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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-03-0201 November 20, 2003
Contact: L. Roche, OEDO Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation License Renewal Aging Management Program Audit During the week of November 2, 2003, a License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program (RLEP) audit team visited the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant corporate office in Birmingham, Alabama. Staff of the Division of Engineering supported the team. This was the first on-site audit of the improved license renewal application review process. The audit was conducted as part of a pilot program that also includes Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2 and D.C. Cook. The audit team and support staff reviewed the aging management programs identified in the Farley license renewal application as being consistent with those described in the Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report. The audit team will return to the Farley corporate office to evaluate aging management reviews identified by the applicant as being consistent with those described in the GALL Report. RLEP will issue a report at the conclusion of all on-site audit activities. BWRVIP/BWROG Meeting on Steam Dryers On November 4-5, 2003, NRC staff met with representatives from the Boiling Water Reactors Vessel and Internals Program (BWRVIP) and the Boiling Water Reactors Owners' Group (BWROG) to discuss the industry's plans for addressing issues related to recent failures of steam dryers inside the reactor pressure vessel of boiling water reactors that have been operating at increased power levels. Steam dryers are not safety-related components, but loss of their structural integrity could generate loose parts that might adversely affect safe shutdown, core cooling, and isolation of the reactor. The BWRVIP identified four plants in the U.S. that have the combination of steam dryer design and increased power level that make them most susceptible to the problem (Dresden Units 2 and 3, and Quad Cities Units 1 and 2). The meeting with the BWRVIP was particularly timely in light of increases in moisture carry-over and changes in steam flow at Quad Cities Unit 1 last week--indicating a potential failure of its steam dryer. The BWRVIP also discussed Exelon's recent inspection findings from last month's refueling outage at Dresden Unit 2. Quad Cities Unit 1 has reduced power to pre-extended power uprate conditions and is planning to shut down on November 12 to inspect its dryers and perform any needed repairs. The staff plans to meet with Exelon in the near future to discuss its findings at Quad Cities Unit 1 and its potential impact on its other operating units. Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station 0350 Panel Meeting The NRC Davis-Besse 0350 Restart Oversight Panel held two meetings on Wednesday, November 12, 2003, in Oak Harbor, Ohio, to review the status of recent activities at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. The first meeting, with FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company management and staff, discussed licensee activities associated with the plant's recovery from problems that led to the reactor vessel head corrosion. The meeting focused on the status of repairs at the plant, results of recent NRC inspections, and upcoming activities. The second meeting was for the Panel to update the public on NRC's activities related to the reactor vessel degradation and to provide a summary of the earlier meeting. The Associate Director for Project Licensing and Technical Analysis, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), and the Director of Licensing Project Management, NRR, attended these meetings. They also toured the site and met with licensee and local government officials. Sale of Kewaunee to Dominion Nuclear Power Plants The Dominion plant has announced that it plans to buy the Kewaunee plant from Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) and Wisconsin Power & Light (WP&L). Dominion will pay $220-million in cash for the reactor, land at the site, and nuclear fuel inventory. As part of the deal, WPS and WP&L will transfer about $392-million of decommissioning funds to Dominion. Dominion said it expects to close the transaction in the fall of 2004 after receiving the necessary Federal and State regulatory approvals. The NRC has not yet received a licensee transfer application request. Meeting between NRC and the Nuclear Management Company (NMC) On November 6, 2003, members of the Division of Licensing Project Management and the Division of Systems Safety and Analysis, met with representatives of NMC's Prairie Island and Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plants. Discussions included the proposed Alternate Source Term (AST) methodology to be used at Prairie Island and the planned license amendment requests (LARs) using AST at Prairie Island and Kewaunee. These planned LARs would request changing the Prairie Island Technical Specifications that address the Fuel Handling Accident and the Kewaunee Technical Specifications that require the Containment Equipment Hatch to be closed during refueling operations. NRR Meeting with Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to discuss the review of the Quality Assurance Program for the Advanced CANDU Reactor ACR-700 On November 6, 2003, members of the Division of Inspection Program Management staff met with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Director of the Advanced Canadian Deuterium Uranium Reactor (CANDU) Reactor Project Division and staff members at their offices in Ottawa, Canada. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a proposed cooperative CNSC/NRC review of the quality assurance program for the Advanced CANDU Reactor ACR-700, including the specifics of the cooperative review, potential resource requirements, and a tentative schedule for the various Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) site facility reviews. NRR Staff Discuss Construction Inspection Development with Industry Managers On November 5, 2003, at the Nuclear Energy Institute offices, staff from the Division of Inspection Program Management (DIPM) and the Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs (DRIP) made a presentation to the Nuclear Energy Institute's task force on new nuclear plants. The purpose of the presentation was to brief the task force on the status of the revision to the construction inspection program and challenges associated with the NRC supporting the aggressive construction schedules envisioned by the industry for plants built under 10 CFR Part 52. The staff discussed the status of the construction inspection program framework document, for which a public comment period ended at the end of October. The staff also stressed the need for the industry to share its plans regarding construction of new nuclear plants as early in the process as possible so that the NRC can ensure that the appropriate resources and infrastructure are in place to support the industry's anticipated approach of modular construction at multiple fabricator sites. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Staff Completes Review of DOE's SAR for Remote-Handled Waste Facility On November 7, 2003, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) staff completed review of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) safety analysis report for the Remote-Handled Waste Facility (RHWF) at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP). Based on its review, the staff determined that there is reasonable assurance that the RHWF will be operated in a safe manner and does not present any undue danger to the public health and safety. This facility is designed to receive high-activity solid waste from other locations on the WVDP site, and to visually inspect, sort, size-reduce, sample and repackage this waste in a manner that meets current on-site waste acceptance criteria or anticipated requirements for off-site disposal. DOE intends to use this facility for decommissioning activities at the WVDP site. The facility is currently under construction. DOE expects to complete construction in December 2003, and to start RHWF operations by Spring 2004. Staff Notifies Fansteel of Acceptable Decommissioning Plan On November 7, 2003, NMSS notified Fansteel that NRC had completed review of its proposed decommissioning plan (DP), and transfer of the NRC license. With the addition of several license conditions related to the DP, NRC staff found it acceptable. NRC will issue a license amendment authorizing implementation of the DP after the bankruptcy court approves Fansteel's reorganization plan. When Fansteel meets certain prerequisites related to financial assurance and reorganization according to the plan presented to the bankruptcy court, staff is prepared to authorize the license transfer. Fansteel expects the effective date of its reorganization to be late in December 2003. Fansteel, Inc., owner of the Muskogee, Oklahoma, site formerly used for tantalum production, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in January 2002. In January 2003, Fansteel submitted a decommissioning plan for the site. On July 24, 2003, it filed a reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court and submitted additional financial information to support the DP. Fansteel also requested authorization to transfer the Muskogee license to a subsidiary that it will form as part of the bankruptcy reorganization. NRC Staff Participates in Geological Society of America Sessions on Yucca Mountain On November 1-5, 2003, staff from NMSS and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA) were part of more than 600 earth scientists who attended the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Seattle, Washington. More than 50 presentations addressed the geology and hydrology of the proposed Yucca Mountain High-Level Waste Repository area, and other aspects of waste isolation in geologic systems. The meeting included a full-day session focused specifically on the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository. During the meeting, NRC and CNWRA staff presented eight talks and posters, and participated in field trips and discussions with the geoscience community. As part of NRC's public outreach efforts, NRC posters focused on the staff's systematic license application review process and risk insights for the proposed repository. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research RES Staff Provided Inservice Inspection Training to Korea On November 7-15, 2003, as part of the cooperative research agreement, a RES staff member traveled to Seoul, Korea to provide technical training to Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) on risk-informed inservice inspection techniques. Support for ACRS Meeting On November 12-14, 2003, to support the ACRS Safeguards and Security Subcommittee meeting, RES staff traveled to Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) to discuss overview of plant-specific vulnerability assessment results and conclusions, as well as effective mitigation strategies. Technical Meeting on Risk-Based Precursor Analysis Brussels, Belgium On November 6-7, 2003, staff from RES participated in the Sixth Technical Meeting on Risk-Based Precursor Analysis held in Brussels, Belgium. The purpose of the meeting was to share practical experience and the objectives, challenges, and accomplishments of current precursor analysis programs with representatives from other countries. RES staff gave two presentations. The first presentation discussed the results, insights, and trends obtained from the NRC's Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program during the past year, using information contained in the most recent report to the Commission on the status of the ASP Program (SECY-03-0049). The second presentation consisted of a brief discussion of the Agency's Significance Determination Process (SDP), using material previously presented at a technical information exchange meeting in Taiwan. The meeting was useful and information was shared on topics such as specific ASP and PRA modeling techniques and results, insights and lessons learned, and other issues of interest that were encountered during the precursor analysis of operating experience. Implementing Agreement between the USNRC and the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) of France Relating to the Collaboration in Fire Modeling Research On November 10, 2003, the EDO signed the international Implementing Agreement between the USNRC and the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) of France relating to the collaboration in fire modeling research. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research forwarded the Implementing Agreement on November 13, 2003, to France for counter-signature. The Implementing Agreement defines the terms and conditions by which the USNRC and the IRSN of France will enter into a cooperative Fire Modeling Research activity, on the basis of mutual benefit and reasonable equity and reciprocity. The results of this cooperative research will support the implementation of NFPA 805, "Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants." Research results will specifically be used to verify and validate selected fire models and to develop the review guidance, requested by the user office (NRR), for licensee application of these fire models. This collaborative research will also provide NRC access to a large multi-compartment fire test facility and to new experiments, as well as to extensive experimental data developed by the IRSN over the last five years. Currently, NRC research funds single compartment tests for fire model validation. This collaboration with IRSN and the use of the multi-compartment DIVA facility at Cadarache, France, will allow the NRC a unique and cost-effective approach to leverage our resources and extend the fire model validation program to also cover multi-compartment fire scenarios. The Implementing Agreement will enter into force upon signature of both parties and will remain in effect for a period of five years. Nuclear Security and Incident Response Preliminary Notifications
Office of Administration Lot 4 On November 10, 2003, the General Services Administration and the White Flint Limited Partnership executed settlement documents for the Government's purchase of Lot 4. Lot 4 is a 1.2 acre parcel of undeveloped land directly behind OWFN, facing Marinelli Road (between OWFN and the Strathmore Court Apartments). The NRC will use Lot 4 to facilitate safer and more secure searching of trucks before their entry into the White Flint Complex. Contract Award As a result of a noncompetitive 8(a) negotiated acquisition, a fixed-price type contract no. NRC-10-04-417 was awarded to Blue Ridge Limousine and Tour Service of Arlington, Virginia on November 4, 2003. This contract is for local on-call transportation services for NRC senior staff. The contract period starts December 1, 2003 and will run for six months with one six-month option period and two option years. The total contract value is $313,966. The contract was awarded in twenty-one days in accordance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small Business Administration partnership agreement. Chief Information Officer Information Technology (IT) Focus Group Meeting Held The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) held its quarterly IT Focus Group meeting at Headquarters. Participants included representatives from all four regional offices, resident inspectors, and staff from the offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), Administration (ADM), Inspector General (OIG), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and State and Tribal Programs (STP). The CIO began the meeting by noting that the IT Focus Group served a critical advisory function, enabling NRC's program staff and OCIO to identify business needs that might be amenable to technological solutions. He discussed his work with NRC's management to identify OCIO priorities, and mentioned several near-term OCIO commitments to respond to those priorities. Two reactor Inspectors and a materials inspector from NMSS presented their concepts for portable electronic reference libraries. Regional IT representatives related their experiences with introducing Pocket PCs in the regions, rollout of multifunction fax/copier machines, and streaming Intranet video. NRC's IT Security Officer discussed the new security Management Directive, and the handling of Safeguards Information (SGI). Vendors explained two near-term technologies: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). The Director of the Business Process Improvement and Applications Division, OCIO, addressed some of the logic behind the OCIO reorganization, and touched on several projects of interest to the group. OCIO staff presented the results of a review of the pilot assessment process, and highlights from the recent Gartner conference on IT trends. Finally, the group identified several pressing business needs that might have a technological fix; this list will be used to help plan pilot studies for the coming year. Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests received during the period of November 7 through November 13, 2003:
Office of Human Resources
*Transferring from Region I Office of Public Affairs Media Interest A day after New York State laid out rigorous requirements for Indian Point that were intended to reduce fish kills, environmentalists and others disputed the nuclear facility owner's claims that a new cooling system would cost more than $1 billion. FirstEnergy Corp. has set November 24 as the date it will begin seeking authorization to restart Davis-Besse, though the NRC continues to express concern about the company's ability to operate the nuclear plant. U.S.-Canadian Joint Task Force readies its report on the August 14 blackout in the Northeast, reportedly identifying specific lapses by various parties, including FirstEnergy's failure to react properly to the loss of a transmission line.
Office of the Secretary
Federal Register Notices Issued
Region II Tennessee Valley Authority - Browns Ferry Restart Meeting On November 12, 2003, the Regional Administrator, the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Director, Division of Reactor Projects, and Director, Division of Reactor Safety, were at the Browns Ferry facility, in Athens, Alabama, to attend the periodic Unit 1 Restart meeting. Carolina Power and Light Company - H. B. Robinson Nuclear Plant On November 14, 2003, the Regional Administrator, accompanied by Mr. José Villadóniga of the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear in Spain, visited the H. B. Robinson Nuclear Plant in Hartsville, South Carolina. The purpose of the visit was to tour the facility and meet with licensee management. Region II Diversity Day Celebration On November 13, 2003, Region II held a Diversity Day Celebration. The Affirmative Employment and Diversity Program Manager, Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR), was in the Region II office conducting an Equal Employee Opportunity (EEO) Committee members' training and was the featured speaker for the celebration. Region IV Joint Terrorism Task Force Meeting at Arkansas Nuclear One on November 12-13, 2003 On November 12-13, 2003, members of the local Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) met at Arkansas Nuclear One to discuss potential roles and responsibilities in the event of terrorist activities at the site. Attendees included representatives from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the Arkansas National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Coast Guard, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as a Federal Air Marshall. The senior resident inspector observed the meeting. Public Meeting With Southern California Edison On November 13, 2003, Region IV conducted a public meeting with Southern California Edison in Arlington, Texas. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss with staff at the plant site, the results of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's culture survey. Senior Management Change at the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) On November 13, 2003, OPPD announced that effective December 1, 2003, Ross Ridenoure will be the new Vice President, Chief Nuclear Officer and Assistant Secretary of the Omaha Public Power District. Mr. Ridenoure will be responsible for OPPD's nuclear organization. OPPD owns and operates the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station. Region IV Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Counterpart Meeting On November 13, 2003, the Director, Office of State and Tribal Programs, and the Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, NMSS, were speakers at the Region IV Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Counterpart Meeting in the Arlington, Texas, Regional office. They provided insight on the National Materials Program, the NRC's Integrated Materials Performance and Evaluation Program and Fuel Transportation and Storage. Office of Congressional Affairs
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