INFORMATION REPORT

April 12, 2005 SECY-05-0058

For: The Commissioners

From: William M. Dean, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO /RA/

Subject: SECY-05-0058 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING APRIL 1, 2005”

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

Office of Information Services G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business and 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/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO
April 12, 2005 SECY-05-0058

For: The Commissioners

From: William M. Dean, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: SECY-05-0058 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING APRIL 1, 2005”

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

Office of Information Services G

Chief Financial Officer H*

Human Resources I

Small Business and 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/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

T. Kim, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week401.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

TKim:paa WMDean

04/8/05 04/12/05
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING APRIL 1, 2005

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: T. Kim, OEDO by E-mail: TJK3@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 OIP *

NSIR 9 SECY 19

OGC * Region I 20

ADM 10 Region II 21

OIS 11 Region III *

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Meeting with MRP/NEI on Inspection Guidelines for Nickel-Alloy Components

On March 24, 2005, the staff met with representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute and the

Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) Materials Reliability Project (MRP) in a public

meeting regarding ongoing industry assessments and plans to develop and issue inspection

guidelines for Alloy 82/182/600 components (other than for the reactor vessel upper head) and

separate guidelines for dissimilar metal butt welds. The staff noted that while industry has

issued interim guidelines for one-time bare metal visual (BMV) examination of Alloy 82/182/600

components, industry will need to issue long term guidelines. A possible vehicle for BMV

inspection guidelines would be industry endorsement of the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers (ASME) Code Case N-722 once it is finalized. The staff indicated that it will propose

appropriate regulatory action unless the industry aggressively pursues and promptly endorses

inspection guidelines.

NRC Information Notice (IN) 2005-06, Failure to Maintain Alert and Notification System Tone

Alert Radio Capability, Dated March 30, 2005

On March 30, 2005, the NRC issued the subject IN to inform addressees of recent inspection

findings concerning a licensee's capability to alert members of the public within the emergency

planning zone in the event of a radiological emergency. This IN is intended to ensure that

licensees using tone alert radios maintain positive control over the distribution of the tone alert

radios. No specific action or written response is required for INs, however, it is expected that

recipients will review the information for applicability to their facility and consider actions, as

appropriate.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Meeting with Duratek about Transport of Uranium Hexafluoride in the Model UX-30 Package

On March 29, 2005, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office met with representatives from

Duratek, Inc., on the subject issue. The discussion focused on the transport of small uranium

hexafluoride cylinders within a newly designed containment vessel. The new containment

vessel would be transported within the Model UX-30 overpack. The application for approval of

the shipments is scheduled to be submitted in May 2005.

Issuance of the H. B. Robinson Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation License Renewal

for 40 Years

On March 30, 2005, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office issued the H. B. Robinson

Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) renewed license and safety evaluation

report. The renewed license is for a total of 40 years. H. B. Robinson is the second commercial

nuclear plant to have received a license to store spent fuel in dry casks at an ISFSI, and the

renewed license allows operation of that ISFSI until 2046.

Construction Authorization for Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility

On March 30, 2005, NMSS issued a construction authorization (CA) to Duke Cogema Stone &

Webster for its proposed mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility (MFFF). The CA and

NUREG-1821, "Final Safety Evaluation Report on the Construction Authorization Request for

the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina," were

issued simultaneously. The results of the staff's environmental review related to issuance of

the CA are contained in NUREG-1767, "Final Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] on the

Construction and Operation of a Proposed MFFF at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina," 

issued in January 2005.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Russian Cladding Performance

In late 2000, European test results on a Russian-made Zr-1% Nb cladding alloy (E110), a

predecessor to the modern niobium-bearing alloys used in U.S. reactors revealed that E110

cladding did not behave well under conditions of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in relation to

criteria used by NRC (10 CFR 50.46). In 2001, an existing trilateral program involving NRC, the

Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN, France), and the Russian

Research Center (Kurchatov Institute) was redirected to investigate LOCA behavior of E110

cladding. This work was closely coordinated with another NRC program at Argonne National

Laboratory (ANL). The significant behavioral differences between Russian and Western

cladding alloys were found to depend on which chemical process was used to make zirconium

metal from zircon ore (discovered at the Kurchatov Institute) and whether the cladding surface

was polished or etched (discovered at ANL). This information is important to NRC’s efforts to

revise 10 CFR 50.46 to accommodate newer cladding alloys and higher fuel burnups. Results

from the program at the Kurchatov Institute have just been documented in a report that is being

issued jointly by the three organizations (NUREG/IA-0211, IRSN 2005-194, NSI RRC KI 3188),

and the report is being published by NRC.

Hemyc Fire Barrier Test Report

On March 29, 2005, RES issued a preliminary report on fire endurance confirmatory testing for

the Hemyc Electrical Raceway Fire Barrier Systems (ERFBS). Hemyc ERFBS is used at

eleven nuclear plant sites as a one-hour rated fire barrier used to protect certain equipment

needed to achieve a post-fire safe shutdown condition. RES recently conducted two, separate

full scale, one-hour fire endurance tests intended to confirm and assess the ability of the Hemyc

ERFBS to protect typical conduit, junction box, supports, and cable tray installations. The

tested fire barrier configurations replicated simple configurations typically installed in nuclear

power plants. None of the tested Hemyc ERFBS installation met the one-hour fire endurance

test acceptance criteria. The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation staff is reviewing the test

results to determine appropriate next steps and action(s). 

Revision to Management Directive 6.4, “Generic Issues Program”

On March 30, 2005, RES submitted the final draft revised Management Directive (MD) 6.4,

“Generic Issues Program (GIP).” MD 6.4, which delineates the prioritization and resolution

process for generic safety issues, is being revised to address Recommendation 3.1.3(1) of the

Davis-Besse Lessons Learned Task Force. The revision simplifies the process for submitting

candidate generic issues. The revised guidance applies to all generic issues related to public

health and safety and common defense and security. In the revised MD, the role and

responsibilities of the Committee to Review Generic Requirements have been included. 

Additionally, the role of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, the Advisory

Committee on Nuclear Waste, and the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes is

being clarified. 
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

MELCOR Modernization and SNAP-MELCOR Meetings

On March 22-25, 2005, RES staff participated in the MELCOR modernization and

SNAP-MELCOR meetings held at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, New

Mexico. The purpose of the MELCOR modernization meeting was to discuss progress on the

MELCOR severe accident code conversion to FORTRAN 95 with SNL and Russian Academy of

Sciences (IBRAE). MELCOR conversion to FORTRAN 95 is progressing well. The main goal of

the work is to restructure code architecture to take advantage of modern programming

techniques and languages for ease of maintenance and modification of the code. It is expected

that the final version of the MELCOR to be converted to FORTRAN 95, and be released to

public in May 2006. The aim of the SNAP-MELCOR meeting was to discuss MELCOR users'

need for a graphical user interface (GUI). Based on this meeting, it is concluded that in order to

have a user friendly GUI, there must be continuous interaction and coordination between

MELCOR code and SNAP developer. The next meeting on the MELCOR modernization and

SNAP-MELCOR is presently scheduled to take place in September 2005.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE D

Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-05-15, PSEG Nuclear, LLC - SHUTDOWN EXPECTED TO BE GREATER THAN

72 HOURS TO REPAIR A STEAM LEAK FROM A CHEMICAL DECONTAMINATION

PIPE ON THE ‘B’ REACTOR RECIRCULATION LOOP.

2. PNO-III-05-006, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center - TWO MEDICAL EVENTS

INVOLVING UNINTENDED DOSES TO THE SKIN.

3. PNO-IV-05-007, Union Electric Company - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED

PLANT SHUTDOWN.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Medical Use of Byproduct Material - Recognition of Specialty Boards (AH19 - Part 35)

On March 30, 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a final rule in the

Federal Register (70 FR 16336) that amends the regulations governing the medical use of

byproduct material. The final rule changes NRC’s requirements for the recognition of speciality

boards whose certifications may be used by individuals to demonstrate the adequacy of their

training and experience for service as radiation safety officers, authorized medical physicists,

authorized nuclear pharmacists, or authorized users. The final rule also revises the

requirements for demonstrating the adequacy of training and experience for pathways other

than the board certification pathway for the same positions. The final rule becomes effective

April 29, 2005.

A-76 Coordinators Group Meeting

On March 31, 2005, the Division of Contracts met with other agency A-76 Coordinators at the

Department of Energy headquarters offices in Washington, DC, to discuss competitive sourcing

issues. “A-76" refers to OMB Circular A-76 which establishes federal policy for the competition

of commercial activities. Presenters at the meeting included the Office of Management and

Budget, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of State and the Department of

Energy. 
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of

March 24 through March 31, 2005:

OIG Case No. 0481, investigation report only FOIA/PA-2005-0183

Office of Investigations “Investigative Procedures Manual,” most

recent version if it differs from the August 1999 revision

FOIA/PA-2005-0184

Allegations, re: Browns Ferry nuclear power station, including RII2004-A-0063, RII-2004-A-0064, RII-2004-A-0091, RII-2004-A-0105,

RII-2004-A-0145, RII-2004-A-0146 & RII-2005-A-0006

FOIA/PA-2005-0185

OIG Case No. 05-24G, all records of investigation, testimony,

affidavits, investigative reports & final report

FOIA/PA-2005-0186

Rocky Mountain Loop natural gas pipeline, serial no. UTU-76958,

approval to construct pipeline through & around Atlas Mining tailings

site, Moab, Utah

FOIA/PA-2005-0187
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Arrivals

Prosanta Chowdhury Emergency Preparedness Specialist NSIR

Louis Cubellis Security Specialist NSIR

Samuel T. Graves Reactor Inspector (NSPDP) R-IV

Dorothy Hendzel Program Analyst R-I

Jason Jennings Reactor Operations Engineer NRR

Karen Johnson Student IT (Co-Op) R-I

Michael J. Jordan Consultant NRR

Bruce L. Jorgensen Consultant NRR

Louis Lake Reactor Inspector R-II

Dennis Lawyer Health Physicist R-I

Sarah A. Michonski Secretary (OA) HR

Dennis Mongello Student IT (Co-Op) R-I

Michael Parker Consultant NRR

Marziale Reqveza Secretary (OA) R-I

Mackenzie N. Stevens IT Specialist OIS

Peter Snyder Nuclear Systems Engineer NSIR

Stephen Subosits Fuel Facility Inspector R-II

Gabriel J. Taylor General Engineer (NSPDP) NRR

Retirements

Mary Bennett Voucher Examiner R-I

Dennis N. Boal Sr. Criminal Investigator (Task Leader) OI

Charlotte M. Carnahan Team Leader OGC

Jesse L. Cloud Branch Chief NMSS

Thomas Foley Sr. Reactor Operations Engineer NRR

Melba Hawkes Information Management Assistant R-II
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Patricia M. Larkins Health Physicist STP

Stephen H. Lewis Sr. Attorney OGC

Karen McEleyea Team Leader OIS

Norma M. Price Sr. Budget Analyst RES

Ronald V. Villafranco Sr. Program Analyst NRR

Maggalean W. Weston Sr. Staff Engineer ACRS

Departures

Erica P. Henderson Clerk ADM 

Matthew Langschwager General Engineer (NSPDP) NRR

Louis Numkin IT Specialist (INFOSEC) OIS
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Media Interest

The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) received significant media inquiries on the following:

The National Academy of Sciences report on spent fuel safety and security.

A steam leak at Hope Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey.

The staff’s rule language for controlling the disposition of solid materials.

Other Public Affairs Items:

Regional OPA staff assisted at several end-of-cycle meetings for the annual assessments of

nuclear plant performance.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

05-057 NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet April 7-9 in

Rockville, Maryland (3/30)

05-058 NRC Authorizes Construction of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at

Savannah River Site (3/30)

Regions:

I-05-016 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Susquehanna Nuclear

Power Plant (3/30)

III-05-009 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Perry Nuclear Power

Plant (3/29)

III-05-010 NRC Finds Emergency Plan Violation at Perry Nuclear Plant to be of Low to

Moderate Significance (3/30)

III-05-011 NRC Begins Special Inspection at South Bend Hospital (3/31)

IV-05-009 NRC to Meet with Arizona Public Service Co. to Discuss Palo Verde

Performance Issues (3/31)

IV-05-010 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment of Columbia Generating

Station April 6 (3/31)
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Information Papers

1. SECY-05-0046 3/17/05 Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System: Semiannual Progress

Report for July-December 2004

2. SECY-05-0049 3/28/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

March 11, 2005

3. SECY-05-0050 3/29/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

March 18, 2005

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Bruce Alberts, President, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), dated March 25,

2005, concerns the NAS’s report, “Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

Storage.”

2. Letter to Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State, dated March 22, 2005, provides an

invitation to deliver the keynote address at NRC’s fifth annual Diversity Day Celebration.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, meeting on Planning and Procedures, notice of

meeting (4/18/05). 
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region I (RI)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Meeting at the Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Division Facility in Cheswick, Pennsylvania

On March 30, 2005, Region I Decommissioning Branch staff met with representatives of

Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Division in Cheswick, PA to discuss the status of site

remediation activities. The discussions focused on the status of a former ballfield on the site

where residual uranium contamination was identified and on buildings where uranium fuel

production activities had been conducted. The status of site financial assurance for

decommissioning and the need for updated decommissioning cost estimates were also

addressed. Also present at the meeting were representatives from the Pennsylvania

Department of Environmental Protection and representatives of the Washington Group

International, the former licensee.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings

During the week of March 28-April 1, the Regional staff held the Annual Assessment Meetings

for the North Anna and Surry nuclear plants. The meetings were held at or near the nuclear

plants and were open to the public.

V.C. Summer - Management Meeting

On March 31, 2005, the regional management met with representatives from South Carolina

Electric & Gas Company in the Regional Office to discuss the upcoming refueling outage as

well as recent enhancements to the V. C. Summer Nuclear Plant corrective action program.
April 1, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

Wolf Creek Generating Station Management Change

On March 30, 2005, the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation announced that 

Mr. Terry Garrett has assumed the duties of Vice President, Engineering, effective immediately. 

Mr. Garrett recently returned to Wolf Creek after a two-year assignment as Executive Director

of a multi-utility working group, Strategic Teaming and Resource Sharing, and had previously

been responsible for the Work Force Planning Initiative at the site. Mr. Garrett will report to 

Mr. Rick Muench, President and CEO. He recently returned to Wolf Creek . 
April 1, 2005 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending April 1, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 13

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Combs April 5

2247RHOB

10:00 Senators Reid/Ensign,

Governor Guinn, R-NV,DOI, DOE, State of NVreps, and NWTRB

Oversight Hearing on Safety ofYucca Mountain Nuclear WasteRepository

Reps PorFederal WOrganizaGovernm

Shane April 5

2123RHOB

 4:00 TBA Markup of Draft Bill -- Energy Policy

Act of 2005

Reps BarEnergy a

Shane April 6

2123RHOB

10:00 TBA Markup of Draft Bill -- Energy Policy

Act of 2005

Reps BarEnergy a

Madden April 6

SD-366

10:00 TBA Confirmation Hearing on Nomination

of David Garman to beUndersecretary of Energy

Senators Energy a

Shane April 6

SD-342

10:00 TBA Markup S 494 - Federal Employee

Protection of Disclosures Act

Sen. CollHomeland Affairs

Combs April 7

SD-366Postponed

10:00 DOE, NRC Status of Yucca Mountain Senators 

Energy a
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 13

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

April 1, 2005 

Shane April 7

2154RHOB

10:00 TBD Hearing on Federal Information

Security Review

Reps DavGovernm

Keeling Tentative for 

April 19 orApril 26

TBD Chairman Diaz, DOE,

Exelon CEO, IBEW rep,City Council rep nearGrand Gulf

DOE’s NP 2010 Program Senators 

Energy a