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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-06-0191 August 31, 2006
Contact: U. Shoop, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Construction Inspection Team Meeting On August 14-16, 2006, the NRC New Construction Inspection Team held a meeting in the Region II Office. The team consisted of members from the NRR, Reactor Inspection Branch and each of the Regional Offices. The purpose of the meeting was to review the status of ongoing team activities in developing construction inspection procedures and associated program guidance and to identify and address any problematic issues. Conduct of the meeting in Atlanta facilitated information exchange between the Headquarters Program Office and Region II as that Region assumes responsibility for construction inspection activities nationwide. Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Public Meeting On August 16, 2006, the staff hosted the monthly subject meeting at NRC Headquarters. Meeting attendees discussed the Mitigating Systems Performance Index implementation, safety culture integration into the ROP, performance indicator issues, and open and new frequently asked questions. Ground-water Protection Meeting On August 10, 2006, the staff held a meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) at the NRC Headquarters. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the status of implementing the industry's ground-water protection initiative at all sites. During the meeting, NEI stated that all sites had established an action plan and had completed the NEI questionnaire on historical spills and leaks. The NRC staff provided feedback to industry on the results of an initial staff review of the action plans and questionnaire responses. There was significant attendance by the public at the meeting. Vogtle Early Site Permit (ESP) Application On August 15, 2006, the staff received an early site permit application from Southern Nuclear Operating Company for the Vogtle site. The ESP application was developed to bound the impact of siting two Westinghouse AP1000 designed reactors co-located with the existing two reactor units. Main Steam Isolation Valve Operability Meeting On August 16, 2006, NRC staff met with the Wolf Creek and Callaway licensees to discuss operability issues related to main steam isolation valves (MSIVs) that are in use at both facilities. The NRC staff identified and documented operability concerns related to this MSIV design during an inspection at the Callaway facility. The licensees described the design of the MSIVs, including actuator trains, and presented their views on compliance with the Technical Specifications in light of the MSIV actuator train designs. The staff will use the information provided by the licensees during the development of an Agency position on this issue. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Meeting with Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) Regarding NRC Needs for High-Burnup Fuel Integrity Data On August 16, 2006, NMSS staff met with representatives from GNF to discuss NRC's needs for structural integrity data of high-burnup fuel and for GNF to provide a summary of its current fuel-cladding research and testing programs. During the meeting, NRC staff provided an overview of the current data available on high-burnup fuel-cladding integrity and its continued need for more information on this subject. GNF provided a comprehensive summary of its research programs and activities on this specific area. GNF also identified future and ongoing research activities in which NRC may be interested. Department of Energy (DOE) Industry Briefing on Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) On August 14, 2006, staff attended the subject briefing. During the briefing, DOE summarized
the contents of the Requests for Expressions of Interest (EOI) it issued in the Federal Register,
on August 7, 2006, for a commercial-scale Consolidated Fuel Treatment Center (CFTC) and a
commercial-scale Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR). DOE also collected and responded to
several industry questions and indicated that the answers to all questions will be posted on the
GNEP website (http://www.gnep.energy.gov/ More than 100 representatives from private industry, including Areva, GE, the Embassy of Japan, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries attended this briefing. A listing of all the attendees at the briefing will be posted at the GNEP website. The deadline for submitting EOIs is September 8, 2006. DOE plans to evaluate the EOIs and potentially issue a Request for Proposal for the two facilities. Louisiana Energy Services (LES) Public Meeting on Inspections On August 10, 2006, staff from NMSS and Region II held a public meeting in Eunice, NM, to discuss the NRC inspection program planned for the LES gas-centrifuge uranium-enrichment project. NRC staff discussed the current project status and planned inspection-program objectives and areas of focus. About 20 people attended the meeting. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) Duke Power Fire Testing of Armored Cable Duke Power has been conducting a series of fire tests at Omega Point Laboratories with the goal of better understanding the phenomena of hot shorts occurring in armor-jacketed cable control circuits when exposed to thermal transients. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) currently has a similar program in process (i.e., CAROLFIRE) that is testing conventional polymer-jacketed cables. Staff is monitoring the Duke testing and is evaluating the technical consistency between the Duke and NRC programs, including potential differences in how the Duke circuits were being instrumented and monitored when compared to the NRC's CAROLFIRE testing. Publication of NUREG/CR 6906, "Containment Integrity Research at Sandia National Laboratories, An Overview" On August 10, 2006, the subject NUREG was issued and made available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/contract/cr6906/. This report summarizes the current understanding regarding the integrity of nuclear power plant containment structures and components under severe accident pressure and temperature loads. This NUREG documents the results obtained during the past 25 years from the research activities conducted at Sandia National Laboratory related to the performance of containment structures and components, and identifies common themes that have emerged. Also highlighted is the relevant work conducted by other research organizations in this area. Office of Information Services (OIS) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of August 11 through August 17, 2006:
Office of Public Affairs (OPA) The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) received significant media inquiries on the following: The reports of tritium leaks at Kewaunee and San Onofre nuclear plants. Public meetings at North Anna regarding the Early Site Permit application. The Energy Department's public comment letter requesting NRC withdraw its draft standard review plan for DOE waste determinations at Savannah River and Idaho National Lab. Other Public Affairs Items: OPA assisted at public meetings regarding North Anna's Early Site Permit application. CNN ran a feature on nuclear plant security that was facilitated by OPA Region IV and included the resident inspector at Waterford.
Office of the Secretary (SECY)
Commission Correspondence
Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
The Senate and House of Representatives are in recess until September 5, 2006. |
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). DOE stated that maximum flexibility is afforded to
respondents for the EOIs. All separations technologies that do not separate pure plutonium will
be considered (i.e., not only UREX+1a) and all advanced reactor types will be considered (i.e.,
not only sodium-cooled). DOE indicated that NRC would probably regulate the CFTC and ABR.
However, the specific licensing pathway will be developed later.