INFORMATION REPORT

June 3, 2002 SECY-02-0091

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-02-0091 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MAY 24, 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 by Debra J. Corley Acting For/

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

M. Layton, OEDO
June 3, 2002 SECY-02-0091

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-02-0091 WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MAY 24, 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 by Debra J. Corley Acting For/

John W. Craig

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

M. Layton, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\WEEK524.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

MLayton:paa JWCraig DJC for

05/29/02 06/03/02
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MAY 24, 2002

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: M. Layton, OEDO by E-mail: mcl@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 22

CFO * Region IV *

HR 15 OEDO *

SB/CR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Tritium Production Program

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) is presiding over a proceeding involving

Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) license amendment requests to produce tritium at Watts

Bar and Sequoyah. We the People of Tennessee (Ann Harris) and Jeannine Honicker filed

petitions to intervene with the ASLB. On March 6, 2002, We the People of Tennessee, with

assistance from Dr. Kenneth Bergeron, filed a motion with the ASLB to dismiss both TVA’s

license amendment requests. The Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation (NRR) answered contentions to these petitions in early April 2002. NRR is

preparing a staff position on Dr. Bergeron’s comments about risk-informing our review of TVA’s

license amendment requests. The first pre-hearing ASLB conference, oral arguments, and an

ASLB decision on holding a hearing will probably occur by June 2002.

TVA’s license amendment requests involve 17 plant-specific Interface Issues and license

changes that the NRC must review and approve before TVA can insert tritium-producing

burnable absorber rods into the Watts Bar or Sequoyah reactors. The NRC’s technical staff

has completed 13 of the 17 safety evaluations for Watts Bar and is reviewing Sequoyah’s

submittal. The staff plan to complete it’s reviews of these Issues by August 2002 for Watts Bar,

and September 2002 for Sequoyah, as TVA requested. On May 13 and 14, 2002, two NRC

quality assurance staff performed an onsite review of WesDyne’s TPBAR fabrication facility in

Columbia, South Carolina, to address one of the Interface Issues.

Meetings attended during the week of May 13, 2002

On May 15, 2002, representatives from SPLB, SPSB, EMEB, RGEB, and RES held a public

meeting with NEI and EPRI to discuss issues related to the extension of the containment

integrated leak rate test interval for plants that have implemented 10 CFR 50, Appendix J,

Option B. NEI plans to propose a permanent interval increase to, perhaps, as much as 20

years. Discussions were held on the applicability of performance data to determine the

frequency of a large flaw in the containment liner and possible corrosion mechanisms. NEI

presented their plan and a proposed schedule to use an expert elicitation process to develop a

refined frequency and size of a large containment leakage path. It was agreed that a telephone

conference or a meeting will be held prior to industry conducting its expert panel meeting in

June 2002.

Materials Reliability Program (MRP) Alloy 600 Issue Task Group Meeting

On May 23, 2002, the Materials Reliability Program (MRP) Alloy 600 Issue Task Group

presented to the NRC, during a public meeting, the status and interim results of ongoing work

intended to address technical issues discussed in NRC Bulletin 2001-01, “Circumferential

Cracking of Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Penetration Nozzles” and NRC Bulletin 2002-01,

“Reactor Pressure Vessel Head Degradation Reactor Coolant Pressure Boundary Integrity.” 

Specifically, the MRP made presentations on Alloy 600 crack growth rates, probability of

leakage, critical flaw size, residual stress analysis, probabilistic fracture mechanic model,
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE A

reactor pressure vessel head degradation, and a proposed reactor pressure vessel head

penetrations inspection plan. The NRC asked the MRP to submit the technical basis

documents for the presented information to allow for formal staff review.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Meeting with the Russian Federation Gosatomnadzor in Moscow

On May 13-17, 2002, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards met with the

Russian Federation Gosatomnadzor (GAN) in Moscow, Russia. The purpose of the meeting

was twofold: (1) to discuss regulatory/licensing issues relevant to the Russian Federation

Plutonium Disposition Program, for which the Department of Energy (DOE) is providing

assistance to GAN, and (2) to coordinate DOE’s and the NRC’s regulatory assistance being

provided to GAN. DOE funded NRC attendance at the meeting.

DOE discussed the status of current and future work to be performed by GAN and funded by

DOE, including the development of Russian Federal regulations. At the meeting, NRC

personnel made presentations about NRC regulations governing construction authorization and

the operating license for the Mixed-Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), NRC's draft

Safety Evaluation Report concerning construction of the MFFF, and the quality assurance

requirements applicable to the MFFF.

Meeting with Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Regarding Future Amendment Application for Blended

Uranium Preparation Facility

On May 20, 2002, staff from the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards met with

representatives of the Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS), Inc. NFS presented the plan for submitting

a license amendment application for the second part of the Blended Low-Enriched Uranium

(BLEU) project. NFS reviewed the licensing activities to date concerning the BLEU project, and

presented an overview of the BLEU preparation facility process, and of its nuclear criticality

safety analysis.

NFS also presented a summary of their internal change control process and how, according to

NFS, it conforms to the facility changes and change process regulations in 10 CFR 70.72 and

NFS' license condition S-25. NFS concluded that only two parts of the BLEU preparation facility

did not meet the criteria in S-25 and in 10 CFR 70.72 for internally-authorized changes. 

Therefore, NFS proposed to submit a license amendment application in July 2002 for those

2 processes.

NRC staff pointed out that NRC has not reviewed the Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA)

Summaries for those previously authorized activities, and, therefore, NFS needs to submit ISA

Summaries for all processes in the BLEU preparation facility as part of the amendment

application. The staff is sending a letter to NFS reiterating its position.

NRC Staff Participates in the Seneca Nation of Indians Cultural Sensitivity Training

On May 15, 2002, the Seneca Nation of Indians provided Cultural Sensitivity Training for

representatives of the NRC. NRC’s Chairman requested this training opportunity following a

visit of the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP). The Seneca

Nation is situated approximately 20 miles downstream of the WVDP. As such, the Seneca
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE B

Nation is a key stakeholder in the decommissioning of the West Valley site. Senior

management and staff from the Office of the Executive Director for Operations, the Office of

State and Tribal Programs, and the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

participated in this training. The training included: (1) an overview of the Seneca Nation’s

cultural values and relationship to the environment; (2) a tour of the Seneca Nation’s

Cattaragus Territory; (3) a discussion of the history of the Seneca Nation and the Seneca and

Iroquois Government; and (4) a discussion of Seneca Sovereignty and Federal Trust

responsibility.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

4th Gas Turbine - Modulas Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) Utility Advisory Board (UAB) Meeting at

the Hilton Embassy Row Hotel in Washington, D.C.

On May 21, 2002, RES and NRR staff attended the publically open part of the 4th Gas Turbine -

Modulas Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) Utility Advisory Board (UAB) meeting in Washington, D.C. 

The meeting was chaired by Entergy Nuclear. The meeting focused on the GT-MHR Working

Group Interim Report and commercialization of the modular helium reactor for both electrical

power generation, and hydrogen production. Areas of interest from a regulatory perspective

included: (1) the utilization of the Russian GT-MHR design and testing experience to potentially

fulfill certain NRC licensing requirements for a US built GT-MHR, (2) fuel manufacturing and

test requirements for licensing application, (3) the extent of testing required prior to issuance of

a combined operating license, (4) licensing requirements for a planned combined cycle

(electricity and hydrogen production) demonstration plant in the U.S., with different primary and

secondary design characteristics than the demonstration plant in Russia, and (5) consideration

of additional postulated accident scenarios given differences between the Russian and US

designs. The staff expects future interactions on these issues during the GT-MHR preapplication review that is currently underway. The UAB endorsed and financially supported the

GA initiative to enter into pre-application review with the NRC on their GT-MHR design. 
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE D

Nuclear Security and Incident Response

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Presentation to National Aeronautics and Space Administration

On May 17, 2002, staff from the Division of Incident Response Operations (DIRO) participated

in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) International Health Education

Series on Nuclear Terrorism. The series was one of three covering nuclear, chemical, and

biological terrorism. DIRO’s presentation was part of Session 5, “Homeland Security

Infrastructure and Measures Against Nuclear Terrorism.” In its presentation, DIRO discussed

incident response capability at NRC, and security issues at nuclear power plants. The major

topics included: (1) responsibilities during events; (2) security issues at plants; and (3) NRC

activities related to incident response, security, and the response to the September 11 terrorist

attacks. A second presenter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discussed the FBI’s

activities in nuclear terrorism.

Federal Radiation Policy Coordination Committee Protective Action Guide Subcommittee

Meeting

On May 23, 2002, Division of Incident Response Operations staff attended the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) meeting of the Federal Radiation Policy Coordination Committee

(FRPCC) Protective Action Guide (PAG) Subcommittee. EPA sent a revised water PAG

chapter to the Subcommittee for comment. The subcommittee agreed that the potassium

iodide (KI) guidance should include emergency workers. There was no consensus on how the

recovery PAG should proceed. 

Top Officials (TOPOFF) 2 Exercise Planning Conference 

The Division of Incident Response Operations (DIRO) staff participated in the TOPOFF2

Exercise Initial Planning Conference on May 21, 2002. TOPOFF2 is the second

Congressionally-mandated, counter-terrorism exercise involving senior U.S. government

officials, multiple Federal/State/local agencies, and Canadian government agencies. The

Departments of Justice and State co-chair the preparations and conduct of TOPOFF2. The

initial planning conference, attended by representatives of the participating agencies, provided

an update of TOPOFF2 preparations, venues, and schedule. The exercise will occur in

May 2003 and will be preceded by a series of seminars and pre-exercise activities. The

principle exercise scenario events will take place in the Seattle and Chicago areas. The

Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have limited participation in TOPOFF2 and expects to

include response to a threat scenario at a nuclear facility. DIRO staff are developing the

nuclear facility threat scenario for TOPOFF2 and will continue participation in the TOPOFF2

exercise process.

Pilgrim Full-Participation Exercise

Entergy Nuclear Generation Company conducted a full-participation exercise at the Pilgrim

Nuclear Power Station on May 22, 2002. NRC Headquarters, NRC Region 1, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, local communities, and the licensee participated in response
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE D

to the series of simulated emergency events. NRC response involved Standby, Initial

Activation, and Expanded Activation. NRC participation, led by the Chairman, included full

staffing of the Headquarters (HQ) Executive Team, Reactor Safety Team, Protective Measures

Team, Liaison Team, and Operations Support Team. Region 1 participation included staffing of

the Base Team and a Site Team. HQ exercise objectives were considered to be met. The staff

of the Division of Incident Response Operations are coordinating development of lessons

learned from the exercise.

NRC Visit to North American Aerospace Defense Command

On May 24, 2002, staff from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

visited the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a binational United States

and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace

control for North America, to facilitate NRC’s participation in an exercise with NORAD on

June 4, 2002. While visiting NORAD, NSIR staff observed an exercise and discussed the

existing cooperation between NRC and NORAD. NRC and NORAD staff developed a better

understanding of each organization’s role in a response to our extent that involves both parties. 

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-IV-02-024, Huntington Memorial Hospital, THEFT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL.

2. PNO-IV-02-025, Schlumberger Technology Corporation, LOSS OF CONTROL OF A

WELL LOGGING SOURCE POSSIBLY RESULTING IN EXPOSURES TO INDIVIDUAL

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration 

Items of Interest 

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Small Agency Council Procurement Committee

On May 22, 2002, Mary Lynn Scott, DCPM/ADM, chaired a meeting of the Small Agency

Council Procurement Committee at the National Endowment for the Arts. Speakers included

Julie Basile, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, providing an update on the Administration’s

procurement projects and activities; Teresa Sorrenti, Director of the Acquisition Operations and

Electronic Commerce Center for the General Services Administration’s Federal Supply Service,

providing an overview on Federal-wide E-Procurement projects (including the Federal

Procurement Data System replacement project which she chairs); Diane Frasier, Head of the

Contracting Activity and Director of the Office of Acquisitions Management and Policy for NIH;

and Joann Wingard, Manager of the Contractor Performance System, providing a

demonstration of the system. This three-part series was designed to give procurement staff an

in-depth look at the President’s Integrated Acquisition initiative and other e-procurement

initiatives. The three-hour meeting was attended by 25 individuals representing 15 agencies.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE G

Chief Information Officer

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

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

May 17, 2002 through May 23, 2002:

Daily Plant Status Reports, 3-23-02 to present (FOIA/PA-2002-0270)

Allegation, RIV-2001-A-0077 (FOIA/PA-2002-0271)

Investigation, R3-2001-001 (FOIA/PA-2002-0272)

IMPAC listing (FOIA/PA-2002-0273)

OIG Investigations 97-46-J and 97-75-J; 1978 OIA Investigation of VA reimbursement for

graduate study expenses; and docket no. 50-309 (FOIA/PA-2002-0274)

Investigation 4-2001-027; OE-01-164, reports, transcripts, and selected documents submitted

to NRC (FOIA/PA-2002-0275)

NUREG-1608, “Categorizing and Transporting Low-Specific Activity Materials and Surface

Contaminated Objects” (FOIA/PA-2002-0276)

OI file on named individual (FOIA/PA-2002-0277)

Hicksville, NY, all records related to specified locations from 1952 to present (FOIA/PA-2002-

0278)

Connecticut Yankee, all records, maps, surveys, correspondence, reports, licensing documents

re: land occupied by power plant (FOIA/PA-2002-0279)

Connecticut Yankee, spent fuel pool and its components, all documents (FOIA/PA-2002-0280)
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Arrivals

ARAGUAS, Chris STUDENT ENGINEER (CO-OP) NRR

BELCHER, Stefanie SUMMER HIRE (TECHNICAL) RII

DIECKER, Jane STUDENT ENGINEER RIV

FONG, Christopher* CO-OP RII

FORREST, EDWIN* REACTOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER NRR

GEROND, George STUDENT ENGINEER RIV

GOYAL, Raju STUDENT LAW CLERK ASLBP

HARPER, Kathryn SUMMER HIRE (TECHNICAL) RII

HELD, Wesley STUDENT ENGINEER NRR

HILL, Kendra NUCLEAR SAFETY INTERN RES

JOYCE, Regina STUDENT IT SPECIALIST NMSS

LIN Cindy STUDENT ENGINEER (CO-OP) NMSS

MOSS, Brandon STUDENT LAW CLERK ASLBP

NOELKE, Christine STUDENT ENGINEER NRR

PAIGE, Jason STUDENT CLERK NRR

REITER, Michael STUDENT CLERK OI

WALKER, Shamica NUCLEAR SAFETY INTERN NMSS

WITTMEYER, Jennifer STUDENT LAW CLERK OGC

*Effective 05/20/02
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Media Interest

There was press interest in the testimony Chairman Meserve and Commissioners McGaffigan

and Diaz gave to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding Yucca

Mountain.

Formation of an NRC lessons-learned task force to review reactor vessel head degradation at

the Davis-Besse plant received press interest.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

02-059 NRC Proposes to Remove Some Financial Information Requirements for

Reactor License Renewal

02-060 NRC Task Force to Assess Lessons Learned from Davis-Besse Reactor

Vessel Head Degradation

02-061 NRC Staff Approves Transfer of Operating License for Vermont Yankee to

Entergy Corporation

02-062 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet June 6-8 in

Rockville, Maryland

02-063 NRC Orders Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants and GE Fuel Storage

Facility to Enhance Security 

Regions:

I-02-040 NRC, Entergy to Discuss Performance Issues at Indian Point 2

III-02-029 NRC Cites D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station for Violation of Low to

Moderate Safety Significance

IV-02-025 NRC to Hold Regulatory Conference with Entergy Operations, Inc. 
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Russian Visit

A delegation from the Federal Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority of Russia (RF

Gosatomnadzor), headed by Alexander Gutsalov, First Deputy Chairman, visited the NRC

during the period May 20-24, 2002, to review program results since the last meeting of the

delegation, and to agree on activities for the upcoming year. The delegation also met with the

Chairman, Commissioners, the Executive Director for Operations and appropriate members of

the NRC staff. This was the tenth annual meeting between the two agencies. Emphasis will be

placed on reactor licensing and oversight, PRA studies, analytical simulators and emergency

response in the upcoming year.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SECY-02-0080 5/13/02 Proposed Rulemaking–Risk-Informed 10

CFR 50.44, “Combustible Gas Control in

Containment” (WITS 20010003)

Information Papers

1. SECY-02-0086 5/16/02 SECY-02-0086 Weekly Information Report -

Week Ending May 10, 2002

2. SECY-02-0074 5/3/02 National Materials Program: Pilot Projects

3. SECY-02-0087 5/23/02 Weekly Information Report Week Ending

May 17, 2002

Memoranda

1. M020516A 5/20/02 Staff Requirements - Meeting with World

Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO)

2. SRM-COMSECY-02-

0024

05/23/02 Staff Requirements - COMSECY-02-0024 -

Renewal of Advisory Committee on Nuclear

Waste Charter

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Ryan Buboltz dated May 7, 2002, extends congratulations upon completion of

requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Scouting. 

2. Letter to Dario Herrera, Chairman, Las Vegas Board of County Commissioners, dated May

6, 2002, responds to request for public meetings to discuss the safety and security issues

surrounding Yucca Mountain and the transportation of 77,000 tons of the nation’s high-level

nuclear waste to Nevada. 

3. Letter to Paul Leventhal, Nuclear Control Institute, dated May 6, 2002, concerns the

application from Transnuclear, Inc., to amend an NRC license. 

4. Joseph S. Mahaley, DOE, dated May 7, 2002, responds to requests for NRC’s urgent

attention to deficiencies identified in the Nuclear Material Management and Safeguards

System as discussed in an audit report prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office

of Inspector General. 
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE O

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Joint Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittees on

Materials and Metallurgy, and Plant Operations - Notice of Meeting.

2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Joint Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittees on

Plant Operations and on Fire Protection - Notice of Meeting.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region II

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Region II Visit from the Office of the Inspector General

On May 20-22, 2002, a representative from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) visited the

Region II Office to meet with any Region II employees as part of the OIG’s initiative to improve

liaison with the regional offices.

Region II Management Attending a Management Retreat

On May 21-22, 2002, the Regional Administrator and Region II managers conducted a

management retreat to plan for challenges as identified in self-assessments and in the latest

regional operating plan report. Two key initiatives were to use information created on disks

rather than hard copies and to use a newly developed Strategic Workforce Plan to discuss

changes needed to move the organization toward the goals in the Plan.

Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River Nuclear Plant

Representatives from Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River Nuclear Plant were in the

Region II Office to provide a Crystal River Emergency Exercise Overview. Individuals who will

be participating in the May 29 and 30 Crystal River Exercise participated in the meeting.
May 24, 2002 ENCLOSURE P

Region III

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 24, 2002

Region III Addresses Two Differing Professional Views

Region III addressed a Differing Professional View (DPV) regarding BWR Mark I and Mark II

Emergency Core Cooling System residual heat removal pumps, specifically the potential that

these pumps could fail during a loss of coolant accident without the loss of off-site power due to

gas ingestion, vapor locking, or cavitation because of gas bubbles generated by the blow-down.

Based on a review of the ad hoc DPV panel report, the Regional Administrator, Jim Dyer,

agreed with the panel’s recommendation that this issue could benefit from further review as a

candidate generic issue. This issue will be referred to NRR in accordance with NRC Inspection

Manual Chapter 0970, "Potentially Generic Items Identified by Regional Office." 

The region also addressed a DPV regarding a number of issues concerning the loading and

handling of spent fuel dry storage casks at Dresden Units 2 and 3. The ad hoc DPV panel

identified several regulatory and compliance issues warranting further staff consideration.

Following review of the panel’s report and the NRC staff’s Request for Additional Information

(RAI) from the licensee, the Regional Administrator agreed with the panel’s recommendations

to develop additional information on six issues. However, he modified two recommendations

calling for further inspections regarding the stress on reactor building components. Since the

licensee’s response to the RAI is under review, he modified the recommendations to await

completion of the staff’s review. Appropriate follow-up action will be determined at that time. 

Operator License Certificates Presented at LaSalle

On May 22, 2002, Commissioner Jeffrey S. Merrifield, accompanied by the Regional

Administrator, presented certificates to 17 newly licensed individuals at LaSalle. Initial licensing

examinations were administered in April 2002 to 6 reactor operator, 9 senior reactor operator

instant, and 2 senior reactor operator upgrade candidates. All 17 individuals passed all portions

of the examination and were issued licenses effective May 13, 2002.
May 24, 2002

 ENCLOSURE R

Office of Cong

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 2

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 55

OCA Contact

DATE

&

PLACE

TIME

WITNESS

SUBJECT

COMMITTEE

Keeling

SD-406 06/05/02

10:00

Chairman and others

Nuclear Power Plants S. 1586 and S. 1746, Security at

Environment and Public Works Senators Jeffords/Smith

Combs

SD-366 06/05/02

TBA

Markup 

Mountain for the Repository S.J.Res. 34, Approving Yucca

Energy and Natural Resources Senators Bingaman/Murkowski

NOTE: The House is in recess until June 4 and the Se