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INFORMATION REPORT

SECY-00-0175

August 18, 2000

Contact:  D. Diec, OEDO

WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING AUGUST 11, 2000

The Weekly Information Report is compiled by the Office of the EDO and includes highlights of Headquarters and Regional Office activities.

Contact: D. Diec, OEDO by E-mail: dtd@nrc.gov.

ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Indian Point Unit 2

On August 8, 2000, Consolidated Edison Company of New York (ConEd) announced its decision to immediately enter the steam generator replacement outage at Indian Point Unit 2 rather than pursue a short period of operation prior to the scheduled replacement. Prior to this announcement, ConEd had been planning to start the outage in mid-September. At this time ConEd has not issued a revised schedule for the replacement activities. However, the full core off-load is currently planned to begin in a few days.

The meeting between the staff and ConEd to discuss the licensee's recovery plan after being designated as an "agency focus" plant has been tentatively scheduled for September 11, 2000, at the site.

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant - Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Decision on Late-Filed Environmental Contentions

On August 8, 2000, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) issued their decisions in the hearing related to CP&L's request to expand the spent fuel storage capacity at the Harris Nuclear Plant by placing two additional spent fuel pools (SFPs) in service. The four late-filed admitted contentions were related to issues concerning the purported need for the NRC staff to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the requested license amendment.

In one of its decisions, the ASLB concluded that the accident scenario presented by the interveners (Board of Commissioners of Orange County (BCOC) North Carolina) "should not be dismissed automatically as per se 'remote and speculative' " and found the BCOC information warrants further inquiry and admitted it for litigation. The accident scenario involves a core accident, containment failure/bypass and a loss of spent fuel pool cooling. Written summaries must be filed by November 20, 2000 and the ASLB will establish a date and location for conducting oral argument subsequently.

The ASLB did, however, dismiss three other contentions. Two contentions, which concerned the scope of an EIS, were dismissed as premature given that there is still an outstanding question whether the staff correctly concluded in its Environmental Assessment (EA) that no EIS is required. The other contention, which concerned the need for a discretionary EIS, was dismissed because the ASLB found no reason to require an EIS if one is not required by the rules (i.e., 10 CFR Part 51).

ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board Meeting

On August 1-2, 2000, staff from the Division of Waste Management and the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses attended the summer meeting of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in Carson City, Nevada. The primary focus of the meeting was to review the current status of the Department of Energy's (DOE 's) total system performance assessment (TSPA) of the Yucca Mountain site. The DOE staff and its contractors made eleven presentations concerning the TSPA models, assumptions, and results. Contractors for the state of Nevada made a presentation on their research into the behavior of DOE's current waste package material (i.e., alloy 22).

Cumulative Environmental Impact Initiative

On August 1-3, 2000, the Division of Waste Management (DWM) hosted Cumulative Effects Assessment Training. The training was taught by Professors Larry Canter and Sam Atkinson, renowned practitioners in environmental impact analyses. Staff from DWM, the Spent Fuel Project Office, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, and the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety attended the course. Also present were staffs from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses. Cumulative effects assessment is the analysis of impacts from a proposed action, combined with impacts from other facilities or actions in the vicinity during the time period of interest. Application of the principles from the course should improve public confidence in the implementation of that portion of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's mission related to protection of the environment.

Discharge Exceeded License Limits

Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) reported discharge of liquid effluents in May 2000 to the Nolichucky River that apparently exceeded license limits, which are the concentration limits in 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B. Although the concentration limits may have been exceeded, preliminary calculations by the licensee and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff show that maximum dose to the public, is less than 1/100 of the public dose limit in Part 20. NFS routinely monitors discharges for gross alpha and gross beta concentrations on a batch basis, then performs an isotopic analysis on a monthly composite sample. The monthly composite sample appeared to have been exceeded NFS' license limits, although all the daily samples were within the limits. NRC Region II and the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards are performing a Special Team Inspection this week to audit NFS' sampling and analysis procedures, and the licensee's root cause analysis. Final conclusions on the discharge will be forthcoming from the inspection team and NFS. In the meantime, NFS has requested an amendment of its license to use the dose limits in 10 CFR Part 20.1302(b)(1) as discharge limits, rather than the current concentration-based limits in Part 20.1302(b)(2).

Fuel Cycle Counterpart Meeting

On August 8-9, 2000, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards conducted a Fuel Cycle Counterpart Meeting at Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters. The meeting was attended primarily by management from Region II, Region III, Region IV, and Headquarters. The meeting included eighteen separate topics, which were determined by polling the participants prior to the meeting. The topics included the status and plans for the Fuel Cycle Oversight process revisions, the new 10 CFR Part 70, Inspector Objectivity, Fuel Cycle core inspection requirements, the impact of self-study courses on new inspector qualification, and empowerment initiatives. Nineteen Action Items were identified as a result of the meeting. Ownership of the Action Items is shared by Headquarters and the Regions. A follow-up counterpart meeting at the staff level is being planned for Fiscal Year 2001.

Information Notice 2000-11, "Licensee Responsibility for Quality Assurance Oversight of Contractor Activities Regarding Fabrication and Use of Spent Fuel Storage Cask Systems"

On August 7, 2000, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Information Notice (IN) 2000-11, "Licensee Responsibility for Quality Assurance Oversight of Contractor Activities Regarding Fabrication and Use of Spent Fuel Storage Cask Systems." The IN was jointly signed by the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The purpose of the IN is to remind general and site specific licensees of their responsibilities to assure that the quality assurance requirements of 10 CFR Part 72, Subpart G have been met before a dry cask storage system is placed in service at their facilities. This notice cites examples of inadequate implementation of quality assurance programs identified in recent NRC inspections.

Meeting Regarding Shipments of Irradiated Fuel from Oak Ridge National Laboratory

On August 9, 2000, Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with the Department of Energy (DOE ) regarding its plans for a series of shipments from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. DOE is planning to modify the Model No. TN-FSV cask (Certificate of Compliance No. 9253) for shipment of various irradiated fuel elements and fuel parts. The modification consists of a new inner containment vessel and fuel basket. The shipments will begin in late 2001. DOE plans to submit an application for approval of the modification in September 2000.

Meeting Regarding Shipments to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

On August 9, 2000, Spent Fuel Project Office staff met with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to discuss transport of defense wastes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The discussion centered on use of the TRUPACT-II package and the ATMX railcar for the transport of defense wastes currently located at DOE facilities. The TRUPACT-II package is certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and meets package performance standards in 10 CFR Part 71. The ATMX railcar is authorized for shipments between various DOE sites by an exemption issued by the DOT. DOE is required to use NRC-certified packages for all shipments to and from WIPP. The agencies agreed to meet periodically to discuss issues related to the transport of transuranic wastes to WIPP.

ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Research Symposium on Conceptual Model and Parameter Uncertainty

On July 25-26th, the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) held a research symposium on ground-water conceptual model and parameter uncertainty. The symposium was open to the public and the Office of State and Tribal Programs (STP) had notified all Agreement States of the symposium. The featured speakers include RES contractors from the University of Arizona (UAZ) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), who are developing the methodologies for systematically identifying and quantifying uncertainties. A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrogeologist presented work on uncertainty related to physical processes involved in reconciling conceptualizations of tritium transport with field observations at the Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nevada. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientists discussed approaches to estimating infiltration and ground-water recharge using "real-time" datasets, and a Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA) scientist discussed the integration of geographical information systems with surface runoff and infiltration modeling at the watershed scale for the Yucca Mountain site. The symposium attendees were from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, the State of Illinois, DOE's Yucca Mountain Project, EPA , DOE, national laboratories, USGS, ARS, National Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and NRC.

During the symposium, roundtable discussions focused on questions developed jointly by the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and RES staff to explore the tools available for conducting uncertainty analyses, as well as the beneficial use of such tools in performance assessments of compliance with licensing requirements. Several participants asserted that methods are presently available, and their testing on real site data should be pursued. The presentations and roundtable discussions also identified significant datasets, along with technical references and sources (e.g., web sites) related to conceptual model and parameter uncertainty, that can be used by the UAZ and PNNL investigators to support and test their methodologies. A transcript of the symposium proceedings and viewgraphs presented will be placed in NRC's public document room.

Final Working Meeting on PIRTs for High-Burnup Fuel

RES held the final working meeting to develop Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRTs) for high-burnup (HBU) fuel at NRC headquarters on July 25-27, 2000. A separate PIRT on the applicability of NUREG-1465 source term to HBU and MOX fuel will be issued later. PIRTs are used to provide a structured way to understand certain technical issues. The three high-burnup issues, identified in a Commission memorandum of July 6, 1998 and addressed by this series of PIRT meetings, are PWR rod- ejection accidents, BWR power oscillations without scram, and loss-of-coolant accidents for PWRs and BWRs. Specific research plans for resolving the issues are being developed by the staff in parallel with the PIRT discussions.

Draft PIRT documents for the first two issues can be viewed on www.nrc.gov/RES/PIRT. The third document is being prepared and will be posted on the web site in September 2000. PIRT panel members will meet again on October 26-27, following the Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting, for a final discussion of the draft documents. RES plans to issue a three-volume NUREG/CR report documents in December 2000. The related research plans will be developed on a separate track.

Presentation on Two-Phase Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Techniques

Professor Samim Anghaie from the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Department of the University of Florida visited the NRC on July 26, 2000 to discuss his two-phase CFD technique. Professor Anghaie currently is working with RES to develop two-phase interface tracking techniques within the field of CFD for use in nuclear applications. The presentation provided an overview of available commercial CFD tools and associated limitations, as well as the benefits of this new research. Professor Anghaie's technique tracks bubble growth from heated surfaces and includes mass, momentum, and energy transfer across the interface. This technique will provide RES with a better understanding of the details of heat transfer with phase change that can be of important in many light-water reactor applications.

Contract with Framatome Technologies, Inc.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NRC and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the NRC has entered into a contract with Framatome Technologies, Inc., (FTI) to obtain samples from reactor vessel components at two BWRs.

Environmentally assisted cracking has been detected at various BWR and PWR facilities during examination of core internals fabricated from stainless steel and high nickel alloys. A concern has been raised with regard to weld repair of highly irradiated core internals because of the potential for the helium in the steel to contaminate the weld that could further reducing the component's integrity. The concentration of helium in domestic components is not known. FTI will be extracting samples from Hatch in October 2000. Sample extraction at Duane Arnold is scheduled for March 2001. The metallic samples will be shipped to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where the concentration of helium in these components will be determined.

There are international efforts to study modified welding techniques of components with moderate and high concentrations of helium. The applicability of these techniques can be determined once the concentration of helium is known for domestic facilities.

Semi-annual SDO Coordination Meeting

On July 27, 2000, the NRC hosted one of the semi-annual coordination meetings with standards developing organizations (SDOs) that develop standards endorsed by the NRC. The purpose of the meeting was to foster a better communication between SDOs and the NRC regarding standards development and use, and to discuss policy related issues.

In addition to NRC staff, SDOs in attendance included: American Nuclear Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Testing and Materials, Health Physics Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Department of Energy, and Florida Power and Light were also in attendance.

The NRC staff made presentations on the following (1) the use by industry of voluntary initiatives in the regulatory process, (2) the Risk Informing by NRC of Part 50 of the Federal Regulations, (3) the National Materials Program, (4) the use of standards in the licensing of independent spent fuel storage installations, and (5) the NRC Performance Budgeting and Planning Management Process. The staff emphasized that it was prudent to utilize its shrinking resources on development and use of standards that support NRC strategic goals of maintaining safety, reducing unnecessary burden, making activities more effective and efficient, and increasing public confidence.

SDO presentations emphasized nuclear related standards already published or being developed. SDOs extended its invitation to the NRC to actively participate in standards developments.

ENCLOSURE D

Incident Response Operations
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-00-022, Private Residence, RADIOACTIVE SOURCES IDENTIFIED AT A PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN NEW JERSEY.

ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Atlantic City Electric Company, et al.; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-64)

A document that denied a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Atlantic City Electric Company, et al. (PRM-50-64) was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2000 (65 FR 46661). The petitioners requested that the enforcement provisions of NRC's regulations be amended to clarify NRC policy regarding the potential liability of joint owners if other joint owners become financially incapable of bearing their share of the burden for safe operation or decommissioning of a nuclear power plant. The petition was denied because it is not the NRC's intent to impose responsibilities for operating or decommissioning costs under NRC regulatory requirements on co-owners in a manner inconsistent with NRC ownership agreements. Also the petition would not improve NRC's regulatory process and maintain the same level of protection of public health and safety currently provided.

Medical Use of Byproduct Material; Policy Statement, Revision

A document revising the Commission's policy statement on the medical use of byproduct material was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2000 (65 FR 47654). The revisions of the policy statement is one component of the Commission's overall program for revising its regulatory framework for medical use. The overall goals of this program are to focus NRC regulation of medical use on those medical procedures that pose the highest risk and to structure its regulations to be risk-informed and performance-based. The revised policy statement became effective August 3, 2000.

ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the 5-Day Period of August 4, 2000 through August 10, 2000:

ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

*Effective 08/04/00

ENCLOSURE J

Office of Small Business & Civil Rights
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Director's Interagency Council Meeting

On August 10, 2000, the director and acting small business program manager of the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) attended the monthly OSDBU Directors' Interagency Council Meeting in Washington, DC. Highlights of the meeting included discussions on (1) establishment of agency small business goals by 9/1/00; (2) reporting to FPDS using new North American Industry Classification standards (NAICs); (3) HUBZone procurement training for procurement officials; (4) presentations by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) on its upcoming annual conference; and presentations by various other agencies on various small business outreach programs. Handouts were provided of bills recently introduced in Congress including (1) Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 2000 (Procurement Program for Women Small Business Concerns); (2) Small Business Contract Equity Act of 2000 (Anti Bundling Procedures); (3) Small Business Competition Preservation Act of 2000 (Database, analysis and annual report with respect to bundled contracts); and (4) Small Business Federal Acquisition Simplification Act of 2000 (Procurements using Government wide Commercial Purchase Cards).

ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Media Interest

Region I received press interest in the planned steam generator replacement at IP-2.

ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Taiwan Representatives

On Thursday, August 10, 2000, Dr. James Lee, Taiwan EPA, accompanied by Dr. Thomas Tseng, TECRO-Washington, met with the NRR staff to discuss power reactor decommissioning. The Taiwan EPA is creating a study group to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment on plant decommissioning. The Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), Taiwan's sole power utility, currently operates six LWRs. The first unit began commercial operation in December 1978. Dr. Lee will also meet with EPA.

ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress, dated August 2, 2000, provides the June monthly report on the status of the NRC's licensing and regulatory duties.
   
   
2. Letter to Representative Cynthia A. McKinney, dated July 31, 2000, concerns the license renewal application for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. 10 CFR Parts 30 and 61 [Docket No. PRM-30-64]; Charles T. Gallagher, Gammatron, Inc.; Notice of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking.

ENCLOSURE P

Region I
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, RI, with State of New Jersey

NRC Region I met on August 9, 2000, with representatives of the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Nuclear Engineering to discuss topics of mutual interest. This informational exchange was a continuation of annual meetings with the state. Key topics for this year's meeting were NJ Cleanup Standards, Agreement State Status, NRC program for General Licensed Devices, the New NRC Oversight Program, NJ performance indicators, and current plant issues at Salem, Hope Creek and Oyster Creek. The meeting was a useful exchange of information and resulted in followup items that will facilitate the Region's continued close communication with the State of New Jersey.

Heritage Minerals (NJ)

RI conducted an inspection of the Heritage Minerals (NJ) site on August 8, 2000. The site is listed on NRC's Site Decommissioning Management Plan. The plant manager discussed the licensee's readiness to begin decommissioning activities. A review of five contract proposals to perform site remediation, including preparing the 1600 tons of monazite sand for shipment and processing, was nearly complete. A recommendation will be made to the site owner for final approval. Work is expected to begin soon after the contract is awarded, and optimistically be completed by the end of CY 2000.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Stakeholder Meeting for GSA Property in Watertown, MA

On August 8, 2000, the Region I DNMS project manager for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA ) property in Watertown, Massachusetts, participated in the first stakeholder meeting conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) regarding resolution of the remaining characterization and remediation issues for the GSA Property. This 12-acre site, presently owned by the GSA, is an NRC Site Decommissioning Management Plan site that was part of the former Army Watertown Arsenal until 1968. The purposes of the meeting were to discuss the Corps' proposal to develop site-specific Derived Concentration Guideline Levels by March 2001, and to gain input from the stakeholders regarding the Corps' technical project planning process. A series of meetings has been requested by the Corps to discuss with regulatory and government representatives the Corps' revised approach for demonstrating that the site meets the License Termination Rule dose-based criteria. The next meeting on the site specific parameters is being planned for the Fall.

NRC/ORISE In-Process Survey at Maine Yankee

During the week of August 7, 2000, NRC/ORISE conducted the first "in-process" evaluation/inspection of Maine Yankee's final status survey program. The inspection was performed to evaluate Maine Yankee's historical site survey, identification of contaminants and development of derived concentration guide lines (DCGLs), area classification, final status survey procedures and instrumentation, analytical procedures, QA/QC and data management. No confirmatory measurements were obtained. During the inspection, Maine Yankee was in the process of using its final status survey program to release an area of approximately 29,000 square meters located outside of the plant gate for a planned construction of an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). Also during the inspection, a one-hour meeting was held with a member of the local Community Advisory Panel to discuss the NRC/ORISE inspection effort.

ENCLOSURE P

Region II
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Carolina Power and Light Company - Harris Public Meeting

On August 8, 2000, representatives from Carolina Power and Light Company attended a Plant Performance meeting in the Regional office. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant performance.

Duke Energy, Inc., Annual Government Training Program

On August 7-8, 2000, the Regional State Liaison Officer, accompanied by representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IV, participated in the Annual Government Training Program, sponsored by Duke Energy, Inc., in Rock Hill, SC.

Approximately seventy persons were in attendance, which included officials of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and the applicable local governments located within the Ten Mile EPZs of Duke's McGuire, Catawba, and Oconee facilities, respectively.

This annual program provides an excellent forum for exchanging information, and allows for both the industry and Federal perspective on current events and emergency preparedness trends.

Fuel Facilities Counterpart Meeting in Headquarters

On August 9-10, 2000, the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety and the Chief, Fuel Facilities Branch participated in a Fuel Facilities Counterpart meeting in Headquarters. As a result of the meeting, several actions were developed to improve the implementation of fuel facility licensing and inspection programs.

Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. - Special Inspection Exit

On August 11, 2000, the special inspection team conducted the exit meeting for a special inspection to review the indications of a release in May 2000, of elevated concentrations of uranium to the Nolichucky River. The team concluded that the sample showing elevated levels of uranium was not representative of actual releases. The team identified several issues related to sampling handling and control. After the exit meeting, the team met with representatives of the press to discuss inspection results.

Office of Investigations Field Office Review

On August 8-9, 2000, the Administrative Officer, Region I Field Office Director and selected staff were in the Region II office to conduct an Office of Investigation Field Office review and met with the Regional Administrator, Regional Counsel and Enforcement Officer.

ENCLOSURE P

Region III
Items of Interest
Week Ending August 11, 2000

Region III Issues Letter Concerning Southeast Missouri State University Overexposure

Region III issued a letter on August 8 acknowledging that Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, had fulfilled its commitments outlined in a June 22 Confirmatory Action Letter. The commitments pertained to both short- and long-term corrective actions regarding the discovery of contamination in various locations in one of the university's science buildings. Region III also is reviewing the university's remediation plan which was submitted to the region this week.