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SECY 98-288

December 15, 1998

Contents	Enclosure
Nuclear Reactor Regulation	A
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards	B
Nuclear Regulatory Research	C
Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data	D
General Counsel	E*
Administration	F
Chief Information Officer	G
Chief Financial Officer	H*
Human Resources	I
Small Business & Civil Rights	J*
Enforcement	K*
State Programs	L*
Public Affairs	M
International Programs	N
Office of the Secretary	O
Region I	P
Region II	P
Region III	P*
Region IV	P
Executive Director for Operations	Q*
Congressional Affairs	R*
*No input this week

Contact: D. Lange, OEDO

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Status of Inspection and Replacement of Baffle-Former Bolt Activities at Farley Unit 1

In October Southern Nuclear began a program at Farley Unit 1 to inspect and replace baffle-former bolts, located in the reactor internals, under the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59. The inspection effort, using an ultrasonic test (UT) method, was looking for cracking due to a stress-corrosion type of a mechanism, as discussed by IN 98-11. Inspection of the 1088 baffle bolts revealed no apparent cracking in 1086 of the bolts. Transferability of the inspection results from Farley Unit 1 to other PWRs is not obvious due to differences in configuration (upflow vs. downflow of baffle/barrel region flow), operation and bolting material used in other plants. The inspection and replacement of baffle-former bolts at Point Beach Unit 2 are scheduled to start in December.

Meeting with BWROG and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Regarding Post-Fire Circuit Analysis

On December 2 - 3, 1998, staff and technical assistance contractors of the Plant Systems Branch, the Electrical Engineering Branch, the Reactor Systems Branch, and the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) Branch of NRR, and the Probabilistic Risk Analysis Branch of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research met with representatives of the BWR Owners Group (BWROG) Appendix R Committee and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI ) Circuit Analysis Issue Task Force. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss industry initiatives relating to fire-induced circuit failures and the circuit analysis methods used to evaluate their impact on post-fire safe shutdown capability. Currently, the BWROG is working with the staff to develop generic definitions, assumptions and positions as they relate to a deterministic fire-induced circuit failure analysis methodology. The NEI effort is focused on developing PSA circuit analysis tools and determining the likelihood of a fire inducing circuit failure that results in spurious equipment operations or electrical signals.

During this meeting, the NRC staff and the BWROG discussed changes they had made to BWROG positions on hot short duration and loss of offsite power based on NRC comments at a previous meeting. In addition, the staff and the BWROG discussed new interpretations of definitions for redundant systems, dedicated and alternative shutdown capability, and the term "free of fire damage." The BWROG also presented its position on the use of safety relief valves (SRVs) and low pressure injection systems as a normal/preferred post-fire safe shutdown method in lieu of using a high pressure injection system (e.g., reactor core isolation cooling system or high pressure core injection) to achieve hot shutdown conditions.

The staff has previously stated that it would reflect timely industry initiatives and completion schedules in its circuit analysis resolution plan (CARP). Representatives of the NEI Task Force stated that they would have a method for determination of circuit analysis issue safety significance ready for discussion with the NRC in early 1999. The BWROG plans to have its document ready for NRC consideration in spring 1999.

It was agreed that another meeting with the BWROG in February 1999 would probably be needed to complete discussions. The staff will issue a meeting summary.

Hope Creek Generating Station

On August 26, 1997, Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G) submitted a license change request related to the heaters for the Recirculation Subsystem of the Filtration, Recirculation, and Ventilation System (FRVS). The license change request would change the Technical Specifications to state that the heaters would be "operating" (automatic heater modulation to maintain relative humidity) instead of "on" when performing the 10-hour monthly surveillance.

On November 19, 1998, the NRC informed PSE&G that the staff had completed the review of PSE&G's FRVS application and was prepared to deny the license change request. The NRC requested that a teleconference be set up to discuss the reasons for the denial. On November 20, 1998, PSE&G requested that a meeting be held in lieu of the teleconference.

On December 7, 1998, the NRC staff met with representatives of PSE&G to discuss the FRVS license change request. The staff emphasized that there had been a significant number of interactions between the NRC and PSE&G on this application and that adequate technical justification for the change had not yet been provided. The key issue involved whether the heaters would sufficiently dry the charcoal in the FRVS recirculation unit filter trains during the monthly surveillance test if the heaters are allowed to modulate on and off while being controlled by a humidistat. Regulatory Guide 1.52, regulatory position C.4.d, requires that each engineered safety feature atmospheric cleanup train be operated for at least 10 hours per month, with the heaters on (if so equipped), in order to reduce the buildup of moisture on the adsorbers and HEPA filters.

Based on the information presented at the meeting, PSE&G stated it would withdraw the license change request.

Management Changes

The New York Power Authority has established the position of Plant Manager at Indian Point Unit 3. The plant manger will be between the Site Executive Officer and the General Managers. The licensee's goal is to have the Plant Manager concentrate on day to day operations and thus, free the Site Executive Officer to concentrate on strategic issues.

Fred Dacimo, currently the Site Vice President for Commonwealth Edison's LaSalle plant, has been chosen as the IP3 plant manager. His appointment will be effective on the first of the year.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

10 CFR Part 70 Public Meeting

On December 3-4, 1998, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards (FCSS) held a public meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and fuel cycle industry representatives to discuss the 10 CFR Part 70 rulemaking effort, and solicit comments on the draft proposed revisions to Part 70 and the Standard Review Plan (SRP). In addition to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, FCSS management and staff, the main participants were representatives from NEI, General Electric, Westinghouse, ABB-Combustion Engineering, Inc., BWX Technologies, and Siemens. Attendees included representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Department of Labor), U.S. Enrichment Corporation, Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, American Nuclear Society, and Scientech. The Commission's staff requirements memorandum (SRM) on the proposed revisions to Part 70, dated December 1, 1998, and direction contained therein, and the staff's future plans regarding the rulemaking, including use of a Part 70 website, were discussed. FCSS has formed a special Part 70 Task Force to guide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) interactions with the public and industry, and to accomplish the Commission direction provided in the SRM for providing a revised proposed Part 70 rulemaking package to the Commission by June 1999. At the meeting, the staff noted that it has established a website specifically for Part 70 issues and interactions with the public and industry on draft proposed revisions to Part 70 and the SRP. Most of the Part 70 rulemaking-related documents have already been placed on the website with other documents, such as transcripts of this meeting, to be added as they become available. The staff also plans to use the web to solicit and respond to public comments on the proposed rule revisions and the associated draft SRP.

Specific issues that were discussed at this meeting included regulation of chemical hazards, Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) information to be in the license, ISA information to be on the docket, nuclear criticality safety, the Part 70 draft SRP, and preliminary ISAs. NEI provided comments on chemical hazards and the SRP in separate letters to the NRC prior to the meeting. These letters are also available to the public through the website.

The staff plans to develop proposed revisions to selected portions of the rule and the draft SRP in the next two weeks taking into consideration NEI's comments in its letter as well as from the meeting. The revised drafts will be posted on the website for public and industry review and comment. Additional letters from NEI on ISA, nuclear criticality safety, and other rule issues are expected in the next few weeks. The participants agreed to hold a separate meeting to discuss nuclear criticality safety, as described in the Part 70 draft SRP, at a separate meeting tentatively scheduled to be held at NRC Headquarters on January 13-14, 1999.

Interagency Steering Committee

On December 7, 1998, staff from the Offices of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and Nuclear Regulatory Research attended an Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) subcommittee meeting at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The NORM subcommittee members finalized the previous subcommittee meeting minutes and discussed: (1) the draft National Academy of Sciences report on the "Evaluation of Guidelines for Exposures to Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials;" (2) the upcoming December 1998 International Atomic Energy Agency meeting on exclusion, exemption and clearance; (3) the request for Federal Agency comments on the Conference of Radiation Control Program Director's Part N proposed regulations for technologically-enhanced NORM; (4) a new draft American National Standards Institute standard on NORM; and (5) a discussion of the concerns regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) occupational radiation standards still being based upon International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 2 methodology. The NORM subcommittee recommended that the last topic (on OSHA's ionizing radiation standards) be referred to the ISCORS Federal Guidance subcommittee and full ISCORS committee for action, including issuance of a possible letter from the full ISCORS committee to OSHA requesting that they consider adoption of the 1987 Presidential Federal Guidance for occupational workers, which would require them to change their regulations to be consistent with ICRP 26 and 30. The next ISCORS NORM subcommittee meeting is scheduled for February 1999.

Meeting with Virginia Power on the Surry Improved Technical Specifications

On December 8, 1998, members of the Spent Fuel Project Office staff and Virginia Power (VEPCO) met to discuss the conversion of the Surry Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) current technical specifications (CTS) to the improved technical specifications (ITS) format. VEPCO presented their proposed format for the conversion. The submittal will include two key elements: (1) a comparison of the proposed Surry ISFSI ITS and bases to the North Anna ISFSI ITS and bases, with a justification for deviation for each difference; and (2) a comparison of the proposed Surry ISFSI ITS to the CTS with a discussion of each difference. They hope to have this submittal ready for review in the Spring of 1999.

In addition VEPCO talked about the technical report they are preparing as part of the license amendment they submitted for storage of Burnable Poison Rod Assemblies (BPRA's) at Surry, and a future submittal of a license amendment to allow for higher burn-up and enriched fuel.

Continued Interest in Limerick-Vallecitos Shipment

There continues to be media interest in Philadelphia Electric Company's (PECO's) proposed shipment of spent fuel rods from Limerick to General Electric Company in Vallecitos, California. The latest interest centers on California print media inquiries as to why the proposed shipment has been delayed and on the new scheduled dates for shipment. The shipment, which has not yet occurred, has been the subject of an article in the Costra County Times, California (which erroneously reported the shipment en route); this has generated interest from the California Governor's Office (who complained about not being notified of the shipment) and from the Department of Energy security personnel handling the program for repatriating foreign research reactor fuel (who were exploring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission press release as a way of informing the public of ongoing shipments).

Approval for Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspectors to Carry Check Sources in Personal Luggage

Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations do not permit Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspectors to transport check sources in personal luggage aboard passenger aircraft without specific DOT approval. Without DOT approval, the check sources must be checked in as cargo and transported in the cargo hold of the passenger aircraft. This has resulted in significant delays and increased costs for NRC inspectors. In discussing this problem with DOT, they expressed a willingness to issue an approval to NRC that would permit NRC Inspectors to carry check sources in checked personal luggage.

The Department of State (DOS) requested a similar approval on December 2, 1998, for DOS inspectors who carry check sources to monitor non-proliferation programs. The NRC staff is currently polling the regions to see if there is a need for a DOT approval, and if such a need exists, would submit a request to DOT, possibly by the end of December 1998.

Fort St. Vrain License Transfer Delayed

During the week of November 30, 1998, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff performed an inspection at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Idaho Operations Office to review DOE's readiness to receive the license for the Fort St. Vrain (FSV) independent spent fuel storage installation. During the inspection, DOE presented the results of an internal audit of the overall implementation of the quality assurance (QA) program as it pertains to spent fuel activities including the FSV project. The staff independently validated a sample of the audit findings. Based on the audit findings, DOE concluded that the QA program was not effectively implemented. DOE further concluded that it was not yet ready to receive the FSV license as it had represented in a letter to the NRC dated November 16, 1998.

DOE has committed to preparing a corrective action plan and has further committed to presenting the corrective action plan to NRC staff at a public meeting to be held at NRC Headquarters. (The meeting is not yet scheduled.)

Apart from the concerns with the QA program, staff observed that significant improvement had occurred in the DOE Idaho Operations Office FSV project since NRC staff last inspected in May 1997.

U.S. Geological Survey Panel Report on Department of Energy's Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain

A Panel of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) staff reported its views of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Viability Assessment (VA) of a Repository at Yucca Mountain. The Panel reminded the report's recipient - the new Director of the USGS - that the concept of a high-level waste repository in unsaturated rock in arid regions, and Yucca Mountain in particular, originated with the USGS. The Panel concurred with DOE's general assessments that: (1) a repository can be designed and built at the Yucca Mountain site that would protect public health and the environment for thousands of years; and (2) significant uncertainties exist about key natural processes, the preliminary design, and how the site and the design would work together. The Panel strongly recommended that during the operational phase the site be continually reassessed on the basis of a comprehensive, thoughtful monitoring program geared to confirming key assumptions about: (1) the natural system, such as the amount of groundwater available to contact waste packages; and (2) the engineered system, such as the stability of wallrock and hydrologic characteristics of flow pathways under changing thermal loads. The Panel believed that the VA is overly conservative in its estimation of groundwater percolation rates, seepage into waste-emplacement tunnels, and transport of radionuclides through the saturated zone. The Panel suggested that, based on such conservative assumptions, DOE's current preferred design may contain unnecessary attributes such as miles of concrete liners and high-thermal loads. The Panel recommended that design alternatives be considered, accordingly. The Panel expressed concern that DOE's performing dose calculations for a million-year time period - rather than the 10,000 year goal on which site characterization was based - would invite challenges to the innumerable assumptions embedded in million-year projections.

Differing Professional View - Differing Professional Opinion

A Differing Professional View (DPV) was submitted on September 8, 1998. The concern expressed in the DPV was with the SFPO option of permitting the use of liquid penetrant surface examination (PT) for certain spent fuel storage cask welds as opposed to ultrasonic examination (UT). The position developed and issued by SFPO relies on either layered PT (layer thickness determined by the critical flaw size) or UT. The author of the DPV stated that UT ought to be required and provided the bases for that conclusion. A DPV Panel was constituted and included representatives from NMSS, NRR, and RES. The Panel concluded that employing PT of the weld periodically after a specified deposit depth will provide adequate assurance that no weld flaws greater in depth than the specified PT interval (depth) would be plausible. The Panel also provided two recommendations regarding the need for Code endorsement for construction of the casks, since none now exists, and the need for inspection oversight of the PT process. The NMSS Director endorsed the Panel's conclusions and recommendations in a memorandum dated November 24, 1998.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Pilot Review for Standardized Plant Analysis Risk Models

RES is responsible for developing standardized plant analysis risk (SPAR) models used by AEOD and NRR to perform accident sequence precursor analysis and event assessments for events that occur at operating plants. As a pilot of a possible quality assurance process for these models, Division of Systems Technology staff held a meeting at the NRC resident inspectors' office at the Calvert Cliffs plant on November 17, 18, and 19, 1998, to enable the Region 1 senior reactor analysts (SRAs) and the plant NRC resident inspectors (RIs) to participate in this process with the model developers from Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The model developers presented the information contained in each of the event trees and fault trees incorporated in the model that represented the response of the plant systems to the initiating events considered, e.g., large, medium, small and interfacing systems LOCA. The participants discussed the top events (functions, systems, operator actions) necessary for mitigation of an initiating event to ensure that the information was incorporated and modeled appropriately.

Questions relating to system configuration and operating procedures for plant responses to specific initiating events were discussed by the review team with plant personnel. The major benefit derived from this process was the quality assurance provided by the participation of people (SRAs, RIs and plant staff) who were familiar with the operation of the plant as well as the PRA process. A significant amount of information was obtained about the plant configuration/operation that would not have been obtained without the assistance of these personnel, access to updated drawings, and the emergency operating procedures. A second benefit derived from this process is the knowledge of the plant response gained by the SRAs and RI, which is not typically described in other documents. A second pilot for this process is scheduled to be held in January for the Millstone 2 SPAR model.

Public Meeting on Sorption and Performance Assessment Research

On December 3 and 4, 1998, Division of Regulatory Applications staff tested a new format for program reviews designed to increase stake holder awareness of research programs and provide an early opportunity for comment on the technical content, accomplishments and future directions of research. This new format involved holding annual program reviews as public meetings and bringing together the reviews of several related projects for better understanding. Five projects from the Radionuclide Transport and Decommissioning Operating Plan were reviewed in this meeting, three conducted at the Sandia National Laboratories and two conducted in cooperation with the US Geological Survey. These projects included: a just completed USGS program that was part of the international project "Analog Studies in the Alligator Rivers Region;" follow-on work with USGS on a field demonstration of mechanistic sorption modeling of uranium migration at the Naturita site in Colorado; theoretical support for mechanistic sorption modeling at SNL; the performance assessment work at SANDIA that is developing the SNL Environmental Decision Support System (SEDSS); and a technical assistance project on the DandD code in support of the Decommissioning Rule. These projects make up the majority of work on mechanistic sorption modeling and the modeling environment within which such enhanced modeling capabilities must be implemented.

In addition to the RES, NMSS, ACNW, and contractor staff, the meeting was attended by the representatives from EPRI and DOE. Also present was the head of the performance assessment group at GRS, a scientific-technical expert organization in Germany for issues related to nuclear safety and nuclear waste management. An OGC representative acted as facilitator for the meeting. Overview presentations on each project provided context for detailed presentations on technical progress and future plans. Two general discussion sessions were held. The first addressed impressions of the new format and suggestions for improvements. The second addressed significant issues raised during the detailed program review and specifically deferred for discussion at the end of the meeting.

Reactions from all of the external participants was favorable to the extent that both EPRI and DOE representatives indicated that they would be planning to do similar public reviews of their respective programs and would like to participate in similar NRC meetings in the future. Both SNL and USGS expressed that the exchange of information stimulated by combining several program reviews into one meeting was valuable to them.

The Division of Regulatory Analysis is planning a similar program review in public meetings on June 14 and 15, 1998, at the Agricultural Research Service facilities in Beltsville with a focus on hydrogeologic modeling, monitoring, and conceptual model uncertainty in the context of performance assessment.

ENCLOSURE D

Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Assessment of General Electric Reactor Protection System Reliability

The Reliability and Risk Assessment Branch of AEOD has issued a draft report, "General Electric Reactor Protection System Unavailability, 1984-1995," for internal and external technical review. The study is part of the ongoing evaluation of the reliability of risk-significant safety systems. Using data obtained from licensee event reports and the Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System (NPRDS), the study provides an estimate of the system unavailability based on actual and test demands between 1984 and 1995, and identifies dominant contributors to potential system unavailability.

This is the first major evaluation of the reliability of the General Electric reactor protection system (RPS) by the NRC since the mid-1980s when NRC developed simple RPS logic models in support of the anticipated transient without scram rulemaking activities. A major contribution of this current study is the collection of common-cause failure (CCF) data related to the RPS.

The mean unavailability of the General Electric RPS was estimated to be 3.8x10^-6. Essentially 100 percent of the RPS unavailability is from CCF events. The independent failures contribute less than 0.1 percent. CCFs of the hydraulic control units and backup scram solenoid-operated valves (SOVs) contribute 50 percent to total system unavailability, channel relay and trip unit CCF events contribute 39 percent, control rod CCF events contribute 7 percent, and trip system relay CCFs contribute 4 percent. There were no complete failures of the RPS during the period of 1984 through 1995. The requirement to test 10 percent of the control rods every 4 months was a significant factor in detecting CCF events before they became more significant by causing complete failures of larger numbers of redundant components. The backup scram portion of the RPS is an important contributor to the RPS reliability.

The trends in time of RPS component failure probabilities and the number of CCF events are generally flat over the study period. There are no indications of performance degradation or improvement in these components over the period of 1984 through 1995.

The RPS mean unavailability estimates in individual plant examinations (IPEs) range from approximately 1.7x10^-6 to 8.6 x10^-4. However, most of the IPE studies referenced the NUREG-0460 RPS unavailability of 3x10^-5. RPS quantification models in IPEs are generally limited in scope.

Common Cause Failure Analysis Technical Reports

The Reliability and Risk Assessment Branch of the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data has recently published two additional reports associated with common cause failure (CCF) analysis. The first report, "Guidelines on Modeling Common Cause Failures in Probabilistic Risk Assessment," NUREG/CR-5485, provides guidance on incorporating and quantifying CCF basic events in reliability studies and probabilistic risk analyses. The second report, "Common Cause Failure Parameter Estimations," NUREG/CR-5497, presents estimates of CCF parameters for various systems, components, and failure modes for CCF basic events. These CCF parameter estimates were obtained using the information in the CCF Database, which is available to NRC staff and was distributed to nuclear utilities belonging to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). The technical reports supporting the CCF Database were published in June 1998 as NUREG/CR-6268 (4 volumes).

ERC Workshop #31

On December 8-9, 1998 AEOD management and staff conducted Emergency Response Coordinator (ERC) workshop #31 in Region IV. Management and staff from the all of the NRC regions participated, Region I and additional Headquarters personnel by video conference. The purpose of the workshops is to foster program development and standardization in incident response among Headquarters and the regions. Briefings were conducted by representatives from FEMA Region VI and DOE RAP Region 4. Another agenda item included participation by staff from the Davis Besse NPP on the Davis Besse Tornado Alert in June of 1998. This workshop was of particular significance in that Mr. Gene Bates, ERC in Region IV is retiring after 15 years in this program area. Gene contributed a tremendous amount to the agencies response program and will be sorely missed.

Monitoring at Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant

On 12/9/98, IRD staff members supported NMSS Fuel Cycle Safety Team members and Region III during monitoring of a fire which occurred at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. An Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) was dispatched to the site following this event.

RASCAL Training

Users of the NRC emergency dose projection system, RASCAL, conducted alpha testing of version 3.0 on December 9, 1998. The NRC users of that computerized code included NRR, RES, and NMSS representatives with background in accident assessments involving reactors, radioactive materials, and UF6 releases. This activity is lead by AEOD. The code developers made presentations on the user interface aspects of version 3.0 and received useful feedback from the users.

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-98-060, Public Service Electric & Gas Co. (Salem 2), SUBSTANTIAL REACTOR COOLANT LEAK WHILE SHUTDOWN EVENT NOS. 35124 AND 35127
   
   
2. PNO-I-98-061, Hartford Hospital, RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOUND AT AN INCINERATOR
   
   
3. PNO-III-98-057, Bothwell Regional Health Center, TELETHERAPY MISADMINISTRATION
   
   
4. PNO-III-98-058, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, FIRE IN PROCESS BUILDING
   
   
5. PNO-IV-98-062, Arkansas State License, MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION
   
   
6. PNO-IV-98-062A, Arkansas State License, UPDATE-MEDICAL MISADMINISTRATION
   
   
7. PNO-IV-98-063, Technical Welding, Inc., LOST RADIOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE DEVICE IN TRANSIT AND SUBSEQUENTLY FOUND

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

White Flint CCTV Cameras

DFS is coordinating installation of 15 additional CCTV cameras on the White Flint site. The cameras are being installed through and funded by a General Services Administration contract. The cameras will enhance our surveillance capabilities of the perimeter doors and plaza area. The wiring installation will begin the week of December 14, 1998 and the entire project is scheduled to be completed in 60 days.

Contract Award

Contract No. NRC-04-99-042 was awarded to Princeton Resource Associates, Inc. on December 7, 1998, as a result of an 8(a) set aside noncompetitive negotiation process. The contractor will provide, on a task order basis, technical support in the development of risk-informed regulatory guidance. The contract value is $203,515, and the period of performance is one year. The contract was awarded in 28 days utilizing the following streamlining measures (1) simplified proposal content requirements and (2) electronic receipt of the SOW.

Rulemaking Activities for the Week Ending December 11, 1998

Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 20)

A proposed rule that would revise the NRC's regulation governing the procurement of goods and services was published in the federal Register on December 8, 1998 (63 FR 67726). The proposed rule would revise these regulations to conform to recently enacted legislation that streamline the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The comment period for this proposed rule closes February 22, 1999.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of December 4, 1998 - December 10, 1998:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Media Interest

Commissioner Merrifield responded to questions from three reporters after touring the Sequoyah nuclear plant along with Representative Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.)

USA Today is preparing an article on dry cask storage at U.S. nuclear plants.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Meeting with Russian Regulators

Alexander Gutsalov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federal Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority of Russia, visited the NRC during the week of December 7-11 for the seventh annual meeting on the nuclear safety assistance program. He was accompanied by Alexander Matveev, Director, Scientific and Technical Department, and Irina Sokolova, International Relations Officer.

The purpose of the meeting was to review with NRC staff program results and accomplishments since the last meeting in December 1997, to reaffirm or revise previous program commitments, and to consider proposals for future activities under the "Lisbon" program. The results of the week's discussions were documented in a Memorandum of Meeting signed by EDO William Travers and Mr. Gutsalov.

During their visit, the Russian representatives met with Chairman Jackson and the Commissioners as well as representatives of the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Patrick W. Cooke, National Institute of Standards and Technology, dated November 30, 1998 provides the NRC's annual report on its participation in the development and use of voluntary consensus standards as required by OMB circular A-119 (incoming dated September 25, 1998 also released).
   
   
2. Letters to Manuel D. Cerqueira, Georgetown University Hospital, Nekita O. Hobson, Hobson & Company, and Ruth McBurney, Texas Department of Health, dated December 1, 1998 offer an appointment to the NRC's Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. 10 CFR Parts 32 and 40; Distribution of Source and Byproduct Material: Licensing and Reporting Requirements; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Withdrawal.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Limerick Unit 1

On December 4, 1998 a planned shutdown of Limerick Unit 1 was started to locate and replace a leaking fuel bundle. The suspected leaking fuel bundle was confirmed by the licensee through fuel sipping and visual inspections and was replaced. Approximately eighty other bundles also were subjected to fuel sipping inspection and were determined to be acceptable. The source of the leak was an approximate 5-inch crack in a single fuel pin. The primary defect was a fretting failure, induced by impact from foreign material. As a sample, the licensee inspected the quadrant of the core that contained the leaking fuel for foreign material that would be detrimental to continuing plant operation. Since the licensee did not find foreign material in the sample quadrant, they concluded they did not need to expand their inspection to the entire core. The licensee plans to restart Limerick Unit 1 on December 14, 1998.

Haddam Neck Community Decommissioning Advisory Committee (CDAC) Meeting

A monthly meeting of the Haddam Neck CDAC was held on December 8, 1998, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Salem Town Office Building, Salem, CT. The Committee is comprised of citizens from the towns surrounding Haddam Neck, local elected officials, a League of Women Voters representative, members of the Citizen's Awareness Network, and a representative from State Representative Sam Gejdenson's office. Approximately 20 members of the public also were in attendance.

Ronald R. Bellamy, Chief, Decommissioning and Laboratory Branch (DLB), and Joseph L. Nick, Health Physicist, DLB, briefed the CDAC on recent inspection findings, plans for future site coverage and inspection, and upcoming NRC meetings, in accordance with the NRC's commitment to provide these briefings approximately quarterly. Questions and comments from the CDAC were critical of the NRC's decision to remove the Senior Resident Inspector from Haddam Neck in January 1999. The CDAC questioned the ability of specialist inspectors from the Region to provide adequate oversight of the decommissioning activities.

The CDAC also expressed a preference for more frequent inspection reports than quarterly, and more public meetings held by NRC in the evening in the Haddam Neck vicinity to obtain public input as the decommissioning progresses.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Duke Energy Corporation - Oconee

On December 8, 1998, Region II personnel conducted the fifth bimonthly Management Oversight Group (MOG) meeting with the licensee for the Oconee Nuclear Station. This meeting, conducted at the Region II office, consisted of a review of performance improvement activities implemented by Duke Management.

Tennessee Valley Authority - Sequoyah

On December 9, the Regional Administrator accompanied Commissioner Merrifield and Congressman Wamp on a site familiarization tour of the Sequoyah facility. The visit included a plant tour, a meeting with TVA management and a press conference. TVA management provided a thorough briefing on plant technical, regulatory and business issues. TVA management discussed the change in Sequoyah's performance over the past several years that ultimately led to their achieving a top WANO rating.

Southern Nuclear Operating Company - Vogtle

On December 9, Southern Nuclear Operating Company representatives provided a technical briefing in the Regional Office regarding missing or loose seismic retainer clips used on safety-related electrical circuit breakers at the Vogtle Nuclear Station. Vogtle discussed their ongoing evaluation and inspection of this condition. Root cause determination and corrective action development are in progress.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending December 11, 1998

Meeting with State of California and General Atomics

On December 9, 1998, a meeting was held between NRC, the State of California, and General Atomics. The meeting was requested by the state to discuss issues of joint interest and responsibility regarding the decommissioning of the General Atomics facilities which are licensed both by NRC and the state. The meeting was held at the General Atomics facility in San Diego, California.

Washington Nuclear Project - 2 Performance Meeting

On December 9, 1998, the Director, Division of Reactor Projects and the Director, Project Directorate IV-2 met with the Chief Executive Officer and other members of the Washington Nuclear Project - 2 staff to discuss plant performance in Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Radiological Protection, and the corrective action program. This meeting was part of an ongoing series of meetings concerning performance and improvement initiatives at the Washington Nuclear site. The discussions focused on changes that have resulted from performance assessments and proposed changes in their programs and processes that should further enhance performance. It was concluded that sufficient performance improvement had occurred at WNP-2 to warrant the cessation of these special meetings.

STP Management Meeting

On December 10, 1998, STP Nuclear Operating Company management representatives attended a meeting with the Regional Administrator and other members of the agency in the NRC Region IV office to discuss their Comprehensive Cultural Assessment of South Texas Project as required by the Confirmatory Order of June 9, 1998.