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INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0114

May 25, 2000

Contact:  K. Landis, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MAY 19, 2000

The Weekly Information Report is compiled by the Office of the EDO and includes highlights of Headquarters and Regional Office activities.

Contact: K. Landis, OEDO by E-mail: kdl@nrc.gov.

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ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Reactor Oversight Process - Self Assessment

The IIPB staff formed four working groups to identify an approach for conducting its reactor oversight process (ROP) self-assessment during the initial implementation period. The areas for assessment included Inspections, Performance Indicators, Significance Determination Process, and Assessment and Enforcement. The working groups developed performance metrics and identified areas that can be reasonably measured to evaluate whether the ROP is meeting its stated objectives and the agency's performance goals. The working groups will next obtain and incorporate regional comments into this development effort.

Staff Holds Public Scoping Meetings in Support of the Environmental Review for the Edwin 1, Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 License Renewal Application

The NRC staff participated in a number of activities last week related to the license renewal application for Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Hatch). On Wednesday, May 10, 2000, the staff conducted two meetings to solicit comments from the public on the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS) and the significant issues to be considered as part of the review process. The EIS will be a plant-specific supplement to the "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (GEIS). Representatives of the NRC staff, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC), the nuclear industry, State agencies, local government officials, special interest groups, and members of the public attended. Approximately fifty members of the public were in attendance with about twenty-five persons making comments during one or both of the two meetings. The scoping period ends on June 9, 2000.

In addition, on May 10 and 11, 2000, the staff and its contractors from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory visited the site to gather additional information on the environmental aspects of the license renewal application. The team considered the full scope of environmental issues for license renewal, including ecological, historic, human health, hydrologic, and socioeconomic impacts, as well as SNC's process for identifying significant new information on the Category 1 issues identified in the GEIS. The staff will use this information in preparing the plant-specific supplement to the GEIS.

NRC Information Notice 2000-08:  Inadequate Assessment of the Effect of Differential Temperatures on Safety-Related Pumps Dated May 15, 2000

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued this information notice to inform addresses of the potential for differential temperature conditions to affect the operability of safety-related pumps.

NEI White Paper on Decommissioning Rulemaking

On May 16, 2000, the NRC received a White Paper from NEI containing industry recommendations on how the NRC should undertake rulemaking for decommissioning power reactors. The industry recommendations in the White Paper differ substantially from the rulemaking approach prepared by the staff and will be the topic of future discussions.

Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 - Steam Generator Review Status

On February 11, 2000, the licensee submitted a deterministic operational assessment for the ANO-2 steam generator (SG) tubing, which concluded that ANO-2 can safely operate until the September 2000 refueling and SG replacement outage without having to shutdown by June 25 for a steam generator tube inspection. The licensee maintains that tube R72C72 would have met the in-situ test criteria of 3xdelta-P without failure if the test pump had a higher capacity. By letter to the licensee dated May 2, 2000, the NRC provided its basis and conclusion that the analyses presented by the licensee did not demonstrate compliance with the ASME code criterion that SG tubes will maintain a strength margin of a factor of 3 against burst, at the normal operating pressure differential for the portion of the operating cycle remaining after about June 25, 2000.

In order to provide a potential parallel success path to the deterministic approach discussed above, by license amendment application dated March 9, 2000, the licensee proposed a risk-informed analysis of the SG tubes in order to conclude that the ANO-2 SGs are safe to operate until the September 2000 outage. By letter to the licensee dated May 12, 2000, the NRC stated that the licensee's repeated attempts to estimate the strength of flawed SG tubes as a function of time during the current operating period have failed NRC's checks for consistency with known information. The NRC added that it is willing to continue its review of the application provided the licensee responds to NRC's request for an estimate of the strength of flawed SG tubes that is consistent with known information.

During a phone call with the licensee on May 16, 2000, the licensee and the NRC were again unable to agree on an acceptable method to estimate the strength of flawed SG tubes as a function of time. As a result, the licensee decided to reconsider the NRC comments.

On May 18, 2000, the licensee indicated that their response to NRC's review of the deterministic assessment would be provided by mid-day.

Beaver Valley, Units 1 and 2 - Commissioner Merrifield Site Visit

On May 15, 2000, Commissioner Merrifield made a site visit to the Beaver Valley Power Station. As part of the agenda, the Commissioner spoke at an "all hands" meeting with the utility staff. The Commissioner stated in his comments that, although licensee performance at Beaver Valley has been improving, additional improvements are needed for the plant to reach the top quartile of the industry. Further, he noted that changes within the industry with regard to continuous improvements present additional challenges to the utility.

Oconee

On May 11, 2000, Chairman Meserve visited the Oconee Nuclear Station. He spent time with the resident inspectors, and Duke Energy Corporation President, William Coley, and Executive Vice President for Nuclear Generation, Mike Tuckman. His tour of the plant with Site Vice President, Bill McCollum, included the turbine building, the Safe Shutdown Facility, and the Keowee hydro plant that supplies emergency power to Oconee's three units. Chairman Meserve also met with media reporters from the Anderson Independent, the Greenville News, WGOG-FM in Walhalla, and the Seneca Journal.

Indian Point 2

Indian Point 2 experienced a steam generator tube failure on February 15, 2000. In response, Con Ed performed an inspection of the steam generators to support unit restart. The staff is conducting a review of Con Ed's inspection. Further, NRC approval of restart is required by Technical Specifications 4.13 because more than 1 percent of the tubes inspected were found defective. As part of the review, the staff requested several written responses from Con Ed to document results needed to support the staff's efforts. The requested information includes: response to requests for additional information forwarded on March 14 and 24, 2000, an operational assessment, and a root cause evaluation of the tube failure. On April 18, 2000, Con Ed submitted their root cause evaluation of the tube failure. The staff performed a preliminary review of the evaluation and issued several questions to Con Ed on April 28, 2000 regarding the completeness of the evaluation provided. A meeting was held on May 3, 2000, with Con Ed to discuss the evaluation and the additional information previously requested.

Con Ed is currently preparing their response to the staff's requests and expects to provide them to the staff by early June 2000. Upon receipt of all the requested information, staff will prepare a safety evaluation (SE) documenting its conclusions regarding the acceptability of the IP2 steam generators to support restart. Prior to issuance of the SE the staff will hold a public meeting in the vicinity of the plant to discuss its review with Con Ed and interested members of the public. In addition, Region I will perform an inspection concurrent with NRR preparing their SE.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

NEI's Transportation Task Force

On May 9, 2000, Spent Fuel Project Office and Department of Transportation (DOT ) staff attended a meeting of NEI's Transportation Task Force at NEI Headquarters to discuss possible changes to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or DOT transportation regulations related to either current or future versions of the International Atomic Energy Agency's transportation regulations (ST-1). The discussions focused on several issues, including low specific activity/surface contaminated object requirements, quality assurance, 10 CFR 72.48 comparability, and special package approvals. Another issue concerned possible applications for package design review against ST-1 standards before NRC adopted ST-1. NEI was advised that the 10 CFR Part 71 Issues Paper which describes NRC's planned approach for revising Part 71 to incorporate ST-1 is scheduled for publication in early June 2000, and that comment on the issues will be solicited at that time and at public meetings planned for this summer.

Interim Staff Guidance 11, "Transportation and Storage of Spent Fuel Having Burnups in Excess of 45 Gwd/MTU"

The Spent Fuel Project Office revised Interim Staff Guidance 11 (ISG), "Transportation and Storage of Spent Fuel Having Burnups in Excess of 45 Gwd/MTU." This revision affects both the shipping and storage of spent nuclear fuel and was issued on May 16, 2000. ISG 11 addresses the issue of maintaining cladding integrity in high burnup fuels and such parameters as oxide thickness, hydrogen content, and creep in the cladding. Staff determined that high burnup fuel will be safe to transport and store in accordance with the guidelines established in the ISG. The ISG will be incorporated into the appropriate Standard Review Plans affecting 10 CFR Part 71 and Part 72 reviews.

Issuance Interim Staff Guidance 13, "Real Individual"

On May 17, 2000, the Spent Fuel Project Office issued Interim Staff Guidance 13 (ISG), "Real Individual," to provide guidance for determining radiation dose to individuals as required by 10 CFR Part 72. The purpose of the guidance is to: (1) clarify the meaning of a real individual as used in Part 72.104; (2) specify how the applicant may perform dose evaluations beyond the controlled area for site-specific and general independent spent fuel storage installation licenses; and (3) clarify Standard Review Plan text regarding dose calculations outside the controlled area. The ISG will be incorporated into the appropriate Standard Review Plans affecting Part 72 reviews.

General Accounting Office Conducts Entrance Meeting on Review Related to U.S. Enrichment Corporation Privatization

On May 16, 2000, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards attended an entrance meeting conducted by staff from the General Accounting Office (GAO). The Chairman of the House Commerce Committee requested that GAO conduct a review of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation's (USEC's) conduct of its role as Executive Agent for the import of Russian uranium. Completion of this review will include the need to obtain background information from Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff including that related to the chronology of USEC's privatization and the ongoing financial review. The staff discussed the NRC's regulatory role, Standard Review Plan, stakeholders, NRC's understanding of the role of the Enrichment Oversight Committee, and the ongoing NRC financial review. GAO plans to deliver a report to the House Commerce Committee by September 2000. Besides interviewing NRC, GAO plans to interview staff from the executive agencies involved, as well as USEC personnel and the investment banks involved.

Interagency Agreement with the Department of Energy

On May 18, 2000, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards received the signed Interagency Agreement (IA) from the Deparment of Energy (DOE ) for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to provide assistance on Material Protection, Control, and Accounting to Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. The Commission approved the IA in early 2000. The staff anticipates a quick review during the next week prior to signing the IA. The NRC staff will also arrange a meeting with DOE to discuss needs and priorities for assistance for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2000 and early Fiscal Year 2001 under the agreement.

Annual Presentation of Control of Solid Materials at the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors Meeting

On May 17, 2000, a representative from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety made a presentation on the status of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) efforts on the control of solid materials at the 32^nd Annual National Conference on Radiation Control (annual meeting of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors) in Tampa, Florida. This presentation summarized the stakeholder comments received on the issues paper and at the public meetings and the staff's recommendations provided in SECY-00-0070. In addition, a presentation was made by the Chair of the E-23 committee on Resource Recovery and Radioactivity which addressed the need for NRC to continue its efforts to establish a national standard for control of solid material.

Staff Holds Public Meeting Concerning Maine Yankee License Termination Plan

On May 15, 2000, staff of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Region I, and the Office of the General Counsel held a public meeting to discuss the License Termination Plan (LTP) submitted by Maine Yankee (MY). The meeting was held at Wiscasset High School, Wiscasset, Maine. The State Senator moderated the discussion. Following introductions by the Senator, brief presentations were presented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and MY staff. During the MY presentation, it was announced that MY would submit an amendment to its LTP to address questions raised as a result of recent state legislation that established state remediation standards for the site. Details of the amended plan were not discussed. The scope of these changes will be addressed within the next 30 days. A comment/question and answer period followed the presentations. Commenters included two representatives of the State of Maine, the Environmental Protection Agency (Region 1), the MY Citizen's Advisory Panel, several public interest groups, and concerned citizens. Issues raised included: (1) storage of spent fuel; (2) characterization of the site; (3) verification of compliance with the state remediation criteria; (4) the accuracy of the LTP in light of the state's criteria; (5) the adequacy of the environmental analysis in the LTP; (6) the extent of environmental monitoring planned for the cleanup; (7) the basis and adequacy of NRC's License Termination Rule; and (8) the effects of radiation exposure. The NRC staff announced that comments on the LTP would be accepted for 60 days. The staff will consider these comments, along with those presented at the public meeting, in formulating its review comments currently scheduled to be sent the licensee in October 2000. The staff also announced that an opportunity for a hearing on this licensing action would be noticed in the Federal Register on May 17, 2000. Interested parties will have 30 days to file a request.

U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board - Yucca Mountain

The Division of Waste Management staff attended a public meeting of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in Pahrump, Nevada. This meeting focused on Yucca Mountain repository design and geochemistry issues. Previous studies of Chlorine-36 in the underground Exploratory Studies Facility found evidence of fast groundwater flow along fault zones from the surface to the repository level. A new validation study has found no evidence for bomb-pulse chlorine-36 in the Sundance Fault zone, where former studies found elevated Chlorine-36. Different sampling and analysis methods were used in the validation study, which could account for the conflicting results. The Department of Energy officials committed to do new work to resolve the differences. We will provide updates as future results come in.

Update - Anomalous Radioactivity Detected in Groundwater Sample Near Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Nye County, Nevada, previously reported higher than background levels of radioactivity in a recently completed well located just south of the Nevada Test Site. Nye County has checked the initial results by re-sampling the well. Their conclusions were reported at a public meeting of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in Pahrump, Nevada. The new data show no evidence of off-site contamination. Filtered water samples have gross alpha and beta activities well below the Environmental Protection Agency thresholds for safe drinking water. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will continue to track the Nye County drilling and sampling program.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

On-Line Public Workshop on Performance-Based Activities

On May 9, 2000, RES published a notice in the Federal Register (65 FR 26772) that revised high-level guidelines for performance-based activities and also announced an on-line public workshop. The previous guidelines were the subject of a conventional public workshop in which a wide cross-section of stakeholders participated. The guidelines were revised as a result of written comments and discussion at the workshop. The Federal Register notice also provides the staff's response to public comments and a proposed process for implementing the guidelines.

The public is invited to provide further comments on these matters during the on-line workshop at the NRC's Rule Forum site on June 8, 2000. More detailed plans, incorporating all comments, will be presented to the Commission by August 21, 2000.

NUREG on Assessment of Direct Containment Heating Issue

In a light-water reactor core melt accident, if the reactor vessel fails while the reactor coolant system (RCS) is at high pressure, the ejection of the core debris into the containment atmosphere will cause the containment pressure to rise and may result in early failure of the containment. This severe accident phenomenon is referred to as direct containment heating (DCH). Past severe accident research has successfully resolved this issue for all large dry and subatmospheric pressurized water reactor containment designs. This was achieved by demonstrating that either the containment failure probability is highly unlikely based on the containment's strength alone (the case for virtually all of the plants) or that the likelihood of high-pressure melt ejection leading to DCH together with the containment strength leads to acceptably small probabilities for containment failure.

RES has published NUREG/CR-6427, "Assessment of the DCH Issue for Plants with Ice Condenser Containments," which addresses the remaining PWR plants, those with ice condenser containments. This peer reviewed study, conducted at Sandia National Laboratories, concluded that the ice condenser plants are substantially more vulnerable to early containment failure than large dry containments and that this vulnerability is not confined to DCH but includes other phenomena such as hydrogen combustion. In fact, early containment failure was dominated by non-DCH hydrogen combustion events rather than by DCH. Ice condenser igniter systems are not operable during station blackout events.

Because of this more complex picture of containment performance, a more detailed study to address all early failure modes was conducted for representative station blackout and non-blackout scenarios. A plant-specific evaluation of the containment event trees showed that all plants, except McGuire, have an early containment failure probability below 10 percent (0.4 percent to 6.0 percent) for full power internal events. The McGuire early containment failure probability was only slightly higher, at approximately 14 percent, because of the relatively higher station blackout probability at McGuire. Even though the early failure probabilities for ice condenser plants were estimated to be higher than for large dry PWR containments, the containment failure probabilities remain consistent with a general objective of a conditional containment failure probability of 10 percent.

With the publication of this study, the NRC has completed an important body of work to address, in a more realistic and integral fashion, the threat from an originally conceived dominant failure mechanism.

Regulatory Guide on Qualification and Training of Personnel for NPPs

RES has issued Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.8, "Qualification and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants." This guide endorses ANSI/ANS-3.1-1993, "Selection, Qualification, and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants," with certain clarifications, additions, and exceptions.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Elevated Radiation Levels in Belarus

IRO, with extensive support from OIP and OPA, responded to a notification on May 17, 2000 by the Department of State (DOS) of incomplete reports of elevated air radiation levels at the Israeli Embassy in Minsk, Belarus. Bolstered by information obtained directly from the American Embassy in Minsk by OIP and from Ukraine by IRO, NRC arranged conference calls with DOS, EPA, and other agencies. The conferees concluded that (1) there were no radiation releases from Ukrainian reactors but there were wildfires upwind of Minsk, (2) elevated readings could not be corroborated by a team from the American Embassy, (3) no protective measures appeared to be warranted, and (4) a team from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency would arrange with DOS to travel to Minsk to address general concerns at the American Embassy about radiation surveys and monitoring.

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-III-00-018, Commonwealth Edison Company (Byron 1), TRUCK CARRYING USED FUEL STORAGE RACK STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE.
   
   
2. PNO-III-00-018A, Commonwealth Edison Company (Byron 1), TRUCK CARRYING USED FUEL STORAGE RACK STRUCK BY ANOTHER VEHICLE A SECOND TIME DURING THE SHIPMENT.
   
   
3. PNO-III-00-019, Illinois Power Company (Clinton 1), MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM OF CLINTON POWER STATION.
   
   
4. PNO-IV-00-011, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (Diablo Canyon 1), UNUSUAL EVENT BECAUSE OF A FIRE LASTING GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES.
   
   
5. PNO-IV-00-011A, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (Diablo Canyon 1), UPDATE -- UNUSUAL EVENT BECAUSE OF A FIRE LASTING GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES.

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Eric Joseph Epstein; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-70)

A document that requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking submitted by Eric Joseph Epstein was published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2000 (65 FR 30550). The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its financial assurance requirements for decommissioning nuclear power reactors to require uniform decommissioning planning and recordkeeping requirements for all entities who have a proportional interest in nuclear generation stations. The petitioner requests amendments that would guarantee uniform reporting and recordkeeping concerning financial assurance requirements for decommissioning, modify and strengthen current nuclear decommissioning accounting requirements, and require proportional owners of nuclear generating stations to conduct a review to determine a balanced formula for decommissioning funding that includes not only rate payers and tax payers, but board members of rural electric cooperatives as well. The comment period on this petition closes July 26, 2000.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of May 12, 2000 through May 18, 2000:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Media Interest

Donald Cool, NMSS, was interviewed by NewsPronet.com on the control of solid materials from licensed facilities.

There was some press interest in the fires burning near Belarus and Ukraine because of their proximity to the Chernobyl reactor.

RIV reported media interest in the Diablo Canyon unusual event.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Visit by Japanese Nuclear Disaster Prevention Team

A delegation of senior Japanese Union representatives will visit NRC on May 23 for discussions with NRC Incident Response staff and NTEU officials. The Union officials are assisting in an internal Japanese effort to develop concrete nuclear disaster prevention measures following the Tokaimura nuclear accident last October. Following a question and answer session with NRC staff, the Japanese Team will be given a tour of the NRC Operations Center.

Meeting with Nordion Officials

Officials from MDS Nordion (Canada) will meet with NRC staff on May 24. Nordion is the recipient of an NRC export licence for high-enriched uranium (HEU) to be used as target material for the production of medical isotopes at the Canadian Maple-X reactor. Nordion wishes to consult with NRC staff regarding their upcoming status report to NRC on the development program for converting to low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Document Released to Public		Date	Subject
Decision Documents
1.	SECY-00-0093	4/21/00	Rulemaking to Modify the Event Reporting Requirements for Power Reactors in 10 CFR 50.72 and 50.73 and for Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI) in 10 CFR 72.216
2.	SECY-00-0092	4/20/00	Combined License Review Process
3.	SECY-00-0083	4/12/00	Proposed Rule: Revision of 10 CFR Part 55, "Operators' Licenses," Regarding the Use of Simulation Facilities in Operator Licensing
	SRM on 00-0083	5/15/00	(same)
	Commission Voting Record on 00-0083	5/15/00	(same)
4.	COMSECY-00-0023	5/11/00	Elimination of Unnecessary Statutory Paperwork Burdens
	SRM on 00-0023	5/17/00	(same)
	Commission Voting Record on COMSY-00-0023	5/17/00	(same)
5.	SRM on SECY-00-0049	5/17/00	Results of the Revised Reactor Oversight Process Pilot Program (Part 2)
	Commission Voting Reactor on 00-0049	5/17/00	(same)
Information Papers
1.	SECY-00-0104	5/11/00	SECY-00-0104 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending May 5, 2000

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, DOE, dated May 10, 2000, responds to inquiry concerning an article which appeared in The Washington Times.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 3) Docket No. 50-423-LA-3; Notice of Oral Argument and Opportunity for Oral Limited Appearance Statements.
   
   
2. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Severe Accident Management; Cancellation.
   
   
3. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting.
   
   
4. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting.
   
   
5. ACRS Joint Meeting of the Subcommittees on Plant Operations and Fire Protection; Notice of Meeting.
   
   
6. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Notice of Meeting.
   
   
7. Department of the Army; U.S. Army Research Laboratory; Docket No. 40-6394-MLA; Designation of Presiding Officer.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

NRC Holds Maine Yankee License Termination Plan Public Meeting

On the evening of May 15, 2000, the NRC held a public meeting in Wiscasset, Maine, to discuss Maine Yankee's License Termination Plan. The meeting included presentations by Maine Yankee staff and representatives from NRR, NMSS, and Region I, and was chaired by State Senator Marge Kilkelly. Approximately 100 individuals, including representatives from Maine Yankee, NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, State of Maine, the Nuclear Energy Institute, public stakeholders, and media representatives attended the meeting. The meeting included one hour of planned presentations and over three hours of questions from the attendees. The comments received will be considered by the NRC in the review of the License Termination Plan.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Turabo Predecisional Enforcement Conference

On May 18, the Regional Administrator and members of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety held an open Predecisional Enforcement Conference with Turabo Corporation at the Hampton Inn in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The purpose of the conference was to discuss two apparent violations associated with the failure to control access to a portable moisture density gauge.

Duke Energy Corporation - Catawba Management Meeting

On May 15, representatives from Duke Energy Corporation were in the Region II office to attend a management meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the licensee's self-assessment of performance at the Catawba Nuclear Station.

Southern Nuclear Operating Company - Hatch Management Meeting

On May 16, representatives from Southern Nuclear Operating Company were in the Region II office to attend a management meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss specific corrective actions following a Hatch Nuclear Plant Unit 1 reactor trip on January 26, 2000.

The Director of the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights visits Region II

On May 17-18, the Director of the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, visited the Region II Office to meet with all Managers and Supervisors. Discussion included Region II's initiatives to improve diversity in recruiting for entry level applicants.

Virginia Electric and Power Company - North Anna Management Meeting

On May 19, representatives from Virginia Electric and Power Company were in the Region II office to attend a management meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss recent performance at North Anna Power Station.

Meeting with Puerto Rico Secretary of Health

On May 18, the Regional Administrator met with the Puerto Rico Secretary of Health. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of NRC efforts regarding monitoring and decontamination of depleted uranium in the Navy Firing Range on Vieques Island. The Secretary and Regional Administrator urged continual cooperation between the NRC and the Department of Health. The Regional Administrator also discussed the same topic with the Mayor of Vieques Island.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Region Representatives Attend Radiation Conference

The Region III State and Government Affairs Officer, and the State Programs Officer on May 14-18 attended the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors in Tampa, Florida.

Spectrum Pharmacy Predecisional Conference

NRC officials met with officials from the Spectrum Pharmacy of Mishawaka, Indiana, on May 18 in a predecisional enforcement conference involving information stemming from an August 31, 1999, contamination incident that occurred at the facility. The conference was closed to the public.

Michigan Public Meetings Held to Discuss Changes in Reactor Oversight and Fermi Plant Assessment

NRC officials held two public meetings in Monroe, Michigan, to discuss, on May 18, the NRC's reactor oversight process, and on May 19, the latest performance review results for the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Station. The plant, operated by Detroit Edison, is located in Newport, Michigan.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000

Senior Management Change at Entergy

Fred Titus, Entergy Engineering Corporate Vice President, has announced his retirement. Bill Campbell from Duke power will replace him.

Revised Reactor Oversight Program Meeting with the Public

On May 17, 2000, a Region IV, Division of Reactor Projects branch chief held a public meeting, at the Ramada Inn in Jefferson City, Missouri, to discuss the new NRC inspection program. Approximately 25 people were in attendance, which included members of the public, employees of the utility operating Callaway, and newspaper and radio reporters.

Diablo Canyon Safety-Culture Survey Public Meeting

On May 19, 2000, Pacific Gas and Electric Company senior managers met with the Regional Administrator and other NRC personnel in a public meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo, California. This public meeting was held to discuss the results of a focused site safety-culture survey and planned corrective actions. Following this meeting, members of the public were given an opportunity to comment. Four members of the public expressed concerns about the adequacy of the safety culture at Diablo Canyon and inadequacies in the legal processes for protecting individuals.

ENCLOSURE R

Office of Congressional Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending May 19, 2000