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December 1, 2000

SECY-00-0224

Contact:  J. Shea, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 24, 2000

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

Contact: J. Shea, OEDO by E-mail: jws1@nrc.gov.

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Staff Holds Public Meetings on the ANO-1 Environmental Impact Statement in Support of License Renewal

On November 14, 2000, the NRC staff conducted two meetings on the results of its environmental review of Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, that was documented in a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) issued October 3, 2000. The SEIS is a plant-specific Supplement 3 to the "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437). Representatives of the NRC staff, Entergy, the nuclear industry, State agencies, the press, and members of the public attended. The comment period on the SEIS ends on January 4, 2001.

Turkey Point Units 3 & 4, License Renewal Application, Scoping/Screening Methodology Audit

On November 13-16, 2000, staff from the Quality Assurance, Vendor Inspection, Maintenance and Allegation Branch (IQMB) conducted an audit at Turkey Point Units 3 & 4 in Florida City, Florida. The audit team was assisted by the NRR license renewal project manager for Turkey Point and regional staff. The purpose of the audit was to review the scoping and screening methodology, including relevant procedures and licensing basis documents, used by Florida Power & Light in formulating its license renewal application for Turkey Point Units 3 & 4. The audit team also reviewed relevant documents associated with the applicability of Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50 requirements for the corrective actions, confirmatory process, and administrative controls elements specified in the aging management program.

The team found the Turkey Point license renewal information well organized, and the scoping and screening process well described and supported by a comprehensive set of licensing basis information. The NRC staff will use on the information gathered during the audit to establish its bases for concluding whether or not the scoping and screening methodology and the relevant quality assurance program elements described in the license renewal application for Turkey Point satisfy the applicable requirements in 10 CFR Part 54.

Reactor Oversight Process Improvements

The Inspection Program Branch (IIPB) staff participated in public meetings in Regions IV and II on November 15 and November 16, respectively, regarding the status of implementation of the agency's new reactor oversight process (ROP). These meetings provided a forum at which representatives from the NRC, licensees, the nuclear industry and the public could discuss the ROP's progress to date, challenges, and successes. The breakout sessions covered the significance determination process, inspection activities, performance indicators and the NRC assessment and enforcement process. The panels, which consisted of representatives from the Regions, headquarters, and the nuclear industry provided issues for the attendees to discuss in an open forum.

Three members of the IIPB staff participated in an ANS conference held in Washington, DC on November 13, 2000. During this conference, the IIPB staff participated in a panel discussion on the status of the reactor oversight process.

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant

On November 20, 2000, written summaries were filed by all parties in the ongoing Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) hearing. The written summaries addressed an environmental contention concerning the probability of occurrence of the intervener's postulated accident scenario. The contention challenges the adequacy of the staff's December 21, 1999, Environmental Assessment (EA) . The EA was done in support of Carolina Power & Light Company's (CP&L's), December 23, 1998, license amendment application to increase the spent fuel storage capacity at the Harris plant by placing two additional spent fuel pools in service.

In its written summary, the staff concluded that the probability of the accident sequence is extremely low, with an upper bound of 2x10-07 per year; which is so low as to be remote and speculative. The staff also concluded that the EA for the proposed license amendment is adequate and further environmental analysis is unnecessary.

The licensee concluded that the best estimate of overall probability for the postulated scenario is 2.65 x 10-08 per year, which supports the conclusion that the postulated scenario is remote and speculative. The licensee also concluded that additional environmental impact analyses were not necessary or required.

The intervener (Board of Commissioners of Orange County, NC; BCOC) concluded that a minimum value for the best estimate of the probability of the postulated scenario is 1.6 X 10 -05 per year (point estimate), with a range from 0.2 x10 -05 to 1.2 x 10 -04 per year. The intervener also concluded that it provided substantial and material evidence and legal arguments which demonstrate that the NRC staff has failed to justify its refusal to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and, therefore, that BCOC is entitled to a hearing on the contention.

The ASLB oral arguments are scheduled for December 7, 2000, in Raleigh, NC.

Millstone Unit 1

Early this week, Millstone, Unit 1, informed the NRC that they could not confirm the location of two fuel pins. The licensee currently believes that they have located the box containing the fuel pins in the spent fuel pool. However, they will require GE assistance in order to lift the box and verify that it is the correct container. The licensee currently anticipates having GE personnel and equipment on site next week. The background on this issue is as follows:

In 1972, a once burned fuel assembly that was damaged by chloride intrusion in the reactor vessel was disassembled to allow testing by GE. During the disassembly, two of the fuel rods were bent and could not be put back in the assembly. These two fuel rods were put in a special fuel rod box. Records dated 1979 and 1980 show the box stored in the Northwest corner of the spent fuel pool. Records after 1980 do not show the fuel rod box in the fuel pool. Significant work, including two re-racks, has been performed on the fuel pool since 1980.

Due to the unique nature of the special fuel rod box the licensee does not consider it likely that the fuel pins have been mistakenly shipped out as waste. They currently believe that the fuel rods are still in the pool or were shipped to GE. To date, GE has not identified any records of receiving the fuel pins. The licensee believes that the fuel rod box/pins were moved in the past to allow work to be performed in the pool and the movement not recorded. The licensee has identified a fuel pin container in the pool that may contain the fuel pins, but they have not been able to look in the container due to the need for a special tool which GE has but the licensee does not.

Currently, the licensee believes that the condition involves a lack of control of special nuclear material not an actual loss. Since the licensee does not believe that the fuel pins are in the public domain, 10 CFR 20.2201 only requires a formal report to the Commission within 30 days.

Peach Bottom and Salem License Transfers, November 21, 2000

PECO and PSEG Nuclear submitted applications on October 10, 2000, to modify a previous NRC order that permits Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric (ACE) (subsidiaries of Conectiv) to transfer their minority shares in Peach Bottom and Salem nuclear plants to PECO and PSEG Nuclear. The previous order, issued April 21, 2000, authorized the simultaneous transfer of the Delmarva and ACE shares. The new application requested the NRC orders be issued by December 1, 2000. Since the original order, Delmarva has received state approvals, but ACE is waiting for New Jersey approvals. The new request asked for an independent transfer of the minority shares. This affects funding of the decommissioning funds, since Delmarva and ACE did not equally share the funding, and the request is currently under review. The Federal Register notice will be published on November 27, 2000. The earliest the revised NRC orders can be issued will be December 27, 2000.

Revised Vermont Yankee Sale Agreement

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (licensee for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station) has accepted a revised offer for the sale of the plant to the AmerGen Energy Company. Assuming a June 30, 2001, sale date, the revised proposal increases the total offer to $93.8 million. The offer includes $61 million adjusted purchase price, future credits on power purchases to account for the value of the fuel, and reduced decommissioning costs. The offer includes a "low-market price adjuster," advocated by the Vermont Department of Public Service, that will automatically reduce the cost of Vermont Yankee power to ensure it remains competitively priced if the free market prices drop to less than 95% of the purchase price agreement. The $61 million adjusted price is based on AmerGen payment for the plant and property as well as a payment of the costs associated with the upcoming refueling outage and the new fuel. This agreement has been submitted to the Vermont Public Service Board for formal review and approval. The licensee will submit a revised license transfer application if the Vermont Public Service Board approves the agreement.

Indian Point 3\FitzPatrick Change of Ownership

On November 9, 2000, the Orders authorizing the transfer of the Indian Point 3 and FitzPatrick licenses to Entergy were issued. On November 21, 2000, the transfer was completed and the conforming amendments were issued. As a result of the change of ownership, the President & CEO & Chief Nuclear Officer for both Entergy Nuclear IP3 and Entergy Nuclear FitzPatrick is Mr. Jerry Yelverton. The new Chief Operating Officer for both plants is Mr. Michael Kansler. Reporting to Mr. Kansler as Site Executive Officer for IP3 will be Mr. Robert Barrett. Mr. Barrett has been in this position for several years. The Site Executive Officer for FitzPatrick will be Mr. Michael Colomb.

Mr. Colomb has also held this position for the past several years. The former Chief Nuclear Officer, Mr. James Knubel, will take the position of Vice President for Nuclear Operations Support.

Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station

On November 21, 2000, a public meeting was conducted with the licensee for V. C. Summer at NRC headquarters in Washington, D.C. The licensee presented the results of the non-destructive testing that has been performed on the RCS hot and cold leg welds at Summer. The licensee also presented the plans for repair of the "A" hot leg weld (replacement of spool piece) and for further examination of the spool piece containing the crack-like indication.

The spool piece will be shipped to Westinghouse this week. Some members of the NRC technical staff will go to Westinghouse to observe the testing. The testing will include metallographic, fractographic, and mechanical property examinations and chemistry evaluations.

The root cause of the indication is still unknown. The main areas still under investigation include crack initiation, crack propagation and organization/programmatic causes. The fracture analysis should provide more definite answers. There should be a preliminary fracture analysis report in early December.

The meeting was transcribed and the transcription will be available on the NRC Summer Web page. V. C. Summer is also planning an industry update meeting and the final public meeting on site during December.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Attendance at the Annual Meeting of Geological Society of America Conference

From November 12-16, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, and their consultants, attended the Geological Society of America Conference in Reno, Nevada. The staff delivered thirteen technical presentations relevant to a possible high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The staff also developed a press release describing the technical papers (with the help of the Office of Public Affairs) and staffed an exhibit booth during the conference. The purpose of the booth was to educate the over 6,000 attendees about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), its independent oversight role at Yucca Mountain, and performance assessment. Fact sheets were provided on the NRC's role in the Yucca Mountain Environmental Impact Statement and Site Recommendation processes to conference participants. Two posters and handouts were developed that described an approach to performance assessment as a method to evaluate post-closure performance of a potential Yucca Mountain site. Over 250 scientists and educators obtained information from the exhibit booth. Findings presented in the NRC-sponsored work and the NRC's independence were highlighted in four articles reported by the Associated Press and in two newspapers from Las Vegas, Nevada. Members of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Waste and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board also attended the conference.

Assistant Inspector General Visits Yucca Mountain

On November 16, 2000, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's new Assistant Inspector General for Audits, Stephen Dingbaum, and staff visited the Department of Energy's (DOE ) Yucca Mountain site. This site visit provided a general orientation to Yucca Mountain and DOE's site characterization activities. The site visit also included a tour of DOE's Low Level Waste disposal facilities on the Nevada Test Site.

Annual Program Review at the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses

During November 14-16, 2000, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) participated in the annual program review of the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses' (Center) operations held in San Antonio. Additional NMSS management and staff participated via video conference. The first day's discussion focused on the status of non-high level waste projects, such as uranium recovery, decommissioning projects, Private Fuel Storage licensing activities and the West Valley effort. The remaining one and one-half days were devoted entirely to high level waste issues, with a special focus on the status of Key Technical Issues. At the conclusion of the review, NMSS senior management commented on the high overall quality of the efforts conducted by the Center staff, as well as a few areas which needed more emphasis.

American Nuclear Society/European Nuclear Society International Meeting

On November 16, 2000, a staff member from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety presented the status of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's development of a rulemaking plan and Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Entombment Option for Decommissioning Power Reactors at the American Nuclear Society/European Nuclear Society International Conference in Washington, DC. The title of the conference was "Nuclear Science and Technology: Supporting Sustainable Development Worldwide." The purpose was to promote the exchange of information and experience among industry, government professionals, engineers, and the general public. Discussion topics included Decommissioning Successes in the Department of Energy, Material and Site Free Release (Licensees and State Agencies), Long-Term Globally Sustainable Energy Options and Professional Ethics Issues In Nuclear Science and Technology.

Meetings to Resolve Groundwater Issues at Church Rock Uranium Mill Tailings Site

During November 14-16, 2000, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards participated in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meetings to discuss and resolve groundwater issues at the Church Rock Uranium Mill Tailings Site near Gallup, New Mexico. The Church Rock site, which is an EPA Superfund site, is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is the lead federal agency for the site under a Memorandum of Agreement between NRC and EPA. The meetings were attended by staff of the New Mexico Environment Department, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, and the licensee, United Nuclear Corporation (UNC), and General Electric Company. The meetings were held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Window Rock, Navajo Nation, Arizona.

International Safeguards Implementation

The U.S. has sent a Department of State (DOS) cable to the U.S. Mission in Vienna instructing them to deliver letters to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stating that the data access and transmission problems have been resolved. The cable contents were cleared by DOS, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The cable was transmitted to the Mission on November 21, 2000, and letters were delivered via Mission to DDG-SG Goldschmidt and Safeguards Operations B Director Schriefer. The resolution of the issue will be further clarified, if necessary, during the U.S.-IAEA Safeguards Implementation Meeting on December 11-12, 2000, in Vienna. Unless the IAEA identifies that the U.S. response does not resolve the issues, the issue is believed to be resolved.

Meeting between the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, and the U.S. Enrichment Corporation

On November 20, 2000, management and staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards met with representatives from the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to discuss licensing issues associated with an upcoming certificate amendment request. USEC has submitted an amendment request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to revise the Paducah certificate to increase their enrichment from 2.75% to 5.5%. The objectives of the meeting were to discuss recent technical issues which have arisen during the NRC review of USEC Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluations/Analyses. One of the main issues discussed was the current schedule for USEC to submit revised documents to NRC for review which does not support the current NRC schedule for issuance of a Certificate Evaluation Report. Several paths to resolution were discussed and both parties agreed to continue to work to resolve this issue.

Proposed Rule Signed by the Executive Director for Operations

On November 22, 2000, the Executive Director for Operations approved a proposed rule that would amend 10 CFR 72.214, "List of approved spent fuel storage casks" revising the NAC International (NAC) Universal Storage System (NAC-UMS) cask system listing with the "list of approved spent fuel storage casks." This amendment would allow holders of power reactor operating licenses, as general licensees under Part 72, to store PWR design basis fuel assemblies in accordance with revised technical specifications and Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuel in the NAC-UMS. Amendment No. 1 includes: (1) changes to authorized contents to allow Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuels within the PWR basket, including damaged or consolidated fuel in a Maine Yankee fuel can and burnups up to 50,000 Mwd/MTU; (2) changes to allow longer times for PWR spent fuel cask loading operations based on reduced heat loads; (3) authorization to store, without canning, intact PWR assemblies with missing grid spacers (up to an unsupported length of 60 inches); (4) editorial clarifications to the technical specifications (TS); and (5) deletion of a certificate reference to the NS-4-FR trade name of the solid neutron shielding material in the VCC shield plug.

This notice informs the Commission that, in accordance with the rulemaking authority delegated to the EDO, the EDO has signed this proposed rule for publication in the Federal Register.

The proposed rule can be found in ADAMS at ML003763278.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-II-00-049, Best Industries, RECEIPT OF PACKAGE WITH RADIATION LEVELS THAT EXCEEDED TRANSPORTATION LIMITS.
   
   
2. PNO-III-00-040A, Aultman Hospital, BRACHYTHERAPY MISADMINISTRATIONS (UPDATE).
   
   
3. PNO-IV-00-032A, Drew Memorial Hospital, UPDATE ON MISSING RADIOACTIVE CALIBRATION SOURCES.
   
   
4. PNO-IV-00-033, Zipper Zeman Associates, STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of November 17, 2000 through November 23, 2000:

ENCLOSURE H

Chief Financial Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Initial Meeting on Electronic License Fee Billing

On November 21, 2000, the staff met with the U.S. Department of Treasury, Financial Management Services, and Firstar Bank to discuss an electronic bill presentation and collections program for fees to our licensees. This new initiative would eliminate the need for paper invoices and would notify licensees that their bills are available on-line and would allow for additional on-line payment methods. Pay.gov is a portal and transaction engine created by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and offers a package of electronic financial services to assist agencies. Additional meetings are planned in the near future to identify NRC's specific requirements.

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Media Interest

A reporter from the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) in Japan inquired about NRC regulations regarding depleted uranium used in counterweights on aircraft.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to the Congresswoman Sue W. Kelly dated November 14, 2000, provides a report on the circumstances surrounding a reported spill of radioactive material during steam generator replacement activities at the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 2.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Reactor Oversight Process Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel; Meeting Notice.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Connecticut Yankee Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee Meeting

John Wray, a representative of the Region I Decommissioning and Laboratory Branch, DNMS, attended the November 21, 2000 meeting of the Connecticut Yankee Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee (CDAC) at the Haddam Neck Plant. Mr Wray presented the findings from inspection 2000-002, and responded to questions from the Committee and the public.

DLA Licensing Meeting

On November 21, 2000, the Radiation Safety Officer of the Department of the Army, Seneca Army Depot, Romulus, NY, met with Region I representatives to discuss plans for decommissioning the facilities where depleted uranium munitions were possessed and stored, as authorized by License No. SUC-1275 . In particular, the licensee discussed the calculation of a derived guideline concentration level (DCGL) for depleted uranium on building surfaces at this location. Representatives of the licensee's consultant companies also attended the meeting. The licensee discussed questions related to a deficiency letter issued by the Region I office in July 2000, and options for actions to be taken in response to the deficiency letter.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

Probabilistic Risk Assessment Steering Committee Public Meeting

On November 21, 2000, the Regional Administrator participated in an NRC PRA Steering Committee meeting. The meeting was open to the public and held in the Headquarters office. The meeting discussed the status of PRA activities, including work toward a PRA standard. The meeting was attended by representatives from NRC and industry.

Best Industries

On November 21, 2000, the licensee reported the receipt of a radioactive package with surface radiation levels exceeding the regulatory limit of 200 millirem per hour. The package contained several millicuries of iridium-192 brachytherapy seeds, which were being returned from another licensee, Baylor University, in Dallas Texas. The measured radiation level at the surface of the package was as high as 2.7 rem per hour. Baylor, the State of Texas, and the NRC are following up with information from Best Industries, to determine the cause of the high radiation levels and impact on individuals who may have come in contact with the package.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending November 24, 2000

South Texas Project

On November 20, 2000, the Acting Director, Division of Reactor Safety and other members of the Region IV staff held a closed meeting with licensee physical security representatives to discuss the licensee's security improvement plan.