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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-05-0058 April 12, 2005
Contact: T. Kim, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Meeting with MRP/NEI on Inspection Guidelines for Nickel-Alloy Components On March 24, 2005, the staff met with representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) Materials Reliability Project (MRP) in a public meeting regarding ongoing industry assessments and plans to develop and issue inspection guidelines for Alloy 82/182/600 components (other than for the reactor vessel upper head) and separate guidelines for dissimilar metal butt welds. The staff noted that while industry has issued interim guidelines for one-time bare metal visual (BMV) examination of Alloy 82/182/600 components, industry will need to issue long term guidelines. A possible vehicle for BMV inspection guidelines would be industry endorsement of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Case N-722 once it is finalized. The staff indicated that it will propose appropriate regulatory action unless the industry aggressively pursues and promptly endorses inspection guidelines. NRC Information Notice (IN) 2005-06, Failure to Maintain Alert and Notification System Tone Alert Radio Capability, Dated March 30, 2005 On March 30, 2005, the NRC issued the subject IN to inform addressees of recent inspection findings concerning a licensee's capability to alert members of the public within the emergency planning zone in the event of a radiological emergency. This IN is intended to ensure that licensees using tone alert radios maintain positive control over the distribution of the tone alert radios. No specific action or written response is required for INs, however, it is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to their facility and consider actions, as appropriate. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Meeting with Duratek about Transport of Uranium Hexafluoride in the Model UX-30 Package On March 29, 2005, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with representatives from Duratek, Inc., on the subject issue. The discussion focused on the transport of small uranium hexafluoride cylinders within a newly designed containment vessel. The new containment vessel would be transported within the Model UX-30 overpack. The application for approval of the shipments is scheduled to be submitted in May 2005. Issuance of the H. B. Robinson Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation License Renewal for 40 Years On March 30, 2005, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office issued the H. B. Robinson Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) renewed license and safety evaluation report. The renewed license is for a total of 40 years. H. B. Robinson is the second commercial nuclear plant to have received a license to store spent fuel in dry casks at an ISFSI, and the renewed license allows operation of that ISFSI until 2046. Construction Authorization for Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility On March 30, 2005, NMSS issued a construction authorization (CA) to Duke Cogema Stone & Webster for its proposed mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility (MFFF). The CA and NUREG-1821, "Final Safety Evaluation Report on the Construction Authorization Request for the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina," were issued simultaneously. The results of the staff's environmental review related to issuance of the CA are contained in NUREG-1767, "Final Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] on the Construction and Operation of a Proposed MFFF at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina," issued in January 2005. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) Russian Cladding Performance In late 2000, European test results on a Russian-made Zr-1% Nb cladding alloy (E110), a predecessor to the modern niobium-bearing alloys used in U.S. reactors revealed that E110 cladding did not behave well under conditions of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in relation to criteria used by NRC (10 CFR 50.46). In 2001, an existing trilateral program involving NRC, the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN, France), and the Russian Research Center (Kurchatov Institute) was redirected to investigate LOCA behavior of E110 cladding. This work was closely coordinated with another NRC program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The significant behavioral differences between Russian and Western cladding alloys were found to depend on which chemical process was used to make zirconium metal from zircon ore (discovered at the Kurchatov Institute) and whether the cladding surface was polished or etched (discovered at ANL). This information is important to NRC’s efforts to revise 10 CFR 50.46 to accommodate newer cladding alloys and higher fuel burnups. Results from the program at the Kurchatov Institute have just been documented in a report that is being issued jointly by the three organizations (NUREG/IA-0211, IRSN 2005-194, NSI RRC KI 3188), and the report is being published by NRC. Hemyc Fire Barrier Test Report On March 29, 2005, RES issued a preliminary report on fire endurance confirmatory testing for the Hemyc Electrical Raceway Fire Barrier Systems (ERFBS). Hemyc ERFBS is used at eleven nuclear plant sites as a one-hour rated fire barrier used to protect certain equipment needed to achieve a post-fire safe shutdown condition. RES recently conducted two, separate full scale, one-hour fire endurance tests intended to confirm and assess the ability of the Hemyc ERFBS to protect typical conduit, junction box, supports, and cable tray installations. The tested fire barrier configurations replicated simple configurations typically installed in nuclear power plants. None of the tested Hemyc ERFBS installation met the one-hour fire endurance test acceptance criteria. The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation staff is reviewing the test results to determine appropriate next steps and action(s). Revision to Management Directive 6.4, “Generic Issues Program” On March 30, 2005, RES submitted the final draft revised Management Directive (MD) 6.4, “Generic Issues Program (GIP).” MD 6.4, which delineates the prioritization and resolution process for generic safety issues, is being revised to address Recommendation 3.1.3(1) of the Davis-Besse Lessons Learned Task Force. The revision simplifies the process for submitting candidate generic issues. The revised guidance applies to all generic issues related to public health and safety and common defense and security. In the revised MD, the role and responsibilities of the Committee to Review Generic Requirements have been included. Additionally, the role of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, and the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes is being clarified. MELCOR Modernization and SNAP-MELCOR Meetings On March 22-25, 2005, RES staff participated in the MELCOR modernization and SNAP-MELCOR meetings held at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, New Mexico. The purpose of the MELCOR modernization meeting was to discuss progress on the MELCOR severe accident code conversion to FORTRAN 95 with SNL and Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE). MELCOR conversion to FORTRAN 95 is progressing well. The main goal of the work is to restructure code architecture to take advantage of modern programming techniques and languages for ease of maintenance and modification of the code. It is expected that the final version of the MELCOR to be converted to FORTRAN 95, and be released to public in May 2006. The aim of the SNAP-MELCOR meeting was to discuss MELCOR users' need for a graphical user interface (GUI). Based on this meeting, it is concluded that in order to have a user friendly GUI, there must be continuous interaction and coordination between MELCOR code and SNAP developer. The next meeting on the MELCOR modernization and SNAP-MELCOR is presently scheduled to take place in September 2005. Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR) Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration (ADM) Medical Use of Byproduct Material - Recognition of Specialty Boards (AH19 - Part 35) On March 30, 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a final rule in the Federal Register (70 FR 16336) that amends the regulations governing the medical use of byproduct material. The final rule changes NRC’s requirements for the recognition of speciality boards whose certifications may be used by individuals to demonstrate the adequacy of their training and experience for service as radiation safety officers, authorized medical physicists, authorized nuclear pharmacists, or authorized users. The final rule also revises the requirements for demonstrating the adequacy of training and experience for pathways other than the board certification pathway for the same positions. The final rule becomes effective April 29, 2005. A-76 Coordinators Group Meeting On March 31, 2005, the Division of Contracts met with other agency A-76 Coordinators at the Department of Energy headquarters offices in Washington, DC, to discuss competitive sourcing issues. “A-76" refers to OMB Circular A-76 which establishes federal policy for the competition of commercial activities. Presenters at the meeting included the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of State and the Department of Energy. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of March 24 through March 31, 2005:
Office of Human Resources (HR)
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) TThe Office of Public Affairs (OPA) received significant media inquiries on the following: The National Academy of Sciences report on spent fuel safety and security. A steam leak at Hope Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey. The staff’s rule language for controlling the disposition of solid materials. Other Public Affairs Items: Regional OPA staff assisted at several end-of-cycle meetings for the annual assessments of nuclear plant performance.
Commission Correspondence
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region I (RI) Meeting at the Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Division Facility in Cheswick, Pennsylvania On March 30, 2005, Region I Decommissioning Branch staff met with representatives of Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Division in Cheswick, PA to discuss the status of site remediation activities. The discussions focused on the status of a former ballfield on the site where residual uranium contamination was identified and on buildings where uranium fuel production activities had been conducted. The status of site financial assurance for decommissioning and the need for updated decommissioning cost estimates were also addressed. Also present at the meeting were representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and representatives of the Washington Group International, the former licensee. Region II (RII) Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings During the week of March 28-April 1, the Regional staff held the Annual Assessment Meetings for the North Anna and Surry nuclear plants. The meetings were held at or near the nuclear plants and were open to the public. V.C. Summer - Management Meeting On March 31, 2005, the regional management met with representatives from South Carolina Electric & Gas Company in the Regional Office to discuss the upcoming refueling outage as well as recent enhancements to the V. C. Summer Nuclear Plant corrective action program. Region II (RIV) Wolf Creek Generating Station Management Change On March 30, 2005, the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation announced that Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
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