United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 98-38 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Tuesday, March 17, 1998)

NRC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS

TO MEET IN ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, APRIL 2-4

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards (ACRS) has scheduled a technical meeting April 2-4 in Rockville, Maryland.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in Conference Room 2B3

in the NRC's Two White Flint North Building at 11545 Rockville Pike.

Although meetings of the ACRS are open, they are not part of the NRC's public

hearing process. The ACRS, an advisory group to the Commission, conducts

independent, highly technical reviews of safety considerations related to nuclear

facilities. While anyone may attend, the committee will consider only oral or written

statements arranged in advance and limited to specific matters set forth in a Notice of

Meeting published in an upcoming edition of the Federal Register.

The meeting may include closed sessions, if required, to discuss proprietary or

personnel information.

Here is the complete meeting agenda:

THURSDAY, APRIL 2

8:30 to 8:35 a.m. -- Opening remarks by ACRS chairman.

8:45 to 9:45 a.m. -- Presentations by and discussions with NRC staff on

performance-based regulation and related matters.

10:00 to 11:00 a.m. -- Discussions with representatives of the Westinghouse

Electric Co. and NRC staff on AP600 design.

11:00 to 12:00 noon -- Preparation for meeting with NRC commissioners,

discussions with NRC staff on improvements to the senior management meeting
process, proposed revision to 10 CFR 50.59 process, risk-informed, performancebased regulation, use of Probabilistic risk assessment, status of AP 600 review, NRC

safety research program, fire protection, shutdown and low-power operation and license

renewal.

1:00 to 2:30 p.m. -- Meeting with NRC commissioners.

2:45 to 4:00 p.m. -- Discussion with NRC staff on updated source term for

operating plants.

4:00 to 7:00 p.m. -- Preparation of ACRS reports.

FRIDAY, APRIL 3

8:35 to 10:00 a.m. -- Discussion with NRC staff on elevation of core damage

frequency to a fundamental safety goal and possible revision to the safety goal policy

statement.

10:15 to 11:15 a.m. -- Proposed final review plan section and regulatory guide

for risk-informed, performance-based inservice inspection.

11:15 to 11:30 a.m. -- Reconciliation of ACRS comments and

recommendations.

11:30 to 12:00 noon -- Future ACRS activities.

1:00 to 2:00 p.m. -- ACRS members will discuss the continued need for the

Nuclear Safety Research Review committee and hear from former committee

members.

2:00 to 3:15 p.m. -- Discussion with NRC staff of loss of shutdown cooling event

at the River Bend Station.

3:30 to 5:00 p.m. -- Discussion with the Acting Deputy Executive Director for

Regulatory Effectiveness, Program Oversight, Investigations and Enforcement of

SECY-97-225, on enhancing NRC effectiveness.

5:15 to 7:00 p.m. -- Preparation of ACRS reports.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4

8:30 to 9:00 a.m. -- Report of the Planning & Procedures Subcommittee.

9:00 to 3:00 p.m. -- Preparation of ACRS reports.
3:00 to 3:30 p.m. -- Miscellaneous.

Persons wishing to submit statements on any of these topics may do so by

providing a readily reproducible copy to the committee or by mailing it to the Executive

Director, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.

(ACRS meeting schedules are subject to change. Anyone planning to attend

should confirm the schedule the day before the meeting by calling (301) 415-5024.

ACRS meeting notices, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are now available

on the Internet at www.nrc.gov/ACRSACNW.

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