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SECY 99-066

March 4, 1999

Contact:  M. Evans, OEDO

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Thermal Hydraulics Subcommittee Meeting, Westinghouse 2-Loop UPI Realistic Loss of Coolant Accident Model

On Tuesday, February 23, 1999, the Reactor Systems Branch (SRXB) and Westinghouse (W) met with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Thermal/Hydraulics Subcommittee at its request to discuss the adaptation of the approved W Realistic ("Best-Estimate") large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA) evaluation model to be applied to 2-loop upper plenum injection (UPI) plant designs. A copy of the SRXB draft safety evaluation report was provided to the subcommittee. At the meeting, W presented a discussion focused on the modeling of three phenomena specialized for UPI designs. SRXB made a brief presentation summarizing the review and its finding that the adaptation is acceptable. In its most significant feedback, the subcommittee identified a couple of experiments whose data it felt should have been used to supplement analytical work supporting the methodology. It is anticipated that the subcommittee might, in lieu of another meeting, write a letter containing its recommendations, possibly including a request that predictions be performed for the identified tests and that appropriate corrections, if any, be made. The lead plant "need date" for the methodology is in the May/June 1999 time frame.

Reactor Fire Risk Assessment Workshop

On February 17 and 18, 1999, the Plant Systems Branch (SPLB), in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) sponsored an internal 2-day workshop on reactor fire risk assessment. As noted in last week's highlight, the overall purpose of the workshop was to develop a method for assessing the risk significance of reactor fire protection deficiencies (e.g., inspection findings). NRC managers and technical staff (reviewers, inspectors, risk analysts, senior technical advisors, and senior reactor analysts) from NRR (Division of Systems Safety and Analysis, Division of Inspection and Program Management, Probabilistic Safety Assessment Branch (SPSB), and SPLB), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Office of Enforcement, and Regions I, II, III, and IV participated in the workshop.

The focus of the workshop was a proposed fire risk assessment process developed by SPLB and SPSB. The workshop participants agreed, in principle, that the proposed method is consistent with those currently being developed for the new reactor oversight process and that it could be further developed for use as a screening tool and integrated into the reactor oversight process. The staff will issue a meeting summary and will develop a plan for developing, validating, and implementing the fire risk assessment method.

North Anna Nuclear Plant, Surry Nuclear Plant

Dominion Resources Inc., (DRI), the parent company of Virginia Electric and Power Company and Consolidated Natural Gas Co., announced on February 22, 1999, their merger to form the nation's fourth largest electric and natural gas utility, serving nearly 4 million retail customers in five states. Market capitalization of the combined entity will exceed $25 billion, have an energy portfolio of more than 20,000 megawatts of power generation, and 17,000 employees. The combined company will be named Dominion Resources and be headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Thomas E. Capps, who is presently the chairman, president and chief executive officer of DRI, will be the president and chief executive officer of the combined company. The companies anticipate minimal workforce reductions as a result of the merger. The transaction is conditioned, among other things, upon the approvals of various federal regulatory agencies, and the completion of regulatory processes in the states where the combined company will operate. The details of the merger will be reviewed by NRR and OGC to determine whether any NRC action or approval is required.

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant

On December 23, 1998, Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L) requested a license amendment to expand the spent fuel pool storage capacity at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant by placing spent fuel pools 'C' and 'D' in service. On January 13, 1999, the NRC published a Proposed No Significant Hazard Consideration (NSHC) Determination and Opportunity for a Hearing Notice in the Federal Register. The 30-day comment period for the notice expired on February 12, 1999.

During the comment period, one request for a hearing was received. SECY has forwarded this request to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel. Several other members of the public provided comments on the proposed NSHC determination. These comments will be addressed in the staff's final evaluation of CP&L's request. Additionally, some of the commenters requested that the comment period be extended for an additional 30 days. The staff is working with OGC and SECY on how to respond to the extension requests.

50.54(a) QA Rulemaking

The Federal Register Notice to promulgate the Direct Final Rule for 50.54(a) quality assurance change control was published in the Federal Register on February 23, 1999. The rule will become effective on April 26, 1999, unless significant adverse comment is received by March 25, 1999.

Transition Task Force

The remainder of the Transition Task Force developing the Baseline Inspection Program was assembled in headquarters the week of February 15. The group is developing outlines for writing inspection procedures and other inspection program guidance documents. An outline was also developed for activities to be covered in the inspection program workshop for the NRC personnel involved with the pilot plants. Contacts within NRR to support the group were also established.

The training task leader has joined the Transition Task Force as of February 1, 1999. The immediate task to accomplish is the organization of three workshops to support The Reactor Oversight Process pilot process. Human resources and regional support are being utilized to find facilities for the workshops. Source documents are being provided to HR/ADTD to enable the process of developing formal training programs and modify existing programs as necessary.

Sam Collins, Frank Gillespie, and Mike Johnson visited regions II and IV on February 17 and 18. As part of the Communications Plan, they briefed the regional staff on the "NRC in Transition: A New Regulatory Framework."

Risk Characterization of Inspection Finding Draft is out to all Regional DRP & DRS Directors for comments. Work on developing criteria for characterizing the significance of inspection findings in the Radiation Protection, Emergency Planning and Safeguards cornerstones is ongoing. The Feasibility Study Plan was discussed with the Regions via conference call with implementation this week.

Meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Falk Kantor, of the Emergency Preparedness and Radiation Protection Branch, and Jean Lee and Fiona Tobler, NRR Senior Allegations Coordinators, met with the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Branch staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on February 16, 1999. FEMA Regional offices participated by telephone. The purpose of the meeting was to provide training on the NRC allegation review process and to emphasize the need for meeting established schedules for responding to allegations, including offsite emergency preparedness issues that NRC refers to FEMA. The issues are referred to FEMA in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies and an NRC/FEMA procedure that was issued in August 1997.

Staff Issues Calvert Cliffs License Renewal Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Public Comment

On Wednesday, February 24, 1999, the staff issued for public comment, NUREG-1437, Supplement 1, "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant." This supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) includes the staff's preliminary analysis that considers and weighs the environmental effects of the proposed action, the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action, and alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. It also includes the staff's preliminary recommendation regarding the proposed action; the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 and 2 are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning decisionmakers would be unreasonable. The staff has scheduled a public meeting April 6, 1999, in Solomons, MD to provide the public an opportunity to comment on the draft SEIS.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

10 CFR Part 35, Public Workshop

On February 17-18, 1999, representatives of the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety conducted a facilitated public workshop. The workshop was held to obtain information on the implementation issues associated with the training and experience criteria specified in the proposed 10 CFR Part 35, "Medical Use of Byproduct Material." Invited participants included representatives from nine certifying boards and three professional organizations. Disciplines represented at the meeting included nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology, health physics, radiopharmacy, radiology, medical physics, and endocrinology.

Meeting attendees discussed criteria for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval of certifying boards, examining organizations, and training programs. In addition, participants discussed NRC and stakeholder resources needed to implement the proposed rule and alternative requirements that are currently under development by the Part 35 Working Group.

Annual Meeting of the Non-Destructive Management Testing Association

During February 14-17, 1999, representatives of the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety (IMNS) participated in the annual meeting of the Non-Destructive Management Testing Association (NDMTA) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The participation included meeting with the NDMTA Board of Directors about current regulatory issues impacting industrial radiography, interfacing with representatives of NDMTA and the American Society of Non-Destructive Testing regarding industrial radiographer certification currently scheduled to become mandatory on June 27, 1999, and participation in a workshop to address recommendations from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Special Team Inspection on radiography drive cable failures. The workshop included representatives for radiography equipment manufacturers, the drive cable manufacturer, radiography users and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors. The workshop panel offered views on the various recommendations of the team and focused much of the discussion on the suggestions for industry to develop maintenance and inspection criteria for the radiography drive cables. A strawman vote was taken of the participants and there was general agreement amongst the workshop panel and meeting attendees that such criteria should be developed by the industry with assistance from the regulators. The NDMTA Board of Directors will examine these findings and it is probable that further workshops or task group meetings will be held to develop the maintenance and inspection criteria. The IMNS representatives committed to assisting industry with this process through closure. This approach is consistent with the NRC recommendations that industry should take the lead in solving this issue rather than imposition of prescriptive regulatory requirements by the NRC or Agreement States.

Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards

On February 23, 1999, the Senior Level Advisor for Health Physics, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, attended an Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) Federal Guidance (FG) subcommittee meeting at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The FG subcommittee members finalized the previous subcommittee meeting minutes and discussed: (1) the status of FG Report 13; (2) the list of potential interagency web links with the Department of Energy, EPA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as other federal agency web links to media contacts; and (3) potential new FG and FG Technical Report topics, as well as a draft matrix for assigning priorities for these projects. It was reported that FG Report 13 has been undergoing revisions recommended by EPA's Science Advisory Board, and is anticipated to be available for final review by the FG subcommittee members by the end of March 1999. EPA anticipates that the other federal agencies represented by ISCORS would have approximately 30 days to review and provide any final comments before final publication by EPA. The subcommittee also discussed how each agency website could be linked so as to better assist the public and licensees when searching for regulatory information via the Internet. Finally, with regard to item (3) above, each subcommittee representative indicated that they would route the suggested topics within each of their respective agencies to determine an agency view of what FG and FG Technical Report topics should be considered in FY 2000. The next ISCORS FG subcommittee meeting is scheduled for May 1999.

Meeting with Private Fuel Storage, LLC

On February 18, 1999, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with representatives of Private Fuel Storage (PFS), LLC, to discuss the results of an enhanced geologic investigation program undertaken by PFS at the proposed PFS facility on the reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. PFS had undertaken these investigations in order to respond to an April 1998 request for additional information from the staff. PFS and Geomatrix Consultants, which carried out the investigations for PFS, described the geological and geophysical investigations. Both geophysical and subsurface investigations were undertaken. Basically, three faults of interest are near the site: the Stansbury Fault, the East Fault, and the West Fault. PFS believes that its analyses demonstrate that displacement from these faults is negligible and bounded by the analyses in its Safety Analysis Report. PFS also discussed the Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis approach used in the investigations. The PFS presentation included a discussion of the identification of seismic sources, seismic source characterization, the ground motion attenuation model used, and development of hazard curves. Among the attendees at the meeting were representatives of the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses which is providing technical assistance to the staff on this project.

Pre-Operational Testing Inspection of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation for TMI-2 Core Debris

On February 23, 1999, Region IV, assisted by the Spent Fuel Project Office, initiated a Pre-Operational Testing and Operational Observation Inspection at the proposed Department of Energy Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. As part of the inspection, the inspectors will observe a demonstration of the welding procedures for closure of the Dry Shielded Canister and initial loading procedures of TMI-2 core debris into the ISFSI.

U.S.-European Safeguards Bilateral Meetings

During February 8-17, 1999, a staff member from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards participated in Safeguards Bilateral Meetings held between the U.S Government, the Governments of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Safeguards Directorate of the European Atomic Energy Commission. The U.S. representatives were from the Department of State, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Mission to the United Nations Organizations in Vienna, and the U.S. Embassy in the host country. Discussions were held on the following topics: Strengthened Safeguards under Additional Protocols to the Safeguards Agreements, Strengthened Safeguards under Existing Authority, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards in the U.S. and host country, Safeguards Research and Development Support to the IAEA, and Alternate Nuclear Materials.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

SPAR Model Pilot Reviews

Division of Systems Technology staff held the third of three pilot reviews for the standardized plant analysis risk (SPAR) models at the Duane Arnold site on February 16, 17, and 18, 1999. This third review was performed for a BWR to ensure that both PWR and BWR plant types were captured by the pilot process and that personnel from a different region participated. The second review (Jan. 12-14) was arranged to capitalize on the similarities between the Calvert Cliffs model, which was the first pilot, and the Millstone 2 model (both CE plants), in addition to the continued participation of the region 1 senior reactor analysts (SRAs). These pilot model reviews, held at the NRC resident inspector's office at the plant site for the particular models, have been proposed for a demonstration as a possible quality assurance process for the SPAR models. The reviews are arranged to be held at the specific plant site for the model to enable the Regional office SRAs and the plant NRC resident inspectors (RIs) to participate in this process with the model developers from Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL).

The model developers presented the information contained in each of the event trees and fault trees incorporated in the model that represented the response of the plant systems to the initiating events considered, e.g., large, medium, small and interfacing systems LOCA. The participants discussed the top events, (functions, systems, operator actions) necessary for mitigation of an initiating event to ensure that the information was incorporated and modeled appropriately. Questions relating to system configuration and operating procedures for plant responses to specific initiating events were discussed by the review team with plant personnel. As in the first two reviews the major benefit derived from this process was the participation of people (SRAs, RIs and plant staff) who were familiar with the operation of the plant as well as the PRA process. A significant amount of information was obtained about the plant configuration and operation that would not have been obtained without the assistance of these personnel, access to updated drawings, and the emergency operating procedures. A second benefit derived from this process, is the knowledge of the plant response and the modeling process gained by the SRAs and the RIs. The pilots for this review process have demonstrated that this approach is indeed beneficial for generating NRC risk models that reflect the plant configuration and operation. It is expected that RES will recommend this process to NRR and the region offices for the review of the remainder of the 70 SPAR models to be generated.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIONS:

1. PNO-III-99-007, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, PADUCAH SECURITY DISCOVERED BODY ON PROPERTY OF WILDLIFE DEPT.
   
   
2. PNO-IV-99-004B, Sperry-Sun Drilling Services, Inc., UPDATE - LOSS OF 2 CURIE CESIUM-137 DENSITY LOGGING SOURCE DURING SHIPMENT
   
   
3. PNO-IV-99-013, Arizona Licensee (Free & Van, Inc.) PORTABLE GAUGE DAMAGED WHEN RUN OVER BY A FRONT LOADER
   
   
4. PNO-IV-99-014, Entergy Operations, Inc., (Grand Gulf 1), UNIT SHUTDOWN GREATER THAN 72 HOURS DUE TO MAIN CONDENSER SEAL LEAKAGE
   
   
5. PNO-IV-99-015, Arizona Licensee, (Construction Inspection & Testing) LOST MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Acquisition Training

On February 26, 1999, the Division of Contracts and Property Management conducted its Acquisition for Project Managers module entitled "Developing the Independent Government Cost Estimate." This module focuses on the importance of establishing an independent Government cost estimate, the mechanics of the process and components which can be used in its development.

Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in a Proposed Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (Parts 2, 19, 20, 21, 30, 40, 51, 60, 61, and 63)

A proposed rule that would establish licensing criteria for disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes in the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada was published in the Federal register on February 22, 1999 (64 FR 8640). The criteria are intended to address the performance of the repository system at Yucca Mountain. The proposed requirements are designed to implement a health-based, safety objective for long-term repository performance that fully protects public health and safety and the environment and is consistent with national and international recommendations for radiation protection standards. The comment period on this action closes May 10, 1999.

Changes to Quality Assurance Requirements (Part 50)

A direct final rule that permits power reactor licensees to make certain changes to their quality assurance programs without obtaining NRC approval before making the changes was published in the Federal Register February 23, 1999 (64 FR 9030). The action is intended to reduce the financial and administrative burden on power reactor licensees without adversely impacting public health and safety. The direct final rule becomes effective April 26, 1999.

The companion proposed rule to this direct final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 23, 1999 (64 FR 9035). The comment period closes March 25, 1999.

OWFN Front Entrance Extension

Beginning Friday, February 26, 1999, we will begin construction of the OWFN front entrance extension. The project, which consists of extending the entrance approximately 6 feet, will contain automatic sliding doors and heated air curtains. It will result in a much improved environment in the elevator lobby by eliminating extreme cold temperature during the winter months. The project is expected to be completed by April 1, 1999.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of February 18, 1999 through February 25, 1999:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Associate Director for Training and Development
Student Data

ENCLOSURE L

Office of State Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

NARUC Winter Committee Meetings

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) held its Winter Committee Meetings on February 21-24, 1999 in Washington, DC. Commissioner Dicus provided the Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues/Waste Disposal with a status report on NRC activities on February 21, 1999. Topics discussed by Commissioner Dicus included the license transfer rule, the Commission's policy statement on adjudications, the status of license renewal proceedings and Part 63 - the proposed regulations to add site-specific criteria for licensing the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The subcommittee also heard presentations from Lake Barrett, Acting Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute and from private spent fuel storage and transportation concerns. A representative from Standard & Poor's Platt reported on electricity market deregulation: implications for nuclear power. The NARUC Electricity Committee adopted three resolutions of interest. The first resolution concerns funding nuclear research and development. The second resolution urges Congress and the Administration to pass legislation that would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to immediately begin site preparation, licensing and transportation activities for a centralized interim storage facility now that the viability assessment is completed. The third resolution urges the NRC to be cognizant of the potential impact deregulation may have on the safety and reliability of nuclear plants and supports efforts by the NRC to improve its current regulatory processes, while at the same time maintaining a high level of safety, as those efforts will likely result in more efficient and less costly interaction between the NRC and nuclear plant licensees. Copies of the resolutions are available in the Office of State Programs (OSP).

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Media Interest

OPA hosted 10 reporters from around the country for a media workshop to brief them on current issues they may be writing about. Participating in the briefings were: Frank Miraglia, OEDO, Frank Gillespie, Jared Wermeil, Bob Wood, Jim Wilson and Dick Rosano, NRR, Bill Borchardt, OE, Frank Congel and Rick Hasselberg, AEOD, Donald Cool, NMSS, and Eric Leeds, SPFO.

The Associated Press inquired about a letter sent to Chairman Jackson from 3 congressmen regarding the safety implications of overtime by nuclear plant workers.

Engineering News Record's Los Angeles office inquired about the decommissioning of San Onofre.

The New York Post is printing a story on New York City's agreement state program.

Newsday inquired about the inspection results at the Brookhaven reactor.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Nonproliferation Seminar

On February 25, 1999, Ronald Hauber gave a presentation on NRC's role in nuclear export licensing as part of a three-day, DOE-sponsored Nonproliferation Seminar held at the Forrestal Building. Participants in this training program included approximately 25 U.S. government and laboratory personnel and 2 Canadian attendees.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Commission Correspondence

None released this week.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting on March 16-18, 1999.
   
   
2. 10 CFR Part 51; Changes to Requirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear power Plant Operating Licenses; Proposed Rule.
   
   
3. 10 CFR Part 51; Changes to Requirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses; Availability of Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
   
   
4. Carolina Power & Light Company; Docket No. 50-400-LA; Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Bollwerk/Shon/Lam).
   
   
5. Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes; Meeting Notice for March 24-25, 1999.
   
   
6. Standard Review Plan on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Domination.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

D&B Tool Company License Terminated

Following discussions between the Licensee, the State of Connecticut, the NRC, and other interested parties, radioactive waste drums at the D&B Tool Company in Milford, CT, were packaged and removed from the site. The waste had been in storage at the facility for a number of years, but sufficient funds to cover disposal costs only recently became available. A NRC-licensed radioactive waste broker, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Environmental Division, repackaged the waste and is holding the resulting 44 drums at its facility until they can be transferred to Envirocare in Utah for final disposal. A Region I inspector completed a confirmatory survey of the facility in Milford on January 22, 1999, and found the site meets the criteria for release for unrestricted use. On February 22, 1999, License No. STB-1505 issued to D&B Tool Company was terminated. The State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the State's Attorney General's Office were informed of the action.

Meeting with New Jersey and Oyster Creek Representatives

On February 25, the Director, DNMS and a Senior Health Physicist participated in a Decommissioning Working Group meeting in Trenton, NJ, involving representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and GPU-Nuclear regarding the Oyster Creek plant. The meetings provide a vehicle for the utility and the State to discuss and work on topics of mutual interest in planning for the eventual decommissioning of the plant. GPUN made presentations on its renewed efforts to sell the plant and overall status on decommissioning planning. The State discussed a number of topics, including cleanup standards, status of a Technical Specification Change Request and LLW issues. RI staff discussed the ongoing planning between NRR and GPUN, the Region's role in inspection of reactor decommissioning, the transition from a Resident Inspector to Region-based inspector program, and budget constraints on the Region's ability to routinely participate in the working group's meetings.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Region II Licensing Manager's Meeting

On February 24, 1999, the Regional Administrator participated in the Region II Licensing Manager's Meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

State of Florida - Integrated Materials Performance Evaluations Program (IMPEP)

On February 25 and 26, the Deputy Regional Administrator accompanied the Deputy EDO for Regulatory Programs and the Director, Office of State Programs at the exit meeting in Tallahassee for the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Programs for the State of Florida. This is the first IMPEP review for the State, which has responsibility for 1,154 specific material licenses.

NRC/INPO Training Coordination Meeting

On February 25 and 26, the Director, Division of Reactor Safety, and the Chief, Operator Licensing and Human Performance Branch, attended a training coordination meeting with industry representatives at INPO Headquarters in Atlanta. Participants from NRR were the Director, Division of Inspection Program Management, the Chief, Operator Licensing Human Performance and Plant Support Branch and other staff members. The meeting was open to the public and items discussed included operator licensing topics of current interest.

The Applied Radiant Energy Corporation (ARECO)

ARECO loaded 250,000 Ci of Cobalt-60 sealed sources into their new underwater irradiator at Forrest, Virginia. The facility, which will initially be used to irradiate wood products, has completed the actions required to operate. The source loading was observed by NRC inspectors.

Virginia Power Company - North Anna

Miro Slau Liepar, Chairman of the Slovak Nuclear Regulatory Authority, visited the North Anna Station on February 24. Mr. Liepar met with the resident inspectors, toured the plant and held discussions with Virginia Power personnel in the area of maintenance rule, housekeeping, dry cask storage and OSART activities.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Management Meeting with Commonwealth Edison Company - LaSalle

On February 26, 1999, a management meeting was conducted in the Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, between management representatives from Commonwealth Edison Company and members of the NRC staff. The meeting discussion focused on the current performance of Unit 1 of the LaSalle Nuclear Power Station and the status of LaSalle Unit 2 restart activities.

ENCLOSURE P

Region IV
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999

Meeting with Cooper Nuclear Station Concerning Refueling Outage Lessons Learned

On February 24, the Director, Division of Reactor Projects, NRC Region IV, and the Director, Division of Reactor Safety, NRC Region IV, met with the Cooper Plant Manager, Senior Manager of Engineering, Operations Manager, and other members of the Cooper staff. The NRC and Cooper managers discussed the lessons learned by the Cooper staff stemming from performance during the refueling outage conducted from October 3 through December 20, 1998. In addition, the Senior Manager of Engineering presented a brief update on the status of implementation of the Cooper Strategy for achieving Engineering Excellence.

Entergy (Waterford 3) Leaks identified in Pressurizer 3/4-inch Instrumentation Nozzles

On February 25, 1999, the licensee submitted a 4-hour report in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72. During a planned visual inspection, residual boron was observed at two 3/4-inch instrument nozzles located at the top head of the pressurizer. The leakage was identified in the annulus area where the nozzle penetrates the pressurizer head. The nozzles are welded on the inner diameter of the pressurizer and are connected to Instrument Valves RC-310 and RC-311 outside the pressurizer. The licensee has determined that the leakage is due to "primary stress corrosion cracking" at the identified locations described above. Combustion Engineering has developed a repair methodology which the licensee will implement during this current refueling outage.

ENCLOSURE R

Office of Congressional Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending February 26, 1999