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SECY-03-0103

June 19, 2003

Contact: R. Torres, OEDO

Enclosure A

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

A June 8, 2003, Washington Post article reported that Dominion Power expects to receive its first foreign tanker shipment of liquified natural gas (LNG) at its Cove Point LNG plant in southern Calvert County in July 2003. This will be the first LNG shipment since 1980. The Cove Point LNG facility is located 3.5 miles southeast of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP).

On October 12, 2001, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order that granted approval to resume shipping operations at Cove Point. The NRC participated in a November 16, 2001, technical conference with FERC and other stakeholders, including the Coast Guard, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, and the owners of Cove Point. Previously, in a 1995 safety evaluation, the NRC staff concluded that, for the types of accidents that were considered to be most credible, the operation of the Cove Point facility did not jeopardize safe operation of the CCNPP.

The Washington Post article noted that the Coast Guard still must issue a final operating plan for the ship's navigation on the Chesapeake Bay. It is expected that the plan will include extensive security measures to counter concerns about potential terrorism. The Coast Guard's plan will be issued before a foreign tanker enters the bay.

NRC Information Notice 2003-05, Failure to Detect Freespan Cracks in PWR Steam Generator Tubes

On June 5, 2003, this information notice was issued to inform licensees of a recent problem experienced at Comanche Peak Unit 1 concerning the detection of freespan outside diameter stress corrosion cracking in steam generator tubes.

NRC Bulletin 2003-01, Potential Impact of Debris Blockage on Emergency Sump Recirculation at Pressurized-water Reactors

On June 9, 2003, Bulletin 2003-01 was issued to all holders of operating licenses for pressurized-water reactors (PWRs) (except permanently defueled reactors). The bulletin informs PWR licensees of the results of NRC-sponsored research which identified the potential susceptibility of recirculation sump screens to debris blockage in the event of a high-energy line break requiring recirculation operation of the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) or containment spray system (CSS), and of the potential for debris blockage of flowpaths necessary for system recirculation operation and containment drainage. The bulletin requests that licensees confirm their compliance with Section 50.46(b)(5) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.46(b)(5)) concerning long term ECCS performance, and other existing applicable regulatory requirements, or describe any compensatory measures implemented to reduce the potential risk due to post-accident debris blockage as evaluations to determine compliance proceed.

License Renewal Application for Fort Calhoun Unit 1

On June 11, 2003, the staff presented the results of its evaluation of the Fort Calhoun license renewal application (LRA) to the Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The staff's safety evaluation report (SER), which was issued April 21, 2003, contained 10 open items. Subsequently, the staff identified one more open item based on new information. The staff's presentations provided discussions of their review, the license renewal inspections, and explanations of the open items and their resolution status. ACRS members acknowledged that the LRA and the staff's SER were of good quality. The final SER is due to be completed by September 19, 2003. The renewed license is scheduled to be issued on November 21, 2003.

Generic Letter 2003-01, Control Room Habitability

Generic Letter 2003-01, "Control Room Habitability" was issued June 12, 2003. This generic letter alerts addressees to findings that control room licensing and design bases, and existing regulatory requirements may not be met and that existing technical specification surveillance requirements may not be adequate. It requests licensees to submit information that demonstrates that the control room at each of their respective facilities complies with the current licensing and design bases, and regulatory requirements. The requested information will be collected and used to determine if additional regulatory action is required.

Inspection Manual Chapter and Inspection Procedures for Early Site Permit (ESP) Applications

On May 29, 2003, the staff issued the inspection procedures (IPs) that will be used for an Early Site Permit (ESP) application. The inspection procedures are referenced by inspection manual chapter (IMC) 2501, "Nuclear Reactor Inspection Program Early Site Permit." IMC 2501, which was originally issued on October 8, 2002, also has been revised to reference the IPs and to make changes to be consistent with the draft ESP review standard.

Enclosure B

High-Level-Waste Public Outreach Meetings in California and Nevada

On June 3, 2003, in response to a request from Inyo County California officials, NRC staff briefed the Inyo County Supervisors at a regularly scheduled board meeting held in Independence, California, and conducted a public outreach meeting in Tecopam, California, during the evening of June 4, 2003. NRC was represented by staff from the Division of Waste Management, the Spent Fuel Projects Office, the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, and the Office of the General Counsel. The staff provided an overview of NRC's role in the potential licensing of the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, with specific presentations on associated ground-water, transportation, and security issues. Attendees at the June 4, 2003, meeting included residents of Tecopa and neighboring Nevada towns; and representatives of the Western Shoshone Tribe; citizens' groups; Inyo County; the media; the Nuclear Energy Institute; and Bechtel/SAIC. At the request of Nye County, Nevada, NRC staff met with Nye County Commissioners on June 5, 2003, to discuss issues of mutual interest, such as spent fuel cask integrity, associated transportation issues, NRC's role in the licensing process, and ongoing interactions with the Department of Energy. Representatives of NRC's Office of Inspector General attended both the June 4 and June 5, 2003, meetings, for informational purposes.

High-Level-Waste Technical Exchange Meeting Between NRC and DOE on Container Life and Source-Term Waste Package Design

On June 4-5, 2003, staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (hereafter, the Center) attended a Technical Exchange meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE) Yucca Mountain Staff, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meeting was attended by the public and representatives from DOE, NRC, the Center, the National Waste Technical Review Board, and the State of Nevada. DOE presented information on the proposed design for the waste package and drip shield, application of the American Society of Mechanical Engineer's code for waste package fabrication and testing, and how the new designs affect 10 separate key technical issues. NRC shared specific concerns addressing the designs and methodology for the waste package and drip shield, as they pertain to both pre-closure and post-closure issues. DOE responded to several NRC concerns and indicated that it would respond to the remaining issues. In addition, DOE presented information on effects of seismicity as they relate to the waste package and drip shield. The meeting provided beneficial information and highlighted the value of future NRC/DOE interactions on topics relevant to waste package and drip-shield design and methodology.

High-Level-Waste Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Panel Public Meeting

On June 3, 2003, staff from the High-Level Waste Business and Program Integration Staff and the Division of Waste Management attended the Licensing Support Network (LSN) Advisory Review Panel public meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Office of the Secretary chairs the panel consisting of NRC, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and affected units of local government. The LSN Advisory Review Panel provides advice to NRC on hardware, software, formatting standards, operating conditions, and on other areas directed by the Secretary of the Commission. NRC gave presentations on its organizational roles and responsibilities; LSN Administrator's report; draft guidance for the electronic hearing docket submittals; potential 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart J, rule changes; and an update on the Digital Data Management System. The chair of the panel will send a follow-up letter to the LSN Advisory Review Panel members requesting feedback on the draft guidance for the electronic hearing docket submittals and proposed changes to 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart J.

Differing Professional View on Chemical Consequences at the Proposed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility

A Differing Professional View (DPV) filed February 24, 2003, with the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) raised concerns regarding chemical consequences from potential chemical events at the proposed mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility, as well as the applicability of 10 CFR 70.64 and NRC's regulatory authority to regulate chemical hazards at the proposed facility. In a report issued on May 9, 2003, an ad hoc review panel appointed by the Director, NMSS, found that the views in the DPV had merit, and recommended that: (1) the MOX applicant provide the analyses and data to support its conclusion that no additional safety controls are necessary for hazardous chemicals that would affect the safety of licensed material and thus present an increased radiological risk; (2) guidance be included in a Standard Review Plan (SRP); (3) actions be taken to ensure that the applicant and relevant NRC management and staff understand applicable 10 CFR Part 70 provisions regarding chemical hazards regulated by NRC; and (4) a determination be made with regard to the process of apparent premature closure of the chemical safety issue raised in the DPV. A Director's Decision was issued on June 7, 2003, accepting Recommendations 3 and 4. Decision was deferred on Recommendation 1 pending issuance of the panel report on a closely related DPV. Recommendation 2 was not adopted because the resources required to develop an SRP would be substantial and, since no other such facility application is expected to be submitted for the foreseeable future, little or no benefit would be derived from its development.

Meeting with Packaging Technology on TRUPACT-III Transportation Package

On June 11, 2003, the Spent Fuel Project Office met with Packaging Technology, Inc., which is planning to submit an application for certification of the TRUPACT-III transportation package. The TRUPACT-III would be used for transporting large boxes of transuranic wastes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The purpose of the pre-licensing meeting was to go over the applicant's plan for performing certification tests on the half-scale model.

DOT/NRC Information Exchange Meeting

On June 11, 2003, the Spent Fuel Project Office and the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response staff met with Department of Transportation (DOT) staff at NRC Headquarters, for a periodic information exchange meeting, as provided under the DOT/NRC Memorandum of Understanding. Agenda topics included DOT and NRC rulemaking activities; preparations for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) transport safety conference; review and comment on proposals for the 2005 Edition of IAEA's transportation safety regulations (TS-R-1); transport security meetings; and regulatory compliance issues.

Enclosure C

Distribution of Sewage Sludge Survey Results to Participating Facilities

The sampling and analysis of sewage sludge and ash from 313 publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) has been completed. Three reports detailing the results, analyses, and conclusions of the survey are in the final stages of preparation for publication as Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) documents. An information paper is being prepared by the staff to briefly describe the results of the study and the main recommendations and to indicate how the reports can be accessed through the ISCORS web site. Individual results are currently being mailed to the participating POTW operators together with average concentrations of measured radionuclides for all facilities sampled in their physiographic region. In addition, a database is being prepared that will be accessible from the ISCORS web site to allow members of the public to independently assess the information on radionuclides found in the analyses of the POTW samples. Confidentiality was offered to secure the voluntary participation of the POTWs so no information is available in the data base or in the information assessed by the staff that identifies individual POTWs.

Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) Frequency Reevaluation Expert Panel Meeting

The expert panel that is reevaluating LOCA initiating event frequencies and providing information that will be used to redefine the large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) design basis met on June 4 and 5, 2003, in Bethesda, MD. The objective of this meeting was to provide the results from calculations performed by the base case evaluation team and resolve final issues prior to the onset of individual elicitation sessions. The base case team has conducted four analyses to predict LOCA frequencies as a function of break size for five specific piping systems: two analyses are based on service experience data and two are based on probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) predictions. The experts will use these results to anchor their elicitation responses which will be used to determine entire passive piping system LOCA frequencies as a function of pipe size. The meeting resulted in a plan to continue benchmarking PFM-based calculations using operating experience data and to conduct some additional calculations to make the conditions analyzed more consistent among the four approaches. The meeting also discussed sources that may contain non-piping passive system LOCA precursor data. This data will be used to anchor each expert's opinion on the non-piping passive system LOCA contributions as a function of leak rate.

Enclosure D

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-II-03-010, Consolidated Coal Company - MISSING FIXED GAUGE.

Enclosure G

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the period of June 6 through June 12, 2003:

Enclosure I

Twenty-sixth Annual Awards Ceremony Held

On June 12, 2003, NRC held its Twenty-Sixth Annual Awards Ceremony on the Green. In attendance were Chairman Nils Diaz; Commissioner Greta Joy Dicus; Commissioner Edward McGaffigan; Commissioner Jeffrey S. Merrifield; and William D. Travers, Executive Director for Operations. At the ceremony, 1 employee received the Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award, 11 employees received the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, 2 employees received the Distinguished Service Award, and 39 employees received the Meritorious Service Award. A reception was held for all NRC employees in the Two White Flint North Cafeteria following the ceremony. Employees from the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Administration, as well as other offices, provided volunteer ushers, who helped make the event a huge success.

Media Interest

Security concerns surrounding the Indian Point facility in New York as the topic of a CBS Sunday Morning News segment in which NRC Commissioner Merrifield appeared briefly.

NRC's issuance of a bulletin to nuclear power plant operators asking them to report on the condition of sumps used to collect water used to cool reactors during emergencies.

This week's vote by the U.S. Senate on the energy bill that would subsidize a new generation of nuclear power plants and could end up with taxpayers paying the bill.

A nationally run Knight-Ridder Newspapers feature on possible re-awakening of the nuclear power industry, including an interview with NRC Chairman Nils Diaz.

Meeting at the Department of Energy (DOE)

The National Nuclear Security Administration convened an interagency meeting on sources on June 11, 2003, to discuss coordination of efforts among agencies tasked with source protection, source recovery, regulatory or other aspects of reducing the vulnerability of radioactive sources abroad. In addition to representatives from the Offices of International Programs, Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, and Nuclear Security and Incident Response, the group included the Department of State, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. A working group will be established to develop guidelines for a consistent U.S. Government policy and to weigh in on specific case issues related to international source recovery and security.

Enclosure O

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress (Reps. Lowey, Engel, and Hinchey), dated June 6, 2003, concerns the emergency evacuation plans for the Indian Point nuclear power plants.

2. Letter to Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, dated May 29, 2003, concerns security at the Oyster Creek Generating Station.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. 143^rd Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste - Notice of Meeting.

2. ASLBP - Sequoyah Fuels Corp. Designation of Presiding Officer.

3. Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt - Union of Concerned Scientists and Mothers for Peace.

Region I

Howard University Hospital

On June 4, 2003, a Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference was held to discuss an apparent violation identified during an inspection conducted on March 18-19, 2003. The apparent violation involved the failure to perform surveys required in 10 CFR Part 20. There was a significant potential for an exposure above the regulatory limits in 10 CFR 20.1201 because of the extent of the contamination found in the Nuclear Medicine and Cardiology Departments. The licensee provided information pertaining to its corrective and preventive actions.

Meeting Between NRC, ABB Prospects, Inc., the Corps of Engineers, and the State of Connecticut

On June 5, 2003, staff from Region I Division of Nuclear Materials Safety and Headquarters Division of Waste Management met with representatives of the Corps of Engineers and the State of Connecticut to discuss the Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) that ABB Prospects, Inc. (ABB) proposed in a license amendment request for ABB's Combustion Engineering site in Windsor, CT. The meeting was requested by the Corps of Engineers and was held at the Corps' New England District Headquarters in Concord, MA.

Maine Yankee Reactor Vessel Burial at Barnwell, SC

On June 7, 2003, the Maine Yankee reactor vessel was accepted and placed into a burial trench at the Chem-Nuclear Barnwell, SC, low-level waste disposal site. The reactor vessel had been shipped via barge from the Maine Yankee decommissioning reactor site in Wiscasset, ME on May 6, 2003. The package was transported without incident. Although the reactor vessel was removed and packaged in August, 2002, the shipment to South Carolina was delayed due to low water levels in the Savannah River.

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Meeting

On June 10, 2003, the ACRS met with Hub Miller and the Region I staff. The staff briefed the Committee on issues involving the Reactor Oversight Program and the evaluation of safety culture at sites. The Committee meeting followed a tour of Peach Bottom on June 9, 2003.

Senior Regional Managers Visit Florida Power and Light Corporate Offices

On June 11, 2003, the Regional Administrators from Region I and Region II, and members of the staff, met with Florida Power and Light managers at the company's corporate headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida. The main topics of discussion included the performance of Seabrook, St. Lucie and Turkey Point, and strategic issues related to all three sites.

Region II

Florida Power and Light Company - St. Lucie Nuclear Plant Visit and Meeting

On June 10, 2003, the Regional Administrator and the Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Projects visited the Florida Power and Light Company (FP&L) St. Lucie's Nuclear Power Plant. Both met with the resident inspectors and toured the facility.

Navy Radiation Safety Committee Meeting

On June 11, 2003, the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety attended the Navy Radiation Safety Committee (NRSC) Meeting in Crystal City, VA. NRSC members provided an update of permitting and inspection activities. This participation is part of the Region II oversight of this master materials licensee's program.

Integrated Material Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) Exit Meeting

On June 13, 2003, the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety participated in the IMPEP exit meeting for the NRC's review of the radiation control program, managed by the State of South Carolina as part of the State's Agreement with the NRC. The review results will be formally transmitted in a report to the State.

BWX Technologies (BWXT), Inc. - Public Meeting

On June 9, 2003, the Chief, Fuel Facilities Branch met with BWXT licensee representatives in a management meeting, held near the facility in Lynchburg, VA. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of the Licensee Performance Review for the licensee's facility in Lynchburg. The licensee's performance was characterized as operating the facility in compliance with NRC safety requirements and with no significant areas for improvement identified by the NRC. There was one media representative from the National Public Radio at the meeting.

Emergency Planning Interface with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

On June 12, 2003, members of the CDC met with Region II Emergency Preparedness (EP) staff and the Region II State Liaison officer to discuss EP processes, inspection methods, and performance indicators used by the NRC. The visit was to obtain information to aid CDC in developing a new incident response plan for responding to national and international biological hazards.

Enclosure R

Enclosure S

Workshop on Safety Culture

On June 12, 2003, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) held a workshop regarding safety culture at nuclear power plants. Topics discussed by the industry and the NRC staff included: initiatives, methodologies, guidelines, and adopted approaches for safety culture; effective criteria for evaluating safety culture; assessing the rigors of safety culture programs; and the implications on the safe operation of nuclear power plants. Specific objectives for the workshop included gathering information on domestic and international activities, and determining the attributes of effective safety culture. The workshop was organized into two panels. One panel discussed the collective understanding of safety culture, and the other panel discussed the attributes of safety culture. The ACRS plans to continue following-up on the progress of this matter during future meetings.

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