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INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0239

December 28, 2000

Contact:  S. Morris, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 22, 2000

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

Contact: S. Morris, OEDO by E-mail: sam1@nrc.gov.

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

UK: Discussions with Britain's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on Risk-Informed Technical Specifications

Staff from the Technical Specifications Branch (RTSB) held a teleconference with representatives from Britain's regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), on the subject of risk-informed technical specifications. During the teleconference, the staff discussed a proposal by the U.S. industry to make changes to the technical specification requirements regarding surveillance tests involving the use of a real time risk assessment. The staff was interested in NII's experience in this area at the Heysham 2 plant in England and at the Torness plant in Scotland which use an on-line configuration assessment tool called the Essential Systems Safety Monitor (ESSM). The technical issue related to how licensees at these plants used the ESSM to assess the risk of entering a given configuration to perform a surveillance test that was due or that had been missed. The staff asked whether NII had considered allowing licensees to balance the risk of performing a missed surveillance test that required a change in plant state against the risk of continuing to operate until the next test interval. The NII representatives stated that this issue had not come up with any of their licensees. They further stated that it was not clear that the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) currently in use by most of their licensees would generate a valid risk profile for use in such initiatives because the PSAs are of limited scope and focus on post-shutdown cooling systems.

The NII representatives expressed interest in information on U.S. industry risk-informed initiatives because of the relationship of the U.K.'s major utility, British Energy, to PECO Energy. The two utilities are parties in a 50-50 joint venture that makes up AmerGen Energy Company. The staff agreed with NII that future discussions in the area of risk-informed technical specifications could prove mutually beneficial.

China

On December 20, Gary Holahan and Michael Cullingford briefed Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield on the Chinese Pebble Bed Modular High Temperature Gas Reactor (PBMR) that went critical December 1. In late October, at the end of an IAEA sponsored workshop on Regulatory Applications of Probabilistic Safety Assessment, led by Dr. William Travers,

Mr. Holahan and Dr. Cullingford were extended an unanticipated invitation to tour the PBMR, which at that time, was about to load fuel. The 10 MWt reactor will be used primarily to understand the technology focusing on the fuel handling system, and fuel and materials behavior under the temperatures of 700 to 900° C. A 200 MWt reactor of this type is planned for completion in the 2002 time frame. NRR received the licensing requirements document developed by the Regulatory Authority of South Africa (where this type of reactor may be built). NRR will also have the SER, for the PBMR in China, written for the Chinese Regulatory Authority (NNSA) translated into English.

Japan

During the MITI/ANRE/NRR Twelfth Regular Regulatory Information Exchange Meeting in Tokyo in May of this year, Sam Collins extended an invitation to the Japanese to visit NRR for more detailed discussions on allegations (one of the agenda items for that meeting). This invitation was accepted and during the week of December 4, Mr. K. Yamaguchi and Mr. S. Kihara spent three days at NRC learning about the process and management of our allegation system. The visitors met with Edward Baker, Greg Cwalina, and Carl Mohrwinkel. The recently initiated Japanese allegation system has been modeled on the NRC system except that they do not have a criminal investigative function.

The visitors were particularly seeking insights into the handling of issues involving: Chilling Effect, Discrimination, and Wrongdoing. The two Japanese regulators were interviewed by Ann Thomas for "NR&C". The article will appear in the next issue.

Completion of USI A-46 Implementation

On December 18, 2000, DLPM issued a memo that closed out Multiplant Action MPA-B105, "Seismic Qualification," which implemented the resolution of USI A-46. This action constitutes closure of Generic Letter 87-02, entitled "Verification of Seismic Adequacy of Mechanical and Electrical Equipment in Operating Reactors, Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-46." All plant-specific licensing activities associated with this generic communication have now been closed.

GL 87-02 was issued on February 19, 1987, and Supplement 1 was issued on May 22, 1992. The purpose of the letter was to implement the resolution of USI A-46 by requiring each affected licensee to search for outliers that required plant modification by performing seismic verifications of certain classes of mechanical and electrical equipment. These verifications were deemed necessary by the staff for 67 plants docketed before 1972. The operating license reviews for these plants were performed by the NRC staff prior to publication of the 1981 Standard Review Plan, NUREG-0800, specifically Section 3.10.

Following issuance of the GL, an industry group known as the Seismic Qualification Utility Group (SQUG) was formed and developed a Generic Implementation Procedure (GIP-2), which the NRC ultimately approved as a method for fulfilling the action requested in the GL. After performing the required screening verifications and walkdowns, the licensees for the 57 plants that committed to using GIP-2 submitted reports to the NRC to document the results of their efforts. The NRC staff, in addition to reviewing the licensee reports that were submitted, performed onsite team inspections at selected plants (2-3 plants in each region) and prepared inspection reports.

For most plants, this multiplant action was closed out by issuance of an NRC Safety Evaluation. However, seven of the plants to which this GL originally applied have ceased permanent operation and, therefore, were not required to complete the action required by the GL. Three plants, Sequoyah Units 1 and 2, and Maine Yankee, were granted relief by the staff on the basis of other seismic reviews that had already been completed at those plants.

10 CFR 2.206 Petition

In a letter dated December 4, 2000, the Citizens Awareness Network, Public Citizen, Westchester Peoples Action Coalition, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Environmental Advocates submitted a petition, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206, to have the IP2 operating license revoked due to systemic mismanagement. The petitioners assert that the breakdown in Con Edison management is illustrated through the inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the Final Safety Analysis Report. The petitioners also assert that problems at IP2 extend beyond the replacement of the steam generators and that Con Edison's response to the problems is insufficient since it does not address the systemic mismanagement and the root causes. The NRC staff is currently reviewing the information provided as the basis of the petition to determine if immediate action is warranted before restart.

Indian Point 3 - Petitions to Intervene in License Transfer

The Town Board of Cortlandt, NY, and the Hendrick-Hudson School District Board, approved the IP3 property tax agreement without opposition on December 12, 2000, and December 13, 2000, respectively. As a result of this approval, the Town of Cortlandt and the Hendrick-Hudson School District are expected to withdraw their petitions to intervene over the IP3 license transfer.

Millstone, Unit 3

On December 18, 2000, the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone and the Long Island Coalition Against Millstone (collectively "the interveners"), filed a motion with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) to reopen the Millstone, Unit 3, licensing proceedings for further development of the record based upon the interveners' claim of newly discovered evidence. The interveners cited the licensee's recent report of missing fuel rods at the Millstone, Unit 1 plant. The interveners considered that the missing fuel rods raise serious questions about the Northeast Nuclear Energy Co's ability to handle more spent fuel at the Millstone, Unit 3 plant. The motion specifically requested the ASLB to vacate the order issued on October 26, 2000 that terminated the hearing.

Further, on December 19, 2000, the interveners filed a motion for stay of the Commission proceedings on the interveners' Petition for Review that the interveners had filed on November 13, 2000. The interveners requested the stay in order to maintain the status quo pending the ASLB 's adjudication of the intervenors' motion.

Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 1

On November 25, 2000, while shut down for a scheduled refueling outage, a small amount of boron was found on the Unit 1 reactor vessel head during the routine visual examination (see Event Notification No. 37567 dated December 4, 2000). Approximately one cup of boron was found at the base of one thermocouple. Also, trace amounts were found around the base of three other thermocouple penetrations and one control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) penetration. The thermocouples are no longer used; they were installed on Unit 1, only for the startup testing program. Licensee's inspection found no visual indication of cracks in the thermocouple welds, but minute cracks have been found by UT examinations. The cracks were caused by primary water stress corrosion cracking. Testing of the CRDM that had the boron indication revealed a lack of fusion and a crack in the weld. Cracking was found at another CRDM as well. Consequently, an additional six CRDMs have been inspected. No problems have been identified on the additional six CRDMs. The thermocouple sleeves will be removed and the openings in the reactor vessel head capped and welded. The repair plans for the CRDMs are being developed. The problem investigation and repair methodology are being followed closely by Region ll and NRR.

Seabrook, Unit 1

Following the November 1, 2000 "B" emergency diesel generator (EDG) #7 piston failure and crank case explosion, the licensee overhauled the "B" EDG.

During the post-EDG overhaul 6 hour break-in-run on December 3, 2000, the #5 main bearing failed. The licensee initiated an "event team" to investigate this issue. The licensee considers that the two "B" EDG failures (November 1, 2000 and December 3, 2000) are not related, so their investigations have remained separate.

The licensee found that the crank shaft journal was damaged and decided to replace the crankshaft. This has the potential to further delay plant restart from their fall refueling outage.

NRC Information Notice 2000-21: Detached Check Valve Disc not Detected by Use of Acoustic and Magnetic Nonintrusive Test Techniques, dated December 15, 2000

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued this information notice to alert addressees to the potential that nonintrusive testing (NIT) of check valves may not provide accurate results if the NIT method was not qualified and if baseline performance was not established when the valve was known to be operating acceptably.

North Anna Application to Convert Technical Specifications

The NRC has received an application from the licensee for North Anna to replace its technical specifications in their entirety with new technical specifications based on the improved Standard Technical Specifications (iSTS). The staff will conduct a screening review and conduct a public meeting with the licensee in January 2001 to discuss the submittal. Following the screening review and discussions with the licensee, a detailed schedule for the review will be developed in conjunction with the licensee. The staff currently has eight other applications under various stages of review to convert to the iSTS.

Reactor Oversight Process

Request for comments/information from members of the public, licensees, and pertinent interest groups related to initial implementation of the ROP has been published in the Federal Register Notice (FRN) [December 14, 2000, Volume 65, Number 241, Pages 78215-78217]. The NRC is also conducting a public workshop, tentatively scheduled for late March 2001, to discuss lessons learned. In support of this workshop, the NRC is seeking public feedback on key issues that should be considered during the workshop in the above FRN. The electronic version of the notice published on the Federal Register web site (frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov) has HTMLs providing ease of response by the public. The NRC will include a citation of the notice on the NRC ROP internal and external web site. The due dates for submitting potential topic areas for consideration during the public workshop and information regarding ROP's first year of initial implementation are February 23, 2001, and April 13, 2001, respectively.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Public Meeting on Dry Cask Storage in Oswego, New York

On December 13, 2000, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office conducted a public meeting in Oswego, New York, to discuss the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) regulatory oversight of dry cask storage of spent fuel. The NRC presentation described:  (1) the background of dry cask storage in the U.S.; (2) the 10 CFR Part 72 general licensing process under which the FitzPatrick plant is planning to implement dry cask storage; (3) the staff's safety review and approval of the Holtec HI-STORM 100 dry cask storage system to be used at FitzPatrick; and (4) the NRC inspection program conducted for dry cask storage activities. A public question and answer session followed. Approximately 60 people attended the meeting held at the request of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, including a member of his staff and 12 members of the Oswego County Legislature.

Public Meeting with Nuclear Energy Institute

On December 20, 2000, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff met with representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and industry to discuss information about high burnup spent fuel being generated by operating nuclear reactors. In previous meetings, NEI indicated that it would collect from operating reactor utilities data on the amount and types of high burnup fuel that is being generated and stored. The purpose for this review is to examine the existing capability of current dry storage cask designs and to identify the need for new cask designs to store the projected inventory of high burnup fuel. NEI agreed to provide NRC in mid-January 2001 with an outline of the data to be collected.

Workshop on Regulation of High Level Waste Disposal in Taiwan

On December 11-12, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management conducted a two-day workshop on "Regulation of High-Level Waste (HLW) Disposal" in Taipei, Taiwan. Workshop attendees included representatives of Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council and Fuel Cycle Management Administration, as well as the Taiwan Power Company. The workshop covered:  (1) pre-licensing and potential licensing activities for a potential Yucca Mountain repository; (2) regulatory structure; and (3) the roles of U.S. government agencies in specifying implementing regulations and setting environmental standards. The presentations provided a general overview of HLW disposal in the U.S. focusing on: statutory direction; pre-licensing and licensing activities, including stakeholder involvement; characteristics of regulations and standards; review plans; and compliance assessments. At the conclusion of the workshop Taiwan officials expressed appreciation and indicated they will consider what, if any, follow-up interaction activities they may pursue.

Presentations at the Fall American Geophysical Union Meeting

On December 16-18, 2000, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) presented papers at the American Geophysical Union Fall meeting in San Francisco, California. Over 3,000 geoscientists attended the fall meeting. Titles of posters and talks presented were: (1) resolving key technical issues for the potential Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository; (2) large-scale permeability of volcanic rocks; and (3) technical issues being addressed in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's research on hydrogeologic uncertainty. The session advanced the NMSS issue resolution process related to hydrology and geochemistry and the hydrology RES program related to pre-licensing guidance. In addition, several sessions addressed nuclear waste issues such as the Hanford Tanks and Hector Mine earthquake in California. Abstracts can be previewed at www.agu.org (listed in the fall meeting abstract search).

Meeting with the Department of Energy on West Valley High Level Waste Melter

On December 13, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management (DWM) participated in an off-site meeting to discuss the Department of Energy (DOE ) at West Valley's (WV) options for controlled shutdown of the high-level waste (HLW) melter. The melter used to vitrify HLW at WV is nearing the end of its service life. DOE-WV is holding a series of meetings to identify a path forward for controlled shutdown of the melter by the end of FY 2002. Staff from DWM were invited because the future DOE incidental waste determination for closure of two HLW tanks at WV will be affected by the degree of waste removal. Degree of waste removal is important in all three of NRC 's incidental waste criteria and is dependent on melter operation for disposal of waste removed from the tanks. DOE contractors and representatives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority are also involved in the decision-making process. The next meeting will be held on January 8-9, 2001.

International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards for Geological Repositories

On December 5-7, 2000, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff traveled to Vienna, Austria, to participate in the Geological Repository Safeguards Experts Group Meeting. The meeting was held to address the status of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) activities related to implementing safeguards at spent fuel conditioning plants and geologic repositories and to provide recommendations to the IAEA on research and development needs and implementation issues. The IAEA was made aware of current implementation schedules in the Member States and the need for the IAEA to begin making safeguards implementation decisions. Activities that could be performed by the Member States to support the IAEA were identified. A full report of the meeting will be distributed by the IAEA.

International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards Implementation in the United States

On December 11-12, 2000, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff traveled to Vienna, Austria, to participate in the U.S.-International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Implementation Meeting. The meeting is held semiannually to permit the U.S. and IAEA to review the status of IAEA and U.S. activities to effectively implement IAEA safeguards in the U.S. The dominant focus of the December meeting was the resolution of safeguards implementation issues at the BWX Technologies Highly Enriched Uranium Downblending Facility, preparations for safeguards implementation at the Savannah River K-Area Materials Storage Facility, and potential objectives for Additional Protocol field trials at U.S. facilities. All current safeguards implementation issues at the Downblending Facility have been resolved. The IAEA proposed initiation of studies on how to transition to more efficient safeguards implementation at the facility. A full report of the meeting will be distributed by the IAEA.

Government to Government Safeguards Bilateral Meetings

On December 13, 2000, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff traveled to Paris, France, and to Bonn, Germany, on December 14, 2000, to participate in the U.S.-France and U.S.-Germany Safeguards Bilateral Meetings. These meetings discussed policy positions related to the Additional Protocol and Integrated Safeguards and provided information on the status of international safeguards and verification activities in the countries. At each meeting, the staff member provided a summary of IAEA safeguards implementation activities in the U.S. and addressed questions on the details and philosophies of the activities. At each meeting further actions were identified to help resolve differences between the U.S. and the host country on international safeguards policy issues. Full reports of the meetings will be distributed by the State Department.

Meeting on Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility

On December 19, 2000, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff met with National Nuclear Security Administration representatives to discuss topics of common interest related primarily to the planned mixed oxide (MOX) fabrication facility to be constructed at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site. Although located on a DOE reservation, the MOX facility will be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Topics of discussion included the generation, handling, and storage of sensitive classified information; physical protection program components of common interest to NRC and DOE; and design basis threat issues.

Public Meeting with Stakeholders on Chapter 11, Fuel Cycle Standard Review Plan

On December 20, 2000, a meeting was held at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters to discuss the staff's final draft of Chapter 11. The staff also provided a brief review of the status of work on other ongoing efforts to produce guidance implementing the recent revision to 10 CFR Part 70.

The staff and stakeholders reviewed and discussed a set of comments on the Chapter 11 draft provided by the Nuclear Energy Institute. All comments were dispositioned and all meeting participants agreed that Chapter 11 would be acceptable with no further changes, when the agreed upon revisions were made.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Meetings on INPO's Equipment Performance and Information Exchange (EPIX) System

RES staff members represented the NRC at meetings of the EPIX Reporting Requirements Design Details Subcommittee on December 5 and 6, 2000, and the EPIX Ad Hoc Working Group on December 7 at INPO Headquarters in Atlanta. Much of the discussion concerned database design issues related to collecting reliability and availability data in EPIX 4.0. EPIX 4.0 is the fully web-based data collection and reporting system scheduled for release in June 2001. EPIX 4.0 is expected to provide the platform for the industry-wide, consolidated database for performance indicator and equipment performance information. This version will contain fields for reporting unavailability, ESF demands, and ESF test demands as proposed by NRC. Industry has not yet made a commitment to require the reporting of these data to EPIX.

At their last meeting in September, the NEI Data Review Group recommended that a standing committee with representatives from NEI, INPO, NRC, and industry be established to resolve data inconsistency issues and to address new data needs. It is expected that the standing committee will be appointed in January or February 2001 and that the NRC data proposals will be on the agenda of their first meeting. As follow-up to the EPIX meetings, NRC will provide suggested definitions and guidance for some of the reliability data elements and risk-important failure modes. NRC's proposed definitions and additional data will be coordinated among RES, NRR, and the regions through the RADS Coordination Group and other interested PRA users.

Regulatory Guide on 10 CFR 50.2 Design Bases

RES has issued Regulatory Guide 1.186, "Guidance and Examples for Identifying 10 CFR 50.2 Design Bases." This guide has been issued to provide a better understanding of design bases information, and it is intended to clarify the term design bases in connection with the NRC's regulations that use this term. Regulatory Guide 1.186 endorses Appendix B, "Guidelines and Examples for Identifying 10 CFR 50.2 Design Bases," to the Nuclear Energy Institute's NEI 97-04, "Design Bases Program Guidelines."

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-III-00-045, American Electric Power (D.C. Cook Unit 1), D.C. COOK UNIT 1 STARTUP AFTER 39-MONTH OUTAGE.
   
   
2. PNO-III-00-046, Ohmart Vega Corporation, MISSING FIXED GAUGE SOURCES.
   
   
3. PNO-III-00-047, Southeast Missouri State University, MISSING SOURCE.
   
   
4. PNO-III-00-048, American Electric Power (D.C. Cook Units 1 & 2), NON-LICENSED SENIOR MANAGER TESTS POSITIVE FOR ALCOHOL.
   
   
5. PNO-IV-00-036, Hazard Management Services, STOLEN LEAD ANALYZER.

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Focused Source Selection

The Division of Contracts and Property Management (DCPM) has completed a year of successfully testing its most recent streamlining innovation, Focused Source Selection, and is compiling data on time savings, cost savings, and customer satisfaction from reports and a survey conducted with parties of procurements conducted under the test. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has informed NRC that the authorization for the test ends on January 1, 2001. DCPM is preparing to submit a request to OFPP to issue standard deviations from Federal Acquisition Regulation procedures to allow the agency to continually use these innovative procedures as a part of its Procurement Reinvention Laboratory.

BankCard Training

On December 19, 2000, the Division of Contracts and Property Management conducted Purchase Card refresher training. Thirty people attended. The training focused on "buying green" issues found during our FY 2000 review, and use of the purchase card for external training planned for February 2001. The next session of this training will be on January 8, 2001.

Property Custodian Training

Seven refresher training classes were held by the Division of Contracts and Property Management for headquarters Property Custodians between December 4 and 15, 2000. Custodians who were not able to attend during those two weeks can call the Property and Acquisition Oversight Branch (PAOB) to schedule an alternative date. PAOB staff will conduct a video teleconference for regional Property Custodians on January 10, 2001, at 10:00 a.m. to review property management issues and to discuss inventory results.

Requirements for Certain Generally Licensed Industrial Devices Containing Byproduct Material (Parts 30, 31, and 32)

A final rule that amends the regulations governing the use of byproduct material in certain detecting, measuring, gauging, or controlling devices was published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2000 (65 FR 79162). The final rule includes explicit provisions for a registration authorized under provision of the existing regulations, adds a registration fee, and modifies the reporting, recordkeeping, and labeling requirements for specific licensees that distribute the generally licensed devices. The final rule is intended to allow the NRC to better track general licensees and the devices that they possess. The final rule becomes effective February 16, 2001.

Base Civil Penalties for Loss, Abandonment, or Improper Transfer or Disposal of Sources Policy Statement

A document that amends the NRC's Enforcement Policy to establish separate base civil penalty amounts for loss, abandonment, or improper transfer or disposal of sealed sources and devices containing NRC-licensed material was published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2000 (65 FR 79139). The amendment becomes effective February 16, 2001.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of December 15, 2000 through December 21, 2000:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

*Holiday employee

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

Media Interest

Chairman Meserve was interviewed by The New York Times for an article on the Commission decision regarding potassium iodide.

There was media interest in Region I on the misplaced spent fuel rods at Millstone.

Members of the press attended the meeting on the results of NRC's first license renewal inspection at Arkansas Nuclear One.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

GTS Duratek - Contamination Event in an Agreement State

On December 19, 2000, the State of Tennessee Division of Radiological Health notified the NRC of a contamination event at the GTS Duratek facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. On December 18, contaminated water inadvertently spread outside a decontamination facility and onto the ground adjacent to the facility. The licensee performed radiation surveys to bound the extent of the contamination.

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

On December 20, 2000, a public meeting was conducted between NRC and V. C. Summer personnel in the Region II office to discuss the evaluation and repair progress for the alpha reactor coolant system (RCS) hot leg weld and pipe cracks. Also attending the meeting were personnel from several other electric utilities, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Nuclear Energy Institute. The meeting included discussions of the A hot leg repair, the causes of the cracks, the extent of condition for the other RCS piping in the Summer plant, and the results of non-destructive testing for the replacement welds and piping. The NRC, special inspection team continued to evaluate the licensee's activities onsite. The NRC provided the licensee with a list of information needed in order to complete the evaluation of the licensee's corrective actions.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 22, 2000

D.C. Cook Unit 1 Restarts

D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station's Unit 1 in Michigan started up at 5 a.m. EST on December 18, 2000, and was connected to the grid at 9:39 p.m. EST on December 21, 2000, after an outage that began in September 1997. American Electric Power has issued a news release regarding the restart. NRC inspectors are monitoring the restart activities.