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INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0233

December 14, 2000

Contact:  J. Shea, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 8, 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.

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ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Reactor Oversight Process

Staff from the Inspection Program Branch (IIPB) conducted a counterpart meeting with the regional DRS and DRP Division Directors on November 30 and December 1, 2000 in RII. The major topic areas for discussion included the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) self-assessment program, quarterly integrated inspection reports, stakeholder feedback, approach to addressing lessons learned, and upcoming planned activities.

The Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 1245 Working Group on Inspector Qualifications met in Region IV on November 29-December 1, 2000. The group has met at each of the regions in order to provide the opportunity for Regional management to discuss their views about the MC1245 program with the working group. Region IV's perspectives on inspector training and qualification were presented by the Deputy Regional Administrator. The group completed the definition of twelve core competency areas and began the task of identifying the knowledge, skills and abilities supporting the competency areas.

On November 27-29, 2000, the NRC issued its Mid-Cycle Review letters for all operating power plants. The Mid-Cycle review involved evaluating performance indicators and inspection results for the period of April 2, 2000, through September 30, 2000, for non-pilot plants and October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, for pilot-plants. The purpose of the Mid-Cycle letters is to inform the licensees of NRC's assessment of licensee performance during this period and the NRC's plans for future inspection activities at all facilities through September 30, 2001. The text of each Mid-Cycle letter including the inspection plan is posted at NRC internal and external web sites.

IIPB is issuing revision 0 of the plant-specific risk-informed inspection notebooks for five power plants (Ginna, Davis-Besse, Harris, Kewaunee, and Point Beach). The documents include the phase 2 reactor safety significance determination process (SDP) worksheets that the inspectors will use to assess the risk associated with inspection findings. These documents incorporated information from the licensees' PRAs, comments by the licensees, and the results of site visits. The remaining notebooks are being prepared by the contractor, BNL, and will be sent to the NRC over the next 2-3 months. Copies of the SDP notebooks will be placed in ADAMS and will be posted on the NRC internal and external web sites.

NEI Maintenance Rule Workshop

On Thursday, November 30 and Friday, December 1, 2000, Deputy Director of the Division of Inspection Program Management (DIPM), and other NRC staff attended the industry workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The focus of the workshop was new Paragraph (a)(4) of 10 CFR 50.65, the Maintenance Rule which became effective on November 28, 2000. Participation in this workshop (as well as several others) is intended to help the industry implement (a)(4) and ensure readiness for NRC oversight of industry maintenance risk assessment and management activities.

International Reactor Innovative and Secure Design

On November 29, 2000, Dr. Carelli of Westinghouse made a presentation on the new International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS) design. IRIS is sponsored by eleven international partners, it was a winning entry in DOE's nuclear energy research initiatives (NERI) competition, and it meets DOE's objectives for a Generation IV reactor design. IRIS is an integrated, modular, LWR design based on LWR technology with a power output of 100 - 300 Mwe. IRIS's design goal is to enhance safety by eliminating most postulated accidents with design features and mitigating remaining accidents with passive systems. Dr. Carelli stated that he would like to achieve design certification for IRIS by 2007.

The Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs (DRIP) is preparing a budget planning assumption for future design certification applications and interactions with the nuclear industry on NRC's licensing process for new nuclear power plants.

Generic Communications

NRC Information Notice 2000-18:  Substandard Material Supplied by Chicago Bullet Proof Systems, dated November 29, 2000.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued this information notice to inform addressees of substandard material supplied by Chicago Bullet Proof Systems (CBPS) to Fort St. Vrain and Susquehanna nuclear power plants.

License Renewal Meeting to Discuss the Effects of Aging on Fatigue Life

Staff representatives met with NEI, EPRI and other industry representatives to discuss the industry's effort for resolving the environmental effects on metal fatigue on November 28, 2000. This is an issue related to managing effects of aging on fatigue life for license renewal as part of the resolution of GSI-190. The industry representatives informed the staff that this effort is now being managed by the EPRI's MRP program and presented to the staff a program plan.

The program objectives consist of two parts:  one for near term and the other for long term. The near term program is aimed at providing license renewal applicants with guidance on industry and NRC accepted aging management methods for consideration of environmental effects and the long term program is to develop a technical basis through additional testing and data research to ensure acceptable aging management programs are available. The industry proposed to submitted a near term draft to the NRC by December 8, 2000 and the final document for NRC approval by March 15, 2001. The long term program plan is projected to be completed in 2003.

V.C. Summer Nuclear Station

The spool piece containing the cracked weld from the V. C. Summer reactor coolant system "A" hot leg piping has been taken to the Westinghouse hot laboratory near Pittsburgh, PA. for metallurgic testing and analysis. Westinghouse provided preliminary results to the licensee on December 6. Members of the Special Inspection Team and NRR's Division of Engineering will observe the testing at the Westinghouse facility on December 7-8. A materials expert from Argonne National Laboratory under contract with RES will accompany the NRC observation team.

Replacement of the spool piece is underway. The licensee completed "buttering" of the nozzle end and will begin dye penetrant testing of the "buttering" this week. A member of the SIT will be on-site to observe the testing.

The Region and the licensee have scheduled a public meeting on January 4, 2001. The meeting will take place at the V. C. Summer site near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. At this meeting, the licensee will fully describe the extent of cracking, the cause of the cracking, and the repair.

Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L) Completes Acquisition of Florida Progress Corporation

CP&L Holdings completed its acquisition of Florida Progress Corporation on November 30, 2000. The new corporation will be called Progress Energy Inc., and will be a diversified holding company for a family of companies, including CP&L, which holds the operating licenses for Robinson, Shearon Harris and Brunswick nuclear plants, and Florida Power Corporation (FPC), which holds the operating license for Crystal River Unit 3. The newly formed Progress Energy, Inc., has announced several senior management changes at both the H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant (HBRSEP2) and the Crystal River Nuclear Plant. Mr. John W. Moyer, the Director of Site Operations at HBRSEP2, became its Vice President, and Mr. Dale E. Young, who served as the Vice President at HBRSEP2 since 1998, became the Site Vice President of the Crystal River Nuclear Plant. He replaced Mr. John Paul Cowan, the Crystal River Site Vice President prior to the acquisition.

The new company name and its logo were announced on December 5, 2000, following completion of the acquisition. CP&L and FPC will retain their names, and the operating licenses for their respective nuclear units. Progress Energy will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PGN."

Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant - December 5, 2000

The licensee for the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) submitted an application on November 16, 2000, for its extended power uprate (EPU) amendment, requesting approval by the end of the Spring 2001 refueling outage. It requested the implementation of the EPU over the next 3 years to 1912 MWt, which would be 15.3 percent above the current licensed power level (1658 MWt). This represents a total uprate to 120 percent of the original licensed power level (1593 MWt). As part of the EPU program, the plant's accident dose calculations were modified using final Reg Guide 1.183 guidance for new alternate source term with some deviations that are under review by the NRC staff. Submittals in support of the EPU began in September 2000. The EPU amendment is similar to those approved for Monticello and Hatch. However, the DAEC licensee requested a higher percentage power level increase (15.3%) than implemented previously at any other plant. In addition, the licensee plans to submit revisions to certain core parameters, if needed, in January 2001, to allow the use of GE-14 fuel with the GE-10 and GE-12 fuel already in the core. The licensee would like approval from the NRC for its EPU amendment by June 2001, to support implementation during refueling outage 17.

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards plans to review the safety evaluation for the power uprate prior to issuance.

Guidance for Risk-Informed Decisionmaking

On November 22, 2000, the Commission approved issuance of staff guidance related to risk-informed decisionmaking in license amendment reviews as final, and approved its implementation in future reviews subject to the clarifications noted in COMSECY-00-0038 (specifically, that the staff will inform the Commission of the first few instances in which "special circumstances" are identified, and thereafter rely on the Risk-Informed Licensing Panel in determining whether to inform the Commission). The guidance will be issued as a new appendix to SRP Chapter 19, and the industry will be informed of the final guidance via a Regulatory Issue Summary.

Fire Protection Meeting w/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

On November 28, 2000, members of Plants System Branch (SPLB) attended a meeting with fire protection personnel from the NRC and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF ), at the ATF Washington, D.C. office to discuss how the ATF was implementing fire modeling tools that may be of use to NRC in the SDP. ATF had representatives from their headquarters and Philadelphia and Chicago offices at this meeting. Over the past 10 years, the ATF has developed a series of hand calculations to assist their field agents in fire modeling. The ATF also discussed their fire training program. ATF provided a copy of their hand calculation spread sheets used by the field Certified Fire Investigators (CFI) who have extensive experience and education. SPLB is currently evaluating how these tools may be modified to simplify and improve NRC SDP process for inspectors.

Meeting with Nuclear Industry Robust Fuel Group

On December 6, 2000, staff from the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) met with the nuclear power industry Robust Fuel Group to continue discussions on their plans for development of guidance to permit licensees to implement fuel burnup beyond the current limit of 62,000Mwd/t. The Robust Fuel Group consists of licensees, EPRI, fuel vendors, and their contractors. Since the last meeting with the staff in March 2000, the group has made progress on the development of their guidance document which describes the process for approval of high burnup fuel. The proposed approach and acceptance criteria are based on data on fuel performance at high burnup obtained from a number of sources. A nearly complete draft is planned for February 2001 with finalization and submittal of the document for staff review expected later in 2001.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

ASNI N13 Meeting

On December 1, 2000, a senior manager from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety attended the annual meeting of ASNI N13, Radiation Protection, held in Washington, DC, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission representative, The meeting was devoted to organizational issues and new operating procedures to complete the new organizational relationship with the Health Physics Society and the Health Physics Standards Setting Committee (HPSSC). ANSI N13 now has direct responsibility for working with HPSSC, the Section Heads, and the individual writing groups. Agreement was reached on proposals for the operating procedures and for a new set of interest categories for N13 membership. These items will be formally balloted by correspondence in the near future.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency Workshop on Public Trust And Confidence

On November 29-December 1, 2000, representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) participated in an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency Workshop on "Investing in Trust:  Nuclear Regulators and the Public." Workshop participants from more than 20 countries and international organizations exchanged information on how regulators can expand their communications with all stakeholders, including the lay public, professional bodies, media, interest groups, and elected representatives. The workshop covered the range of a regulator's involvement with the public, including providing information, consultation, hearings, local liaison groups, and response to questions.

The Chairman of NRC provided remarks on "Responsible Openness:  An Imperative for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission." NRC staff papers addressed "Talking with the Public about High-Level Waste Disposal:  Recent Progress in Risk Communication," and "Considering Public Confidence in Developing Regulatory Programs." Workshop discussions addressed a variety of issues relevant to NRC such as public confidence and public accountability; public information policy; separation of regulatory culture from utility culture; public input versus regulatory input; educating the media; reaching the right groups with the right message; sharing experience on pro-actively seeking information on public concerns and information needs; and the types and mechanisms for public participation.

Technical Review Completed on HI-STAR 100 Cask System, Amendment 2

On November 30, 2000, the Spent Fuel Project Office completed the technical review for Amendment 2 to the HI-STAR 100 Cask System and forwarded the preliminary Safety Evaluation Report and Certificate of Compliance (CoC) to the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety for rulemaking. The amendment request was submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in August 2000 and replaces some of the detailed cask pad parameters in the CoC with higher level performance-based acceptance criteria. The amendment will give cask users more flexibility in designing and constructing cask pads while maintaining the same level of safety.

Meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute on High Burnup

On December 4, 2000, Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and industry representatives to discuss an industry proposed methodology to provide a basis for the approval of the storage of high burnup fuel in dry casks. The industry has identified, as high priority, the need to be able to store fuel in excess of that limit. This is based on the fact that the inventory of fuel with higher burnups in fuel pools is increasing. During the meeting, EPRI and its contractor staff provided a discussion of the scope of its paper, "Creep as the Limiting Mechanism for Spent Fuel Dry Storage." EPRI staff also noted that two additional reports are going to be provided in December 2000 and March 2001. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff agreed to review the paper and the one in December 2000 and to support a public meeting in January 2001 or February 2001. It is anticipated that if the proposed methodology is found acceptable, the NRC will revise its Interim Staff Guidance to reference the NEI papers so that applicants may use the analysis method in cask designs.

International Atomic Energy Agency Inspection

During the week of December 4, 2000, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted a safeguards inspection of the high enriched uranium downblending activities at the BWX Technologies facility in Lynchburg, Virginia. The principal inspection activities were a physical inventory verification and the recalibration of the in-line measurement equipment installed by the IAEA to independently verify the material transfers declared by the operator. The latter activity was considered of very high importance in light of prior performance of the equipment which on occasion has provided minimally satisfactory results. The IAEA is expected to monitor the equipment performance over the next several months to ascertain its capability to provide the level of verification deemed necessary. The IAEA has indicated that less than satisfactory performance of the equipment could result in the curtailment of inspection activities for some period of time.

Senior Management Liaison Meeting with Federal Bureau of Investigation

On December 5, 2000, senior managers from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and the Incident Response Operations met with the Counter Terrorism Unit Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ) and his staff as a continuation of periodic liaison meetings to discuss topics of mutual interest and identify, if necessary, areas that may need further staff resolution. The primary focus of the December 5, 2000, meeting was the conduct of exercises. Discussed were the lessons learned from the tabletop exercise, Cavalier Challenge, held in Lynchburg, Virginia, in May 2000 that involved the BWX Technologies, Inc., fuel facility and the limited field exercise, Volunteer Victory, held in Erwin, Tennessee, in August 2000 that involved the Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., fuel facility. It was agreed that the experience gained through both exercises relative to an actual event in which the FBI would be involved was valuable to both agencies. This experience will be expanded in future exercises that are being planned. The FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discussed other steps to enhance coordination between the agencies, and agreed that holding periodic liaison meetings was important to both agencies and greatly fosters the excellent relationships established.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Containment Analysis Training Course

RES presented a formal training course, "Containment Thermal-Hydraulics Review and Analytical Techniques," for over 20 NRC staff members at the TWFN Professional Development Center on December 4-6, 2000. The course focused on containment thermal-hydraulic issues and the modeling and use of the CONTAIN 2.0 code, which was developed under the auspices of RES. Topics in the course included an overview of containment phenomena, related experimental activities, integral and separate effects tests, CONTAIN code modeling and assessments, CONTAIN code state-of-the-art plant applications (e.g., for the AP600), and various applications related to design-basis accidents (DBA). It replaces several out-dated DBA containment analysis codes.

The CONTAIN code is a state-of-the-art containment analysis code, originally developed as a more detailed containment severe accident code. It replaces several out-dated DBA containment analysis codes. This course will assist the staff in their transition to performing DBA-type confirmatory calculations for operating plants.

Report on Causes and Significance of Design-Basis Issues at Power Plants

RES has issued Volume 14 of NUREG-1275, "Causes and Significance of Design-Basis Issues at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants" (November 2000). This report was initially requested by the NRC's Executive Director for Operations in 1997 for a better understanding of design-basis issues (DBIs) being reported at U.S. nuclear power plants. The study provides insights on reported DBIs with respect to (1) their causes, significant patterns within both the power reactor industry and power reactor systems, frequency trends, safety consequences, and risk significance, (2) the lessons that may be useful in assessing the regulatory effectiveness of NRC's evolving inspection and plant performance assessment processes and the definition of plant design basis, and (3) the implications of the regulatory burden related to NRC requirements for licensee event reporting DBIs.

The study found that from 1985 through 1997 there were increases in the number of reported DBIs that coincided with NRC initiatives such as inspection programs and generic communications that had a strong design element. Similarly, using a screening process to determine the risk significance of DBIs occurring in 1997, it was found that approximately 78 percent of the DBIs had either minimal risk or no risk significance. For DBIs that were considered potentially risk significant, the report has a number of observations, including (1) none involved a safety demand for a system, structure, or component whose function was adversely impacted by the DBI, (2) 87 percent involved potential failures or potential degradations rather than actual failures or actual degradations, (3) 58 percent involved three systems:  emergency core cooling, emergency ac/dc power, and containment/containment isolation, (4) plants licensed before 1975 were affected the most, (5) multi-unit sites were more affected than single-unit sites, and (6) BWRs were more likely to have a potentially risk significant DBI than were PWRs.

From 1990 through 1997, there was a steady decline in the ratio of the number of accident sequence precursor (ASP) events (conditional core damage probability>10^-6 ) with DBIs to the total number of DBIs reported in licensee event reports (LERs). For example, in 1991, about 8.3 percent of DBIs reported in LERs were determined to be ASP events, and by 1997, this ratio had steadily declined to approximately 0.5 percent. Finally, for the period 1992 through 1997, there were 14 "important" ASP events (conditional core damage probability> 0^-4) from all causes. Only three of the important ASP events during this period involved DBIs, and all occurred at PWRs.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-00-035A, North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (Seabrook), SEABROOK STATION "B" EMERGENCY DIESEL GENERATOR DAMAGE DURING TESTING - UPDATE
   
   
2. PNO-I-00-037, NEN Life Science Products, SKIN EXPOSURE GREATER THAN 50 REM.
   
   
3. PNO-II-00-052, U.S. Cattle Corporation, LOST STRONTIUM-90 SOURCE.
   
   
4. PNO-III-00-042, Central Michigan Community Hospital, MICHIGAN NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNICIAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MAKING A MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT TO THE NRC.
   
   
5. PNO-III-00-043, Joseph Behr Metals, Inc., UNSHIELDED RADIATION SOURCE FOUND AMONG SCRAP METAL.
   
   
6. PNO-IV-00-033A, Zipper Zeman Associates, UPDATE ON A STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE.
   
   
7. PNO-IV-00-034, Dames and Moore, STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGES.

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks:  TN-32 Revision (Part 72)

A direct final rule that revises the Transnuclear West, Inc. TN-32 cask system listing within the list of approved spent fuel storage casks was published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2000 (65 FR 75853). The amendment will allow holders of power reactor operating licenses to store spent fuel in the cask under revised conditions. The direct final rule becomes effective February 20, 2001.

The companion proposed rule to this direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2000 (65 FR 75869). The comment period closes January 4, 2001.

Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Race, Color, or National Origin in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance (Part 4)

The NRC and 21 other Federal agencies issued a combined proposed rule on December 6, 2000 (65 FR 76460). The proposed rule would amend the regulations implementing statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, and age in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance. The proposed rule would add definitions designed to clarify the broad scope of coverage of recipients' programs or activities under these statutes. The comment period closes January 5, 2001.

Changes to Quality Assurance Programs; Withdrawal of Remaining Issues Concerning a Petition for Rulemaking (Part 50)

A document that announces the withdrawal of the remaining issues raised in a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (PRM-50-62) was published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2000 (65 FR 76178). The petitioner believes that it is not necessary to pursue changes in addition to those presented in a direct final rule published February 23, 1999 (64 FR 9029).

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks:  NAC-UMS (Part 72)

A direct final rule that revises the NAC International Universal Storage System NAC-UMS cask system listing within the list of approved spent fuel storage casks was published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76896). The amendment will allow holders of power reactor operating licenses as general licensees to store PWR design basis fuel assemblies in accordance with revised technical specifications and Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuel in the NAC-UMS. The direct final rule becomes effective February 20, 2001.

The companion proposed rule to this direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76899). The comment period closes January 8, 2001.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of December 1, 2000 through December 7, 2000:  

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Media Interest

There was some press interest in Region IV on the meeting at San Onofre regarding a safety conscious work environment.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch may publish an article on NRC's public meeting policy.

Region I reported media interest in the Indian Point-2 restart.

Three press and one radio reporter attended the final meeting before startup at the D.C. Cook plant. Region III Administrator Jim Dyer held a press conference after the meeting.

The Christian Science Monitor inquired about NRC's record keeping procedures for an upcoming article.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Document Released to Public		Date	Subject
Decision Documents
1.	Commission Voting Record on SECY-00-0159	12/4/00	Final Rule Amending the Fitness-for-Duty Rule
2.	COMEXM-00-0002	10/13/00	Expansion of NRC Statutory Authority Over Medical Use of Naturally Occurring and Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Material (NARM)
	SRM on COMEXM-00-0002	12/05/00	(same)
	Commission Voting Record on COMEXM-00-0002	12/05/00	(same)
Information Papers
1.	SECY-00-0224	12/1/00	SECY-00-0224 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending November 24, 2000
2.	SECY-00-0222	11/27/00	Status of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facility Oversight Program Revision
Memoranda
1.	M001204A	12/4/00	Staff Requirements - Affirmation Session:  I. SECY-00-0159-Final Rule Amending the Fitness-for-Duty Rule
2.	M001127B	12/5/00	SRM-Briefing by DOE on Plutonium Disposition Program and MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Licensing

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Ralph Beedle, Nuclear Energy Institute, dated November 30, 2000, responds to petition for rulemaking from the Nuclear Energy Institute.
   
   
2. Letter to Dr. Belinda L. Collins, National Institute of Standards and Technology, dated November 29, 2000, provides annual report on participation in the development and use of voluntary consensus standards, as required by OMB Circular A-119, "Federal Participation in the Development and Used of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity assessment Activities."

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Federal Register Final Rule:  Confirmation of effective date and availability of guidance, (Changes, Tests, and Experiments), 10 CFR Part 50, RIN 3150-AF94.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Region I Hosts Inspector Seminar

Region I hosted its semi-annual Regional Inspector Seminar on December 5-7, 2000. The seminar featured a video teleconferenced keynote presentation by Commissioner McGaffigan, as well as presentations by representatives from NRR , NMSS and Research. The reactor portion of the seminar emphasized the new Reactor Oversight Program and inspector experience dealing with the new program, while the materials portion of the seminar focused on new regulatory initiatives and training on the QA manual recently issued by NMSS. Speakers from outside the NRC included Mr. Rene Henry, Director of Communications and Government Relations, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, on the better practices and pitfalls experienced by EPA in dealing with controversial subjects with the media and the public. Also giving presentations were William Steuteville, Environmental Scientist at the EPA; Richard Sexton, Radiation Protection Manager at the Haddam Neck Plant; and Richard Toohey, Ph.D., Senior Health Physicist at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The Region also held its semi-annual awards ceremony in conjunction with the inspector seminar.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Florida Power and Light Company - Commissioner Dicus visits the St. Lucie Plant

On December 7, 2000, the Regional Administrator accompanied Commissioner Dicus to the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant in Jensen Beach, Florida, to meet with licensee management and resident inspectors.

On December 8, 2000, the Regional Administrator also accompanied Commissioner Dicus to the Southeastern Nuclear Vice President's Conference at the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant in Jensen Beach, Florida.

Annual Engineering Manager's Conference

On December 4, 2000, the Director of the Division of Reactor Safety spoke at the Annual Engineering Manager's Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

South Carolina Electric and Gas Company - V. C. Summer Regulatory Conference

On December 7, 2000, representatives from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company attended a regulatory conference in the Region II office at 1:00 p.m. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the licensee's position on the significance of having the steam turbine driven emergency feedwater pump inoperable for approximately 48 days during power operation. This was a public meeting and remote public observation of this meeting has been allowed from One White Flint North.

Virginia Electric and Power Company - North Anna Full Scale Emergency Exercise

On December 4-8, 2000, the Regional State Liaison Officer participated as a member of the Regional Assistance Committee in the North Anna full scale exercise involving officials of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the applicable local governments.

Duke Energy Corporation - Oconee Unit 1 Followup

Following shutdown for a refueling, the licensee observed boron accumulation at four of eight thermocouple penetration nozzles on the reactor head. Boron accumulation was also observed at a control rod drive mechanism nozzle. The nozzles are welded to the underside of the reactor head and the accumulation is indicative of reactor coolant leakage past the welded joints. The licensee conducted eddy current inspection of the thermocouple nozzles and noted indications in all eight. The licensee is further characterizing the indications with ultrasonic testing methods. The thermocouple nozzles are unique to Unit 1 and were only used during preoperational testing.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

D.C. Cook Public Meeting and News Conference Held to Discuss Unit 1 Restart

On December 7, 2000, the Regional Administrator in Region III and NRC staff members met with American Electric Power officials at the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant near Bridgman, Michigan, to discuss startup preparations for Unit 1. The unit entered Mode 4 at 6:18 a.m. EST December 7. The Regional Administrator also held a news conference after the meeting. Three reporters attended the news conference and the regional office received several phone calls from the media regarding the Cook plant. AEP officials have stated that they expect the plant to reach full-power by mid-December.

NRC Staff Meets with Mallinckrodt Officials Regarding Maryland Heights, Missouri, Facility

On December 8, 2000, NRC staff members met with Mallinckrodt officials in the Region III office to discuss corrective actions the company has put into place at their Maryland Heights, Missouri, facility. The corrective action plan resulted from the discovery of apparent violations of NRC regulations at the Missouri facility regarding numerous overexposures. The December 8 conference was open to the public. Members of an AIT were at the site in May 2000 to review the circumstances surrounding possible radiation exposures above NRC limits to several workers. The NRC also issued the company a confirmatory order June 22, 2000, requiring Mallinckrodt to improve its radiation protection and worker training programs as a result of the overexposures.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 8, 2000

Waterford-3

On December 7, 2000, the Regional Administrator, and other members of the Region IV staff held a closed meeting with the licensee to discuss the status of the Confirmatory Order and the conduct of the force-on-force exercises scheduled for January 2001.