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SECY-03-0179

October 24, 2003

Contact: L. Roche, OEDO

Enclosure A

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Notice of Enforcement Discretion (NOED)

On October 10, 2003, regional enforcement discretion was granted to the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant for a shutdown limiting condition for operation related to the 2A emergency diesel generator (EDG). The NOED extended the 72-hour allowed outage time for an inoperable EDG to 144 hours.

On October 8, 2003, the 2A EDG was declared inoperable after the licensee found metallic material in the lube oil strainer during preplanned maintenance. The apparent cause of the bearing degradation was a distorted bearing cap. The bearing cap was believed to have been distorted in 1995 when its bearing overheated.

The licensee completed repairs and declared the 2A EDG operable on October 14, 2003.

Catawba Nuclear Station Unit 1 Notice of Enforcement Discretion (NOED)

On October 6, 2003, while installing inspection ports in the 1B Containment Spray System (CSS) heat exchanger in preparation for future maintenance activities, the licensee discovered degradation of the baffle plates on the interior of the heat exchanger. On October 9, 2003, the licensee formally documented their verbal request made on October 8, 2003, for discretionary enforcement regarding Technical Specification (TS) 3.6.6, "Containment Spray System." The licensee requested to extend the allowed outage time an additional 336 hours from the 72 hours allowed by the TS to support the inspection, debris removal, repair activities, and subsequent testing necessary to return the heat exchanger to service. The NRC staff verbally agreed to the NOED on October 8, 2003, and documented the decision in a letter to the licensee dated October 14, 2003. The licensee has established compensatory measures until the heat exchanger can be returned to service. The NRC intends to exercise enforcement discretion regarding the degraded 1B CSS heat exchanger from October 8 until October 22, 2003.

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Plant Status

The licensee completed its 7-day test at normal operating pressure (NOP) and no-load operating temperature. Following cooldown, the licensee inspected the bottom reactor vessel head and did not find any indication of reactor coolant system leakage.

The licensee removed the high pressure injection pumps and shipped them offsite for modification. There is a public meeting scheduled for October 21, 2003, in Rockville, MD, to discuss the pump modification.

Davis-Besse 0350 Oversight Panel public meetings were held on October 7, 2003, near the site. At the afternoon meeting, the licensee discussed NOP test performance and its remaining actions for restart. Introduced at the meeting was the new FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Senior Vice-President for Engineering and Support Services, Joe Hagan. Also, the hiring of Barry Allen from Entergy to be Plant Manager was mentioned. He has experience in engineering, maintenance, and emergency preparedness and is scheduled to arrive by the end of October. The evening meeting was held with the public. The NRC Deputy Executive Director for Reactor Programs attended both Oversight Panel meetings.

Issuance of Ginna and V. C. Summer License Renewal Safety Evaluation Reports with Open Items

By letters dated July 30 and August 6, 2002, Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation and South Carolina Electric and Gas Company submitted applications to renew the operating licenses for the R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station. On October 9, 2003, the staff issued its safety evaluation reports with open items for both plants. The staff plans to present the results of its evaluation to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on November 4 and December 3, 2003, for the Ginna and V. C. Summer reviews, respectively.

License Renewal Application for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2

On October 15, 2003, the staff received the Entergy Operations, Inc., license renewal application for the Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2. Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 is a pressurized water reactor designed by Combustion Engineering with a current operating license that expires on July 17, 2018. The staff plans to review this application using an improved license renewal review process to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the staff review.

NRC Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2003-16: NRC Threat Advisory and Protective Measures System Dated October 7, 2003

The NRC previously issued guidance regarding the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) to certain groups of NRC licensees in a series of RISs issued in 2002-12A through -12I and -12L. On October 7, 2003, the NRC issued RIS 2003-16 to identify a change in the implementation of the HSAS for those who received these RISs, excluding panoramic irradiators who received this change in RIS 2002-12L. The change is required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5, "Management of Domestic Incidents," dated February 28, 2003.

NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2003-18: "Use of NEI 99-01, 'Methodology for Development of Emergency Action Levels,' Revision 4, Dated January 2003," Dated October 8, 2003

The NRC is issuing this regulatory issue summary (RIS) to inform addressees that the NRC has reviewed Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 99-01 "Methodology for Development of Emergency Action Levels," Revision 4, January 2003, and is endorsing the report for use as guidance in developing or changing a standard emergency classification and action level scheme. In addition, this RIS provides recommendations to assist licensees in determining whether to seek prior NRC approval of deviations from the new guidance.

NRC Bulletin 2003-04: Rebaselining of Data In The Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System, Dated October 8, 2003

NRC Bulletin 2003-04 was issued to notify licensees about performance concerns associated with their reporting data to, and the resulting material balances contained in, the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System database. This bulletin requests affected licensees to perform a one-time reporting of the quantities of special nuclear material and of foreign obligated source material in their possession.

NRC/NEI Standards and Recommend Practices for Establishing Setpoints for Nuclear Safety-Related Instrumentation

On October 8, 2003, the staff from the Division of Inspection Program Management (DIPM) chaired a public meeting with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). Attending the meeting were over 50 representatives from throughout the industry, including Instrumentations Systems and Automation (ISA) Society committee members, multiple utilities, consultants, vendors, vendor owners groups, and the media. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the various aspects regarding implementation of setpoint methodologies related to ISA 67.04, "Setpoints for Nuclear Safety-related Instrumentation." Nuclear instrumentation setpoints calculated using ISA 67.04 Part II, Method 3, may not be conservative for setting trip setpoints limits. The impacts of potential nonconservative setpoint are not yet understood, but the staff believes licensees with planned or pending power uprate applications in the 5% - 20% rated thermal power range and licensees without an approved setpoint methodology are potentially impacted by any staff clarification of acceptance criteria of ISA 67.04 Method 3. Industry estimates that one-third of the operating licenses may be affected.

The staff continues to work with industry to ensure resolution of this issue is accomplished in a timely manner. In this regard, the meeting concluded with agreement on a process to define the issues and then proceed to work through any identified generic concerns to effect appropriate changes in industry application of setpoint methodologies. The next NEI setpoint meeting is scheduled for November 14, 2003. The purpose of the meeting is to identify problems associated with implementation of ISA 67.04, Part II, Method 3.

Completion of OMB PART for the Reactor Inspection and Performance Assessment program

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the Reactor Inspection and Performance Assessment Program using the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) and scored the Program at 89%. This corresponds to an "Effective" rating by OMB for the management of the Program, the highest rating possible under the PART system. Of the 234 Federal programs evaluated last year, only 6% of them received an "Effective" rating. The PART is a program evaluation tool developed and implemented by OMB to evaluate the management of all Federal programs in a manner that is consistent and objective. The Reactor Inspection and Performance Assessment Program was the first NRR program evaluated by using the PART process.

AP1000 Structural Audit

NRC staff conducted a structural audit of the AP1000 standard design at Monroeville, PA from October 6 to October 9, 2003. The objective of this audit was to review design calculations related to open issues from the Draft Safety Evaluation Report (DSER) of June 2003 in Sections 2.5, 3.7, 3.8, 19.2.6, and 19A and Chapter 14, and to obtain additional information or clarification to resolve as many issues as possible. These DSER sections deal with the seismic analysis, structural design, and seismic margins issues.

The audit team consisted of two Division of Engineering staff members, a Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs staff member, and NRC consultants. Prior to the audit, there were a total of 47 open issues in the structural and seismic area. As a result of the focused and detailed review effort by the team, all but five open issues were closed, and a resolution path on the remaining five open issues was achieved, based on verbal agreement on options. Significant efficiencies in the AP1000 review effort was gained for the NRC as a result of the audit.

NRC Conference on Vessel Head Penetration (VHP) Inspection, Cracking and Repairs

During the week of September 29, the NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) sponsored an international conference on vessel head penetration inspection, cracking, and repairs. The conference brought together industry leaders to describe and discuss international experience with cracking of Alloy 600 components, regulatory approaches to ensure safety of these components, and data on laboratory test of cracking of Alloy 600 base material used in vessel head penetration nozzles along with Alloy 82/182 weld material.

A representative from the Division of Engineering (DE) chaired a conference session and provided a presentation entitled "U.S. Regulatory Experience and Prognosis with RPV [Reactor Pressure Vessel] Head Degradation and VHP Nozzle Cracking." DE's senior level management participated in a panel discussion with leaders from industry and RES that concluded the conference.

Enclosure B

Meeting with Gosatomnador (GAN)

On October 1-3, 2003, NRC staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and the Office of International Programs participated in a meeting with representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) and GAN. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss radiological threat reduction and source control. GAN has requested support from DOE and NRC in improving its regulatory program for control of radioactive sources. NRC staff plans to provide support, funded by DOE, for some of these activities. The meeting was held to discuss in detail the areas of possible assistance, and develop a path forward.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N43.7 Working Committee Meeting at NRC

On October 14-15, 2003, the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety hosted the ANSI Working Committee to develop the first major revision, since it was issued in 1977, to ANSI Standard N43.7, "Safe Design and Use of Self-Contained, Dry-Source Storage Gamma Irradiators (Category I)." In the meeting, 10 experts from the U.S. and Canada finalized a large number of updates to the Standard, which included: (1) expanding the scope from gamma only, to both gamma and beta sources; (2) introducing area monitoring and other radiation protection measures; (3) differentiating the responsibilities of the manufacturers from those of the operators; (4) addressing security measures; and (5) bringing the Standard into conformance with the recently updated standard, N43.10, for Categories II and IV (wet storage) irradiators. Before the end of 2003, the Committee intends to forward the finalized document to ANSI for publication.

Management Meeting with Nuclear Fuel Services

To fulfill licensee commitments, on October 9, 2003, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, and Region II (RII) met with Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) concerning root causes and corrective actions for recent failures. Over the past year, NRC has identified issues related to the security program, the material control and accountability program, and procedural compliance and management oversight. NFS explained the actions it was taking to improve the safety culture at the facility. RII staff announced that it intends to increase inspection oversight by placing a second Resident Inspector at the site. It was agreed that additional meetings will be scheduled in the coming months to brief NRC management on progress at the facility.

Special Team Inspection at Honeywell Uranium Conversion Facility

On October 6-10, 2003, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards participated in a special team inspection, led by Region II, at the Honeywell International, Inc., uranium conversion facility in Metropolis, Illinois. The team was responding to the release of a small amount of UF₆ on September 30. This leak followed earlier releases of non-NRC-regulated hazardous chemicals. The licensee currently has the NRC-regulated portion of the facility shutdown and is reviewing and revising procedures throughout the site. Honeywell will discuss its corrective actions with NRC before the NRC-regulated plant operations are restarted.

Unsaturated Zone Interest Group 2003 Meeting

On October 8-10, 2003, staff from the Division of Waste Management attended the Unsaturated Zone Interest Group 2003 Meeting in Richland, Washington. This biannual meeting, hosted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, provided a unique opportunity for scientists to meet and share unsaturated zone research results. Topics discussed included: (1) uncertainty and risk analysis related to radionuclide transport; (2) methods of estimating and measuring flow and transport parameters; (3) methods and problems with upscaling parameters from lab to field scale; (4) preferential flow paths and unsaturated aniosotropy; and (5) fingering and hydrodynamic instability. The 2-day meeting was followed by a field trip to the Hanford Site to view ongoing unsaturated zone research on radionuclide transport, and sites of historical and scientific interest.

Meeting with Westinghouse Regarding Traveller Transport Package for Fresh Fuel Assemblies

On October 14, 2003, Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with Westinghouse Electric Company to discuss the design of the Model No. Traveller package. The Traveller is being designed to transport unirradiated pressurized-water reactor fuel assemblies. Westinghouse discussed results of full-scale certification tests performed on the package and design changes that have been incorporated as a result of the testing program. Westinghouse is planning to subject the modified damaged package to a fire test. It plans to submit an application for package approval to NRC in November 2003.

Enclosure C

Presentation to Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety (ACRS) Subcommittee on Formal Decision Methods

On October 10, 2003, RES staff presented to the ACRS Subcommittee on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment recent work on formal decision making methods. ACRS recommended that staff continue to aggressively pursue formal decision making in a wide range of NRC activities and include them in training programs. In this way, common elements that have contributed to the success of Agency programs, such as the Reactor Oversight Process, could be communicated as part of the instructional material. ACRS members also noted that RES work, which included NUREG/CR-6833, "Formal Methods of Decision Analysis Applied to Prioritization of Research and Other Topics," could be used for other initiatives such as knowledge preservation and management.

ACRS Subcommittee Briefing on Human Factors

On October 9, 2003, RES staff briefed the ACRS Subcommittee on Reliability, Probability Risk Assessment, and Human Factors on human factors (HF) research. The first part of the briefing focused on ongoing HF research activities and covered advanced reactors, the Halden Reactor Project, risk communications guidelines, and general support that RES provides other NRC offices. General support included both fatigue rulemaking and review of the MOX and gas centrifuge facilities. The second half of the meeting focused on safety culture and associated international activities, and included potential performance indicators in three areas: corrective action program, safety conscious work environment, and human performance. The meeting closed with ACRS Subcommittee members encouraging research that would support development of human performance indicators and understanding its link to plant safety.

ACRS Briefing on the Standardized Plan Analysis Risk (SPAR) Human Reliability Analysis Methodology

On October 9, 2003, RES staff made a presentation at the joint meeting of the ACRS Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) and Human Factors Subcommittees on the human reliability analysis (HRA) methodology for the SPAR models.

The presentation covered the technical aspects of the SPAR HRA methodology (SPAR-H Method), the scope of applicability of the method, and the peer review process and results. The Subcommittee members agreed that there is an agency need for a simplified HRA methodology and that the SPAR-H method is technically sound when applied within its intended scope. The Subcommittee members also made several suggestions to improve the user-friendliness of the method and associated documentation.

ACRS Briefing on Risk-Based Analyses of Reactor Operating Experience

On October 10, 2003, RES staff made a presentation at the joint meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment on OERAB activities in the risk-based analysis of reactor operating experience.

The staff discussed the following topics: (1) data collection and analysis, the Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program, (2) the industry trends program, (3) the Standardized Plant Analysis Risk (SPAR) model development program, and (4) the Mitigating Systems Performance Index (MSPI). Subcommittee members indicated that these programs are useful Agency initiatives and that much of the insights of the work performed (in particular, the uncertainty analyses performed as part of the ASP program, and the lessons learned from the MSPI pilot studies) could be useful in how PRA quality and technical adequacy can be defined.

ACRS Briefing on Low Power and Shutdown Risk

On October 10, 2003, RES staff made a presentation at the joint meeting of the ACRS PRA and Human Factors Subcommittees on work related to low power and shutdown (LPSD) risk.

Current LPSD risk work, including the revision of NUREG/CR-6595, "An Approach for Estimating the Frequencies of Various Containment Failure Modes and Bypass Events," supports the American Nuclear Society (ANS) LPSD PRA standard development. This also includes an assessment of the feasibility of extending the fire risk re-quantification from full to LPSD operation and the development of LPSD risk insights in support of the worker fatigue rulemaking effort. International activities involving the Cooperative PRA LPSD and the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) LPSD working groups were also discussed.

ACRS Briefing on Fire Risk Research

On October 10, 2003, RES staff made a presentation at the joint meeting of the ACRS PRA and Human Factors Subcommittees on fire risk research.

Fire risk research includes: (1) the revision of the fire protection Significance Determination Process; (2) circuit analysis; (3) risk-informed, performance-based fire protection rulemaking (e.g., endorsing the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 805); (4) the ANS full power fire risk standard; and (5) fire barrier testing. The staff also discussed supporting research programs in fire model benchmark and validation in methods, tools, and data (the joint NRC/Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) fire risk requantification studies), and related work with international partners. The ACRS, in consideration of the fire protection rulemaking, is interested in RES looking at the feasibility of developing guidance for conducting low power and shutdown fire risk analysis.

ACRS Briefing on Human Reliability Analysis

On October 10, 2003, RES staff made a presentation at the joint meeting of the ACRS PRA and Human Factors Subcommittees on the Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Research Program Plan.

The presentation included: (1) the status of the development of guidance for performing and reviewing HRAs to be used as supplemental guidance to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) PRA standard; (2) the status of the development of a human performance information repository (INFORM); and (3) the status of the feasibility study to identify HRA needs for Materials and Waste. The Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) working group efforts on developing a framework on HRA data sharing and the Halden Program efforts on designing and performing simulator experiments for HRA were also mentioned in the briefing. The ACRS subcommittee stated that both the HRA guidance and INFORM are important activities and asked the staff to plan for a follow-up briefing by early next year.

Agreement on the Second Phase of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Masca Project: A Project to Investigate Chemical and Fission Product Effects on the Thermal Loadings Imposed on the Reactor Vessel by a Convective Corium Pool During a Severe Accident

On October 14, 2003, the EDO signed the international agreement between the USNRC and the OECD relating to the OECD MASCA Project: "A Project to Investigate Chemical and Fission Product Effects on the Thermal Loadings Imposed on the Reactor Vessel by a Convective Corium Pool During a Severe Accident." The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research forwarded this agreement to the OECD on October 15, 2003. This Agreement was effective upon signature, and will remain in force until June 30, 2006.

This Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the USNRC and 13 additional participating countries of the OECD will establish cooperation for the continuation of the investigative work that was initiated in the first phase of the MASCA project, which produced highly valuable results and enhanced our understanding of severe accidents under core melt conditions.

The second phase of the project is to further investigate the effects of the corium chemical conditions and composition on melt stratification to understand the extent to which stratification can lead to uneven thermal loading of the lower head of the reactor pressure vessel, and thus, affect its integrity. This Agreement provides the framework for program management, experimental testing to be conducted, and the parameters to be investigated in order to assess the effects of corium chemistry conditions (e.g., fission product partitioning, corium vessel interaction, etc.), and composition on melt stratification. Experimental data will be obtained on thermal-physical properties for various high temperature molten core materials from different-scale corium tests. The data and insights gained from this project will enhance understanding of in-vessel retention of molten corium, possible vessel failure location(s) and containment challenges, and improve the severe analysis tool (e.g., MELCOR code) used for regulatory analyses.

Workshop on Modifications at Nuclear Power Plants - Operating Experience, Safety Significance, and the Role of Human Factors and Organization

On October 6-9, 2003, RES and contractor staff (Brookhaven National Laboratory) attended a Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), Working Group Operating Experience (WGOE) and Special Experts Group on Human and Organizational Factors (SEGHOF) Workshop in cooperation with IRSN in Paris, France. The general objective of the workshop was to bring experts together to exchange and disseminate information about the safety aspects and role of human factors in nuclear power plant modifications. International experience of events and modification processes were discussed during the workshop and there was considerable sharing of good practices for both regulators and licensees. Forty-five people, representing 13 countries (including International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO)), participated in plenary and discussion sessions. The workshop results will be published in the near future and will be used to steer international developments in the area of nuclear power plant modification safety.

Coordination Meeting on Proactive Materials Degradation

On October 14, 2003, RES staff met with industry representatives from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and Southern Nuclear Operating Company who are instrumental in developing and carrying out the industry program on materials degradation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss NRC and industry cooperation on methods and plans to identify locations for potential future materials degradation of reactor components, and on research needed to proactively allow the prediction, detection, evaluation, mitigation, and management of materials degradation. It was agreed by all parties that there is substantial overlap of interests and plans between RES and industry and that these efforts and activities should be undertaken cooperatively.

Telecon with CNSC on Positive Power Coefficient in Maple 1 Startup Tests

On October 15, 2003, NRR and RES staff participated in a conference phone call with two staff members of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to seek technical information on the recent unexpected measurement of positive power coefficients of reactivity during startup testing of the new Maple 1 isotope production reactor. The staff is interested in the test results because they could have broader implications on the expected accuracy of reactivity coefficient predictions for existing and new reactor types of interest in the U.S., including ACR-700. CNSC staff briefly described the Maple 1 reactor, and provided preliminary observations on the predicted negative and measured positive power coefficients and on associated measurement uncertainties. CNSC stated that the Maple 1 licensee, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), has committed to providing in November 2003 a detailed analysis, using state of-the-art methods, of the Maple 1 power coefficient predictions and measurements. This analysis will be publicly available. The staff is considering requesting AECL to provide information on this analysis.

Enclosure D

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-IV-03-043, Sacred Heart Medical Center - POTENTIAL BRACHYTHERAPY MISADMINISTRATION.

2. PNO-III-03-042, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation - POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.

Enclosure F

Ion Technology; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-40-29)

A document requesting public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by Terrence O. Hee, Ion Technology, was published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2003 (68 FR 59346). The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations regarding unimportant quantities of source material (10 CFR 40.13(c)) to exempt end users of a catalytic device containing thorium from NRC's licensing requirements. The petitioner asserts that this device, in conjunction with a patented new methodology, could substantially reduce air pollution chemicals from mobile and stationary combustion processes. The comment period for this action closes December 29, 2003.

The companion proposed rule to this direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2003 (68 FR 57839 ). The comment period closes November 6, 2003.

Electronic Maintenance and Submission of Information (AH33 - 10 CFR Chapter I)

On October 10, 2003, a final rule was published amending NRC's regulations to clarify when and how licensees and other members of the public may use electronic means to communicate with the agency (68 FR 58792). The amendments are necessary to implement the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. The NRC is also updating its guidance on how to submit documents to the agency electronically. The final rule becomes effective January 1, 2004.

Enclosure G

Agency's Software Maintenance and Operational Support for Applications Systems and Environment Contract is Awarded

On September 26, 2003, the agency's software maintenance and operational support for applications systems and environment contract was awarded to OAO Corporation (OAO). OAO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin and is also the incumbent contractor providing these services to NRC. The new contract is performance-based, and has a 2-year base-period with two 1-year options. The 2-year base period begins October 18, 2003, to coincide with the end of the current contract on October 17, 2003.

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the period of October 10 through October 16, 2003:

Enclosure I

Enclosure M

Media Interest

FirstEnergy officials predict the troubled Davis-Besse plant in Ohio will be ready to resume operations in November. Representative Kucinich has asked NRC to reconsider his petition to revoke Davis-Besse's operating license.

The transport of two decommissioned reactor vessels to a low-level waste disposal site at Barnwell, SC, from Big Rock in Michigan (transport underway) and from San Onofre in California (shipment around the tip of South America expected to begin soon).

Enclosure O

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Notice of Meeting (146^th).

2. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Meeting on Planning and Procedures.

3. Notice of Receipt of Rulemaking - Terrence O. Hee, Ion Technology.

4. Procedures for Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meetings.

5. Procedures for Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Meetings.

6. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Subcommittee Meeting on Safeguards and Security.

7. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures.

8. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meeting of the Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal.

Enclosure P

Florida Power Corporation - Crystal River Nuclear Plant

On October 16, 2003, the Regional Administrator toured the Crystal River Nuclear Plant, in Crystal River, FL, and observed the installation activities for the reactor vessel head replacement.

Virginia Electric and Power Company - Commissioner Merrifield Visits the Surry Nuclear Plant

On October 15, 2003, Commissioner Merrifield, accompanied by the Director, Division of Reactor Projects, toured the Surry Nuclear Power Plant in Surry, VA and met with licensee management.

United States Enrichment Corporation, Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants

On October 14, 2003, representatives from United States Enrichment Corporation, Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants, attended a management meeting in the Regional Office. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss their safety conscious work environment program.

Response Technical Manual Training

On October 15-16, 2003, the Response Technical Manual Training was presented to selected staff members in the Regional office by a representative from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.

Enclosure P

Yucca Mountain

On October 15, 2003, the Regional Administrator accompanied the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, the Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner Julio Barcelo Vesnet of the Spanish Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and Office of International Programs representatives on a tour of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada. The tour included a general discussion with the NRC, onsite representatives, and representatives of the Department of Energy.

Schlumberger Technology Corporation

On October 14, Region IV issued escalated enforcement, including a proposed a fine of $90,000 to Schlumberger Technology Corp. (STC) of Sugar Land, Texas, for violations of NRC radioactive material handling regulations. The violation stemmed from a May 2002 incident in which 13 oilfield workers received exposures in excess of NRC's annual limits for members of the public. NRC also issued Notices of Violation to two former STC employees who deliberately failed to conduct radiation surveys following well-logging activities, resulting in loss of control of a Cs-137 well-logging source and the exposures of the oilfield workers.

Enclosure R

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