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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-08-0107 July 28, 2008
Contact: Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Digital Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Task Working Group #5, Highly Integrated Control Room On July 9, 2008, the Digital I&C Task Working Group #5, Highly Integrated Control Room - Human Factors met with industry in a public meeting. During the meeting, discussions took place concerning the industry white papers on: (1) Manual Operator Actions which will be used as input for the development of Interim Staff Guidance on Crediting Manual Operator Actions in response to a software common cause failure as discussed in Branch Technical Position 7-19, and (2) Minimum Inventory which will be used as input for a revision to Standard Review Plan Chapter 18. Alion Science and Technology Chemical Effects Head Loss Testing On July 9 and 10, 2008, staff traveled to Warrenville, Illinois, to meet with representatives of Alion Science and Technology regarding integrated chemical effects head loss testing that they performed for a subset of US pressurized water reactors to resolve Generic Safety Issue (GSI)‑191. This trip was designed to give the staff an opportunity to review actual test data and plant-specific results in order to aid in the resolution of ongoing technical concerns being discussed with Alion in a series of teleconferences. Based on the review, the staff observed additional data confirming the impression that many of the tests have unexpectedly low head losses that appear to be caused by non-prototypical aspects of the test procedure. In response to the staff's ongoing concern, Alion will provide additional data in the near term and is considering additional generic testing. Technical Contract Briefing at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) On July 10, 2008, the NRR staff accompanied staff from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) to a technical contract briefing held at the INL. Staff attended this briefing in order to gain insight into the INL process for collecting, coding, and analyzing data obtained from Licensee Event Reports. Follow-up actions involve better utilizing the information contained in the INL database in order to improve the analysis, review, and tracking of nuclear power plant operating experience. Duke Energy Proposes Use of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) at Oconee Nuclear Station On July 10, 2008, as part of pre-application effort, staff met with the representative of Duke Energy at North Carolina State University to observe the structural testing of a brick wall specimen modified by the GFRP system. The tested brick wall was loaded uniformly using an air-bag and was instrumented to obtain the wall deformation and the strain in the GFRP. The mode of failure for this test was shear failure at the mortar joint interface with the supporting concrete frame. The next phase of the testing program will include other specimens to further study the effects of the GFRP on the flexural strength of the brick walls. Based on satisfactory results from further testing of other brick wall specimens, the staff expects Duke Energy to submit a license amendment request for modification of existing brick walls in the Auxiliary buildings at Oconee station to increase their structural capacity to withstand pressure from a design basis tornado event. Meeting at Department of Commerce (DOC) Regarding Counterfeit Parts On July 14, 2008, staff met at the DOC offices in Washington, DC, with representatives from the International Trade Administration (ITA). The purpose of this initial meeting was to explore the possibility of sharing information on counterfeit parts. The staff is interested in working with other government agencies that may be a source of information on counterfeit parts that could potentially be supplied to domestic nuclear power plants. ITA is working on export issues with some major United States nuclear industry suppliers. Other organizations in DOC work with importers. Further information exchange is planned. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Nuclear Power Engineering Committee (NPEC) Meeting On July 14 and 15, 2008, staff attended the meeting of IEEE, NPEC, Subcommittee 6 (SC 6), "Safety-Related Systems," Working Group 6.4, "Computer Systems in Safety Systems," and Working Group 6.1, "Accident Monitoring Instrumentation," in Toronto, Canada. Working Group 6.4 is working on a revision to IEEE Std. 7-4.3.2-2003, "IEEE Standard Criteria for Digital Computers in Safety Systems of Nuclear Power Generating Stations," to incorporate issues from Digital I&C ISG-04, "Interim Staff Guidance on Highly-Integrated Control Rooms - Communications Issues," and lessons learned from reviews of digital applications. Regulatory Guide 1.152, Revision 2, "Criteria for Digital Computers in Safety Systems of Nuclear Power Plants," endorses IEEE Std. 7-4.3.2-2003. Working Group 6.1 is working on a revision to IEEE Std. 497-2002, "IEEE Standard Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Generating Stations," to incorporate revisions based on user feedback and the implementation of Regulatory Guide 1.97, Revision 4, "Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants," which endorses IEEE Std. 497-2002. License Renewal Meeting Between NRC Staff and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) On July 18, 2008, the staff is holding a Category 2 Meeting to discuss industry comments on draft License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance (LR-ISG)-2008-01, "Staff Guidance Regarding the Station Blackout Rule (10 CFR 50.63) associated with License Renewal Applications." Participants included members from the NRC's Office of NRR, NEI, and other industry representatives. The public was provided the opportunity to participate in this meeting prior to the closing of the meeting. Office of New Reactors (NRO) Staff Holds Public Outreach Meeting at Fulton, MO to Discuss the Combined License Application (COL) for Callaway Plant, Unit 2 The staff participated in a public outreach meeting on July 9, 2008, to discuss the COL application for Callaway Plant, Unit 2. The meeting was conducted at the Champ Auditorium in Westminster College campus, Fulton, Missouri. Over 300 people attended this meeting, including representatives from the NRC staff, AmerenUE, UniStar, Areva, local governments and city officials, the nuclear industry, and members of the public. Briefing to Staffers from Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works On July 16, 2008, NRC staff briefed staffers from the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the results of the NRC staff's July 7 meeting with the Council on Environmental Quality, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The congressional staffers indicated that industry has informed them that some preconstruction activities that COL applicants originally planned to initiate prior to completion of the NRC's environmental impact statement (EIS) cannot be started because the Corps will not issue a permit without a full National Environmental Policy Act analysis of the construction and operation of the nuclear power plant. The congressional staffers requested that the NRC provide a list of federal permits that NRC anticipates might be necessary for COL applicants and what actions the NRC is taking to establish Memorandums of Understanding or other necessary cooperative agreements to avoid similar issues. Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-Coordinated Public Meeting on Homestake Mining Company (HMC) Uranium Mill Site Reclamation Project On July 15, 2008, staff from FSME participated in an EPA-coordinated public meeting in Grants, New Mexico, regarding the HMC uranium mill site reclamation project located near Grants, New Mexico. The meeting consisted of presentations by EPA, New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the NRC. The EPA discussed its plans for an optimization study for reclamation of the HMC site, NMED discussed its regional well sampling program, and NRC provided a status summary of 2008 HMC licensing actions. A member of Senator Bingaman's office attended the meeting. Notice of Resolution and Closure of the Petition Docket (PRM-71-13) On July 16, 2008, the notice of resolution and closure of the petition docket was published in the Federal Register (73 FR 40767). The notice indicated that the NRC will consider the issues raised by the petitioner in the rulemaking efforts on the security requirements for the transportation of Radioactive Material in Quantities of Concern. During the process the NRC will solicit comments from the public and will consider all comments before finalizing the rule. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations to require the use of global positioning satellite technology for tracking vehicles transporting highly radioactive mobile or portable radioactive devices or to grant states the flexibility to impose more stringent requirements than those required under NRC's current increased controls. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requests Received During the Period of July 11, 2008, through July 17, 2008:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) OPA Received Significant Media Inquiries on the Following: Cooling tower leak at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant (Vermont); Vermont Public Interest Resource Group held a press conference calling for the permanent shutdown of the plant and the firing of any Entergy, NRC, or Public Service Board employees involved with the cooling tower Reduction in power at Fitzpatrick (New York); deadline for license renewal application Reinstatement of Tennessee Valley Authority's construction permit for Bellefonte 1 and 2 (Alabama) Federal Energy Management Agency concerns regarding new siren system at Indian Point nuclear power plant (New York) Low-level plutonium spill at National Institutes of Standards and Technology (Colorado) Other Public Affairs Items: OPA did an interview July 20 on a public service radio show explaining the reactor oversight process in general and the Robinson nuclear power plant in South Carolina. OPA spoke with a producer for the NPR program "marketplace" and provided background on expected COL applications, review periods, and agency staffing in advance of the Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee oversight hearing. OPA supported Commission meeting on fire protection and shifting to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 805. OPA supported the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards interview with Platts, discussing the letters sent to in-situ leach (ISL) licensees reminding them that groundwater restoration is applicable to the decommissioning timeliness rule. Human Resources Director, Jim McDermott was interviewed by Government Executive regarding the innovative hiring practices of the federal government.
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Commission Correspondence
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region
II (RII) Southeastern Federal Recruiting Council's 51st Annual Conference On July 15-16, 2008, the Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations attended the Southeastern Federal Recruiting Council's 51st Annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Site Tour at Lee Station in Gaffney, South Carolina On July 18, 2008, the Regional Administrator and the Deputy Regional Administrator for Construction accompanied by the Director, Office of New Reactors, conducted a site tour of the Lee Station facility in Gaffney, South Carolina. Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
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