INFORMATION REPORT

April 4, 2005 SECY-05-0055

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0055 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MARCH 25, 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 4, 2005 SECY-05-0055

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0055 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MARCH 25, 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\week325.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

TJKim:paa WMDean

04/3/05 04/4/05
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MARCH 25, 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 * Region II 21

OIS 11 Region III *

CFO * Region IV *

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE *

*No input this week
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

NRC Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2005-05, Regulatory Issues Regarding Criticality

Analyses for Spent Fuel Pools and Independent Spent Fuel Pools and Independent Spent Fuel

Storage Installations

On March 23, 2005, NRC issued the subject RIS to all operating and decommissioning

pressurized-water reactor (PWR) facilities regarding potential inconsistencies between the

regulatory bases of spent fuel pools and independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). 

More specifically, the RIS (1) alerts addressees to findings at PWR facilities suggesting that the

spent fuel pool licensing and design bases and applicable regulatory requirements may not be

met during loading, unloading, and handling of dry casks in the spent fuel pools; (2)

emphasizes the importance of maintaining subcritical conditions for spent fuel storage in

moderated environments; and (3) encourages addressees to review the current spent fuel pool

and ISFSI licensing and design bases at their facilities to ensure compliance during dry cask

loading, unloading, and handling operations. No specific action or written response is required

for RISs, however, it is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to

their facility and consider actions, as appropriate.

Electric Power Research Insitute’s (EPRI’s) Presentation on Results of Integrated Chemical

Effects Testing

On March 21, 2005, NRR staff attended a meeting hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute to

observe EPRI’s presentation on the results of integrated chemical effects testing being

performed by Los Alamos National Laboratory at the University of New Mexico. The results

were presented to various vendor representatives who are responsible for designing both

passive and active sump screens to resolve the pressurized-water reactor sump clogging issue. 

NRC staff attended the meeting to gain a perspective on how the industry is going to approach

the problem of chemical precipitants, including their impact on screen head loss and

downstream components.
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Meeting with Commissioner and staff of the Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission

On March 17, 2005, NMSS staff met with Commissioner Higashi, of the Japanese Nuclear

Safety Commission, his technical counselor, and representatives of the Japan Nuclear Energy

Safety Organization and the Institute of Applied Energy. The staff provided an overview of

NRC’s high-level waste (HLW) regulatory program. Commissioner Higashi was especially

interested in the potential impact of pending revisions regarding the period of compliance in the

Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for Yucca Mountain and NRC’s treatment of risk

and probability in its regulation of long-term disposal of HLW.

Winter Meeting of Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS)

On March 17, 2005, ISCORS, which is co-chaired by NRC, held its quarterly meeting at

Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington, DC. Various Federal and state agencies

presented their experiences with using x-ray personal security screening systems. These

representatives from the Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Army,

Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service, and States of Illinois and Pennsylvania

were soliciting guidance from ISCORS to help agencies make policy and implement decisions

regarding the use of x-rays to screen people. The subcommittees also provided their quarterly

updates to the committee members. The next quarterly meeting will be held in June.
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Meeting of the Proactive Materials Degradation Assessment (PMDA) Expert Panel

On March 14 -18, 2005, RES staff held the fifth meeting with the Proactive Materials

Degradation Assessment (PMDA) Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) Expert

Panel. The PMDA PIRT is identifying locations and components in light water reactors that

could be susceptible to future materials degradation phenomena and provide a basis for the

development of proactive regulatory and industry actions to avoid, mitigate, and/or manage

potential future degradation of reactor components. The expert panel reviewed and compared

scores from each participant for the final set of components covering the pressurized water

reactor (PWR) plant type. In this review, the panel used the methodology developed in prior

meetings to examine individual system components and assign values of susceptibility for

various degradation mechanisms, confidence in the susceptibility calls, and knowledge level of

the degradation mechanisms. In addition, the panel revised draft sections of the report of the

PWR results. A draft report for all PWR components examined will be developed by June

2005, and a final draft report for both the boiling water reactor and PWR systems examined will

be developed by December 2005. Results from this activity will be used to guide research and

regulatory actions to address proactive assessment and management of materials degradation

in operating reactors. 

Publication of NUREG-1816, “Independent Verification of the Mitigating Systems Performance

Index (MSPI) Results for the Pilot Plants”

On March 21, 2005, RES published the subject NUREG which provides independent

verification of the results of the MSPI pilot program. This research activity supported the

development of the MSPI and ongoing staff efforts to implement the MSPI on an industry-wide

basis. 

Agreement Between NRC, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and the Korea Institute

of Nuclear Safety in the Area of Severe Accident Research

On March 23, 2005, the NRC’s Executive Director for Operations signed an international

Agreement between the NRC, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), and the

Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS). This Agreement defines the terms and conditions by

which the NRC, KAERI, and KINS will continue cooperating in the area of severe accident

research, contribute to expanding the NRC’s data and knowledge base in the area of severe

accident research and independently verify the accuracy of the NRC’s MELCOR severe

accident code. The work performed and exchanged under this Agreement also enhances the

quality assurance of our reactor safety codes through the expansion of the international user

community and through their subsequent code assessments and feedback. The NRC uses this

code to evaluate potential risk and vulnerability scenarios for severe accidents, to address

regulatory and licensing issues for operating plants, and to review new designs. This

Agreement will become effective upon signature and will remain in effect for a period of five

years.
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Meeting with Framatone ANP

On March 24, 2005, the NRC staff met with representatives of Framatome ANP, Inc., to discuss

plans for the European pressurized reactor (EPR) pre-application review. Framatome, a

subsidiary of AREVA and Siemens, presented a high level overview of its plans for submitting a

Design Certification Document by the end of 2007. During the pre-application Phase 1, which

should continue until December 2005, Framatome has stated its intent to engage the staff in

several meetings to discuss topics related to the EPR design such as Design Codes and

Standards, Probabilistic Risk Assessment, and Safety Analysis. For Phase II of the proposed

pre-application, which is expected to start in January 2006, Framatome will request the NRC to

review three topical reports on Critical Heat Flux Correlations, Transient and Accident Analysis

Code Applicability Report (including fuel mechanical design), and Severe Accident Evaluation.

Framatome's goal is to deploy EPR plants in the U.S. and is in the process of staffing a

dedicated U.S. organization committed to preparing a high quality design certification. The

central task driving the length of the pre-application period is the engineering work required for

U.S. design conversion from European standards and the development of a high-quality

submittal. 

The EPR is considered by Framatome to be an evolutionary reactor design. The EPR design is

a 4-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) with active safety injection systems and is similar to

current operating PWRs in the U.S. However, it has several unique design features such as a

double-walled containment, four independent safety injection trains in separate buildings, and a

corium spreading area and in-containment reactor water storage tank. Construction is under

way in Finland to build an EPR at the Olkiluoto nuclear power site and is scheduled to go online

sometime in 2009. Framatome indicated that it is looking to solidify wide-spread support from

domestic utilities in the U.S. 
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE D

Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Preliminary Notifications

PNO-IV-05-006, Conan MMP Inspection, Inc - OVEREXPOSURE DURING RADIOGRAPHY

OPERATIONS.
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

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

March 18 through March 24, 2005:

High-level waste operation pollution levels, plans for funding &

abatement of nuclear leakage & pollution, from 1-1-90 to present

FOIA/PA-2005-0180

Solid waste generated at NRC from 1-1-03 through 12-31-04,

invoices, contracts, weigh tickets, bills, etc.

FOIA/PA-2005-0181

Medical sites using radioactive materials including positron emitting

isotopes, & cyclotrons; & facilities that use Medical Linear

Accelerators

FOIA/PA-2005-0182
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Arrivals

Jerome J. Blake Consultant R-II

Tiana G. Dawson Student Volunteer ADMIN

Jack M. Keeton Consultant NRR

Nicola Sanchez Paralegal Specialist OGC

Departure

Kim Ottenstein Sr. Visual Information Specialist OIS
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

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

A leak at Hope Creek nuclear plant prompting a reduction in power.

The National Academies of Science report on spent fuel security.

Potential falsification of data on Yucca Mountain.

Duke Power’s intention to apply for a combined license for a new nuclear plant.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

05-050 NRC Signs Agreement with Belgium to Share Nuclear Safety Information (3/22)

05-051 NRC Approves Power Uprate for Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant (3/24)

05-052 NRC Returns FirstEnergy Application to Renew Licenses of Beaver Valley

Nuclear Power Plant (3/24)

05-053 NRC Announces Availability of License Renewal Application for Monticello (3/24)

05-054 NRC Issues Amendments to Specialty Medical Board Certification Criteria (3/24)

05-055 NRC Issues Advisory to Nuclear Facility Operators for Personnel Security

Controls (3/25)

Regions:

I-05-013 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment of Peach Bottom Nuclear Power

Plant (3/22)

I-05-014 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment of Millstone Nuclear Power Plant

(3/23)

I-05-015 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Beaver Valley Nuclear Power

Plant (3/23)

II-05-011 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at North Anna Nuclear Power Plant (3/23)

II-05-012 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at Surry Nuclear Power Plant (3/23)

III-05-008 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Palisades Nuclear Power

Plant (3/24)

IV-05-008 NRC to Discuss Performance Assessment of Waterford 3 Nuclear Plant (3/22)
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congressman Edward J. Markey, dated March 17, 2005, responds to letter

concerning the two radioactive sources imported from Russia by Haliburton Energy

Services.

2. Letter to Congress, dated March 17, 2005, responds to letter concerning emergency alert

and notification system requirements for the Indian Point Energy Center.

3. Letter to Thomas F. Reilly, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dated

March 14, 2005, responds to letter urging the NRC to take a close look at the various

concerns raised by the National Academy of Sciences.

4. Letter to Congress, dated March 14, 2005, provides the monthly report for January 2005 

on the status of NRC’s licensing and regulatory duties.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Final Rule: 10 CFR Part 35, RIN 3150-AH19, Medical Use of Byproduct Material -

Recognition of Specialty Boards. 
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region I (RI)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station - Predecisional Enforcement Conference

On March 23, 2005, Region I issued a letter to the licensee regarding three apparent violations

at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station that are being considered for escalated enforcement. A

closed predecisional enforcement conference is scheduled for April 8, 2005, to discuss these

violations. The violations are based on an investigation conducted by the NRC’s Office of

Investigation concerning an incident involving a control room shift crew on June 29, 2004. 
March 25, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Annual Assessment Meetings

During the week of March 21-25, 2005, Regional staff held the Annual Assessment Meetings

for the Catawba, V. C. Summer, and Robinson nuclear plants. The meetings were held at or

near the nuclear plants and were open to the public.

Management Meeting with Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC

On March 24, 2005, the Regional Administrator and Director, Division of Fuel Facility Inspection

attended a public meeting held at the NRC headquarters offices in Rockville, Md. The purpose

of the meeting was to discuss the licensee’s management oversight of fissile material

operations at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility and decommissioning activities at the

former fuel fabrication plant in Hematite, MO.

Knowledge Management - 30th Anniversary of Browns Ferry Fire

On March 22, 2005, Region II conducted a training session for the Regional staff on the 1975

Browns Ferry Unit 1 fire event and discussed the lessons learned from the event.

Diversity Day Celebration

On March 23, 2005, the Region II Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Advisory Committee

sponsored a Diversity Day Celebration in the Region II office. The Affirmative Employment and

Diversity Program Manager, Office of Small Business and Civil Rights, participated in the

celebration and conducted training for the EEO Advisory Committee members.
March 25, 2005 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending March 25, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 12

 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

Madden April 6

SD-366

10:00 TBA Confirmation Hearing on Nomination

of David Garman to beUndersecretary of Energy

Senators Energy a

Keeling Tentative for 

April/May

TBD Chairman Diaz, DOE,

Exelon CEO, IBEW rep,City Council rep nearGrand Gulf

DOE’s NP 2010 Program Senators 

Energy a

Shane TBA

SD-342

TBA TBA Markup S 494 - Federal Employee

Protection of Disclosures Act

Sen. CollHomeland Affairs

Note: The Senate is in recess. The chamber will reconvene 2 p.m. Monday, April 4, and be in a period of morning b

expected. The House is in recess. It is expected to reconvene on Tuesday, April 5, at 2 p.m. for legislative bu