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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-04-0038 March 4, 2004
Contact: M. Markley, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Electrical Grid Status Meeting On February 25, 2004, representatives of the Division of Licensing Project Management, Division of Engineering, and the Inspection Program Branch met with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff to discuss electrical grid reliability. Meeting participants exchanged information concerning the NRC Inspection Program and FERC staff participation in reliability readiness audits of grid reliability coordinators and control areas. Meeting with Spanish Regulators on Containment Safety Analysis and Use of Computer Codes On February 23, 2004, Division of Systems Safety and Analysis (DSSA) staff met with a visiting delegation headed by Jose Ramon Alonso Escos of the Nuclear Safety Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear [CSN]) to exchange information on containment safety analysis and the use of computer codes, specifically, the COPATTA code for loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) analysis. Discussions centered around using COPATTA, coupled with an ultimate heat sink code, to calculate post-LOCA ultimate heat sink response following a LOCA. The issue of temperature monitoring was also discussed. Public Meeting on ASME Code Seismic Piping Design Rules On February 23, 2004, the NRC staff held a public meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida, to discuss NRC's proposed rule (69 FR 879) to incorporate by reference into 10 CFR 50.55a, Codes and standards, the 2001 Edition (up to and including the 2003 Addenda) of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III. Specifically, the public was invited to comment on those portions of the latest Code related to changes in the seismic design rules for piping systems. Approximately 40 persons attended the public meeting. The latest changes to the Code rules represented a culmination of effort since 1995 when the NRC placed a restriction in 10 CFR 50.55a on the use of the revised ASME Code rules for piping seismic design that first appeared in the 1994 Addenda. In the proposed rule, the NRC staff would accept the new ASME Code piping seismic rules with six modifications and limitations. At the February 23, 2004 public meeting, the NRC staff heard presentations by three ASME piping experts including a Japanese seismic team involved in dynamic testing of piping systems. The ASME Code representatives expressed appreciation for the NRC staff's willingness to discuss these issues in an open forum and invited the staff to work with the ASME piping experts to reach a final resolution to this long-standing issue. License Renewal Pre-Application Meeting for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2 On February 25, 2004, the staff held a public meeting with licensee representatives to discuss their plans to submit a license renewal application for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2. The licensee discussed how the design differences between Units 1 and 2 would be handled in the application. Nine Mile Point Unit 1 is a BWR/2 design with a Mark I containment and Unit 2 is a BWR/5 design with a Mark II containment. The licensee received an exemption from 10 CFR 54.17(c) in October 2002, for the early submittal of a license renewal application for Unit 2, which does not reach the required 20 years operating experience until October 2006. The current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 expire August 22, 2009 and October 31, 2026, respectively. The licensee plans to submit their license renewal application by the end of May 2004. NRC Information Notice 2004-04: Fuel Damage During Cleaning At a Foreign Pressurized Water Reactor On February 24, 2004, NRC issued the subject generic communications to inform addressees about a recent fuel damage event that occurred during chemical cleaning of the fuel at a foreign pressurized-water reactor (PWR). The fuel cleaning system involved in the event was not of domestic (U.S.) design or manufacture; however, the fuel and processes used at the affected PWR are similar to those that may be used in domestic light-water reactors. This event involved a release of radioactive material to the environment and was reported publicly in the news media. The occupational dose to workers was within regulatory limits, and the estimated dose to members of the public was a small fraction of regulatory limits. The event was classified as Level 3 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, based on substantial damage to irradiated fuel. Public Meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Radiation Protection Task Force On February 25, 2004, members of the Division of Inspection Program Management staff held a public meeting with NEI to discuss current issues related to occupational radiation protection. Discussion topics included the limitations to the method for calculating Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) in the recently published Regulatory Issues Summary (RIS) 2004-01, "Method for Estimating Effective Dose Equivalent from External Radiation Sources Using Two Dosimeters," and clarification of the guidance in Regulatory Guide 8.38, "Control of Access to High and Very High Radiation Areas of Nuclear Plants." Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Lead Cascade Facility License Issued to the U.S. Enrichment Corporation Inc. On February 24, 2004, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards issued a Materials License SNM-7003 to the U.S. Enrichment Corporation Inc. (USEC Inc.) to possess and use, for up to five years, source and special nuclear material at the American Centrifuge Lead Cascade facility at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, Ohio. USEC Inc. had submitted its application on February 11, 2003. The final Safety Evaluation Report, Environmental Assessment, and Finding of No Significant Impact were issued in late January 2004. The American Centrifuge Lead Cascade facility, which is a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment test and demonstration facility, will consist of up to 240 centrifuges and will use up to 250 kilograms of UF6. National Symposium on Fusion Imaging and Multimodalities: Technical Features and Regulatory Considerations On February 19, 2004, Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety staff attended the "National Symposium on Fusion Imaging and Multimodalities: Technical Features and Regulatory Considerations," sponsored by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. NRC staff served on the "Panel Discussion on Regulatory Perspective on Emerging Technologies." The panel discussed regulation of GliaSite, Yttrium-90 microspheres, intravascular brachytherapy, and the seedSelectron emerging technologies. Meetings with Department of Energy on Yucca Mountain Project On February 18-19, 2004, NRC and Department of Energy (DOE) staff and managers held their public quarterly Quality Assurance and Management meetings to discuss DOE's quality assurance program, as well as status of the overall project progress for the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The meeting was hosted at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, with video and audio connections to the DOE Office of Repository Development in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses in San Antonio, Texas. Additionally, representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute, NRC Region IV, Bechtel SAIC Co. LLC, General Accounting Office, State of Nevada, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Clark County, and interested members of the public participated. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Implementing Agreement Between NRC and The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) Relating to Participation in the NRC program of Severe Accident Research On February 20, 2004, the EDO signed the international agreement between the NRC and the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) relating to participation in the NRC program for severe accident research. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research forwarded this implementing agreement on February 23, 2004, to Hungary for counter-signature. This Implementing Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the NRC and HAEA will continue their cooperation in the area of severe accident research. These codes are used by the NRC to evaluate potential risk and vulnerability scenarios for severe accidents and address regulatory licensing issues for operating plants. In addition to exchanging technical information and data, HAEA will provide a cash contribution each year for the duration of this Implementing Agreement. This Implementing Agreement will remain in force for a three year period. IAEA Technical Meeting on Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources On February 16-19, 2004, RES staff participated in a technical meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, on the safety and security of radioactive sources. Representatives from sixteen nations attended this meeting, including manufacturers and suppliers (M&S) of sealed sources and regulators. The meeting addressed the concerns of M&S on the impact of the implementation of the IAEA Code of Conduct (CoC) for the safety and security of radioactive sources. To address their concerns in a unified manner, the M&S are forming an international industry association, emulating the National Energy Institute (NEI). The M&S have drafted an outline of a formal Code of Good Practice that will guide the implementation of the IAEA CoC in ensuring the safety and security of the sealed radioactive sources. The M&S also identified three key areas as concerns for export/import controls for radioactive sources. These were: harmonization of controls among nations, timeliness of import/export approvals, and requirements for transhipment. IAEA Technical Workshop on Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) Quality for Decision-Making On February 16-21, 2003, a technical workshop was held in IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, to discuss and document an international consensus position regarding PSA Quality for Decision Making. More than 50 individuals from the U.S., France, Spain, Germany, India, Czech Republic, Finland, United Kingdom, Hungary, Russia, Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Pakistan participated in this meeting. Participants from the United States included representatives from the NRC, South Texas Nuclear Generating Station, Westinghouse, Nuclear Energy Institute, and Scientech. The major output of the workshop was a consensus "PSA Quality Treatise." Public Meeting on the Phased Approach to Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Quality On February 24, 2004, NRC held a public meeting to engage stakeholders in discussing the staff's proposed action plan and phased-approach to PRA quality. Meeting attendees expressed generally favorable views for the proposed approach. Issues related to implementation of the plan were discussed and the staff agreed to consider stakeholder suggestions in the proposed action plan to the extent practicable. An additional public meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2004, and meetings with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards are planned. The final action plan is scheduled to be completed by early July 2004. Nuclear Security and Incident Response UNIFIED DEFENSE 04 Exercise "After Action" Conferences The Office of Nuclear Security & Incident Response (NSIR) participated in two After Action conferences following the NRC's participation in the U. S. Northern Commands (NORTHCOMM) Unified Defense-04 (UD-04) exercise. On February 25, 2004, NSIR staff attended an After Action conference hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). On February 26, 2004, NSIR staff participated in a Department of Defense (DoD) After Action review hosted by the NORTHCOMM Commander via video-teleconference. The conferences were attended by both military and civilian agency representatives who participated in the recent UD-04 exercise. The purpose of the conferences was to acquire input and insight from the participants on critical exercise issues requiring further examination and followup. Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration Collection, Reporting, or Posting of Information; Availability of Draft Rule Language (Parts 19, 20, and 50) On February 24, 2004, a document announcing the availability of draft wording for possible changes to the regulations concerning the collection, posting, and reporting of information was published in the Federal Register (69 FR 8350). The changes under consideration would clarify or revise the regulations with the intent of reducing unnecessary regulatory burden associated with these requirements. Comments are requested by April 9, 2004. List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Standardized NUHOMS® -24P, -52B, -61BT, -32PT, and -24PHB, Amendment 7, Revision; Confirmation of Effective Date (AH20 - Part 72) On February 27, 2004, a document that confirms the March 2, 2004, effective date of a direct final rule that revises the Standardized NUHOMS® -24P, -52B, -61BT, -32PT, and -24PHB (Amendment 7) cask system listing in the list of approved spent fuel storage casks was published in the Federal Register (69 FR 9199). Chief Information Officer Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Fail-Over Capability Successfully Implemented and Tested On February 21, 2004 a successful test of the ADAMS fail-over capability to the One White Flint (OWFN) Data Center was completed. Servers that are regularly updated with a copy ADAMS Main Library were recently placed in the OWFN Data Center. In the event of a major problem with the primary Two White Flint (TWFN) Data Center, the OWFN servers would be manually brought into service and would permit the agency to continue to operate Main Library functions. Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests received during the period of February 20 through February 26, 2004:
Office of Human Resources
Office of Public Affairs Media Interest The following are issues or items which the Office of Public Affairs received inquiries from the media and/or noted media coverage:
Public Affairs officers are helping coordinate and support the NRC's March 3, 2004, public presentation on the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. OPA coordinated a letter to the editor from Region IV's Pat Gwynn on recent Diablo Canyon public meetings, which ran in the San Luis Obispo News. Public Affairs staff participated in the integrated United Defense 04 exercise.
Office of International Programs Visit of Tomihiko Furuta , Toyo University On February 23, 2004, Professor Tomihiko Furuta, Toyo University, met with the staff to discuss safety goals for power reactors and fuel cycle facilities. In Japan, safety goals exist for power reactors and are being considered for fuel facilities. Japanese Team Visit to Discuss Independent Spent Fuel Storage Facilities On February 24, 2004 , a team from Japan, with representatives from the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA), Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES), and Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CREIPI) met with staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Spent Fuel Project Office to discuss the safety review and regulation of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI). Office of the Secretary
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region II Duke Energy Corporation - Catawba Management Meeting On February 24, 2004, representatives from Duke Energy Corporation attended a management meeting in the Regional Office. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Catawba plant performance, status of initiatives, and other items of interest. Region IV Region IV Plant Manager's Meeting On February 26, 2004, the Regional Administrator and Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Projects, attended the RIV Plant Manager's Regulatory Utility Group meeting in Fort Worth, TX. Attendees included plant managers from RIV's licensed nuclear power facilities. Office of Congressional Affairs
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