INFORMATION REPORT

April 19, 2002 SECY-02-0069

For: The Commissioners

From: John W. Craig, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-02-0069 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING APRIL 12, 2002

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C

Nuclear Security and Incident Response D

General Counsel E*

Administration F

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H

Human Resources I

Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State and Tribal Programs L*

Public Affairs M

International Programs N

Office of the Secretary O

Region I P*

Region II P

Region III P*

Region IV P

Executive Director for Operations Q*

Congressional Affairs R

*No input this week.

/RA/

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

H. Nieh, OEDO
April 19, 2002 SECY-02-0069

For: The Commissioners

From: John W. Craig, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-02-0069 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING APRIL 12, 2002

Contents Enclosure

Nuclear Reactor Regulation A

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards B

Nuclear Regulatory Research C

Nuclear Security and Incident Response D

General Counsel E*

Administration F

Chief Information Officer G

Chief Financial Officer H

Human Resources I

Small Business & Civil Rights J*

Enforcement K*

State and Tribal Programs L*

Public Affairs M

International Programs N

Office of the Secretary O

Region I P*

Region II P

Region III P*

Region IV P

Executive Director for Operations Q*

Congressional Affairs R

*No input this week.

/RA/

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

H. Nieh, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\WEEK412.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

HNieh:paa JWCraig

04/19/02 04/22/02
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING APRIL 12, 2002

The Weekly Information Report is compiled by the Office of the EDO and includes highlights of

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: H. Nieh, OEDO by E-mail: hkn@nrc.gov. 

Use GO TO (Ctrl+Home) to advance to the page number for a specific Office.

PgDn and PgUp can also be used to advance through the text.

OFFICE Page OFFICE Page

NRR 2 STP *

NMSS 4 OPA 17

RES 8 IP 18

NSIR 9 SECY 19

OGC * Region I *

ADM 10 Region II 21

CIO 11 Region III *

CFO 12 Region IV 23

HR 15 OEDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

NRC Information Notice 2002-13: Possible Indicators of Ongoing Reactor Pressure Vessel

Head Degradation dated April 4, 2002

The NRC is issuing this information notice on recent Davis-Besse experience to alert

addressees to possible indicators of reactor coolant pressure boundary degradation including

degradation of the reactor pressure vessel head material.

NRC Information Notice 2002-14: Ensuring a Capability to Evacuate Individuals, Including

Members of the Public, from the Owner-Controlled Area dated April 8, 2002

The NRC is issuing this information notice to inform addressees of inspection findings

concerning a licenseeís capability to evacuate individuals, including members of the public, from

the owner-controlled area in the event of an emergency. 

North Anna Units 1 & 2

The staff has issued license amendments which replace the North Anna Units 1 & 2 technical

specifications in their entirety with new technical specifications based on the improved Standard

Technical Specifications (iSTS). The licensee will implement these revised technical

specifications within six months. 

The North Anna units are the 64th and 65th units that have been approved to convert to the

iSTS. Applications for conversion to iSTS for an additional 3 units are currently under review. 

Licensees for 9 units are planning to make applications in the next two years. 

Publication of Final Rule on Revision of the Skin Dose Limit

On April 5, 2002, the Commission published a final rule that revises 10 CFR Part 20

(67 FR 16298). The amendment changes the method of calculating dose to the skin by

requiring that the assigned skin or extremity dose be the dose averaged over the contiguous 10

square centimeters of skin receiving the highest exposure, rather than the current requirements

to average dose to the highest exposed 1 square centimeter. The intent of this rulemaking is to

make the skin dose limit less restrictive when small areas of skin are irradiated, and to address

skin dose from all sources, including ìhot particlesî and small area (1 cm2

) contaminations,

under a single limit. Licensees currently monitor workers frequently to avoid reportable dose 

from ìhot particles.î The rule will be effective June 4, 2002. 

Staff Holds Public Scoping Meetings on the St. Lucie Environmental Impact Statement in

Support of License Renewal

The NRC staff participated in a number of activities last week related to the license renewal

application for St. Lucie Units 1 and 2. On Wednesday, April 3, 2002, the staff conducted two

meetings to solicit comments from the public on the scope of the environmental impact

statement (EIS) that is being prepared. The EIS will be a plant-specific supplement to the
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

"Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants"

(NUREG-1437). More than 50 people attended each of the meetings, including representatives

of the NRC staff, Florida Power and Light (FPL), the nuclear industry, the press, local officials, 

and members of the public. The scoping period ends on April 30, 2002.

In addition, on April 2 and 4, 2002, the staff and its contractors (Pacific Northwest National

Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory) visited the St. Lucie site and environs to

gather additional information on the environmental aspects of the license renewal application. 

The team considered the full scope of environmental issues, including aquatic and terrestrial

ecology, land use, human health, socioeconomics, etc., as well as FPL's process for identifying

significant new information on the Category 1 issues identified in NUREG-1437. The staff will

use this information to supplement the St. Lucie Environmental Report while developing the

EIS.

Highlight-Station Blackout (SBO) Position

The staff has been engaged in resolving a technical issue associated with the scope of station

blackout (SBO) for the purpose of license renewal. The issue raises the question as to whether

or not the structures and components involved in the recovery from SBO need to be included

within the scope of license renewal, and whether recovery specifically requires restoration of

offsite power. 

This issue was discussed during a December 12, 2001, public meeting between the staff and

industry. Three additional meetings to discuss this issue have been conducted since

December 21, 2001. As a result of these discussions, the staff issued a SBO position on

April 2, 2002. This position states that license renewal applicants shall identify equipment relied

on to meet the requirements of the station blackout rule, 10 CFR 50.63, as it affects scoping for

license renewal rule, 10 CFR 54.4(a)(3).

The implementation of this staff position will start with the license renewal applications currently

under review. Additional staff guidance for implementation of this staff position at Calvert Cliffs,

Oconee, ANO-1, and Hatch will be issued separately. 

On April 10, 2002, the staff met with the Turkey Point applicant to discuss their proposed

response and provide clarification of the staff position. Based on the discussion, the applicant

will include several additional electrical components and structures in the scope of license

renewal and perform an aging management review for those structures and components. The

applicant plans to submit its response by early next week. The staff will review the materials

expeditiously and discuss the results of its review in a supplement to the Turkey Point SER.

Clinton Power Station

Clinton Power Station (CPS) submitted an application for a 20 percent power uprate on

June 18, 2001. The NRC staff has completed its review of the application and issued the

license amendment on April 5, 2002, following publication of the final Environmental

Assessment in the Federal Register. CPS is currently shut down and performing modifications

to achieve approximately 7 percent of the approved uprate when starting up from this refueling
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

outage. In the next refueling outage in the spring of 2004, CPS will perform the remaining

modifications to achieve the remaining 13 percent of the approved power uprate.

Hydrogen Events At Hamaoka and Brunsbuttel

Recently, hydrogen deflagration or detonation events occurred at foreign boiling-water reactor

(BWR) plants. Hamoaka is a BWR design in Japan which had experienced a rupture of steam

condensing line pipe. Brunsbuttel is an advanced BWR design in Germany which experienced

a rupture of a reactor vessel head spray line. The staff is reviewing the potential applicability of

these types of events to U.S. BWRs, developing an information notice, and continuing to

interact with the industry, vendors, stakeholders, and foreign regulators and utilities.

NRC Places Draft Proposed Fire Protection Rule Language on the Web

On April 2, 2002, NFPA 805 draft proposed rule language was posted on the NRCís public

rulemaking web site, http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. The original draft rule language, posted for public

comment in December 2001, remains on the Ruleforum web site for comparison purposes. 

The draft proposed rule language is the result of consideration of public and industry

comments. The proposed rule is scheduled to be provided to the Commission in July 2002.

Davis-Besse Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Repair Concept Meeting

On April 10, 2002, the staff held a public meeting with representatives of First Energy

Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), owners of Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, 

to discuss the proposed repair concepts for the reactor pressure vessel head. The NRC staff

listened to the presentation and raised numerous questions for the licensee to consider prior to

submitting their formal repair plan. 
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Subcommittee Meeting on the Mixed-Oxide Fuel

Fabrication Facility

On April 10, 2002, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards met with the

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Reactor Fuels Subcommittee to discuss

the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility (MFFF) that Duke Cogema Stone & Webster

(DCS) is proposing to build on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The function of the

facility would be to convert weapons-grade plutonium to MOX fuel for commercial reactors. The

meeting began with DCS presentations on: (1) the impact of recently announced Department

of Energy (DOE) changes regarding the use of alternate feedstock, on the MFFF; and (2) the

electrical/instrumentation and control (I&C) systems. The staff made subsequent presentations

on: (1) the effect of the DOE-announced changes on the staff's review; (2) safety analysis; (3)

radiological consequences; (4) chemical safety; and (5) fire protection.

The staff plans to make additional presentations to the ACRS as the design of the facility and

staff's review progress.

Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards Holds Quarterly Meeting

On April 9, 2002, the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) held

its quarterly meeting at NRC Headquarters. NRC, Department of Energy, Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug

Administration, Office of Management and Budget, and Occupational Safety and Health

Administration staff representatives participated in the meeting. Among the agenda topics were

Agency views on: (1) EPAís draft of the ìFederal Guidance for the General Publicî; and (2) the

National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements scrap metal report. The

Committee also heard a detailed presentation on the evaluation of radiation exposures from

publicly owned sewage treatment plant sludge. An ISCORS subcommittee will be developing

this yearís guidelines for addressing radioactive materials in sludge, based on survey results

and dose assessments.

Staff Participates in Meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency Waste Safety

Standards Committee

On March 25-28, 2002, staff from the Division of Waste Management participated in the

thirteenth meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Waste Safety Standards

Committee (WASSC) held in Vienna. The WASSC is a standing body of senior regulatory

officials with technical expertise in radioactive waste safety. The WASSC provides advice and

guidance, to the IAEA Secretariat, on a continuous program for reviewing and revising IAEA's

radioactive waste safety standards, relevant regulatory issues, and activities for supporting the

application of the radioactive waste safety standards. As part of this effort, the WASSC had a

joint session, with the Radiation Safety Standards Committee, on topics and documents

common to waste safety and radiation safety (medical applications, industrial products, and

control of sources). Staff from the Department of Energy also participated in the meeting.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE B

The key document discussed in the joint session was DS161, "Specification of the Radionuclide

Content in Commodities Requiring Regulations for the Purposes of Radiological Protection." 

An overview of its development was provided. Four ad hoc working groups were set up to 

facilitate reaching agreement on issues in the guide. 

Other documents reviewed during the meeting included: DS67, "Safety Guide on Regulation of

Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources in Medicine, Agriculture, Research, Industry and

Education;" DS113, "Safety Guide on Quality Management Systems for Regulatory Authorities;"

DS62, "Safety Guide on Strategy for the Source & Environmental Monitoring of Radionuclides;"

and DS309, "The Format and Content of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants." 
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Pebble Bed Modular Reactor

The staff issued a letter to Exelon Corporation on March 26, 2002, providing a preliminary

assessment of the licensing approach that they have proposed for the Pebble Bed Modular

Reactor (PBMR). In the assessment, the staff summarized the main considerations which

contributed to its assessment, provided information about Exelonís proposal, and presented

comments and reaction to the proposal. The staff has focused upon the merits of the approach

as a potential process for ensuring compliance with existing regulations and identifying PBMRspecific regulatory requirements.

The staff concluded that the licensing approach proposed by Exelon, if adequately

implemented, is a reasonable process for ensuring that the Commissionís regulations are met

and for identifying PBMR-specific regulatory requirements. However, it is recognized that

implementation of Exelonís proposed licensing approach or any other approach requires

additional design and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) information that Exelon has not yet

provided. A detailed PRA is required for implementation of Exelonís proposed risk-informed

regulatory approach and the staff will continue to assess the issues of treatment of

uncertainties, margins of safety, and defense-in-depth. Furthermore, the degree to which the

staff may be able to rely on PRA information for the PBMR will be a consideration due to the

more limited operating experience for such designs. The staff will continue to assess Exelonís

proposal during the remainder of the PBMR pre-application review. The broad policy/technical

issues that would need to be assessed in the development of safety requirements for designs

significantly different than the current generation of light-water reactors will be discussed in an

upcoming paper to the Commission by summer 2002.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE D

Nuclear Security and Incident Response

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-III-02-006B, Davis Besse, First Energy Nuclear Operating Co., REACTOR VESSEL

HEAD DEGRADATION (SECOND UPDATE).

2. PNO-IV-02-020, Technical Welding Laboratory, Inc., OVEREXPOSURE IN EXCESS OF

REGULATORY LIMITS.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration 

Items of Interest 

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Nuclear Energy Institute; Petition for Rulemaking

A notice of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-75) filed by the Nuclear Energy Institute was

published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2002 (67FR 16654). The petition requested

amendment to the NRCís Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) regulations to allow the use

of an alternative maximum pipe break size for the largest pipe in the reactor coolant system in

ECCS evaluation models for Light Water Nuclear Power Reactors. The comment period

expires June 24, 2002.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests received during the Period of

April 5, 2002 through April 11, 2002:

Daily Plant Status Reports, 3/18/02 through 3/21/02 (FOIA/PA-2002-0216)

FOIA Request Log, January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 (FOIA/PA-2002-0217)

Site Assessment - So. Crawford Ave. & 166th Place, Markham, Illinois (FOIA/PA-2002-0218)

Site Assessment - NY - 44th & 5th Ave., 510 5th Ave., City of NY, NY County, NY (FOIA/PA2002-0219) 

NMSS Usersí Needs - memorandum from NMSS dated October 31, 2001, re: document dated

3/22/02 on ACNW public web site (FOIA/PA-2002-0220)

FY2003 IT budget submission in response to OMB Circular A-11, Exhibit 53, 300B (Capital

Asset Plan & Justification) and most recent long-range IT plans (FOIA/PA-2002-0221)

Materials Licensing Tracking System (active and retired) (FOIA/PA-2002-0222)

Allegation No. RIII-00-A-208, all documents (FOIA/PA-2002-0223)
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE H

Chief Financial Officer

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Proposed Rule Signed by the Chief Financial Officer

On April 16, 2002, the Chief Financial Officer approved a proposed rule that amends 10 CFR

Part 16, ìSalary Offset Procedures for Collecting Debts Owed by Federal Employees to the

Federal Governmentî. These proposed amendments to the Commissionís debt collection

regulations are necessary to conform NRC regulations to the legislative changes enacted in the

Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and the amended procedures presented in the

Federal Claims Collection Standards issued by the Department of the Treasury and the

Department of Justice. The proposed action is intended to allow the NRC to improve its

collection of debts due the United States by Federal employees.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Arrivals

ENNIS, Jerry CONSULTANT RII

FORDER, Jamie SECRETARY HR/CSU

KEPLINGER, Jean SECRETARY RII

MITLYING, Viktoria PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER RIII

Retirements

HOOD, Sandra SECRETARY OGC

Departures

DEAN, Bernetta* SECRETARY (OA) NRR

*Effective 04/05/02
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Media Interest

There was interest in a repair plan proposed by FirstEnergy Corp. for the damaged reactor

vessel head at its Davis-Besse reactor in Ohio.

There was continuing media interest in the threat of terrorists stealing radioactive devices to

make ìdirty bombs.î

Press Releases

Headquarters:

Regions:

I-02-032 NRC to Meet with PPL to Discuss Susquehanna Plant Performance

I-02-033

 

NRC to Meet with Company to Discuss Performance of Vermont Yankee

Nuclear Power Plant

I-02-034 NRC to Take Part in Meetings on Decommissioning Criteria for Former

Reprocessing Facility in West Valley, N.Y.

I-02-035 NRC to Meet with Company to Discuss Nine Mile Point Performance

III-02-017 NRC Makes Preliminary Finding of "High Safety Significance" For Cooling

System Problem at Point Beach Nuclear Power Station

III-02-018

 

NRC Staff to Meet with Wisconsin Rapids Firm to Discuss Apparent Violation

in Loss of a Gauge with Radioactive Material 

III-02-019 NRC to Meet with Exelon Generation Co. April 18 to Discuss LaSalle Nuclear

Power Station Safety Performance

III-02-020 NRC to Meet With Nuclear Management Co. April 19 to Discuss Palisades

Nuclear Power Station Safety Performance
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) Follow-Up Visit to North Anna

A four person IAEA-led team visited the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant during the week of

April 8. The purpose of the visit was to determine the status of actions taken by the plan in

response to the findings of the OSART mission conducted January 22-February 10, 2000. Two

key findings relevant to NRC relate to adoption of ICRP-60 and emergency preparedness

practices. Prior to their departure, the team will draft a follow-up report which both the plant

and the NRC will have the opportunity to comment on before it is made final.

GAN Visit to Region IV and Comanche Peak

During the period of April 1-13, two inspectors from the Russian regulatory agency,

Gosatomnadzor (GAN), visited Region IV to learn about the NRC oversight program and the

planned performance-based inservice inspection at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. 

The delegation then observed the inspection at the plant. The visitors were Vladimir Pogorelov,

head of GANís Inspection Division at GAN headquarters and Anatoli Sapeguine, Chief

Inspector of Don Regional Office (location of the Novoronezh nuclear power plant). Irina

Spevakova accompanied them as interpreter. William McNeill was the Region-based host and

conducted the inspection; NRC headquarters staff accompanied the visitors throughout the

visit to support Mr. McNeill.

At the plant (which was shut down for re-fueling), the delegation observed the inspection of the

reactor vessel head, six inspections of piping (using either ultrasonic or penetrant techniques)

and remote testing of welding in the core. The visitors also visited the Outage Control Center,

the control rooms for Units 1 and 2, the equipment area for instrumentation and control and the

turbine hall. An onsite NRC inspector explained the steam generator inspections.

The visit by GAN officials satisfies one of the commitments made during the last annual

assistance planning meeting with GAN in December 2000.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SECY-02-0057 3/29/02 Update to SECY-01-0133, ìFourth Status Report

on Study of Risk-Informed Changes to the

Technical Requirements of 10 CFR Part 50

(Option 3) and Recommendations on RiskInformed Changes to 10 CFR 50.46 (ECCS

Acceptance Criteria)î

2. SRM on SECY-01-0133 4/10/02 Status Report on Study of Risk-Informed

Changes to the Technical Requirements of 10

CFR Part 50 (Option 3) and Recommendations

on Risk-Informed Changes to 10 CFR 50.46

(ECCS Acceptance Criteria)

Information Papers

1. SECY-02-0061 4/5/02 SECY-02-0061 Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending March 29, 2002

2. SECY-02-0059 4/15/02 SECY-02-0059 - Use of Design Acceptance

Criteria for the AP1000 Standard Plant Design

Memoranda

1. M020320B 4/11/02 Staff Requirements - Meeting with the Advisory

Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW)

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress dated April 5, 2002, apprises of an organizational change the NRC is

undertaking to enhance the safeguards and security programs.

2. Letter to the White House, OHS, DOE, FEMA, FBI, DOJ, DOT, CIA and DOD dated April 5,

2002, apprises of an organizational change the NRC is undertaking to enhance the

safeguards and security programs. 

3. Letter to Senator Harry Reid dated April 2, 2002, provides response to request for

information on how NRC evaluates the safety of containers used to transport spent nuclear

fuel by rail and road. 
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE O

4. Letter to Congress dated March 25, 2002, provides NRCís response to the General

Accounting Office report entitled ìNuclear Regulation - Progress Made in Emergency

Preparedness at Indian Point 2, but Additional Improvements Needed.î

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Nuclear Energy Institute; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking... Notice of receipt

2. Final Rule - Revision of the Skin Dose Limit, 10 CFR Part 20
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region II

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

The Regional Administrator Attends the Agency Action Review Meeting

On April 9-11, 2002, the Regional Administrator attended the Agency Action Review Meeting in

conjunction with the Reactor Oversight Program in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Safety Attends the International Operational Safety

Assessment Review Team (OSART) exit meeting at the Virginia Electric Power and Light

Company's North Anna nuclear plant

On April 12, 2002, the Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Safety attended the International

OSART exit meeting at the Virginia Electric Power and Light Company's North Anna nuclear

plant in Mineral, Virginia.

South Carolina Electric and Gas Company - V. C. Summer Refueling Outage Meeting

On April 8, 2002, representatives from South Carolina Electric and Gas Company attended a

V. C. Summer Refueling Outage Meeting in the Region II office. The purpose of the meeting

was to discuss major activities, modifications, and shutdown safety considerations.

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings

During the week of April 8-12, 2002, Region II Branch Chiefs in the Division of Reactor Projects

held the NRC ROP Annual Assessment meetings for the Virgil C. Summer, Brunswick, Crystal

River and Shearon Harris nuclear plants. The meetings were held at or near the nuclear plants

and were open to the public. 

Carolina Power and Light Company - Special Inspections at Shearon Harris Nuclear Station

On April 9, 2002, Region II initiated a special inspection at Shearon Harris to review a gas

accumulation in the emergency core cooling system suction piping. The team is evaluating

whether the charging safety injection pumps would have performed their safety function.

State of Alabama IMPEP

A team of NRC and Agreement State staff conducted an IMPEP review of the State of Alabama

Agreement State program. The Deputy Director, State and Tribal Programs, and the Director,

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, participated in the Exit Meeting on April 12.
April 12, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

Differing Professional View in Region IV

The Regional Administrator reviewed and responded to the recommendations of an Ad Hoc

Review Panel which was constituted in accordance with Management Directive 10.159 to

address a differing professional view (DPV). The DPV, raised by a Region IV staff member,

concerned the bases for the regional disposition of a fitness-for-duty (FFD) issue involving a

Region IV licensee. The panelís recommendations included: (1) obtaining clarifications of

10 CFR Part 26 requirements relative to the specific issue; (2) reassessing, as necessary, the

original conclusions based on the clarifications or interpretations of 10 CFR Part 26;

(3) assessing whether the draft proposed rule should contain specific requirements regarding

the Medical Review Officer (MRO) evaluation of successive chemical tests for illegal drugs; and

(4) reconsidering the need for MRO non-medical training or certification requirements. Actions

to address the first two recommendations will be developed by the region, while the second two

recommendations have been forwarded to the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident

Response for its consideration and appropriate response.
April 12, 2002 

Office of Congressional Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 12, 2002

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 49

OCA

Contact

DATE

&

PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Keeling 04/17/02

SD-226

10:00 TBA Should the Office of Homeland

Security Have More Power?

Senators AdministrJudiciary

Combs 04/18/02

2123 RHOB

 9:30 NRC, Secretary Abraham,

Gov. Guinn (R-NV), NEI, GAO,US PIRG, NARUC, and others

Yucca Mountain Nuclear WasteRepository

Reps. BaEnergy anEnergy an

Madden 04/25/02

2167 RHOB

10:30 TBA Transporting Nuclear Waste to

Yucca Mountain

Reps. PeHighways Reps. QuRailroadsTransport