January 12, 2006

MEMORANDUM TO: Luis A. Reyes

 Executive Director for Operations

FROM: Gary M. Holahan, Associate Director 

 for Risk Assessment and New Projects

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT: DECEMBER 2005 REPORT ON THE STATUS OF PUBLIC PETITIONS 

UNDER TITLE 10 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, 

SECTION 2.206

The enclosed report gives the status of petitions submitted under Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, Section 2.206. As of December 31, 2005, there were two open petitions that were

accepted for review under the 2.206 process in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). 

Two petitions were closed in December 2005. Information that has changed since the last

monthly report is highlighted.

Enclosure 1 provides a detailed status of the open petitions.

Enclosure 2 provides the status of incoming letters that the staff is reviewing to determine if they

meet the criteria for review under the 2.206 process.

Enclosure 3 shows the age statistics for the open 2.206 petitions as of December 31, 2005.

This report, Director’s Decisions, and other 2.206-related documents are placed in the

Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). In making these readily

accessible to the public, the staff has identified another vehicle to address our performance goal

of ensuring openness in our regulatory process. 

Enclosures: As stated

CONTACT: Donna Williams, NRR/DPR

 301-415-1322
January 12, 2006

MEMORANDUM TO: Luis A. Reyes

 Executive Director for Operations

FROM: Gary M. Holahan, Associate Director /RA/ 

 for Risk Assessment and New Projects

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT: DECEMBER 2005 REPORT ON THE STATUS OF PUBLIC PETITIONS 

UNDER TITLE 10 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, 

SECTION 2.206

The enclosed report gives the status of petitions submitted under Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, Section 2.206. As of December 31, 2005, there were two open petitions that were

accepted for review under the 2.206 process in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). 

Two petitions were closed in December 2005. Information that has changed since the last

monthly report is highlighted.

Enclosure 1 provides a detailed status of the open petitions.

Enclosure 2 provides the status of incoming letters that the staff is reviewing to determine if they

meet the criteria for review under the 2.206 process.

Enclosure 3 shows the age statistics for the open 2.206 petitions as of December 31, 2005.

This report, Director’s Decisions, and other 2.206-related documents are placed in the

Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). In making these readily

accessible to the public, the staff has identified another vehicle to address our performance goal

of ensuring openness in our regulatory process. 

Enclosures: As stated

CONTACT: Donna Williams, NRR/DPR

 301-415-1322

DISTRIBUTION: See next page

ADAMS Accession Number: ML060060009

OFFICE PM:PSPB LA:PSPB DD:DPR ADRA

NAME DWilliams DBaxley RCorreia GHolahan

DATE 1/11/06 1/11/06 1/11/06 1/12/06

OFFICIAL AGENCY RECORD
DISTRIBUTION FOR DECEMBER 2005 REPORT ON THE STATUS OF PUBLIC PETITIONS

UNDER TITLE 10 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, SECTION 2.206

Date: January 12, 2006 

PUBLIC

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Status of Open Petitions

Facility Petitioner/EDO No. Page

All Depleted Uranium Munition Licensees James Salsman

G20050242........................................................1

Vermont Yankee New England Coalition

G20050360........................................................3

All Plants that use Hemyc Fire Barrier Nuclear Information and Resource Service

G20050379........................................................4

Vermont Yankee Jonathan Block

G20050706.........................................................5

Enclosure 1
Report on Status of Public Petitions Under 10 CFR 2.206

Facility: All Depleted Uranium Munition Licensees 

Petitioners: James Salsman

Date of Petition: April 3, 2005

Director’s Decision to be Issued by: NMSS

EDO Number: G20050242

Proposed DD Issuance: September 23, 2005

Final DD Issuance: December 30, 2005

Last Contact with Petitioner: December 30, 2005

Petition Manager: Joe DeCicco

Case Attorney: Giovanna Longo

Issues/Actions requested: 

That all licenses allowing the possession, transport, storage, or use of pyrophoric

uranium munitions be modified to impose enforceable conditions on all such licensees in

order to rectify their misconduct and any other corrective action as deemed proper.

The petition requests immediate action to correct the alleged misconduct on the part of

uranium munitions licensees, for the protection of the health and safety of the public and

the environment. This petition alleges gross negligence and other serious misconduct

including fraud, willful wrongdoing, and a serious breach of the public trust, on the part of

uranium munitions licensees and their officers, employees, contractors, and agents. 

This petition requests specific and identical modifications to all NRC licenses for the use,

storage, transportation, or possession of pyrophoric uranium munitions, intended to

correct uranium munitions licensees' misconduct. In particular, the petition requests:

# That all the provisions modifying said licenses be constructed with strict

enforcement provisions, imposing substantial fines to fullest extent allowed by

law, and immediate license suspensions or revocations if the uranium munitions

licensees do not conform to the requirements of the corrective modifications to

their licenses within short lengths of time; 

# Immediate and sustained remediation and mitigation of conditions resulting from

warfare and peacetime activities; 

# The suspension of uranium munitions licenses, as modified, until licensees

become compliant with the provisions of the modified licenses; and

# Any other corrective action as the Commission may deem proper. 

Background:

The petitioner claimed, as a basis for his request, negligence on the part of the

licensees. Specifically, the licensees were unaware of the fact that uranium reacts with

nitrogen, and there has been no attempt to detect hexavalent uranium, including

uranium trioxide (UO3), in the combustion products of depleted uranium ordnance by the
-2-

Army. Because of this omission, the petitioner requests that all contemporary uranium

ordnance safety studies be redone in order to determine the extent of uranyl nitrate

combustion product emissions.

The petitioner submitted an original petition dated April 3, 2005, via email. The last

supplement to the petition was submitted May 4, 2005, immediately after discussing the

petition with the Petition Review Board (PRB) in a public meeting via teleconference. 

The NRC issued a letter to the petitioner on May 26, 2005, informing him that his concer

ns will

be

addres

sed

throug

h the

2.206

proces

s. The

letter

also

inform

s the

petition

er that

the

NRC

did not

see a

need

to take

the

immedi

ate

action

reques

ted in

the

petition

.

The Notification of Receipt of a 2.206 Petition was published in the Federal Register on

June 6, 2006 (70 FR 32661). The NRC notified the licensees, via a letter, of the receipt

of the 2.206 petition on June 10, 2005, inviting the licensees to respond to the safety

concerns, expressed by the petitioner, within their organization's area of responsibility.

The staff received responses to the June 10, 2005, letter from three licensees which

address issues in the petition. 

A proposed Director's Decision was sent to the petitioner and the involved licensees on
-3-

September 23, 2005. In its proposed Decision, the NRC staff requested that comments

be submitted by October 21, 2005. Comments were received from the petitioner and

two licensees. 

Current Status:

The staff issued a final Decision on December 30, 2005. 
-4-

Facility: Vermont Yankee

Petitioner: Ray Shadis, representing New England Coalition

Date of Petition: May 3, 2005

Director’s Decision to be Issued by: NRR

EDO Number: G20050360

Proposed DD Issuance: October 11, 2005

Final DD Issuance: December 23, 2005

Last Contact with Petitioner: December 23, 2005

Petition Manager: Stew Bailey

Case Attorney: Giovonna Longo

Issues/Actions requested:

That the NRC:

• Require Entergy to conduct a review at Vermont Yankee (VY) to determine the

type, amount, application, and placement of Hemyc fire barrier material; and an

assessment of the safety significance of each application;

• Require Entergy to promptly provide justification for operation in nonconformance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R;

• Upon a finding that VY is operating in an unanalyzed condition, order a power

reduction until such time as it can be demonstrated that VY is operating in

conformance with Appendix R and all other applicable regulations.

Background:

The PRB held a teleconference with the petitioner on May 17, 2005. In this

teleconference, the petitioner stated that he wished to expand the scope of his request

to include all fire protection systems at VY, not only Hemyc.

The NRC issued a letter to the petitioner on June 15, 2005, informing him that the

petition has been accepted for review under the 10 CFR 2.206 process. However, in its

letter, the staff stated that the petitioner had not provided sufficient basis for the staff to

expand the scope of the petition beyond that documented in the May 3, 2005, letter. In

addition, the staff denied the request for immediate action, stating that continued plant

operation, while the Hemyc applications are being removed and replaced, will not pose

an undue risk to public health and safety.

On August 17, 2005, the licensee submitted a letter describing their plans with regard to

removal of Hemyc material at VY. 

The NRC staff issued a proposed Decision on October 11, 2005, and requested that

comments be submitted by November 10, 2005. No comments were received. 

Current Status:

 The staff issued the final Decision on December 23, 2005.

Facilities: Shearon Harris; H.B. Robinson, Unit 2; McGuire,
-5-

Units 1 and 2; Catawba, Units 1 and 2; Ginna;

FitzPatrick; Indian Point, Units 2 and 3; Vermont

Yankee; Waterford; and Arkansas Nuclear One,

Units 1 and 2

Petitioners: Nuclear Information and Resource Service and

others

Date of Petition: May 12, 2005

Director’s Decision to be Issued by: NRR

EDO Number: G20050379

Proposed DD Issuance: October 20, 2005

Planned Final DD Issuance: January 9, 2006

Last Contact with Petitioner: October 20, 2005

Petition Manager: Chandu Patel

Case Attorney: Giovonna Longo

Issues/Actions requested:

That the NRC:

• Issue a generic communication to the named reactor sites to determine the

extent of condition of inoperable fire barriers;

• The generic communication should require that the named sites provide

justification for operation in non-compliance with all applicable fire protection

regulations; and 

• With the determination that any of the named sites are operating in an

unanalyzed condition or that assurance of public health and safety is degraded,

NRC will order a suspension of the license or a power reduction of the affected

reactors until it can be demonstrated that the licensees are operating in

conformance with all applicable fire protection regulations.

Background:

The PRB held a meeting with the petitioners on June 1, 2005, in which the petitioners

provided additional information to support their requests. 

The NRC issued a letter to the petitioner on June 27, 2005, informing them that the

petition has been accepted for review under the 10 CFR 2.206 process. In its letter, the

staff denied the request for immediate action, stating that continued plant operation,

while corrective actions are being implemented, will not pose an undue risk to public

health and safety. These corrective actions could include: (1) implementing plant

modifications such as replacing the Hemyc or MT fire barriers with an appropriately rated

fire barrier material, upgrading the Hemyc or MT to a rated barrier, or rerouting cables or

instrumentation lines through another fire area; or (2) performing a technical evaluation

that considers defense-in-depth and safety margins. A proposed Director’s Decision

was issued on October 20, 2005, and comments were requested by 

November 29, 2005. As of December 31, 2005, no comments had been received. 

Current Status:

The staff plans to issue the final Director’s Decision by January 9, 2006.
-6-

Facilities: Vermont Yankee

Petitioners: Jonathan Block

Date of Petition: October 11, 2005

Director’s Decision to be Issued by: NRR

EDO Number: G20050706

Proposed DD Issuance: December 7, 2005

Planned Final DD Issuance: February 23, 2006

Last Contact with Petitioner: December 7, 2005

Petition Manager: Jim Shea

Case Attorney: Giovonna Longo

Issues/Actions requested:

That the NRC issue an emergency order for a temporary closure or de-rating of the

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) as a result of flood damage to the city of

Keene, town of Hinsdale in New Hampshire, and other portions of New Hampshire that

are part of existing evacuation routes for VY and are within the effluent pathway in an

emergency event. 

Background:

During a telephone conversation with the petition manager on October 18, 2005, the

petitioner informed the staff that he had received information from FEMA regarding the

State of New Hampshire’s awareness of evacuation issues at the time of the flooding

and that alternate routes had been evaluated. Therefore the staff determined that the

emergency request for temporary plant closure or de-rating was not necessary and was

subsequently denied by the NRC’s Petition Review Board (PRB). The petitioner further

emphasized his broader concern regarding demonstration that FEMA and the State of

New Hampshire actually have plans for an evacuation if an event occurred at VY

simultaneously with a natural disaster such as the recent flooding. During the call, the

petition manager informed the petitioner that his request met the criteria for review under

10 CFR 2.206. The petitioner was offered an invitation to address the PRB with

additional information to support the petition but declined.

Current Status:

A combined acknowledgement letter and proposed Director’s Decision was issued on

December 7, 2005. The letter requested comments within 30 days. As of

December 31, 2005, no comments had been received. 
Status of Potential Petitions Under Consideration

Facility: Nine Mile Point

Petitioner: Robert Norway

Date of Petition: October 10, 2005

EDO Number: G20050726

PRB meeting: None requested

Issues/Actions requested:

The petitioner is requesting that the NRC fully redact the individual’s name from the

documentation associated with Enforcement Action EA-96-116 and the corresponding

May 10, 1996, enforcement conference that the NRC had placed in the public domain.

Current Status:

The PRB determined that this petition does not meet the criteria of 10 CFR 2.206

because the petitioner has not requested an enforcement action against the licensee. A

letter was issued to the petitioner on December 21, 2005, informing him of the staff’s

decision. The petitioner’s concern has been referred to the Office of Enforcement for

resolution.

Facility: Peach Bottom and Three Mile Island

Petitioner: Eric Epstein

Date of Petition: November 18, 2005

EDO Number: G20050793

PRB meeting: February 21, 2006

Issues/Actions requested:

The petitioner is requesting that the NRC issue a Demand for Information to Exelon

Generation Company, requiring them to demonstrate that emergency preparedness

planning for day care and nursery school populations within each facilities’ Emergency

Planning Zone is adequate or that adequate interim compensatory actions have been

taken. The petitioner also requests that the indirect license transfers associated with the

PSEG-Exelon merger be held in abeyance until the licensees can demonstrate

compliance with the licenses with regards to emergency planning.

Current Status:

The petitioner addressed the PRB during a teleconference on December 21, 2005. The

staff is reviewing the additional information obtained during the teleconference.

Enclosure 2
AGE STATISTICS FOR AGENCY 2.206 PETITIONS

Assigned

Action

Office

FACILITY/

Petitioner

Incoming 

petition

PRB

meeting1

Acknowledgment 

letter/days from

incoming2

Proposed DD

issuance

Date/age3

Date for

final 

DD/age 4

Comments if

not meeting

the Agency’s

Completion

Goals

NMSS All Depleted

Uranium Munition

Licensees/ 

James Salsman

4/03/05 5/04/05 5/26/05

52

9/23/2005

120

12/30/05

68

NRR Vermont Yankee/

Ray Shadis

5/03/05 5/17/05 6/15/05

43

10/11/05

118

12/23/05

42

NRR All plants that use

Hemyc fire barrier/

NIRS

5/12/05 6/01/05 6/27/05

33

10/20/05

115

01/09/06

NRR Vermont Yankee/

Jonathan Block

10/11/05 N/A 11/30/05

28

12/07/05

57

2/23/06

1) Goal is to hold a PRB meeting, which the petitioner is invited to participate in, within 2 weeks of

receipt of petition.

2) Goal is to issue acknowledgment letter within 35 days of the date of incoming petition. 

3) Goal is to issue proposed DD within 120 days of the acknowledgment letter.

4) Goal is to issue final DD within 45 days of the end of the comment period.

Enclosure 3