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SECY 98-013

January 28, 1998

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Generic Letter 96-06 Workshop

On December 4, 1997, the Plant Systems Branch (SPLB), the Mechanical Engineering Branch (EMEB), and the Probabilistic Safety Assessment Branch (SPSB) participated in a workshop to discuss issues related to GL 96-06, "Assurance of Equipment Operability and Containment Integrity During Design-Basis Accident Conditions," and to provide additional guidance for addressing the GL 96-06 issues. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the NRC and NEI.

Before the workshop was conducted, NEI had written a letter to the NRC dated September 4, 1997, indicating that licensees have raised many questions concerning code compliance and what is required to adequately resolve the GL 96-06 technical issues. In the letter, NEI recommended that the NRC sponsor a public workshop to provide licensees an opportunity for follow-up discussion on the many questions that have been asked about resolution of the GL 96-06 issues. While the staff was receptive to sponsoring and participating in a GL 96-06 workshop, the staff had not received much feedback from licensees about specific problems that were being encountered. Likewise, discussions during the workshop sessions did not identify any specific problems that were being encountered by licensees, and the staff has not received any feedback of this nature following the GL 96-06 workshop. Licensees are continuing to implement corrective actions to resolve the GL 96-06 issues, and the staff is not aware of any major difficulties or problems that are being encountered by licensees.

Update on Fuel Channel Seal Spring Failures

On January 8, 1998, the Reactor Systems Branch staff held a telecon with Siemens and Pennsylvania Power and Light Co. (PP&L) to discuss new information on seal spring failures. Siemens indicated that the seal spring failures, initially discovered in a German reactor did not happen to the same type reactor of a different unit with the same material lot. With 52 out of 80 assemblies inspected, no seal spring failures were found with seal spring problems in in the second reactor. Furthermore, PP&L informed the staff that a recent visual inspection in Susquehanna Unit 1 only discovered 1 assembly out of 24 assemblies containing failed springs. Previously, Susquehanna Unit 2 had 6 out of 24 assemblies containing failed springs of the same material lot. Siemens summarized that the new information seemed to confirm the hypothesis of reactor/material dependency of seal spring failures. PP&L will continue to perform visual inspections during the summer of 1998. Meanwhile, Siemens has retooled the seal spring design for an old design prior to 1988 to alleviate the problem.

Management Changes

Duke Energy Corporation recently announced the following personnel reassignments to be effective March 1, 1998: Jeff Forbes, current Engineering Manager of Catawba, to become Station Manager at Oconee; Jack Peele, current Station Manager at Oconee, to become Engineering Manager at McGuire; Peter Herran, current Engineering Manager at McGuire, to become Engineering Manager at Catawba.

Mr. John Scalice, Senior Vice President of TVA Nuclear Operations announced the appointment of Rick Purcell to the position of Watts Bar Site Vice President. Mr. Purcell had been Plant Manager at Watts Bar. Mr. Scalice had been Watts Bar Site Vice President until his recent promotion. Mr. Bill Lagergren, the current Assistant Plant Manager at Watts Bar will serve as acting Plant Manager on an interim rotational assignment.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NMPC) has announced that Mr. John T. Mueller has joined their organization effective January 19, 1998. Mr. Mueller fills the position formerly held by Rick Abbott (and temporarily assumed by Ralph Sylvia) before Mr. Abbott assumed his current position of Acting Unit 1 Plant Manager for Nine Mile Point. Thus, Mr. Mueller assumes the position of Vice President and General Manager, Nuclear. As such, he reports to Mr. Sylvia (until Mr. Sylvia's planned retirement about mid-July). The two plant managers and the Vice President of Engineering report to Mr. Mueller. Mr. Mueller's background includes the positions of Operations Manager and Plant Manager for Nine Mile Point Unit 2, a vice president at Cooper, and most recently, a vice president at Zion.

On January 16, 1998, Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley, Jr., ComEd's Nuclear Generating Group (NGG) President and Chief Nuclear Officer announced several management changes intended to improve the effectiveness of engineering, licensing and support to the sites. Mr. David Helwig, General Manager of General Electric's Nuclear Services Company, will become a ComEd Vice President and NGG Senior Vice President. He will be responsible for engineering, support services, supply management, information systems, procurement and other technical services. His primary assignment will be to improve engineering support to the sites and to oversee the regulatory compliance and licensing programs. Mr. Helwig previously worked for PECO for 23 years as the Vice President of Nuclear Engineering and Services and Vice President of Limerick Nuclear Station. Mr. Mike Wallace will become Mr. Kingsley's Chief of Staff. He will be assisting Mr. Kingsley on a variety of issues related to improving NGG operations. Prior to this re-assignment, Mr. Wallace was the Vice President of Nuclear Support for NGG. On January 16, 1998, it was announced that, effective immediately, Mr. Fred R. Dacimo, currently LaSalle Plant General Manager, is replacing Mr. Bill Subalusky as the LaSalle Site Vice President.

Mr. Subalusky will be heading up a key strategic initiative for the NGG, improvement of nuclear training, and will report to Mr. Helwig. On January 19, 1998, Mr. Dacimo announced additional management changes at LaSalle that will become effective January 26, 1998. Mr. Tim O'Connor, the former Zion Operations Manager will become the Station Manager and will report to the Site Vice President. Mr. Steve Smith, LaSalle Plant Manager, will become the Restart Manager and will report to the Station Manager. Mr. Jimmy Baily, the current Restart Manager is being assigned to a newly created position of Site Business Manager and will report to the Site Vice President. In his new position, Mr. Baily will have 7 managers under him who previously reported to either the Site VP or the Plant General Manager. This reorganization will reduce the number of direct reports to the Site VP from 11 to 6 and reduces the number of layers of management.

Other recent management changes include, Mr. Ray Landrum, former Zion Shift Operations Supervisor, was named as the Operations Manager at Zion until the decommissioning organization is in place and Mr. Preston Swafford, formerly the Dresden Station Outage and Work Control Manager, was named Dresden Station Manager.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Part 35 Working Group and Steering Group Meetings

During the week of January 12, 1998, the Part 35 Working Group held a public meeting to discuss the revisions to Part 35. On January 13-14, 1998, the Steering Group met with the Working Group to discuss rule text associated with the cross-cutting issues identified by the Working Group. Regulatory requirements for the following cross-cutting issues were discussed at the meeting: training and experience, radiation safety committee, quality management rule, patient notification, and threshold for reportable events. In addition, proposed recommendations for the Medical Policy Statement were discussed. The Working Group worked to incorporate the Steering Group's direction into the proposed rule text.

The meetings were attended by members of the public. On January 12-14, 1998, the government relations specialist for the Society of Nuclear Medicine/ American College of Nuclear Physicians attended the meeting. On January 15, 1998, the meeting was attended by medical physicists from Loyola University of Chicago, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Fairfax Hospital, and Georgetown University Hospital. the individual from Loyola University also attended the meeting on January 16, 1998.

Management Meeting with U.S. Enrichment Corporation

On January 15, 1998, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and Region III conducted a Senior Management meeting with the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC). USEC discussed Compliance Plan completion status, certificate amendment requests, and privatization activities. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff discussed Part 76 rulemaking plans, the recently issued Annual Report to Congress, and staffing for the AVLIS-related effort. NRC staff discussed its evaluation of USEC's preparations in regard to potential year 2000 computer problems, and emphasized the need for attention to ongoing nuclear criticality safety issues. Region III presented the results of a performance review which concluded the overall performance of the Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant (GDP) is adequate, with weaknesses being addressed, and the overall performance of the Paducah GDP is adequate with a slow improvement trend. USEC was invited to respond to the performance review findings and conclusions at the next scheduled Senior Management meeting.

Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS) Meeting

On January 14, 1998, Division of Waste Management staff participated in the quarterly meeting of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS), held at the offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In addition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, representatives of FEMA, the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials were in attendance. Committee Chairman Harold Andress of FEMA led a discussion on the FY98 ICODS funding of $2.9 Million and its allocation to administrative costs, research, training, etc. Reports were presented by the various subcommittees on operations, research, training, guidelines development, and National Inventory of Dams. The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for April 8, 1998, at the Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In addition, a technical seminar on Mitigation Strategies for Dam Safety is being hosted by FEMA at its National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on February 18-19, 1998.

ENCLOSURE D

Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

RASCAL Training

NRC experts and users of the NRC's Emergency Dose Projection System (RASCAL) from various offices and regions met with the RASCAL code developers on Wednesday, January 21, 1998. The purpose of this meeting was to examine and evaluate the methods and technical bases for RASCAL Version 3. This version uses the NUREG-1465 time-dependent source term and a heavy gas model for UF6 releases, and constitutes a major revision to the existing version. There was overwhelming support from the participants to complete this effort, along with some new suggestions that will be considered by the staff.

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS

• PNO-III-98-007, Commonwealth Edison Co. (Dresden 2), AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP CAUSED BY TURBINE TRIP
• PNO-III-98-008, Washington University and Medical Center, BRACHYTHERAPY MISADMINISTRATION (WRONG TREATMENT SITE)

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC)

DFS staff met with NMSS and USEC personnel on January 21, 1998 to discuss foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) milestones associated with USEC's privatization time line. The USEC has begun the privatization process by sending out preliminary bid packages to prospective buyers of USEC. Initial submissions with FOCI related information are expected in March 1998.

Security Support

The Division of Facilities and Security (DFS) will provide security support for the ASLBP pre-hearing conference, related to the possible use of a Utah site as a temporary high level waste depository. The conference will be held at the University of Utah during the week of January 26, 1998. Activities include a tour of the proposed site on Monday with the pre-hearing conference scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

Rules Activity

The Rules & Directives Branch (RDB) is reviewing a draft proposed rule that would amend 10 CFR Part 50 to incorporate by reference the most recent version of a national consensus standard for power, instrumentation, and control portions of safety systems in nuclear power plants. This action was the subject of a direct final rule that was issued October 17, 1997 (62 FR 53932) and subsequently withdrawn on December 23, 1997 (62 FR 66977) because the NRC received significant adverse comments on the action. Because of the nature of the comments received, the NRC is issuing revised proposed rule on the action rather than proceeding to a final rule.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests Received during the 4-Day Period of January 16, 1998 - January 22, 1998:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

HR Employee Attends Government Learning Technology Symposium

On January 21-22, 1998, Carolyn Bassin, HR/HRD, joined other Government training staff from all branches of federal and state governments to exchange information and experiences about using technology for learning and education. Ms. Bassin discussed NRC's experience with two-way televideo, satellite downlinking, and multi-media. The meeting attracted government training staff with responsibilities for the acquisition and implementation of learning technology. One of the purposes was to share information about reducing costs associated with conversion of traditional instruction to technology-delivered learning. Long viewed by the NPR staff as essential to the government's ability to meet the increasing demand for learning, Vice President Gore's staff discussed their efforts to monitor government progress in using learning technology to meet the increasing demand for learning.

ENCLOSURE J

Office of Small Business & Civil Rights
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

The Office of Small Business and Civil Rights Open House

The Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) held an Open House on January 21, 1998. The purpose of the Open House was to give employees an opportunity to meet the SBCR staff and learn more about the functional areas of the Office. An information package was made available to attendees which included the SBCR mission statement, a colorful display of the Office functional areas, and pamphlets describing the Mentoring Program, the EEO Complaint Process, the Affirmative Action Program, and the Small Business Program. Refreshment stations (supplied with homemade goodies) were strategically placed throughout the SBCR suite of offices, VCR's were continuously playing videotapes of past Special Emphasis Program Celebrations, and several photo albums were available chronicling past Special Emphasis Celebrations. Additionally, guests toured the Special Emphasis Poster Gallery depicting the various Special Emphasis Program themes.

This event was attended by approximately 300 employees including Chairman Jackson, Commissioners Dicus, Diaz, and McGaffigan, Mr. Jesse Funches, Mr. Joe Callan, Mrs. Patricia Norry, Mr. Ashok Thadani, Mr. James Blaha, and several Office Directors. Regional Administrators from Regions I, II, and IV (at Headquarters for a Commission briefing) also attended. Representatives from the EEO Advisory Committees and EEO Counselors served as hosts and hostesses. The event was successful and "a good time was had by all."

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Media Interest

Region III reported significant media interest in the results of the operating reactors briefing and several newspapers observed it on videotape.

Gannett News is planning a story on potassium iodide.

The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) is planning a story on the enforcement conference at Waterford.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

IAEA Vacancy Notices

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

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Commission Correspondence Released to the Public

1. Letter to Representative Edward Markey, dtd 1/16/98, provides additional information on RTV silicone foam penetration seals

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Application for a License to Export a Utilization Facility; Combustion Engineering
2. Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes; Subcommittee Meeting Notice for February 4-5, 1998
3. Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes; Meeting Notice for March 1-2, 1998

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Public Meeting for Yankee (Rowe) License Termination Plan

A public meeting was held on January 13, 1998, at a high school in the vicinity of the Yankee facility to present the Yankee Atomic Electric Company's (YAEC) plans for the final site radiological survey and termination of the Part 50 license. About 80 people attended the session. The meeting included a presentation by the licensee on the decommissioning of the facility and the license termination plan, a presentation by the NRC on the decommissioning rule and expected oversight at the Yankee facility, questions from the public, and comments from about 20 local residents who had requested an opportunity to speak. NRR stated that the license termination plan would be approved under a license amendment and the amendment process allowed the opportunity for a hearing. Interested parties would have the opportunity to request a hearing after a notice of receipt of the License Termination Plan is placed in the Federal Register.

Meeting on the Former Tenneco Polymers Site in Fords, NJ

On Tuesday, January 20, members of the Decommissioning and Laboratory Branch met with representatives from El Paso Energy Corporation and SECOR International to discuss the status of remediation activities at the former Tenneco Polymers site in Fords, New Jersey. This site was identified as needing further evaluation by the review of formerly licensed sites conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratories under contract to the NRC. Decontamination of the buildings is nearly complete with remediation of affected soils surrounding the buildings in progress. A Final Survey Plan will be submitted to Region I shortly. Release of the site, including disposal of all radioactive wastes, is expected by the end of 1998.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Duke Energy Corporation -- Catawba

On January 20, 1998, Duke Energy site management met with NRC Region II and NRR staff and provided an assessment of the Catawba Nuclear Station's performance for 1997. Issues discussed included safety system reliability, steam generator performance, radiation exposure, and operational performance.

Duke Enerrgy Corporation -- Oconee

On January 22, 1998, Region II operator licensing met with training department representatives from Oconee (Duke Power) to discuss NRC/licensee communications. During past examinations, communications difficulties between the NRC and licensee have led to some diminished effectiveness in administering examinations. This meeting served to work on improvement of those communications.

Tennessee Valley Authority -- Sequoyah

On January 21, 1998, Region II met with management representatives of Sequoyah (TVA) concerning recent poor performance on operator licensing examinations. TVA conducted a thorough root cause assessment for the failure of seven of eleven candidates on their recent initial examination. A key reason for the performance problems was that TVA management had not provided adequate oversight for the recently revised operator licensing process.

Hospital Metropolitano

On January 16, 1998, Region II issued a Severity Level III violation to Hospital Metropolitano (San Juan, Puerto Rico) for the failure to control licensed material and properly inventory brachytherapy sources. As a result, a 7.6 millicurie cesium-137 source was inadvertently left in a hospital room for 55 hours in May 1996. There were no exposures to workers or members of the public in excess of NRC limits as a result of this event. There was no civil penalty issued because of the licensee's previous good performance and because the licensee took prompt corrective actions that addressed the root cause.

Florida Power Corporation - Crystal River 3

Crystal River 3 has commenced a heat up, entering Mode 4 (Hot Shutdown) on January 21 and Mode 3 (Hot Standby) on January 25. The plant is still under a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL), but Florida Power Corporation notified the staff by a letter dated January 24 that the actions they had committed to accomplish and which had been listed in the CAL were completed and requested concurrence to proceed to Mode 2 and subsequent power operations. Regional and resident inspectors continue to verify completion of items. NRR and Region II are reviewing the licensee's actions to determine whether the NRC agrees that the actions listed in the CAL are complete.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Mallinckrodt Medical, Inc. Public Exit - Maryland Heights, Missouri

On January 23, 1998, a meeting was conducted in Maryland Heights, Missouri, between management representatives from Mallinckrodt Medical, Inc., and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussed the NRC's preliminary findings from a special inspection that was conducted the week of January 12. The six-member NRC team evaluated the company's radiation protection, transportation, and distribution programs. NRC staff scheduled the inspection at the company as a result of an employee overexposure last year and several transportation incidents over the last two years.

Management Meeting with Commonwealth Edison Company - Engineering Issues

On January 22, 1998, a meeting was conducted in the Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on the utility's self-assessment efforts in engineering.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998

Meeting Of Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee

On January 21-22, 1998, the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee met in San Luis Obispo, California to discuss the operation of the Diablo Canyon facility with the licensee. This committee is a local public interest group that is independent of the licensee. A Region IV Branch Chief attended portions of the meeting, including a session in which members of the public were invited to address issues to the Committee. Only one member of the public, other than the committee members, attended. That individual addressed several concerns to the committee. The Region will be evaluating these concerns.

Notice of Enforcement Discretion for Callaway Plant

On January 21, 1998, a Notice of Enforcement Discretion was granted to Union Electric for the Callaway Plant by Region IV. On January 9, 1998, a charcoal test sample was removed from Train B of the Emergency Exhaust System and submitted for laboratory analysis. On January 21, 1998, the Train A Essential Service Water System and the associated Emergency Diesel Generator were taken out of service for a planned system outage. At 2 p.m. on January 21, 1998, test results were received from the laboratory regarding the charcoal test sample previously submitted. The results indicated that the methyl iodide penetration was 2.45 percent (greater than the 2.0 percent limit imposed by the Technical Specifications). Train B of the Emergency Exhaust System was declared inoperable.

The emergency diesel generator Technical Specification requires that with one diesel generator inoperable, all required systems, subsystems, trains, components and devices that depend on the remaining operable diesel generator as a source of emergency power are also operable. With this condition not met within 2 hours, the reactor must be in Hot Standby within the following 6 hours, and Cold Shutdown within the following 30 hours. The emergency diesel generator maintenance was terminated and engine restoration began. This was estimated to take approximately 12 hours.

The enforcement discretion was granted based on the fact that the charcoal test results, while not within technical specification limits, were still within the value assumed by the licensee's accident analyses, and that the additional time allowance to restore the diesel generator posed less risk to public health and safety than a plant shutdown with one train of Essential Service Water and one emergency diesel generator out of service. The enforcement discretion granted an additional 24 hours past the initial 2 hour allowed outage time. The Train A Diesel Generator was restored to an operable condition at 2:36 p.m. on January 22, and the Notice of Enforcement Discretion was exited.

Predecisional Enforcement Conference

On January 23, 1998, Region IV personnel conducted a Predecisional Enforcement Conference with personnel from Entergy Operations, Inc's Waterford 3 facility. The issue discussed related to operators placing both trains of the safety-related ultimate heat sink out-of-service contrary to the requirements of the Technical Specifications.

Callaway Plant

The Region IV, Division of Reactor Safety, Deputy Director with members of the DRS staff, held a meeting on January 21, 1998, with the licensee representatives to discuss radiation protection activities. This meeting was open to attendance by members of the general public.

ENCLOSURE R

Office of Congressional Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending January 23, 1998