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INFORMATION REPORT SECY-02-0056 March 28, 2002
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation NRC Bulletin 2002-01: Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Degradation and Reactor Coolant Pressure Boundary Integrity dated March 18, 2002 The NRC issued this bulletin to require pressurized-water reactor addressees to submit:
Public Meetings on Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Degradation On March 19, 2002, the NRC held a public meeting (Category 2 meeting per SECY-01-0137) with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the EPRI Materials Reliability Project (MRP). During this meeting, the industry provided preliminary results of a survey they conducted on the reactor pressure vessel head inspection and maintenance practices at all PWRs. The NRC is evaluating the information presented by the industry at the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the NRC discussed the information they requested in NRC Bulletin 2002-01 and entertained questions from all stakeholders. Approximately 100 people attended the meeting with many more tying in via a phone connection. On March 20, 2002, the NRC held a public meeting (Category 3) to discuss the findings at Davis-Besse and to address stakeholder concerns. The NRC is continuing to interact with the public, the industry and the licensee for Davis-Besse. As additional information is obtained, it will be communicated to stakeholders. The Augmented Inspection Team at Davis-Besse is still on-going. Following completion of the inspection, the NRC will hold a meeting open to public observation (Category 1) in the plant vicinity to discuss the inspection findings. Turkey Point License Renewal ACRS Subcommittee Meeting On March 13, 2002, the ACRS subcommittee on plant license renewal met in Florida City, to discuss the staff's safety evaluation for Turkey Point, the resolution of open items, and safety concerns sent to them by a local resident. Before the meeting, the ACRS toured the plant and had a demonstration of a station blackout event on the plant simulator. During the meeting, the staff described the resolution of the four open items. In addition, the staff addressed the following issues raised in a letter to the ACRS from Mark Oncavage, a petitioner in the Turkey Point license renewal: (1) effects of voids in the containment on plant aging, (2) capability of the plant to withstand hurricanes, (3) capability of the plant to withstand terrorist attacks, and (4) spent fuel capacity. The subcommittee requested that the staff present the resolution of open items to the full committee on April 11, with specific attention to the scoping criteria for seismic II over I piping systems, and the impact criteria for non-safety related piping as it relates to the generic resolution of interaction of non-safety systems with the safety systems; the Westinghouse Owners Groups topical reports; the Oncavage issues, particularly the corrective actions to resolve the containment voids under the equipment hatch at Turkey Point and any generic insights for identifying and correcting voids in concrete; and the status of the station blackout scoping issue generically and for Turkey Point. Published Regulatory Guides On March 19, 2002, the NRC published proposed amendments to 10 CFR 50.55a (67 FR 12488) that would, if adopted, incorporate by reference three NRC published regulatory guides listing ASME BPV and OM Code Cases that the NRC has reviewed and approved for use. These code cases provide alternatives to the requirements in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and the ASME Code for Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants. This action would permit NRC licensees to implement certain ASME Code Cases without seeking prior NRC approval. The seventy-five day comment period for the proposed rule expires on June 3, 2002. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station On March 15, 2002, the NRC staff issued an Order approving the transfer of operating authority under Facility Operating License and transfer of Materials License for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from Entergy Nuclear Generation Company to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Incorporated. The conforming amendments to the Facility Operating License and Materials License will be issued when the staff is notified that all transfer approvals have been completed by the licensee. Public Workshop on Extended Power Uprate Lessons Learned In SECY 01-0124, the NRC staff indicated its intent to hold a public workshop on extended power uprate lessons learned following completion of the first few extended power uprate reviews. The staff held this public workshop on March 19, 2002. The purpose of the workshop was to share and discuss lessons learned from recent extended power uprate applications and obtain feedback on issues that should be pursued by the staff in process improvement efforts related to extended power uprates. Ninety one attendees participated in the workshop. Attendees also included representatives from licensees, nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) vendors, architectural engineering firms, the press, other engineering firms involved in power uprate work, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and NRC staff. The workshop included presentations on NRC and vendor programs related to power uprates, as well as, licensee and NRC experience and lessons learned from recent extended power uprate work. Presentations were made by NRC staff, General Electric, Exelon (Re: Dresden and Quad Cities recent experience), NMC (Re: Duane Arnold Energy Center recent experience), Westinghouse, Entergy (Re: Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2 recent experience), and Framatome. In addition to presentations, the workshop included breakout sessions during which the attendees were divided into groups to identify areas in extended power uprate processes that could be improved and provide ideas on how to improve these areas. The staff believes the workshop was beneficial for focusing its next steps in the area of power uprate process improvements. Participants provided good and candid feedback that the staff will consider in its evaluation of the benefits of developing an SRP and in the development of an effectiveness and efficiency plan for power uprates.
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Department of Energy External Regulation Meeting On March 19, 2002, members of the NRC Liaison Team participated
in a meeting of the Department of Energy (DOE
Pre-Application Meeting with Louisiana Energy Services On March 19, 2002, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards staff met with staff from the Louisiana Energy Services (LES) partnership (Urenco, Exelon, Duke Energy, and Entergy) to discuss LES plans to submit a license application for a 3-million Separative Work Unit uranium enrichment facility. LES intends to build the plant on an existing, still undetermined, nuclear facility site. LES staff indicated that it is planning to submit a license application in the fourth quarter of 2002. LES wants a short and predictable licensing process with a goal of receiving a license by the third quarter of 2004. LES staff also said it wants to begin production by 2006. LES staff indicated that it would like to have pre-application meetings beginning in April 2002, on environmental review issues, codes and standards, security, handling restricted data, plant control systems, conduct of operations, site characterization, and quality assurance. Meeting to Draft a Safety Requirements for Fuel Cycle Facilities From March 11-15, 2002, an individual from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards participated in a 5-day working-level consultant's meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, to develop DS 316, "Safety of Fuel Cycle and Isotope Production Facilities," for submittal to the IAEA's nuclear safety committee (NUSC) for review. DS 316 contains siting; design; construction; commissioning; operation; and decommissioning requirements for facilities that conduct uranium mining and milling; UF6 conversion; uranium enrichment; reactor fuel fabrication, including mixed-oxide fuel fabrication; spent reactor fuel reprocessing; and radioactive waste treatment and storage. Nuclear reactors and radioactive waste disposal facilities are excluded. Once finalized, a fuel cycle facility operator/designer or a country may use this document to establish or strengthen its safety requirements for designing and operating fuel cycle facilities. If requested, an IAEA safety review team may also use DS 316 to inspect and evaluate fuel cycle facilities. At the meeting, there were five other participants from the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. Another meeting to address any comments from NUSC and to develop DS 316 further is being contemplated for this summer. Trojan Potential Enforcement Action On March 13, 2002, the NRC notified Portland General Electric (PGE) of two apparent violations involving PGE's license to operate an independent spent fuel storage installation at Trojan Nuclear Plant (Trojan). The apparent violations are the result of PGE's failure to oversee its cask vendor properly in the design and fabrication of casks. This resulted in PGE beginning to load casks that did not meet the NRC-approved 10 CFR Part 72 license. NRC is giving PGE the opportunity either to respond in writing to the apparent violations or to request a pre-decisional enforcement conference. Meeting on Guidance for 10 CFR Part 35, "Medical Use of Byproduct Material" On March 13, 2002, a planning meeting was held at the NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. Six representatives of groups in the regulated community met to help plan future public meetings, on revisions to licensing guidance being undertaken in support of the revision of 10 CFR Part 35. A radiopharmacist joined 11 internal stakeholders as observers; they also had the opportunity to comment during the proceedings. Francis Cameron of the Office of the General Counsel facilitated the meeting. Mr. Cameron is working with Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety staff to plan public meetings for April, on licensing guidance, and a public meeting for late May, on inspection guidance. Final Rule: "List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-MPC Revision" On March 15, 2002, a direct final rule entitled "List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-MPC Revision" was published in the Federal Register (67 FR 11566). The direct final rule is to amend 10 CFR Part 72 by revising the listing for NAC-MPC casks in 10 CFR 72.214 to include Amendment No. 2 to the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1025. Amendment 2 will allow for modification of the design of the cask system, to accommodate a new type of fuel. The MPC system component modifications include increased length of the fuel basket and canister, transfer cask, and vertical concrete cask. Changes also include a redesigned fuel basket to accommodate 26 fuel assemblies, with an alternate 24-fuel assembly configuration and increased transfer cask radial shielding. The CoC has been revised in its entirety to include a reference to the new type of fuel and a revised format. The Technical Specifications (TS') also have been revised in their entirety to include specifications for the new type of fuel, new operational limits, and to incorporate a revised format for the TS'. The direct final rule will be effective on May 29, 2002, unless significant adverse comments are received by April 15, 2002. Staff Met with the Department of Energy on Resolving Issues Associated with Thermal-Mechanical Effects at Yucca Mountain, Nevada On March 12-13, 2002, staff from the Division of Waste Management
and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (Center) took part
in a meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE
Training Workshop on RESRAD-RECYCLE On March 15, 2002, staff from the Division of Waste Management coordinated the first training workshop on the RESRAD-RECYCLE code. Argonne National Laboratory, the code's developer, provided hands-on training to over 20 participants from different NRC offices and the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management (EM) at this workshop. DOE plans to use RESRAD-RECYCLE for dose assessments in its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on the disposition of scrap metal, which is currently under development by EM staff. Also discussed in the workshop were the results of an international validation study of the RESRAD-RECYLE code at a Swedish metals processing facility. Meeting with United Kingdom Officials on Reactor Decommissioning On March 7-8, 2002, staff from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards met with representatives of the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate (NII), the Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD), and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the United Kingdom (UK). NSD is the independent government regulator for the nuclear power program in the UK. NII conducts the facility inspections for NSD. NII is interested in the U.S. approach to decommissioning nuclear reactor facilities and disposal of radioactive waste, and applicability to UK facilities. The UK criterion for license termination is "No Danger," and there are no disposal facilities for "intermediate level waste," that is defined as greater than 12 MBq/m3. Licensees are currently proposing a SAFESTOR-type approach for about 85 years, to allow radioactive decay to reduce both potential worker exposure and waste volume and activity. Staff explained the current reactor decommissioning process, including shutdown, post-shutdown activities report, and license termination plan. Staff also noted that an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on reactor entombment has been issued. Staff Participates in Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum Meeting On March 11-12, 2002, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
staff participated in a meeting of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum
in Charleston, South Carolina. Other participants in the meeting, in addition
to State and Compact officials, included the low-level waste (LLW) disposal
site operators; the General Accounting Office
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Meeting of Federal Response Subcommittee On March 21, 2002, staff from Incident Response Operations attended a meeting of the Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee, Federal Response Subcommittee (FRS). The purpose of the FRS meeting was to discuss changes to the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP). Changes recommended by the staff included: 1) clarifying the responsibilities during a terrorist event; 2) adding one-voice communications information to the foreign-event section; 3) distinguish the NRC's responsibilities as the Lead Federal Agency for on-site and off-site response; 4) make clear what assets identified in the FRERP can be deployed without the need for a Stafford-Act declaration, and what require such a declaration. All the FRS agencies agreed with the staff's recommendations. Other recommended changes covered topics like: 1) tying the FRERP closer to the format of the Federal Response Plan (FRP), adopting FRP terminology, and having a crosswalk matrix; 2) define the planning basis for the FRERP, i.e. is it just an accident, or does it include a terrorist's threat; and 3) clarify the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in responding to a terrorist's event. The FEMA representative present agreed to develop a proposed outline as the next step in the process. Preliminary Notifications 1. PNO-III-02-006A, FirstEnergy Corporation (Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant), SIGNIFICANT METAL LOSS IN REACTOR VESSEL HEAD (UPDATE). 2. PNO-III-02-007, Southeast Missouri State University, AMERICIUM-241 CONTAMINATION. 3. PNO-III-02-008, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, REPORTED MISADMINISTRATION. 4. PNO-III-02-009, Fort Knox Army Base, UNPLANNED CONTAMINATION EVENT AND LOST/MISSING HYDROGEN-3 SIGHTING DEVICE. 5. PNO-IV-02-015, Otis Air National Guard Base, DEVICE CONTAINING LICENSED MATERIAL FOUND. 6. PNO-IV-02-015A, Otis Air National Guard Base, UPDATE - DEVICE CONTAINING LICENSED MATERIAL FOUND.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Incorporation by Reference of ASME BPV and OM Code Cases (Part 50) A proposed rule that would amend the regulations that incorporate by reference certain American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Cases was published in the Federal Register on March 19, 2002 (67 FR 12488). The proposed rule would provide alternatives to the requirements in the Boiler Pressure Vessel Code and the Operation and Maintenance Code that the NRC has reviewed and found acceptable. The comment period on this action closes June 3, 2002.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 General License Tracking System (GLTS Version 2) Implementation General License Tracking System (GLTS Version 2) was successfully implemented on March 7, 2002. GLTS Version 2 was designed to provide functionality critical to the progress of NMSS programs that provide oversight for general licensed nuclear devices. GLTS Version 2 supports implementation of a registration program for general licensees. Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of March 15, 2002 through March 21, 2002:
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Small Business Program Mauricio Vera, Small Business Program Manager, SBCR participated in a meeting of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Directors Inter-Agency Council,which featured as guest speaker, Angela Styles, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Styles reiterated many of the points expressed by President Bush in a March 19 speech at the Women's Entrepreneurship Summit. The Administration believes that procurement reforms enacted over the past several years have not focused on the adverse impact to small businesses. A major concern is contract bundling, and the President made a commitment to address this issue and discourage agencies from consolidating contracts. While bundling may save funds by gaining operational efficiencies, these gains are more than offset by losses in competitive efficiencies. Agency accountability in contracting with small businesses will be a priority with this Administration.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Media Interest There was interest in two NRC meetings and a generic bulletin regarding reactor pressure vessel head degradation at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant. New Jersey's request for potassium iodide pills was widely reported. An public meeting in White Plains, N.Y. on the future of Indian Point 2 drew hundreds of participants.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Japanese Visit to NRC On March 25, 2002, six regulators from Japan (two from the Nuclear Safety Commission, and four from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) will participate in orientation and training for an emergency drill at Arkansas One Nuclear Power Plant. During the drill on March 27, two Japanese observers will be at the Incident Response Center, two will be at the Region IV Operations Center, and two will observe at the Arkansas site. The Japanese are attending the drill in response to an invitation extended by Chairman Meserve when he visited Japan in April 2000.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002
Federal Register Notices Issued 1. Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes Renewal Notice, dated March 20, 2002. 2. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures Notice of Meeting, dated March 18, 2002. 3. ACRS Joint Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittees on Materials and Metallurgy and on Plant operations Notice of Meeting, dated March 18, 2002 4. ACRS Meeting of the Subcommittee on Reactor Fuels Notice of Meeting, dated March 18, 2002. 5. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena Notice of Meeting, dated March 14, 2002.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Calvert Cliffs Commissioner Nils Diaz visited Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (CCNPPI) on March 18, 2002. Commissioner Diaz was joined by Deputy Director, DRP, Region I. Besides discussions with CCNPPI managers and staff, Commissioner Diaz toured the facility, including the Unit 1 containment building, where the licensee was making the final preparations for girth cuts to remove the steam generator steam drums. Indian Point 2 Chairman Meserve and Region I Administrator along with representatives from FEMA, met on March 19, 2002 with Congressional Representatives Kelly and Gilman to discuss Indian Point Emergency Preparedness, security and plant performance. Representatives Kelly and Gilman requested both Agencies to continue with their reviews of emergency preparedness and responses to inquiries from constituents about the adequacy of evacuation plans. Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee Meeting A meeting of the Connecticut State Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee was held on the evening of March 21, 2002, at the Waterford (CT) Town Hall. NRC staff made separate presentations addressing implementation of the Reactor Oversight Process and describing the final inspection report of the Special Team Inspection of the investigation into the Millstone 1 missing spent fuel pins. Following each presentation, staff also answered questions from members of the committee and the public regarding the Millstone plant performance and the NRC's inspection of the missing fuel investigation performed by the members. Approximately 10 people, including media representatives, were in attendance at the meeting, which lasted approximately two hours.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002 Duke Energy Corporation - License Renewal Inspection On March 18-22, 2002, Region II completed the inspection of the licensee's program to determine whether the systems, structures, and components are adequately scoped in the licensee's application for license renewal for the Catawba and McGuire nuclear power facilities. The Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Projects was at the Duke Energy Corporate offices in Charlotte, NC to attend the public exit meeting, which was held on March 22. Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings During the week of March 18-22, 2002, Region II Branch Chiefs in the Division of Reactor Projects held the ROP Annual Assessment meetings for the Browns Ferry, Sequoyah, St. Lucie, Turkey Point, N. Anna, Surry, Vogtle, Catawba, and McGuire nuclear plants. The meetings were held at or near the nuclear plants and were open to the public. There was coverage by a local television station in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Sequoyah meeting and significant media and public attendance at the Browns Ferry meeting. Integrated Material Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) Review A team consisting of representatives from the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and a representative from the State of Arkansas conducted an IMPEP review of the Region II materials licensing and inspection and State liaison programs. The exit meeting was held on March 22 and was attended by the Regional Administrator and the Director of the Division of Medical and Nuclear Safety, NMSS. Duke Energy - Oconee Nuclear Station On March 21, 2002, a team of individuals from Region II and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation completed a special inspection at the licensee's Oconee nuclear station. The team's purpose was outlined in a charter, issued on March 18, by the Regional Administrator. In summary, the team was to inspect and assess the licensee's actions to follow up on a degraded condition for the licensee's standby shutdown facility as reported by the licensee on March 7, 2002. Region IV Waterford 3 End-of-Cycle Meeting On March 20, 2002, Region IV conducted the end-of-cycle meeting for Entergy's Waterford 3 facility. Of the approximately 20 people in attendance, only one was a member of the general public. Other than that individual, the attendees were members of the licensee's staff and state and local officials. There was no media interest in the meeting.
Items of Interest Week Ending March 22, 2002
Note: The House of Representatives is in recess until April 9. The Senate is in recess until April 8.
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