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SECY 96-043

February 28, 1996

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2

As of February 20, 1996, approximately 64% of the steam generator tubes for Unit 1 have been inspected; 20% of these tubes have pluggable indications and an additional 13% have indications that may require plugging.

On February 16, 1996, NRR approved the Salem Restart Action Plan which was developed in accordance with NRC Inspection Manual Chapter 0350.

Commonwealth Edison Company

Status of Activities for Potential Strike at ComEd:

On February 20, 1996, Region III was informed by the chief negotiator for the IBEW that the union and ComEd had reached an agreement on the outstanding issues. The strike vote, originally scheduled for February 21, 1996, has been cancelled. Currently, the union is recommending that its members ratify the agreement.

Zion Unit 1

SALP Report Issued:

On February 15, 1996, the Zion Station SALP report was issued. The SALP covers the period May 29, 1994 to December 23, 1995. Operations was rated Category 3, while Maintenance, Engineering and Plant Support were rated Category 2. During the previous SALP, the licensee received Category 2 ratings in all four areas. The SALP Management Meeting is scheduled for March 1, 1996, at the Zion Station.

On February 18, 1996, Unit 1 entered Mode 4 in preparation to conduct an inspection of the 1B steam generator. Alarms on the loose parts monitor and subsequent investigation determined that foreign material had entered into the primary hot-leg side of the steam generator.

Inadvertent Entry into Technical Specification 3.0.3:

On February 15, 1996, Unit 1 inadvertently entered into the action statement requirements of technical specification (TS) 3.0.3 when the licensee identified that only two trains of the containment penetration pressurization system were operable vice the minimum required three trains. In this event, one train, of the four train system, had been removed from service for maintenance. A surveillance was then performed on a second train. During performance of this surveillance, the associated header depressurized below the technical specification limit. Upon recognition of having two trains inoperable, the licensee entered into TS 3.0.3. The header having the surveillance conducted on it, was subsequently repressurized within the allotted one hour and the licensee exited the action statement.

Lasalle Unit 2

Unit 2 Restart Problems Following a Manual Scram:

On February 4, 1996, operators manually scrammed Unit 2 from approximately 55% power due to the loss of cooling to the 2E Main Power Transformer (MPT). The root cause was a missing cap, believed to be from original construction, from a conduit carrying the control power cable to the MPT cooling fans. Water had gotten into the conduit and froze during the extreme cold weather causing the cable to fail. ComEd took appropriate corrective actions, including inspecting other cables associated with the transformers and the removal of snow and ice from the cable vault.

The licensee experienced several equipment problems in restarting the unit. When startup was commenced on February 7, 1996, main turbine control valve (TCV) No.4 would not open due to a failed servo valve. The unit was shut down on February 8, 1996, and the servo valve was replaced.

On February 9, 1996, the unit was started up again; however, rod pulls were suspended for several hours due to flow oscillations in the control rod drive system. The licensee determined that a previously identified leak on an air operated valve was causing the oscillations.

The leak was repaired and on February 8, 1996, startup continued; however the main turbine was tripped and EHC secured due to an EHC leak from a fitting on the No. 1 TCV.

On February 11, 1996, Unit 2 turbine roll resumed; however, the operators took the turbine offline on February 12, 1996, when it was discovered that the main power transformer disconnect contacts had not made good contact when the operator had moved the handwheel to the closed position. The disconnects were manually reclosed and startup was completed without further incident.

Meeting with EPRI and Industry Representatives on Online Monitoring of Instrumentation and Control Systems

On February 20, 1996, members of the Instrumentation and Controls Branch met with EPRI and other utility representatives at the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant site to discuss EPRI draft topical report TR-104965, "Calibration Through On-Line Performance Monitoring of Instrument Channels" and to observe the prototype online monitoring system installed at Crystal River. EPRI is proposing continuous online monitoring as a means of verifying satisfactory safety-related instrumentation and control system performance without the need for periodic calibration as required by current plant technical specifications. Such an approach would be a large cost saving to licensees. EPRI plans to revise TR-104965 to address the staff's concerns and to eventually submit a final version for staff review later in 1996.

Revision 8 of NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Available for Public Comment

The Operator Licensing Branch (HOLB) has issued a Federal Register Notice soliciting public and industry comments on a draft revision of NUREG-1021, which provides policy and guidance to ensure the consistent development and administration of NRC initial and requalification examinations. The revised NUREG, which is available in the Public Document Room and on the Internet at "http://www.nrc.gov/news.htm#exam," incorporates lessons learned during a pilot program to assess the feasibility of allowing facility licensees to draft and submit the initial license exams for review and approval by the NRC. HOLB will revise the NUREG as appropriate based on the public comments and expects to make a proposal to revise the process governing initial examinations to the Commission in May 1996. If the Commission approves the staff's proposal, the staff will issue Revision 8 and implement the revised process in fiscal year 1997.

Accident Management

On February 22, 1996, staff from DSSA, DRCH, and DRPM met with representatives from NEI and each of the NSSS owners groups regarding accident management. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss staff plans for inspecting utility implementation of the formal industry position on severe accident management, major elements of the associated draft Temporary Instruction, and NRC/NEI coordination on selection of plants for information gathering site visits and pilot inspections.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Update Training on Transportation Regulations

The Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) is sponsoring training, through the Technical Training Division, for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Agreement State inspectors on revisions to the NRC's and the Department of Transportation's transportation regulations that become effective on April 1, 1996. On February 13, 1996, Chem-Nuclear (the training contractor) and SFPO staff provided the training to 20 NRC and Agreement State inspectors at the Walnut Creek Field Offices, and, on February 15, 1996, to 35 NRC and Agreement State inspectors at the Region IV office. The training focuses on changes in material definitions, and packaging and hazard communication requirements. Similar training was provided to Headquarters and Region I inspectors on February 6 and 8, and Regions III and II on February 20 and 22, respectively.

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project

Members of the Uranium Recovery Branch attended meetings with the Department of Energy (DOE ) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on various aspects of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The meetings were to: (1) discuss UMTRA Project programmatic issues such as priorities, annotation of land records, and long-term radon management; (2) discuss project streamlining initiatives in an effort to complete the project by the end of 1998; (3) meet with staff of DOE's Grand Junction Project Office (GJPO) Groundwater Project to discuss review process issues of that program; and (4) meet with staff of DOE's GJPO Long-Term Care Program to discuss uranium recovery license termination issues. Information exchanged at the meeting was useful in developing approaches to resolve several outstanding issues in the Uranium Recovery Program and provided projections of DOE work that will help the staff manage their workload.

Meetings on Atlas Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Staff from the Uranium Recovery Branch and Oak Ridge National Laboratory met with representatives from Denver offices of the National Park Service (NPS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) on February 20-21, 1996. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the staff's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Atlas mill tailings reclamation and elicit any concerns from these two Federal agencies, in advance of the public meeting on the DEIS scheduled for February 28, 1996. The NPS discussed its concerns that additional data are needed on the chemical composition of the tailings as well as additional data on the impact to the Colorado River including biota, sediment, and river water quality. NPS believes this data will serve as a basis for an evaluation of the environmental impacts of the Atlas proposal. The staff will need to consider these concerns and determine what additional information, if any, NRC believes is needed. The EPA staff noted that it would prefer that the tailings be relocated to the alternative site. However, based on the fact that the cost of relocating the tailings was five times greater than on-site stabilization, EPA would not object to on-site stabilization. EPA did commit to provide the staff with historical data from its Radium Monitoring Network. These data show little impact on the Colorado River water quality from raw tailings that were disposed of directly into the river and tailings seepage into the river.

HEU Transparency Conference Call

On February 20, 1996, representatives of the five commercial nuclear fuel fabricators participated in a conference call with the Departments of Energy and State and the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards. The fabricators provided their comments on proposed Russian monitoring activities at their sites and on proposed reports to be given to the Russians regarding the processing of material in the U.S. The fabricators were in general agreement on the proposed activities.

Meeting with Scientific Ecology Group, Inc. and Scientech, Inc.

Staff from the Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards and Waste Management Divisions met with representatives of Scientific Ecology Group, Inc. (SEG), Oak Ridge, Tennessee (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) and Scientech, Inc., of Idaho Falls, Idaho, on February 15, 1996. SEG and Scientech are exploring the option of obtaining a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Part 70 Special Nuclear Materials License for the purpose of processing transuranic waste for preparation for burial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The material to be processed, which has a volume of about 65,000 cubic meters, is located at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and is Department of Energy (DOE) waste material left from weapons production. Most of the material is Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) material contaminated with plutonium and trace amounts of enriched uranium. The process objective is volume reduction and stabilization of the material for disposal at WIPP. Since most of the material is RCRA material, Environmental Protection Agency permitting would also be required. The SEG and Scientech representatives stated that they are bidding on a DOE proposal and they want to determine the feasibility of licensing this facility through the NRC. The project would be on INEL land leased from DOE. The license application would be submitted in the October 1997 time frame. Should NRC license this facility, the material and possession limits would necessitate a Category I facility license.

Meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission convened a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on February 21-22, 1996. The ACMUI reviewed the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine report, "Radiation in Medicine," for possible impacts of the report, including policy, legislative, rulemaking, and guidance issues. The ACMUI also discussed two additional issues. The first issue is a proposed rule requiring licensees to notify the NRC Operations Center within 24 hours of discovering an intentional or allegedly intentional diversion of licensed radioactive material from its intended or authorized use. The proposed rule would also require licensees to notify NRC when they are unable, within 48 hours of discovery of the event, to rule out that the use was intentional. The proposed rule would require reporting of events that cause, or have the potential to cause, an exposure of individuals whether or not the exposure exceeds the regulatory limits. The comment period for this rule closes March 1, 1996. The second issue is the lessons learned and action items resulting from the Augmented Inspection Team and Incident Investigation Team reviews of internal contamination events at the National Institutes of Health and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

RES/EPRI Staff Meeting on Cable Aging Research

On February 13, 1996, DET/RES and its contractor (BNL) staff met with EPRI and its contractor at the EPRI NDE Center in Charlotte, NC. The purpose of the meeting was to initiate a dialogue with EPRI on the feasibility of obtaining the results of the ongoing EPRI sponsored research related to cable aging and condition monitoring methods, and samples of naturally aged cable insulating materials. EPRI provided information on the number of bundles of cable test samples acquired from the participating utilities, the types of cable insulating materials involved in the research program, and the three types of condition monitoring methods used for cable aging evaluations. DET/RES staff provided an overview of the EQ research program objectives, and BNL presented an overview of the current test plans. Several options were discussed on how information exchange between EPRI and NRC/RES sponsored research programs can be facilitated to avoid duplication and maximize utilization of available resources on both sides. A formal mechanism for interacting with EPRI in this area is being explored.

Meeting of Experts on NDE

The first meeting of the experts reviewing nondestructive examination (NDE) options for predicting the fracture toughness of reactor vessel materials was held on February 12 and 13, 1996. The group is comprised of Profs. Jan Achenbach (Northwestern University), Robert Green (Johns Hopkins University), Robert Odette (University of California), Bernhard Tittman (Pennsylvania State University), and David Jiles (Iowa State University). During the meeting, the group discussed current methods and proposed NDE techniques for predicting fracture toughness. It was agreed that the experts would further review the technical literature for NDE techniques that might be applicable to the NRC need and would discuss their findings at the group's next meeting, which is scheduled for February 26 and 27, 1996.

ENCLOSURE D

Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Incident Response Division (IRD)

Emergency Response Branch (ERB)

A meeting with representatives of the Portsmouth and Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plants (GDP's), USEC and NRC personnel was held to begin the planning of a Tabletop emergency response exercise. The timeline and approach for the drill were discussed and agreed upon. Future meetings will be held to finalize the scenario and confirm the exercise date. This meeting is part of a continuing effort to assure emergency response compatibility between the NRC and the GDPs before they come under our regulation.

Safety Programs Division (SPD)

Reactor Analysis Branch (RAB)

Federal Engineer of the Year Finalist

Dr. Harold Ornstein of the AEOD Safety Programs Division was one of ten finalists for the Federal Engineer of the Year Award given by the National Society of Professional Engineers. In conjunction with "National Engineers Week," AEOD Office Director, Edward Jordan, and Dr. Ornstein attended an awards luncheon on February 22, 1996, given by the National Society of Professional Engineers practice division, Professional Engineers in Government. Mr. Jordan presented an award to Dr. Ornstein who was selected as the NRC's "Engineer of the Year" for 1996. Dr. Ornstein is the first NRC entrant to have been selected as a finalist for this National Society of Professional Engineers award.

Preliminary Notifications

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Contract Awards

Contract NRC-33-96-176 was awarded to King Publishing Group on January 19, 1996, for a subscription to the publication entitled "Energy Daily." The period of performance is February 1, 1996 through January 31, 1998, with a two-year renewable option. The firm fixed price is $77,840. The following streamlining initiatives were applied: RFP placed limits on the number of pages in the offeror's proposal; proposal preparation time was reduced; and an award was made without discussions.

Facilities Protection Working Group (FPWG)

Richard Dopp, Deputy Director, Division of Security, attended a FPWG meeting on February 21, 1996, at FBI Headquarters, WDC. The FPWG was reminded of upcoming anniversary dates of the bombing of the World Trade Center, the initial assault of the Branch Davidian compound, the deadly fire at the Branch Davidian compound, and the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City. No specific information existed to indicate that violent acts will occur on these anniversaries. Representatives from Federal facilities were invited to evaluate if any additional security measures are warranted at their facilities.

Security Support

As of February 15, 1996, the NRC security officer stationed on Marinelli Drive during the early morning rush hour will be attentive to the possible backup of vehicular traffic on Marinelli Drive and into the intersection at Rockville Pike. When necessary to alleviate such a backup, the security officer will ask the pedestrians to briefly wait to allow traffic to flow through. Pedestrians and drivers have been cautioned to be alert to potential traffic hazards and to directions from the security officer.

Significant FOIA Requests Received during the 5-Day Period of February 15-22, 1996:

Request for a copy of the summary/minutes of the Senior Management Meeting held on January 17-18, 1996. (Ophelia Williams; J/R/A Associates; FOIA-96-064)

Request for access to records on what happened at Three Mile Island. (Ted Wilson; FOIA-96-069)

Request for records between NRC and ten name entities relating to the Maxey flats low-level radioactive waste facility in Fleming County, KY. (Jennifer Quinn of Steptoe & Johnson; FOIA-96-070)

Request for records related to the name change or restructuring of Illinois Power to Illinova and San Diego Gas and Electric Company to Enova. (Daniel Kegan of Kegan & Kegan; FOIA-96-072)

Request for records related to license and radiation survey information for the area of Painesville, Lake County, Ohio. (P.J. Dugas; Painesville PRP Group; FOIA-96-073)

Request for records related to Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation's Nine Mile Point, Units 1 and 2. (Dennis W. Stone; FOIA-96-074)

Request, on behalf of his client, for records related to Notice of Violations and enforcement actions against Arizona Public Service Company. (Michael Helms of Lorance & Thompson; FOIA-96-076)

Request for a copy of the enforcement action tracking system for January 1993 through December 1995. (James Riccio; Public Citizen - Critical Mass; FOIA-96-077)

Request for an accounting of all violations issued to commercial power plants from January 1993 through December 1995. (James Riccio; Public Citizen - Critical Mass; FOIA-96-078)

Request for information regarding NRC policy of enforcement discretion and an accounting of licensees requesting relief under the policy for January 1993 through December 1995. (James Riccio; Public Citizen - Critical Mass; FOIA-96-079)

Request for a copy of any proposals submitted under the Small Business Innovation Research Program by Advanced Materials, Inc./Corp. (Judy Jenkins of Dykema Gossett Law Office; FOIA-96-081)

Request for a copy of all FOIA requests regarding Commonwealth Edison Company submitted by seven specifically named entities. (Ross Kimbarovsky of Hopkins & Sutter; FOIA-96-082)

Request for records related to specifically named individuals who signed survey reports in June 1985 at the Indian Point 3 turbine building. (Individual; FOIA-96-084)

Request for general information on nuclear power plants and information on any plant that had a melt down. (Nathan Smith; FOIA-96-085)

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Personnel
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Employee Smoking Cessation Program Completed

On February 22, 1996, eleven Headquarters employees completed a four-week smoking cessation program sponsored by the NRC Employee Assistance Program. The program was presented by Debbie Kovach of the Stop Smoking Institute and consisted of seven one-hour sessions.

Organizational Development and Training Staff Member Attends U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Focus Group Meeting

On February 21, 1996, Lillian Van Santen attended a USDA Graduate School Focus Group Meeting. Representatives from several government agencies were on hand for the one-day session, which focused on training strategies to deal with the impact of downsizing, delayed funding, continuing resolutions, future training needs, and reinvention. The session also included discussion on the ways and means for the Graduate School to assist the Federal government in its training needs.

Federal Savings Bonds Campaign Training Seminar Attended

On February 20, 1996, Henry Rubin, NRC's Savings Bonds Campaign Coordinator, attended the Federal Savings Bonds Campaign Training Seminar. The purpose of the seminar was to review the planning process for a successful U.S. Savings Bonds Campaign and to build a foundation for the 1996 campaign.

ENCLOSURE K

Office of Enforcement
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Significant Enforcement Actions

A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $80,000 was issued on February 20, 1995, to Tennessee Valley Authority (Sequoyah, Watts Bar). The action was based on a Secretary of Labor decision finding that TVA discriminated against an employee in not selecting him for several positions due to his reporting safety concerns. (EN 96-007)

A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $50,000 was issued on February 21, 1995, to Commonwealth Edison Company. The action was based on an inspection conducted by Region III at the Zion Station and consists of four examples of a violation associated with the station's emergency lighting system. (EN 96-009)

The staff exercised enforcement discretion per Section VII.B.6 of the Enforcement Policy and did not issue a civil penalty or Notice of Violation for a potential Severity Level II violation. A letter on the subject was issued on February 22, 1996 to TU Electric (Comanche Peak) and was based on an investigation conducted by Region IV OI Field Office concerning the alleged discrimination (by suspending the individual's unescorted access) against a former TU Electric worker who may have reported safety concerns to the NRC, a violation of 10 CFR 50.7. The OI investigation concluded that discrimination had occurred in this case. Based on the Enforcement Policy, this action would be classified at Severity Level II because of the management level (Acting Vice President for Operations) of one of the individuals involved in the case.

The exercise of enforcement discretion for the apparent Severity Level II violation is warranted because: 1) TU Electric identified the issue within 12 hours of it occurrence when one of the involved managers made his supervisor aware of the access suspension; 2) upon being informed of the suspension, the group vice president immediately reversed the suspension; 3) the individual's access was restored before he required access to the protected area; 4) the individual was not aware that his protected area access had been temporarily suspended; and 5) although not required, the licensee informed NRC of this matter the same day it was discovered. Letters were also issued to the involved managers. (EN 96-008)

A Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice) in the amount of $8,000 was issued on February 22, 1996, to Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC), Tacoma, Washington. The action was based on a Severity Level II problem involving MAMC's failure to: (1) provide adequate Quality Management Program (QMP) training to employees involved in the brachytherapy program; and (2) maintain and implement its QMP in a manner that assured that patients implanted with brachytherapy sources received the doses intended by the prescribing physicians. The violations, which resulted in five misadministrations, were indicative of a substantial programmatic failure by the licensee to implement its QMP. In addition, a Severity Level III problem was identified involving a deliberate failure by the licensee's former medical physicist to perform surveys of incoming packages containing brachytherapy sources and to maintain accurate records. (EN 96-010)

An Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities (Effective Immediately) has been issued today to Mr. Eugene Bolton, a former senior nuclear production technician at the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Indian Point 3 facility in Buchanan, New York. The Order prohibits Mr. Bolton from seeking unescorted access to facilities licensed by the NRC for a period of five years from March 9, 1993, the date that Mr. Bolton's unescorted access was terminated by NYPA. The action was based on inspection and investigation which concluded that Mr. Bolton deliberately violated Fitness-For-Duty (FFD) requirements by submitting a surrogate urine sample and by admittedly submitting surrogate samples successfully on previous occasions. (EN 96-012)

ENCLOSURE L

Office of State Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management

Maria Lopez-Otin, Federal Liaison, attended the February 14, 1996 meeting of the Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management held in Washington, D.C. The Commission was authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and is composed of ten members who have been meeting since May of 1994. The Commission's Chairman is Gilbert S. Omenn, Phd., Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. The Commission is to consider how human health risk assessments are performed and how the results of such assessments are used in regulatory decision-making. The Commission heard testimony from representatives of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA emphasized its dealing with wide range environmental risks while FDA emphasized that they look at risks from specific devices and chemicals. Of interest to the NRC is the Commission's goal on balancing between real and theoretical risks. The Commission plans to issue a draft report for review in March 1996, with a final report in the fall of 1996.

State of Maryland Renews License for Neutron Products, Inc.

The State of Maryland, an Agreement State, issued a license renewal for the source manufacturing operations at Neutron Products, Inc. (NPI), in Dickerson, Maryland. The renewal completes work that has been ongoing for many years and was delayed due to litigation with the licensee. The renewed license was sent to the licensee by letter dated February 1, 1996. Maryland's recent promulgation of their rules that are equivalent to NRC's new Part 20 and decommissioning funding surety requirements, together with this license renewal, establish an up-to-date framework for conducting regulatory activities.

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Media Interest

RIV, WCFO, and HQ fielded media inquiries about four kittens found at San Onofre that were contaminated with low levels of radioactivity.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week ending February 23, 1996

Foreign Visitors

Visit of Delegation from Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine

A delegation from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine, headed by Minister Yuri Kostenko, visited NRC for the week of February 20 and met with the Commissioners and the EDO, James Taylor. Oleksander Smyshlyayev, First Deputy for Nuclear Safety, and members of the delegation met throughout the week with NRC staff to discuss the progress of and plans for the nuclear safety assistance program. These discussions culminated in the Memorandum of Meeting signed on February 23 between Mr. Taylor and Mr. Smyshlyayev. Minister Kostenko met with officials at the Departments of State and Energy and at the Environmental Protection Agency adnd discussed primarily Chernobyl closure and material protection, control and accounting.

IAEA Vacancy Notices

The following notices from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been posted on NRC bullentin boards:

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

MOLYCORP SITE LICENSING VISIT (WASHINGTON, PA)

Staff from the Region I Division of Nuclear Materials Safety will support NMSS in a licensing meeting to be held at the Molycorp site in Washington, PA., on Friday, February 23, 1996. The site, listed on the Site Decommissioning Management Plan, consists of 17 acres, with thorium contamination present in the soil and in a slag pile. The license authorizes storage only; although there is an active license, no processing of NRC licensed materials occurs. The meeting will discuss options for disposal of the waste, including disposal onsite, and the impact of similar waste identified at the York, PA Molycorp site.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Tennessee Valley Authority - Watts Bar Unit 1

The reactor was manually tripped by the operators last Monday. Indicated hotwell level fluctuated after the turbine was brought on line. This resulted in condensate being returned to the condensate storage tank, an indicated increase in the hotwell level, and dropping steam generators levels. The operators tripped the turbine generator and then the reactor. TVA has inspected the main condenser hotwell and is modifying the hotwell level control system. They are also considering procedural changes so that the shift from manual to automatic level control would occur at a higher power level. They have installed additional hotwell level sensing instrumentation. A restart is anticipated for next week.

Duke Power Company - Oconee

On February 21, representatives from the Duke Power Company were in the Regional Office to attend a pre-decisional enforcement conference to discuss the apparent violation which addresses the inadequate control over fuel assembly movement on December 14, which resulted in a fuel assembly being left suspended in the fuel bridge mast for over three weeks at their Oconee Nuclear Plant.

Carolina Power and Light Company - Shearon Harris

On February 22, representatives from Carolina Power and Light Company were in the Regional Office to attend a management meeting to discuss the status of operations and maintenance at their Harris facility.

Florida Power and Light Company - St. Lucie

On February 22, the Regional Administrator and the Director, Division of Reactor Projects were at the St. Lucie facility to present the latest SALP results to representatives of the Florida Power and Light Company, State and local official, and the public. Following the presentation, the Regional Administrator held a quarterly press conference.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Commonwealth Edison Company

On February 20, 1996, an agreement was reached between the licensee and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), thus averting a potential strike at all of the licensee's nuclear stations. A ratification vote on the agreement by the IBEW membership is expected in April.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 23, 1996

Meeting with Arkansas Nuclear One (Entergy Operations, Inc.) Management

On February 20, 1996, the Regional Adminsistrator and other members of the Region IV staff met with the Acting Vice President, Operations of the Arkansas Nuclear One facility and other members of his staff to discuss the results of the licensee's recent self-assessment of performance.

San Onofre Public SALP

A public SALP meeting for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was held at the site on February 22, 1996. Nuclear Regulatory Commission personnel attending the meeting included the Regional Administrator, Director of Reactor Projects, and the Director, Project Directorate IV-2 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Acting Plant Manager for Diablo Canyon

On February 22, 1996, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced that Warren Fujimoto, Plant Manager, would be out for at least 2 months. This is to allow for recovery from back surgery which has yet to be scheduled. Bob Powers has been named as the Acting Plant Manager. He will maintain his current position as the Manager of Operations Services.