutions

On March 9, 1999, a meeting was held between the Spent Fuel Project Office and British Nuclear Fuels, Limited, (BNFL) Fuel Solutions (FS) to discuss the BNFL FS TranStor Storage and Shipping Cask applications. The discussion focused on the current status of the application submittals and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff review. In addition, BNFL FS management discussed improvements made over the past year to its quality assurance program.

Meeting with Transnuclear, Inc., on the TN-68 Dry Cask Storage Design

On March 17, 1999, members of the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) met with Transnuclear, Inc., (TN) to discuss the on-going review of the TN-68 dry storage cask application. SFPO staff and PNNL presented their remaining issues in the review, and TN provided its proposed solutions to these issues. Specific details of the solutions were discussed among the respective team members. TN stated that it would provide a letter of commitments to staff within two working days. The TN-68 is planned for use at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. Philadelphia Electric Company representatives were present at the meeting.

International Atomic Energy Agency Meeting on Conducting Peer Reviews of National Regulatory Programs

On March 8-12, 1999, a staff member of the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety (IMNS) participated in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Committee meeting to develop a document on conducting peer reviews of national programs that regulate the use of radioactive materials and sources. The meeting was attended by technical staff or managers from Byellarus, Czech Republic, Cuba, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, and Mexico, as well as the U.S. The participants formed two working groups to review and revise portions of the previously-drafted document, and the IMNS representative led one of the working groups. During the week, the meeting participants finished writing the document, which will be presented for approval and publication at the next IAEA Radiation Safety Advisory Committee meeting. IAEA envisions that, once approved, the document will provide a model for review (upon request) of member and non-member states' nuclear materials regulatory programs and national radiation protection infrastructures, often by independent technical reviewers from other nations. The peer review model in the document is adapted from and based loosely on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program, with substantial modifications. IAEA hopes to use peer reviews, especially, to assess the progress of countries in the "Model Project" with developing regulatory programs.

Meeting with Nuclear Energy Institute on High-Level Waste

On March 15, 1999, management from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) met with representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss items of interest to NEI. At the meeting, NEI discussed how it would be working with the Department of Energy (DOE) to address quality assurance issues for the high-level waste repository program. In addition, NEI and NMSS discussed the status of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's review of DOE's Viability Assessment and the NRC's role in the DOE site suitability recommendation. Finally, NEI presented several comments on the proposed 10 CFR Part 63. Topics discussed included: (1) an informal hearing process; (2) the NEI view that requirements for multiple barriers are not needed; (3) consistency of Part 63 with the Energy Policy Act of 1992; and (4) the biosphere concept in Part 63. Some issues identified by NEI included: (1) NEI's view that NRC is overly conservative on human intrusion; (2) a recommendation that Part 63 provide for staged licensing; and (3) consideration of a 1000-year performance period. In particular, NEI wanted to know if the surface facilities could be licensed separate from the underground repository. NRC staff recommended that NEI provide these comments and their bases in writing as public comments on proposed Part 63.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issues Final Environmental Impact Statement for Atlas Site

On March 12, 1999, Division of Waste Management staff issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) related to reclamation of the Uranium Mill Tailings at the Atlas Site in Moab, Utah. Atlas's proposal for on-site reclamation of its uranium mill tailings pile was found environmentally acceptable if the company meets a number of specific requirements from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and if it can show, by gathering additional data and performing more detailed analyses, that the proposed actions will meet ammonia concentration requirements for the Colorado River specified in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final biological opinion of July 1998.

Based on the conclusions in the FEIS, the NRC is prepared to amend the Atlas license to approve its proposal for reclamation with the conditions that were identified in a letter dated March 2, 1999, to the licensee. However, before NRC can revise the Atlas license, the licensee must agree to accept the conditions. In addition, before the amendment can be granted, there is a 30-day waiting period after publication by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA NEI ) of a Federal Register notice stating that the FEIS has been filed with EPA.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

MARSSIM Team Wins Hammer Award

Several NRC staff members (Robert Meck, George Powers, and Cheryl Trottier from RES, and Anthony Huffert from NMSS) will be recipients of Vice President Gore's Hammer Award on April 16, 1999, for developing the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARRSIM). This award is presented to teams of Federal employees who have made significant contributions in support of reinventing government principles. The full team was comprised of staff from NRC, DOD, EPA, and DOE. The MARSSIM team took the initiative to develop a single guidance document to be used by all Federal agencies so that there would be a consistent approach for planning, performing and assessing final status surveys used to meet release criteria.

Environmental Qualification (EQ) of Electric Equipment

On Friday, March 19, 1999, Division of Engineering Technology staff held a public meeting to discuss the results from the first three of a planned six Environmental Qualification tests of electric cables. This meeting was one of several that the staff has held with the public regarding the test plans and the initial results, and marked the mid-point of the planned testing program. The meeting participants included representatives from twenty electric utilities, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), consultants, private sector contractors, RES and NRR and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) staff. The results from the tests will contribute to the resolution of Generic Safety Issue (GSI) 168 on Environmental Qualification (EQ) of Electric Equipment.

The staff and their contractor, BNL, discussed the results of three completed LOCA tests, the planned test program for the remaining three LOCA tests, and the merits and limitations of various condition monitoring methods (CMs). The industry participants provided comments and observations on several aspects of the LOCA tests and the evaluation of the CM techniques. They committed to provide written recommendations and comments in the next two weeks for the staff's consideration. It is anticipated that further meetings will be held as the testing progresses.

Meeting With Industry on Pressurized Thermal Shock

RES held a meeting with industry representatives on March 16, 1999, to discuss a RES initiative to develop the technical basis for revising the Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule (PTS), 10 CFR 50.61. Participants in the meeting included staff from RES and NRR, and representatives from the Materials Reliability Project (MRP), NEI, EPRI, NSSS vendors, and individual licensees. RES staff presented the overall program plan for developing the technical basis for a major revision to the PTS rule. The program builds on significant developments stemming from the research program over the last 10 years, with particular emphasis on major advances made in the last 5 years in the areas of initial flaw distributions and embrittlement trends. It is anticipated that this effort will lead to a significant burden reduction for the industry while maintaining the currently accepted level of safety by basing the rule on specific research results rather than on excessively conservative engineering judgements.

The staff had previously invited the industry to participate in this effort as a cooperative program. The staff intends to approach developing the technical basis as a fully participative activity, and is seeking to formalize the industry participation through the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between RES and EPRI.

The industry representatives indicated their continuing interest in participating in this program, and specific actions were identified that will lead to an addendum to the RES/EPRI MOU addressing this effort. Additionally, specific points of contact for both the staff and the industry are being identified to coordinate the activities related to (1) probabilistic fracture mechanics, (2) thermal hydraulics, (3) identification and categorization of transients, and (4) determining an allowable frequency of pressure vessel failure consistent with current risk-informed initiatives. The next meeting will be held on April 20 and 21, 1999, to initiate specific activities in each of these areas. It is anticipated that the effort to develop the technical basis for revising the PTS rule will be completed by December 2001.

ASME Workshop on PRA Standard

A public workshop, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), was hosted by the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Branch (PRAB), Division of Systems Technology in the NRC auditorium on Tuesday, March 16, 1999. The ASME has issued a draft "Standard for Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plant Applications" for public review and comment. The purpose of the ASME workshop was to present the scope, format and approach taken in writing the standard. The Standard, written by a project team which represented nuclear licensees, industry consultants, and NRC interests, is intended to provide criteria and methodology which will help ensure an acceptable level of quality and confidence in nuclear industry PRAs to be used in risk-informed applications. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research has worked closely with the ASME in this effort. Chairman Shirley Ann Jackson provided opening remarks stating that "...a standard that ensures the quality and consistency of a PRA will be of key importance in helping to ensure an effective and efficient risk-informed regulatory system. This is our goal - to have a standard that defines PRA quality...." The public review and comment period ends April 30, 1999; comments should be submitted to Jess Moon at the ASME (email address: moonj@asme.org).

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

STATE OUTREACH TRAINING SESSION

An IRO staff member conducted a State Outreach training session on March 3 and 4, 1999 at the Cooper facility in Brownville, Nebraska. Attendees included emergency services and radiation health officials from the States of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. The utility, county and other Federal agencies had representatives attend. The session included a Tabletop exercise in the post-plume phase, presentations on the NRC and Federal response and participation as NRC in the Cooper EOF exercise with the States of Missouri and Nebraska. It was well received.

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS:

1. PNO-I-99-014, Construction Engineering Consultants, Inc. OVEREXPOSED PERSONNEL DOSE MONITOR
   
   
2. PNO-II-99-009, NDT and Inspections, STOLEN RADIOGRAPHY DEVICE
   
   
3. PNO-III-99-012, Washington University Medical Center, MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Electronic Commerce

On March 17, 1999, a staff member from the Division of Contracts and Property Management participated in a meeting of the Procurement Executive Council's Electronic Commerce (EC) Subcommittee. The group discussed EC data gathering requirements for preparation of annual EC reports for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). As a result of the discussion, the group will sponsor with OFPP a baselining of EC information currently collected to identify which agency EC initiatives worked well. OFPP also submitted a copy of draft legislation which would permit further streamlining of solicitation posting through an alternate single Government-wide point of entry to the Commerce Business Daily.

Use of Alternative Source Terms at Operating Reactors (Parts 21, 50, and 54)

A proposed rule that would allow holders of nuclear power plant operating licenses to voluntarily replace the traditional source term used in design basis accident analyses with alternative source terms was published in the Federal Register on March 11, 1999 (64 FR 12117). The proposed rule would allow interested licensees to pursue cost beneficial licensing actions to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden without affecting the margin of safety. The comment period on this action closes May 25, 1999.

OWFN Front Extension

Construction of the OWFN front vestibule extension continued with the erection of the structural steel on Wednesday, March 17,1999. Installation of the terrazzo floor is scheduled for Friday, March 19,1999, through Wednesday, March 24,1999. The installation of the enclosure and doors is scheduled to begin immediately after the terrazzo floor is finished. The entire project is scheduled to be completed the first week in April.

Security Support

The Division of Facilities and Security is coordinating security support for a public demonstration scheduled for the morning of March 23,1999, outside OWFN. The demonstration is related to the uranium mining license at Crownpoint, New Mexico, and is expected to be limited to 10 people with posters. The demonstrators are in town to lobby Congress and have scheduled the stop at NRC while in town.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of March 12, 1999 through March 18, 1999:

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Media Interest

Hub Miller, Region I, was interviewed by two radio stations in Philadelphia regarding the TMI accident, Y2K, NRC's changing regulatory environment, and the schools program.

Frank Congel, Incident Response Operations, will be interviewed next week by Fox News on the TMI accident.

ABC and CNN news bureaus have visited Oconee and Sequoyah to prepare for separate reports dealing with nuclear power plants operating in a deregulated environment.

The Virginian-Pilot is preparing a story this weekend regarding NRC inspectors at Surry.

There was high media interest (TV, print, radio) in the first of three restart meetings for Clinton.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

CEA Delegation from France

A six-person delegation from the French Atomic Energy Administration (CEA) met with Bill Brach and other managers of the Spent Fuel Project Office on March 15. Mr. Brach briefed the team on NRC's role and involvement in the storage of spent fuel. The delegation was headed by Dr. Christophe Poinssot, Coordinator for the CEA spent fuel research program. Recently, the government of France decided to investigate the storage of spent nuclear fuel for up to 300 years. Because of their reliance on recycling light water fuel, they have little experience with spent fuel behavior over long periods. The delegation is making an extended tour of appropriate parties in the U.S. to become familiar with the state of knowledge and to learn the technical issues here.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to President of the U.S. Senate Albert Gore and Speaker of the House Hastert, dated March 5, 1999, provides the NRC's Annual Report of the Administration of the Government in the Sunshine Act for CY 1998.
   
   
2. Letter to Senators James Inhofe and Pete Domenici and Representatives Joe Barton and Ron Packard, dated March 5, 1999, provides the monthly report for the month of February 1999 on the status of licensing activities and regulatory duties of the NRC.
   
   
3. Letter to Ms. Gary Jones, GAO, dated March 5, 1999, provides comments on a draft report, "Nuclear Regulation: Strategy Needed to Regulate Risk-Significant Issues" (incoming dated February 24, 1999 also released).
   
   
4. Letter to Dr. Kevin Crowley, National Research Council, dated March 5, 1999,concerns funding to support a study of the National Academy of Sciences entitled "Civilian Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead" (incoming dated January 29, 1999 also released).
   
   
5. Letter to Representative Joe Barton, dated March 11, 1999, provides responses to questions from the February 10, 1999 Subcommittee hearing to discuss the important issues regarding H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 (incoming dated February 19, 19999 also released).

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. State of Ohio: NRC Staff Assessment of a Proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of Ohio
   
   
2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Joint Meeting of the Subcommittees on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment and on Regulatory Policies and Practices; Notice of Meeting on April 7, 1999
   
   
3. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting on April 6, 1999

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Meeting to Discuss Farm Problems in the Area of Boyertown, PA

At the request of EPA Region III, NRC Region I sent a representative to a meeting held on March 1, 1999, at the offices of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The meeting was held to discuss problems reported by farmers in the area of Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Farmers in the area claim that, since 1992, environmental pollution in the area has harmed crops, livestock and farm workers. Although radiation surveys by the EPA have thus far demonstrated otherwise, some of the farmers believe that an NRC licensee, Cabot Corporation, which is located near the farms, is to blame. Region I staff attended the meeting to provide information related to activities involving the use of radioactive material at Cabot Corporation. Other attendees included representatives from the EPA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the University of Pennsylvania - New Bolton Large Animal Veterinary facility, the Montgomery County Health Department and the Pennsylvania State University.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

South Carolina Electric & Gas Company

On March 15, representatives from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company met in the Regional Office to discuss the V. C. Summer upcoming refueling outage. The licensee also presented an overview of 1998 plant performance and discussed the status of several technical issues.

Tennessee Valley Authority - Watts Bar

On March 18, the Regional Administrator, accompanied by a Branch Chief, toured the Watts Bar facility, observed the ice basket servicing, and discussed results of the ice basket coupling screw testing.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Management Meeting with Illinois Power Company - Clinton

On March 18, 1999, a management meeting was conducted in Clinton, Illinois, between management representatives from Illinois Power Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on the current status of performance improvement activities at the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has been shut down since September of 1996. NRC Region III Regional Administrator Jim Dyer participated in the meeting.

Reactor Operator Licensing - Byron

On March 13, 1999, NRC Region III Regional Administrator Jim Dyer presented certificates in Rockford, Illinois, to one reactor operator and three senior reactor operators who were administered the NRC licensing examination at the Byron Nuclear Power Station the week of September 14, 1998.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999

Visit by Regional Administrator to the Callaway Plant

On March 17, 1999, the Regional Administrator visited the Callaway Plant to tour the facility and present license certificates to operators who had recently completed the operator licensing process.

Predecisional Enforcement Conference with International Radiography & Inspection Services (IRIS)

The Regional Administrator and members of his staff held a predecisional enforcement conference with the President and Radiation Safety Officer of IRIS to discuss apparent violations. The closed meeting, conducted on March 18, 1999, in the Region IV office, was transcribed.

ENCLOSURE R

Office of Congressional Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending March 19, 1999