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SECY 97-126

June 19, 1997

Contact:  B. McCabe, OEDO

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant

Steam Generator Tube Repair Status

On June 7, the staff issued two license amendments to Kewaunee approving the laser weld repair and resleeving repair of steam generator (SG) tubes with degraded hybrid expansion joint (HEJ) sleeve joints.

The licensee had performed the repairs in parallel with the staff's review of the amendments. Approximately 675 SG tubes were repaired with the laser weld repair method and approximately 365 SG tubes were repaired with the resleeving repair method. The SGs now have an equivalent plugging level of approximately 26%, up from 21% at shutdown. The licensee is analyzed to operate with up to 30% equivalent plugging.

The plant, which has been shutdown since September 21, 1996, is currently in the process of starting up.

McGuire Unit 2

Steam Generator Primary-to-Secondary Leak Rate Increase

The licensee for McGuire Unit 2 reported to the NRC on 6/9/97 that the primary-to-secondary leak rate measured in one of the unit's four steam generators (SG) recently increased from approximately 10 gallons per day (gpd) to 30 gpd. The licensee has been tracking low level leakage in the "A" SG since January when it was initially detected. The leak rate has been relatively stable since that time. However, over the past weekend, the licensee confirmed that the leak rate experienced a step increase to 30 gpd. They are continuing to monitor the leak rate. As of 6/13/97, the leak rate was estimated to be 54 gpd.

The McGuire Unit 2 SGs are scheduled to be replaced in the next refueling outage in the fall of 1997. The dominant mode of tube degradation for the existing SGs in the unit is primary-water and outside-diameter stress corrosion cracking at the expansion transition region. The licensee has not attributed the primary-to-secondary leakage to any specific mode of tube degradation. Unit 2 has N-16 monitors installed that could provide the operators rapid indication of an increasing leak rate. The NRC staff will continue to monitor the status of the leakage through periodic updates with the licensee. The licensee has informed the staff that they would notify the NRC if any significant changes in the leak rate are detected. SGs were replaced in McGuire Unit 1 during their last shutdown. Unit 1 was recently restarted.

Failed Fuel at Seabrook - Zirlo Clad

The five failed rods in four Vantage 5H assemblies at Seabrook were in fuel with Zirlo cladding. The assemblies were first cycle assemblies with burnups of approximately 26,000 MWD/MTU. The rods had integral fuel burnable absorbers, were located near guide tubes, and were in high power locations. Two of the first three rods removed in order to reconstitute the fuel assemblies broke while being removed. The licensee removed ten non-failed rods to aid in the root cause investigation.

After examining 12 potential causes, the combination of power history and operational strategy was determined to be the most likely cause of the failed fuel. Previous failures in Zirlo clad fuel were the result of debris and occurred lower in the assembly.

The licensee's short term actions include: redesign of the upcoming core to move the problem type assemblies to the periphery of the core, more power sharing, a more conservative approach to pellet-clad interaction (PCI), and further investigation of the core chemistry. Long term actions include investigation of the possible adverse effects of a 24 month cycle and a hot cell program to further examine the failed fuel.

Licensee Inspection at Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS)

An inspection of WPPSS was held June 2-6, 1997, at the Washington Nuclear Project Unit 2 (WNP-2) facility in Richland, Washington. This inspection, which is part of the Core Performance Action Plan, included an engineering followup review of the WNP-2 corrective action in response to a 10 CFR Part 21 non-conformance report from Siemens Power Corporation (SPC) regarding the Technical Specification (TS) Safety Limit (SL) Minimum Critical Power Ratio (MCPR) for SPC 9x9-9X fuel supplied to WNP-2 in Cycles 7 thru 11. This SL error would also have affected the operating limit MCPR contained in the Core Operating Limit Report (COLR). The SPC SL value in error was also used in Cycle 12 and affected the OL MCPR. The inspection also assessed the WNP-2 corrective action in response to the failure of ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Operations (ABB) fuel assembly debris filters from the ABB SVEA-96 (10x10) fuel supplied for Cycle 12.

Several technical issues regarding the response to the SPC SLMCPR error in their ANFB correlation database remain. Also, the inspection brought into question the ABB/WNP-2 application of the approved OLMCPR methodology for Cycle 12 as operated and the proposed Cycle 13 corrective action. It appears that the licensee may have been in non-compliance with TS approved methods in Cycle 12. In addition, due to the SPC error, the TS SL MCPR used by the licensee in Cycles 7 thru 11 and the COLR OL used for core monitoring may have been in error.

The licensee now appears to understand our technical concerns, as expressed in our June 6, 1997, debrief and in a teleconference on June 9, 1997, and intends to respond, with support from SPC, ABB and their consultant(s) by June 13, 1997.

Acceptable interim operating limits are being developed, reviewed and implemented. These limits may result in reduced operating flexibility for WNP-2, due to COLR operating restrictions.

There appear to be no start-up issues with the response to the debris filter failures, since the filters have been removed for Cycle 13 operation and the amount of filter material missing is minimal. WNP-2 and ABB will respond to our questions on the apparent inadequacy of the out-of-core and in-core lead test assembly program.

Meeting with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on the Update to Standard Review Plan Chapter 7, Instrumentation and Controls

On June 11, 1997, staff from the Instrumentation and Controls Branch (HICB) met with the ACRS to discuss the final version of the update to SRP Chapter 7, Instrumentation and Controls including the associated regulatory guides on software quality. The major changes to SRP Chapter 7 were to incorporate the approach and guidance for review of digital I&C systems. The discussion focused on changes made to the previous draft of SRP Chapter 7 and the regulatory guides based on public comments, recommendations from the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences study final report on the NRC approach to digital systems, and comments and issues from the ACRS during the series of meetings on this topic over the past year. Pending receipt of a favorable letter from the ACRS, the staff plans to publish the final version of the update to SRP Chapter 7 by the end of July 1997.

Meeting with Westinghouse on the Proposed Ovation Digital Instrumentation and Control System Modification Platform

On June 10, 1997, staff from HICB met with Westinghouse to discuss Westinghouse's plans for development of the Ovation digital I&C system modification platform for implementation in nuclear power plant safety systems. Westinghouse representatives described the design features of the Ovation system and their plans for design development of the system software and hardware. Ovation will take advantage of some current Westinghouse commercial products in order to reduce costs and development time. Westinghouse expects to submit a topical report on Ovation for staff review in the Fall 1997.

Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2

Restart Schedule - Unit 2 is expected to enter Mode 4 (reactor coolant temperature above 200 F) on June 15, 1997. The licensee expects to resolve discrepancies related to the Control Area Ventilation System and the Containment Fan Cooler Unit modifications by June 13, 1997. The Readiness Assessment Team Inspection (RATI) began June 9, 1997, and will be completed on June 20, 1997. The RATI exit meeting will be on June 27, 1997.

Memo to the Commission - A memo to the Commission prior to restart of Unit 2 is being prepared. The Commission meeting is scheduled for 2:00 PM on June 25, 1997.

Quad Cities, Unit 2

Forced Shutdown Following Unit 2 Refueling Outage

Quad Cities, Unit 2, start-up commenced on 06/08/97 after a refueling outage of about 100 days of a scheduled 65-day outage. As reactor pressure was being increased, the licensee noted a potential recirculation pump seal leak on pump 2B. A drywell entry by the licensee confirmed the seal leak. On the morning of 06/10/97 the plant was shut down to start the repair. The repair is expected to take about 36 hours with the plant back on-line on 06/13/97. The resident inspectors are following this issue.

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Safety Inspection of Amersham Corporation

On June 4-6, 1997, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) performed a safety inspection of Amersham Corporation (Amersham) in Burlington, Massachusetts. Amersham holds several Certificates of Compliance (COCs) on transportation packagings for radioactive material. The inspection team identified significant deficiencies regarding Amersham's failure to meet the test requirements of 10 CFR Part 71.73, and failure to develop and conduct quality assurance oversight regarding design and testing activities. Amersham provided its action plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in telephone communications on June 9 and 10, 1997. Amersham also committed to suspend fabrication of all NRC-certified transportation packagings, to notify all users of Amersham packages of safety precautions for continued use of the packages, to retest its transportation packagings, and to implement quality assurance measures. SFPO issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to Amersham on June 10, 1997. SFPO is considering the need for further action regarding the deficiencies identified.

In addition, SFPO will inspect other COC holders performing design and testing activities to determine if there are generic issues involving compliance with 10 CFR Part 71.73.

Russian Inspection Accompaniment

During the week of June 9, 1997, Regulatory and International Safeguards Branch staff accompanied inspectors from the Russian regulatory agency, Gosatomnadzor, on a physical protection inspection at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant. The accompaniment was carried out as part of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's assistance to the Former Soviet Union to establish an effective regulatory program.

Tank Waste Remediation System Staff Visits West Valley Demonstration Project

On June 3-4, 1997, staff from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Special Projects Branch, the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Tank Waste Remediation Systems (TWRS) Regulatory Unit visited DOE's West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) facility located near West Valley, New York. The purpose of the visit was to allow the various staffs to become familiar with the WVDP vitrification facility which is used to process liquid high-level radioactive waste into a glass form. While at the site, the staff toured the vitrification facility, tank farms, sampling laboratories, and mock-up facilities. Presentations included discussion of pretreatment operations, vitrification operations, safety evaluations, and lessons learned from past operations. The WVDP site familiarization and the WVDP vitrification experience is relevant to staff efforts associated with the Hanford TWRS program.

Prairie Island Dakota Community

On June 5-6, 1997, staff from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards attended a regulatory symposium for the Prairie Island Dakota Community hosted by Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III office. The symposium was developed at the request of Chairman Jackson, who recommended to the Prairie Island Dakota Community that the NRC staff provide an overview of NRC's mission and functions, basic reactor design, resident and region-based inspection programs, and radiation protection standards, as well as an overview of the basic forms of radiation protection, and possible health effects resulting from exposure to radiation. The symposium was attended by three members of the Prairie Island Dakota community and provided an open forum from which many questions were answered and ideas were exchanged and discussed.

Meeting with Representatives of the Atomic Energy Council, Republic of China

On June 9, 1997, Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety staff met with two representatives of the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) of the Republic of China. The AEC representatives indicated their concern regarding radioactive material entering the steel manufacturing process. To address this issue, the AEC has required all steel manufacturers to be licensed by AEC to process scrap steel. To be licensed, the steel manufacturer must install radiation monitoring equipment at the entrance to their facilities and on their process equipment, and must survey all steel products leaving their facilities to ensure they do not contain radioactive material. If the manufacturer identifies radioactive material, they are responsible for the safe handling and final disposition of the material.

Currently, the AEC has issued 148 licensees to steel manufacturers. Since 1983, there have been 16 incidents where steel manufacturers have identified radioactive material included in scrap metal shipments. Two of these incidents involved scrap metal imported from the U.S.

Meeting with the Council of Radiation Control Program Directors

On June 9, 1997, staff from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy met with representatives of the Council of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) to discuss stray, unwanted, and/or retired sources, that may pose a radiological threat to public health and safety, and/or for which there are no readily available options for disposition and mitigation. At the meeting, they discussed the potential scope of the problem that these types of sources may be causing, the types and quantity of sources that may be involved, the potential causes for these sources becoming a threat to public health and safety, activities currently underway by State and Federal agencies to mitigate this type of threat, and areas where more can be done to provide additional disposition options and mitigation of the threat.

CRCPD intends to use information gained from the meeting to determine areas where changes or new initiatives can be implemented that could: reduce the possibility of sources becoming uncontrolled and ending up in the public domain; provide additional disposition options for sources that do end up in the public domain; and educate persons who may encounter these sources on how better to handle them and whom to contact if a source is discovered, so that the near- and long-term threat to the public health and safety from such sources is reduced.

Meeting with Atomic Energy Control Board Representatives

On June 5, 1997, staff from the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Region II, and the Office of Information Resources Management met with representatives from the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada (AECB) to discuss Nuclear Regulatory Commission and AECB automated materials licensing systems. The purpose of the meeting was to share ideas and discuss existing work products, so that both parties could understand the advantages and disadvantages of each system and the lessons learned. By sharing this information, the parties can prevent unnecessary duplication of effort.

The NRC presented demonstrations of the Licensing and Inspection Online System and the Agency Document Administration and Management System, and the AECB discussed their Integrated Licensing System 2. Both parties agreed to continue regular meetings on this subject.

Violation of Possession Limits for Special Nuclear Material at the Envirocare of Utah Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility

During the week of June 9, 1997, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV staff inspected the Clive, Utah disposal facility of Envirocare of Utah, Inc. This inspection was conducted because the facility possessed special nuclear material (SNM) in excess of critical mass quantities, a condition which is regulated by the NRC.

On May 27, 1997, the State of Utah issued an Order to Envirocare of Utah, Inc., to dispose of all radioactive waste containing SNM by June 25, 1997, in order to reduce the quantities of SNM in their possession at the site to those authorized by license, and thereafter to maintain compliance with license limits. The license limits the amount of SNM that Envirocare can possess, undisposed of, at any one time to the critical mass quantities specified in 10 CFR Part 150.11 (e.g., 350 grams U-235).

The State of Utah took this action based on an inspection of Envirocare's disposal facility at Clive, Utah, which occurred on May 15, 1997. The Utah Radiation Control Board (URCB) found that the licensee had not conducted its activities in full compliance with the conditions of the license and with the requirements of the Utah Radiation Control Rules. Specifically, the State found that Envirocare was in possession of more than 350 grams of uranium-235 in the form of waste received from other persons, which violated the possession limits imposed in its license. The State issued a Notice of Violation to Envirocare on May 19, 1997, which identified a serious noncompliance that has continued for six months or longer. The URCB also concluded that the violations resulted from a careless disregard for the requirement in the license.

Expert Elicitation for Yucca Mountain

On June 3, 1997, the Department of Energy (DOE) convened the last of a series of workshops to elicit an estimate of the amount and frequency of fault displacements that could occur on specific faults found in and near the Yucca Mountain candidate high-level waste repository site from six teams of experts. DOE needs to assess whether the existence of active faults that could generate earthquakes and induce slip on neighboring, ordinarily passive faults, could cause premature releases of radionuclides from waste packages in underground drifts during the long performance period of a repository. Therefore, DOE has conducted the expert elicitation to address this issue.

Division of Waste Management and Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses staff members have been observing and contributing to the workshops. Staff has explained recent field and experimental data on certain high fault-slip rates and balanced tectonic models. Staff also provided early feedback, based on the guidance in the Branch Technical Position on expert elicitation, on potential weaknesses in DOE's implementation of the expert elicitation process, such as documenting and disclosing potential conflicts of interest in expert selection, sufficient documentation on the evolution of experts' approaches and judgments, use of consistent assumptions across the different expert panels, and decision criteria on updating previously elicited judgments based on new information. The report for this set of expert elicitation is due to DOE in August 1997. DOE intends to apply the results of the expert elicitation to its Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment for the proposed high-level waste repository site at Yucca Mountain.

ENCLOSURE D

Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Safety Programs Division

Status of Industry Efforts To Address Motor-Operated Valve And Check Valve Performance.

On June 9-11, 1997, Earl Brown, AEOD, participated in the ASME, OM-8 Working Group (WG) on Motor-Operated Valve meeting and the Nuclear Industry Check Valve Group (NIC) meeting. The ASME has directed component level Working Groups to develop risk informed inservice test requirements. The OM-8 WG reviewed a proposal for inservice test (IST) requirements for less safety significant components. The WG consensus was that the approach was not acceptable because it did not provide evidence to determine change in margin or other means to assess whether the component would be expected to operate on the next test. The ASME OM-22 WG on Check Valves reported to NIC that they tabled their effort to develop a risk informed IST code case.

Equipment Performance Information Exchange (EPIX) System

On June 11, 1997, Tom McHenry, Manager, Equipment Performance, INPO, gave a presentation to NRC staff on the interim software for the Equipment Performance and Information Exchange (EPIX) system. EPIX is the component information system that is replacing NPRDS. Utilities discontinued reporting to NPRDS on December 31, 1996; failures occurring since January 1, 1997 will be input into EPIX.

Mr. McHenry's presentation demonstrated the software that utilities will use to input maintenance rule and reliability information. This interim software is now being distributed to the utilities for inputting 1997 information. In October 1997, INPO will provide software to allow utilities to output reports. In April 1998, INPO plans to release the interactive version of EPIX. EPIX will be made available to the NRC staff for use in the same manner as NPRDS.

Incident Response Division

Ukraine Emergency Response Center

Representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Administration, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine, are working with AEOD for two weeks to finalize designs for the emergency response system being developed in that country under the Lisbon Initiative cooperative nuclear safety program. Renovation of space and installation of basic services for the emergency center are already underway.

Preliminary Notifications (PNs)

1. PNO-I-07-031, Mallinckrodt Medical, Inc., CONTAMINATED PACKAGE RECEIVED BY PRIVATE PRACTICE MEDICAL FACILITY

2. PNO-I-97-032, Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. (Calvert Cliffs 1), UNUSUAL EVENT DUE TO REACTOR COOLANT SYSTEM LEAKAGE IN EXCESS OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION LIMITS

3. PNO-I-97-033, Mt. Sinai Hospital, LOSS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

4. PNO-I-97-034, St. Elizabeth Hospital, IODINE 131 CAPSULE FOUND IN MEDICAL WASTE

5. PNO-III-97-054, Illinois Power Co. (Clinton 1), NON-LICENSED SENIOR MANAGER TESTS POSITIVE FOR ALCOHOL

6. PNO-III-97-055, Consumers Power Co, (Big Rock Point 1), DECISION TO PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN

7. PNO-IV-97-034, Syncor International Corp., RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL SHIPPING PACKAGE CONTAMINATION

8. PNO-IV-97-035, Entergy Operations, Inc. (Waterford 3), PRESS RELEASE ON RESTART OF THE UNIT

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Procurement Reform

On June 10, 1997, the Division of Contracts and Property Management (DCPM) established an intranet homepage which provides direct links for access to a wide range of acquisition information, including: Market Research Information, Acquisition Training Information, Acquisition Newsletters, and other reference materials. DCPM's homepage is located on Netscape at the Office of Administration website of the NRC internal homepage and serves as a one-stop site for all NRC staff to access useful procurement-related information. Its many links also provide contracting staff with easy access to useful websites such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes, and the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs.

Contract Award

On June 6, 1997, a fixed price requirements contract was awarded to Vantage Human Resource Services, Inc. for "Career Counseling Services." The period of performance is July 25, 1997 through July 24, 1998, with two one-year option periods. The total contract value is $219,988.67. Award was made using the following streamlining initiatives: electronic transmittal of the statement of work; use of commercial contract product description; deadline set for proposers' questions; use of simplified evaluation criteria; limited number of pages in the proposal; prohibited foldouts or sales brochures; and awarded without discussions.

Status Report Restack

NRC's contractor, Schlosser, Inc., has completed installing metal framing for the new permanent walls on the floor and in the elevator lobby for the new key card double door on the 17th floor. Sheetrock on the lobby door frame and in other areas is being installed. The electrical wiring, junction boxes and outlets are in place in the new walls and have been inspected. Schlosser has also completed moving all of the sprinkler heads needing to be relocated for the new layout and they installed the wiring for the new fire alarm system strobes. Work in the elevator lobby has begun in preparation for the new wall covering. Electrical and IRM computer cabling work is also continuing.

U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC)

On June 6 and 10, 1997, DFS staff accompanied NMSS and DOE personnel on visits to the Department of the Treasury and the Central Intelligence Agency. These meetings were held to explore NRC's immediate and long-term roles in the privatization and ongoing regulation of USEC's successor. On June 10, 1997, NRC received USEC's latest version of its public information package for review. This package contains a final version of "Restrictions On Foreign Involvement in USEC's Privatization" and among other things, explains to potential bidders, how NRC will address making its foreign ownership, control or influence determination. DFS will coordinate NRC (OGC and NMSS) and DOE comments. USEC has asked for comments as quickly as possible.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Significant FOIA/PA Requests Received during the 5-Day Period of June 6-12, 1997:

Casking of depleted uranium at Stan A. Huber Consultants, update to 10/10/96 FOIA request. (FOIA/PA-97-201)

Carr-Scarborough Microbiologists, Inc., Decatur, GA, all records. (FOIA/PA-97-202)

Uranium milling, Shiprock, New Mexico, facility. (FOIA/PA-97-204)

Uranium mills/mines standards for workers and health and safety standards for proximity communities. (FOIA/PA-97-205)

Diablo Canyon, allegation number NRR-96-A-0153. (FOIA/PA-97-206)

Indian Point 3, effluent and waste disposal report re Regulatory Guide 1.21 for 1985 (1st and 2nd quarters). (FOIA/PA-97-207)

Florida Power Corp., specific investigation case reports and exhibits. (FOIA/PA-97-208)

Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 6/26/96 enforcement conference transcript. (FOIA/PA-97-209)

Stokley Enterprises, Inc., 1990 investigation. (FOIA/PA-97-210)

Advanced Systems Technology, Inc., contract NRC-04-96-039 re NRC's non-exercise of option period. (FOIA/PA-97-211)

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Personnel
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Media Interest

The Wall Street Journal is planning a story on Northeast Utilities' annual meeting.

The Connecticut Post is printing a story on Millstone and NRC.

WETA-TV in Virginia is planning a documentary due out in September which will discuss an overcooling incident at Rancho Seco which occurred in December 1985.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Commission Correspondence Released the Public

1. Letter to Energy Secretary Federico Peña dtd 6/2/97 concerns support for the ORISE training program

2. Letter to Dr. Andrew C. Kadak, Yankee Atomic Electric Company, dtd 6/2/97 concerns paper on high-level waste disposal

3. Letter to Nebraska Governor E. Benjamin Nelson dtd 6/4/97 confirms continued participation in the State Liaison Officer Program

4. Letter to Mr. Ronald L. Jones, American Petroleum Institute, dtd 6/4/97 concerns exchange of letters between the NRC and EPA regarding NRC's final rulemaking on the radiological criteria for license termination

5. Letter to Senator John McCain dtd 6/4/97 responds to concerns about a uranium mill tailings pile near the Colorado River in Moab, Utah

6. Letter to Ms. Judy Treichel, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Inc., dtd 6/5/97 responds to concerns regarding public input activities related to the high-level waste program

7. Letter to Representatives Dan Schaefer, Richard Burr, and Ed Towns dtd 6/6/97 concerns withholding from public disclosure, certain information in the spent fuel storage and transportation area

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Quivira Mining Company; Docket No. 40-8906-MLA; Designation of Presiding Officer

2. 10 CFR Parts 30 and 32; Exempt Distribution of a Radioactive Drug Containing One Microcurie of Carbon-14 Urea; Proposed Rule

Historian

Historian Sam Walker conducted research for Volume 3 of the NRC History at the MIT Archives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Harvard University's Frances A. Countway Library of Medicine in Boston, June 9-12, 1997. He examined the papers of the Union of Concerned Scientists at MIT and the papers of Lauriston S. Taylor, President of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) for many years, at the Countway Library. The two collections were especially useful on the subjects of the AEC's ECCS hearings of 1972-73 and radiation protection in the 1970s and 1980s.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Salem, Unit 2, Restart

The 13 person Salem Unit 2 Restart Assessment Team began its two week inspection on Monday, June 9, 1997, accompanied by two representatives of the State of New Jersey. At the entrance meeting PSE&G made a presentation on the readiness of the unit for restart. The team plans to observe operating, testing, maintenance and engineering support activities as the plant heats up. The beginning of the heat-up has been delayed since Sunday, June 7, 1997 pending completion of modification and testing activities. Five GAO representatives will tour the facility with Region I Branch management and meet with the NRC team manager and the licensee on Friday, June 13, 1997.

Rutgers University

On June 6, 1997, John D. Kinneman, Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety Br. #2, DNMS, made a presentation to a class at Rutgers University on the regulation by the NRC of byproduct, source and special nuclear material. The presentation focused on the regulatory authority, structure and organization of the Commission and provided a detailed discussion of the licensing and inspection process.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Tennessee Valley Authority - Browns Ferry

Browns Ferry management met with the NRC in the Region II office on June 9 to introduce new managers, discuss plant performance, self-assessment, improvement initiatives and regulatory issues. Examples of planned equipment modifications discussed included power range neutron monitor upgrades and elimination of single sensor trip vulnerabilities in the secondary plant.

Browns Ferry had its biennial emergency preparedness exercise on June 4, 1997. The exercise included full participation by the State of Alabama and the local governmental agencies. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) evaluated the offsite emergency response and identified one deficiency which addressed the promulgation of erroneous emergency information by Morgan County. The NRC evaluation team determined the licensee's implementation of its Emergency Plan and Procedures to be fully satisfactory. FEMA, Region IV, Atlanta, was expected to issue its formal letter of Deficiency to the State of Alabama on June 13, 1997.

Dr. Fernandez

On June 11, a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty for $8,000 was issued to the licensee for violations of a number of NRC requirements. The notice also included a termination of the license, which was issued to Dr. Fernandez for use of a Strontium-90 eye applicator. The NRC previously had issued an Order to the licensee to cease using the eye applicator and followup on misadministrations as a result of the use of a miscalibrated applicator.

State of Florida -- Radioactive Materials in the Public Domain

On June 12-13, 1997, State of Florida representatives conducted and completed a radiological survey of materials inadvertently sent to a scrap yard in Dade County, Florida from the Turkey Point nuclear reactor facility. The State's survey detected only small quantities of Cobalt-60 in the material.

The State advised both the licensee and the management at the scrap yard of the results of the surveys. The licensee is making preparations to retrieve the material.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997

Confirmatory Action Letter Issued - Clinton

On June 9, 1997, Region III issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) to Illinois Power Company regarding the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant. In April, NRC inspectors identified foreign material and degraded coatings in Clinton's containment which raised a concern over suppression pool emergency core cooling system (ECCS) suction strainer operability during accident conditions. Utility staff evaluated the foreign material and has initiated actions to remove the material and improve control of such items. The degraded coatings issue remains open. The CAL documents that the utility will certify that all containment and drywell coatings are appropriately qualified or that the utility will provide reasonable assurance to the NRC staff that the ECCS suction strainers will remain operable, i.e., not become clogged, following a design basis event.

Detroit Edison Company - Fermi

On June 12, 1997, a meeting was conducted between management representatives from Detroit Edison Company and members of the NRC staff at the Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, on the status of various issues at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant. Topics discussed included: new management assignments: modifications to correct old design problems: and new programs initiated to improve the performance.

Illinois Power Company - Clinton Restart Meeting

On June 13, 1997, a meeting was conducted between management representatives from Illinois Power Company and members of the NRC staff at the Region III Office, Lisle, Illinois, to discuss the progress and effectiveness of the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant's Startup Readiness Plan. The status of issues that potentially affect the plant restart were discussed. These issues include: degraded voltage, circuit breakers, containment coatings/emergency core cooling system suction strainers, and main control room light sockets.

AlliedSignal, Inc. - Licensee Performance Review

On June 12, 1997, a meeting was conducted between management representatives from AlliedSignal, Inc. and members of the NRC staff at the Metropolis City Hall, Metropolis, Illinois, to discuss the Licensee Performance Review performed by the NRC staff of AlliedSignal. Performance in safety operations, radiological controls, and facility support was reviewed from a period from January 1, 1995, through January 10, 1997.

ENCLOSURE R

Office of Congressional Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending June 13, 1997