Search Options
Index | Site Map | FAQ | Facility Info | Reading Rm | New | Help | Glossary | Contact Us

INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0235

December 21, 2000

Contact: D. Terao, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 15, 2000

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

Contact: D. Terao, OEDO by E-mail: dxt@nrc.gov.

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

NRC Onsite Observation of PRA Peer Review Process

During the week of December 4, 2000, staff from the Generic Issues, Environmental, Financial, and Rulemaking Branch and the Probabilistic Safety Assessment Branch in NRR and the Probabilistic Risk Assessment Branch in RES observed a peer review of the Hatch Unit 1 Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA). The review was conducted at the Southern Nuclear Operating Company offices in Birmingham, AL, and was coordinated by NEI.

The purpose of the onsite observation was to gain additional insight into the process, and to gauge the objectivity and repeatability of the NEI 00-02 "Probabilistic Risk Assessment Peer Review Process Guideline." The peer review team consisted of a team leader/system expert from General Electric, three PRA practitioners from other BWR plants, and two PRA experts from a contractor. The peer review team provided the NRC staff with a good opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the process for ensuring the quality of PRAs. The assessment of the adequacy of the technical criteria for ensuring quality was not within the scope of this site visit. Also, the NRC staff clarified to the licensee that the intent of the visit was to assess how well the process works and not to assess the adequacy of the Hatch Unit 1 PRA.

The NRC staff plans to review the final report from the peer review team, which is expected in mid-February, and then issue a trip report to document its observations.

Notice of Availability of Final Regulatory Guide and Effective Date for 10 CFR 50.59

On December 13, 2000, a notice was published in the Federal Register (65 FR 77773) announcing the availability of Regulatory Guide 1.187, Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, Changes, Tests, and Experiments. In accordance with the publication of the final rule, the revision to 10 CFR 50.59 has an effective date of March 13, 2001, which is 90 days from approval of the regulatory guidance.

Briefing on "Education and Infrastructure Crisis" sponsored by the Eagle Alliance

On December 7, 2000, NRC Non-Power Reactor staff attended the subject briefing in Washington, D.C. Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and John Spratt (D-SC), the co-Chairs of the Nuclear Issues Working Group, announced the subject briefing. The Eagle Alliance sponsored the briefings and put them on with participation by the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO). Briefs were given by William Magwood, IV, Director of the Office of Energy, Science and Technology in the Department of Energy (DOE ), Professor Alan Waltar, Nuclear Engineering Department Head at Texas A&M University, Professor Jeffrey Freidberg, Nuclear Engineering Department Head at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor John Lee, Nuclear Engineering Department Head at the University of Michigan, Professor Mohamad Al-Sheikhly, Director of Radiation Engineering Facilities at the University of Maryland, and Pedro Pérez from the National Organization of Test, Research and Training Reactors (TRTR).

The briefings centered around the following issue from the associated announcement:

America's nuclear engineering and radiation science programs are at a vital crossroads. The number of educational programs, along with their student enrollments, have significantly declined over the past several years. Associated with this is the drastic loss of University Research Reactors (URRs) - down to only 27 remaining facilities as listed below. URRs are a fundamental and vital part of the nation's nuclear technology education infrastructure. These facilities serve as a source of neutrons for many beneficial applications in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, epidemiology, archeology, environmental sciences, material sciences, fluid mechanics, geology, energy production, agriculture and many other areas. Unfortunately, several of these reactors are currently facing closure.

Several of the briefings discussed the specific URRs at University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University that are facing closure. The briefings were well attended including Congressman Knollenberg, former Commissioner Ken Rogers, and representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, DOE, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Staff Holds Public Scoping Meetings on the Turkey Point Environmental Impact Statement in Support of License Renewal

The NRC staff participated in a number of activities related to the license renewal application for Turkey Point Units 3 and 4. On Wednesday, December 6, 2000, the staff conducted two meetings to solicit comments from the public on the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS) that is being prepared. The EIS will be a plant-specific supplement to the "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437). More than 80 people attended the meetings, including representatives of the NRC staff, Florida Power and Light (FPL), the nuclear industry, State agencies, the press, and members of the public. Several dozen individuals spoke at the meeting, with a few expressing serious concerns with extending the operating life of the two nuclear units at Turkey Point. The scoping period ends on December 22, 2000.

In addition, on December 6 and 7, 2000, the NRC staff and its contractors (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Argonne 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, including aquatic and terrestrial ecology, land use, human health, socioeconomics, etc., as well as FPL's process for identifying significant new information on the Category 1 issues identified in NUREG-1437. The NRC staff will use this information to supplement the Turkey Point Environmental Report while developing the EIS.

Reactor Oversight Process

On December 6, 2000, NRR's Inspection Program Branch (IIPB) staff briefed the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Plant Operations Sub-committee on the status of Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) implementation issues including lessons learned from the application of performance indicators and the significance determination process, and discussed upcoming ROP planned activities.

The IIPB conducted another of a continuing series of public meetings on December 6, 2000, with NEI's working group on the ROP. Key issues discussed included: fault exposure time impact on unavailability performance indicators (PIs), approach to revise NEI 99-002, "Regulatory Assessment Performance Indicator Guideline," long term efforts on revising the safeguards significance determination process (SDP), status of the operator re-qualification SDP, potential safeguards PI changes, NRC's self assessment program, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). The next meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2001.

IIPB staff participated in the Region I Reactor Inspector Counterpart meeting on December 5-6, 2000. At this meeting, the IIPB staff discussed inspection program issues including those related to MC 0610*, "Inspection Reports," performance indicators, and Problem Identification and Resolution with the regional staff and answered questions from the participants.

IIPB has established some key milestones to support the ultimate goal of briefing the Commission on the results of the first year of initial implementation. Some of the major milestones include:

Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2

The following is based on Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation's (NMPC's) press release of December 12, 2000:

NMPC has agreed to sell its ownership of Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2, and New York State Electric & Gas Corp., Rochester Gas and Electric Corp., and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. have agreed to sell their ownership of Nine Mile Point Unit 2, to Constellation Nuclear, under an agreement announced today. Constellation Nuclear was the successful bidder in a competitive auction for the units. The purchase price is $815 million in cash and payments and $134 million in interest for 82 percent of Unit 2 and 100 percent of Unit 1. The sellers' pre-existing decommission funds will be transferred to Constellation, who will take responsibility for all future decommissioning funding.

Constellation Nuclear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy, is the owner and operator of the two-unit Calvert Cliffs. The Long Island Power Authority, an 18-percent owner of Unit 2, is not participating in the sale.

Part of the transaction is a purchase power agreement calling for Constellation Nuclear to provide electricity to the sellers at negotiated competitive prices for approximately 10 years. After the completion of the purchase power agreement, a revenue sharing agreement begins.

At this time, the licensee (NMPC) has not yet filed any application with the NRC regarding license transfer.

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant

On December 7, 2000, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) heard oral arguments on the environmental contention in the hearing related to 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.

The oral arguments, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, were based on the written summaries filed by all parties, i.e., the intervener (Board of Commissioners of Orange County, NC), CP&L, and the NRC staff on November 20, 2000. Approximately 50 members of the general public attended portions of the arguments. An ASLB decision is pending.

Meetings with South Texas Project on December 6 and December 8, 2000

The staff met with representatives of STPNOC on December 6 and 8, 2000, to discuss the licensee's request for exemptions from the special treatment requirements of 10 CFR Parts 21, 50, and 100. The meeting focused on the resolution of open items identified in the draft safety evaluation issued on November 15, 2000. The licensee and the staff appear to have reached an understanding of how to proceed with the resolution of open items related to using engineering evaluations, applying national consensus standards, considering common cause failures in categorization, controlling changes to the processes that form the basis for granting exemptions, and treatment of beyond design-basis functions for high safety significant and medium safety significant functions. Also, substantial progress was made in addressing the limitations of the categorization of components whose roles are associated with mitigating the consequences of accidents by maintaining containment integrity. Overall, the meetings were productive and both well attended and supported by the staff. More interactions will occur between the staff and the licensee as the licensee prepares responses to the draft safety evaluation open items. The staff expects to receive the responses by mid-January 2001.

In addition, the staff met with the ACRS on December 7, 2000, to discuss the draft safety evaluation. The ACRS raised some questions, several related to the component categorization process. The ACRS indicated they would be requesting the staff to return to brief both the full and sub-committees on the exemption requests in February 2001 prior to the planned Commission briefing. These meetings are not captured in the staff's current schedule to issue the safety evaluation in April 2001. The potential scheduler impacts, if any, will have to be assessed.

Meeting with South Texas Project Management and Staff on December 8, 2000

On December 8, 2000, the NRC management and staff met with the management and staff of STPNOC (licensee) to discuss a new methodology for addressing a pending amendment regarding steam generator repair criteria (3-volt issue). The licensee's analysis supporting the amendment request was based on methodology including RELAP-5 modeling. The staff previously raised serious concerns with the adequacy of RELAP-5 to address the dynamic loads on steam generator tubes and tube support plates following initiation of main steam line break accident. As a result of those concerns, the licensee abandoned the use of RELAP-5, and adopted a simple bounding analysis, independent of RELAP-5.

At the meeting, the licensee presented the details of its revised analyses to demonstrate that, using the revised methodology, it can calculate the bounding loads conservatively, ensure significant margins on bounding loads with tube expansions, and demonstrate that the tube burst probability is negligible.

The staff informed the licensee that their approach appeared viable, however the licensee must docket their proposal in order for staff to perform a detailed review.

NRR/RES Meet With North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) Representatives

NRR/EEIB and RES staff met with NERC representatives at their offices in Princeton, New Jersey on Thursday, December 7, 2000. At the present time NERC operates as a voluntary organization that promotes the reliability of the electricity supply for North America. However, because of the electric industry deregulation, NERC is currently pursuing legislation in Congress that would transform it from a voluntary system of reliability management to one that is mandatory. Administrative matters discussed included NERC's intent to seek NRC endorsement of their pending Congressional legislation and a memorandum of understanding formalizing the NRC/NERC relationship. Various grid reliability concerns were discussed, including adequate post-trip nuclear plant voltages and recent stage 1, 2, and 3 emergency declarations in California. Discussions also included the possible use of NERC data by NRC to establish grid reliability trends in order to make observations relative to nuclear plants.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Director's Response to Two Petitions Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 on Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program

On February 24, 2000, the Snake River Alliance, and on March 13, 2000, the Envirocare of Utah, Inc., filed separate petitions pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. The petitions requested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) assert jurisdiction over the disposal of mill tailings from the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) sites. On December 13, 2000, the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards signed the Director's Decision which denied the petitions and concluded that the NRC will continue to refrain from imposing disposal requirements for the mill tailings at FUSRAP sites because the material is outside of the agency's jurisdiction.

Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility Application Delayed

On December 6, 2000, the applicant, Duke Cogema Stone & Webster, informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the submittal date for the application for the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility has been delayed from December 22, 2000 to February 28, 2001. The Environmental Report associated with the MOX fuel fabrication facility will be submitted on December 22, 2000, as scheduled.

Resolving Radionuclide Transport Issues at Yucca Mountain

On December 5-7, 2000, the Division of Waste Management staff held a technical exchange and management meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE) to discuss resolution of radionuclide transport issues. Radionuclides that may escape the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, would likely follow groundwater flowpaths through porous rock, fractured rock, and alluvium. The three subissues concerning transport through the geologic media described above, considered "open" prior to the meeting, now are "closed pending." The DOE has agreed to demonstrate its capability to predict transport of dissolved and colloidal radionuclide homologues in future field tracer tests.

Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board, Radiation Advisory Committee, Review of Sewage Sludge Dose Modeling Methodology

On December 12-14, 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's ) Science Advisory Board (SAB), Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC), held an open-to-the-public meeting to review and produce an advisory on a sewage sludge dose modeling report produced by the Sewage Sludge Subcommittee of the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS). Staff from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research and the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) participated on the ISCORS Subcommittee. The Subcommittee's dose modeling report described proposed methodologies to perform dose calculations which will be used to: (1) interpret results of the Subcommittee's survey of radionuclide concentrations in sewage sludge; and (2) provide guidance to sewage treatment plant operators on radioactive materials in sewage sludge. An NMSS Division of Waste Management staff member and an EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air staff member presented to and participated in this SAB/RAC meeting. Additional participants in the meeting included Subcommittee members from EPA, the Department of Energy, and a local sewage treatment authority; and additional representatives from EPA and the public. The ISCORS Subcommittee is soliciting input from the SAB/RAC in an "Advisory," (SAB/RAC will produce a consensus report) on the modeling methodology, exposure scenarios, parameter distributions, and uncertainty methods. A public draft of the SAB/RAC review report is due January 26, 2001.

Visit to Waste Control Specialist Facility to Discuss Special Nuclear Material Exemption

On December 5-6, 2000, Division of Waste Management staff visited the Waste Control Specialist (WCS) facility in Andrews County, Texas. WCS provides hazardous waste treatment and disposal and mixed waste treatment. The purpose of the site visit was to gather operational information to support WCS's exemption request dated September 25, 2000. Specifically, the exemption would be in the form of an Order to WCS that would exempt it from licensing under 10 CFR Part 70 for possession of special nuclear material (SNM) greater than the mass limits in Part 150. This exemption would be similar to the exemption the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Envirocare of Utah, Inc., in May 1999 and would set concentration limits for SNM by condition of the Order. Because the conditions of the Order would be implemented by the state of Texas, members of the Texas Department of Health (TDH) were also present at the site visit. Staff has coordinated its efforts to date with the TDH and will continue to work closely with state officials as the review of the WCS request proceeds.

Meeting with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah to Discuss National Historic Preservation Act Consultation Process for the Proposed Private Fuel Storage Facility

On December 6, 2000, representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Division of Waste Management, State and Tribal Programs and Region IV, and cooperating agencies on the Private Fuel Storage environmental impact statement (Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Surface Transportation Board) attended the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah monthly Tribal Council meeting in Cedar City, Utah. Chairperson General Anderson invited the NRC and cooperating federal agencies to discuss the consultation process required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, potential impacts to cultural resources on the Reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians from construction and operation of the proposed Private Fuel Storage facility, and potential impacts from the related transportation facility in Tooele County, Utah. The NRC and cooperating federal agencies requested information on any historic properties of cultural and traditional significance within the Area of Potential Effect (APE) from the proposed facility. The Tribal Council indicated that they were not aware of any information on properties of cultural and traditional significance within the APE. Their input will be documented in the final environmental impact statement.

Meeting on the Revised 10 CFR Part 35 for External and Internal Stakeholders

On December 8, 2000, staff from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety presented information on the revised 10 CFR Part 35 for external and internal stakeholders. The staff participated in a radiation safety training program for cardiologists who were completing training requirements under the current Part 35 in order to apply for authorization to use radioactive material in Agreement States and in Non-Agreement States. The current requirements were presented along with the final rule changes that will be effective in 2001. On December 13, 2000, the staff presented similar information for the Regional Counsel Counterpart meeting hosted by the Office of the General Counsel.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Presentation on Operating Experience Risk Insights in Region III

Steven Mays, Operating Experience Risk Analysis Branch in RES, made a presentation on the insights from risk-based analyses of reactor operating experience at the inspectors meeting in Region III on December 12, 2000. The presentation focused on the potential use of risk insights in inspection activities as part of the Reactor Oversight Program (ROP). Topics included analyses of initiating events, system and component reliabilities, common cause failures, accident sequence precursors, and potential risk-based performance indicators. Development of a method to provide and maintain current operating reactor risk insights for use in risk-informed inspection activities was also discussed. There was considerable interest among inspectors, technical staff, and Region management regarding the use of these risk insights in performing inspection activities.

Regulatory Guide on Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59

RES has issued Regulatory Guide 1.187, "Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, Changes, Tests, and Experiments." This guide endorses a Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) document, Revision 1 of NEI 96-07, "Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Evaluations," which provides guidance on the process by which licensees may make changes to their facilities and procedures, as described in their Safety Analysis Reports, without prior NRC approval under certain conditions.

The effective date of the amended 10 CFR 50.59, "Changes, Tests, and Experiments," was deferred until this guidance was issued; the effective date of the amendment has been set at March 13, 2001.

Draft Guide and SRP Section on Analysis of Transient and Accident Behaviors

RES has issued for public comment Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1096, "Transient and Accident Analysis Methods," and its conforming Standard Review Plan Section 15.0.2, "Review of Analytical Computer Codes." DG-1096 is being developed to describe a process that is acceptable to the NRC staff for the development and assessment of evaluation models that may be used to analyze transient and accident behavior. NRR is developing Draft SRP Section 15.0.2 to describe for the NRC staff the process and acceptance criteria for reviewing analytical models and computer codes used by licensees to analyze accident and transient behavior.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-00-040, Tru-Tech Services, Inc., THREE UNSHIELDED BROMINE-82 SOURCES RECEIVED IN ST. CROIX, THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, BY TRU-TEC SERVICES, INC.
   
   
2. PNO-IV-00-021C, Transalta Centralia Mining LLC, UPDATE ON THE MECHANICAL FAILURE OF A RONAN GAUGING DEVICE.
   
   
3. PNO-IV-00-035, Associated Soils Engineering, Inc., STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE.

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Changes, Tests, and Experiments: Confirmation of Effective Date and Availability of Guidance (Parts 50, and 72)

A document that confirms the effective date of and announces the availability of guidance on a previously published final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2000 (65 FR 77773). The final rule, published October 4, 1999 (64 FR 53582), amends the regulations concerning the authority for licensees of production or utilization facilities to make changes to the facility or procedures, or to conduct tests or experiments without prior NRC approval. The final rule becomes effective March 13, 2001.

Contract Award

On December 14, 2000, the Division of Contracts and Property Management awarded Order No. DR-01-0078 under GSA Schedule GS-35F-4507G to GRC International, Inc., for work involving web-based system design, development, operation, and maintenance in conjunction with the development of a Licensing Support Network. The amount of the award was $4.5 million over a period of performance of 60 months. Several contractual streamlining methods were used.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of December 8, 2000 through December 14, 2000:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

NRC Honored for Training Award Nomination

On December 14, 2000, the NRC was honored for its nomination for the 2000 W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award at the Graduate School, USDA, Annual Dimensions of Leadership Conference. Nine Federal agencies received awards for their nominations, and a tenth agency, FDA/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, was selected for the 2000 W. Edwards Deming Award. The NRC's nomination was for its web-based Allegation Training Program. Eileen Mason, Team Leader, Human Resources Development, accepted the award for the NRC and participated in the Leadership Conference.

*Transfer from RII
**Holiday employees

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Media Interest

There was press interest in the Director's Decision on the Envirocare and Snake River Alliance's 2.206 petitions.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congressman Sam Gejdenson dated December 6, 2000, responds to request to postpone the NRC's commencement of a 30-day public comment period on the Connecticut Yankee License Termination Plan for the Haddam Neck Plant.
   
   
2. Letter to Congresswoman Sue W. Kelly dated December 6, 2000, responds to concerns about the restart in the near future of Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 2 without formal approval from the NRC.
   
   
3. Letter to Congress dated December 6, 2000, provides the monthly report on the status of licensing and regulatory duties.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. 10 CFR Parts 30, 31, and 32; Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial Devices Containing Byproduct Material; Final Rule.
   
   
2. [NUREG-1600] Base Civil Penalties for Loss, Abandonment, or Improper Transfer or Disposal of Sources; Policy Statement.
   
   
3. Power Authority of the State of New York and Energy Nuclear FitzPatrick LLC, Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 3 LLC, and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant and Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 3); Docket Nos. 50-333-LT and 50-286-LT (Consolidated); Memorandum and Order; CLI-00-22.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Maine Yankee Meeting on Decommissioning

The Chief of the Decommissioning and Laboratory Branch attended a meeting open to public observation in Brunswick, Maine, on December 12, 2000, to discuss the status of decommissioning at the permanently-shut down Maine Yankee reactor. No members of the public attended. The meeting was requested by Maine Yankee to afford involved regulatory agencies the opportunity to provide a review of individual agency responsibilities and actions to date as the remediation at Maine Yankee progresses. Senior-level representatives from NRR, the State of Maine Bureau of Health, the State of Maine Division of Environmental Protection, EPA Region III (Boston, MA), Friends of the Coast, and the State of Maine Nuclear Safety Advisor and State Senator Marge Kilkelly were in attendance, as well as representatives of Maine Yankee. The meeting served a useful purpose in establishing dialogue among the regulatory agencies and providing an understanding of each agency's role in the decommissioning of Maine Yankee.

Donation of Computers

During the Region I celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the President of the Philadelphia chapter of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) spoke to the Region staff regarding the Society's programs to encourage and support development of Hispanic students. One program in particular, the Cascade Mentoring Program (CMP), is an educational initiative in which trained student mentors work with small groups of students in urban schools at the next descending level in the educational cascade on math, science and technology-based projects. Professionals are paired with college students, college students with high school students, high school students with middle school students, etc. In a meeting with the Deputy Regional Administrator subsequent to the presentation, the Society Chapter President asked Region I to partner with SHPE and help support the CMP. One type of support requested was through the donation of used computer equipment to the SHPE Foundation, which funds the CMP.

On December 14, 2000, Region I donated nine computers that had become excess as a result of the NRC's computer refresh program.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Commissioner Merrifield visits McGuire, Summer and Robinson

On December 13-15, 2000, Commissioner Merrifield, accompanied by his Technical Assistant for Reactors, the Region II Deputy Director of the Division of Reactor Projects, and the Assistant Chief of the Materials Branch, Office of Research, visited the McGuire, Robinson, and Summer Nuclear Power Plants. The visits included tours of the plants and discussions with licensee managers and staff on current issues facing industry and the NRC.

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel (IIEP)

On December 11-12, 2000, Region II hosted a meeting of the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Initial Implementation Evaluation Panel (IIEP). The IIEP is evaluating the results of the first year of implementation of the ROP and will provide advice and recommendations to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation on reforming and revising the ROP. Representatives from Vermont and Illinois made presentations to the panel.

U. S. Navy Radiation Safety Committee Meeting

On December 13, 2000, the Chief, Materials Licensing and Inspection Branch 2 attended a quarterly U. S. Navy Radiation Safety Committee Meeting. The Committee reviewed program activities, including the status of work to remove depleted uranium from the Naval firing range on the Vieques Island.

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

The NRC continued with follow up activities to determine the root cause and to monitor the repair of a crack, discovered in a weld area and piping of the alpha (A) loop, hot leg pipe of the reactor coolant system. Special Inspection Team (SIT) members met with Westinghouse personnel to review the preliminary results of the investigation performed on the pipe area removed from the loop A. Results to date confirm the presence of an axial and circumferential crack and another crack that was identified by eddy current testing.

The licensee completed the placement of Inconel weld material on the reactor nozzle side of the loop A pipe, placement of the new spool piece into loop A, and the initiation of welding of the spool piece into loop A.

Duke Energy Corporation - Oconee Unit 1 (update)

The NRC continued followup of the licensee's repair of cracks found in the welding area of eight thermocouple penetration nozzles on the reactor head. The licensee has identified the cause and is planning to remove the nozzles and insert plugs into the head penetrations. During review of boron accumulation at these nozzles, the licensee also noted boron deposits near one of the penetrations for the control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) Testing on the CRDM nozzle identified a crack across the nozzle-to-head weld and a lack of fusion between the weld and nozzle for approximately 30% of the weld. The licensee is developing a repair plan for the CRDM nozzle based on a determination of the root cause of the crack.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 15, 2000

Regional Administrator Issues Letter on D.C. Cook Unit 1 Startup

The Region III Administrator issued a letter to American Electric Power Co. on December 12, 2000, notifying the licensee that the NRC staff had determined the performance improvements and plant modifications at the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station in Michigan were sufficient for Unit 1 at the plant to resume operations. Unit 2 restarted in June 2000 and has operated continuously since that date. Both units at the plant had been shut down since September 1997.

Region III Holds Reactor/Materials Seminar

The Region III office held its semi-annual reactor and materials seminar December 12-14, 2000. Participants included regional staff members, residents inspectors and site secretaries. Representatives of the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety also participated in the final day of the seminar. Speakers included regional and headquarters staff. The seminar concluded with regional awards ceremonies.