INFORMATION REPORT

August 31, 2006 SECY-06-0190

For: The Commissioners

From: Michael R. Johnson, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

AUGUST 11, 2006

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

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste S

*No input this week.

/RA/

Michael R. Johnson

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO
August 31, 2006 SECY-06-0190

For: The Commissioners

From: Michael R. Johnson, Assistant for Operations, Office of the EDO

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

AUGUST 11, 2006

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

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste S

*No input this week.

/RA/

Michael R. Johnson

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

U. Shoop, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week811.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

UShoop:paa MRJohnson

08/31/06 08/31/06
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING AUGUST 11, 2006

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: U. Shoop, OEDO by E-mail: uss@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 * ACRS/ACNW 25

*No input this week
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

GSI-191 Downstream Effects Meeting

On August 2, 2006, the staff met with Nuclear Energy Institute, vendor, and Pressurized Water

Reactor Owners Group representatives to discuss issues related to GSI-191 downstream

effects. In addition to a NRC presentation on recent studies related to core blockage effects,

there was significant discussion related to conservative estimates of screen bypass debris

quantities and staff expectations regarding responses to GL 2004-02, “Potential Impact of

Debris Blockage on Emergency Recirculation during Design Basis Accidents at PressurizedWater Reactors,” and the associated schedules. The staff emphasized that licensees should

continue to address plant-specific resolution of the downstream effect issues in parallel with

staff’s review of the submitted revision of topical report WCAP 16406-P, “Evaluation of

Downstream Sump Debris Effects in Support of GSI-191.” 

Order Establishing Tentative Case Schedule for the Grand Gulf Early Site Permit Adjudicatory

Proceeding

On August 1, 2006, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (the Board) issued an Order

Establishing Tentative Case Schedule in the proceeding involving the application of System

Energy Resources, Inc. (SERI) for an early site permit (ESP) under 10 CFR Part 52 for the

Grand Gulf ESP site. The order establishes major milestones, for the remaining activities in the

proceeding. The Board noted that the schedule was necessarily tentative and may be

superceded by subsequent orders. This schedule, would allow the Board to issue its decision

on the mandatory hearing no later than November 30, 2006, as directed in Commission Order

CLI-06-20, issued July 26, 2006.

Order Establishing a Preliminary Schedule for the Clinton Early Site Permit Adjudicatory

Proceeding

On August 2, 2006, the Board issued the subject Order establishing a preliminary schedule in

the proceeding involving the application of Exelon Generation Company, LLC, for an ESP under

10 CFR Part 52 for the Clinton ESP site. The Board stated that it has established this

preliminary schedule with the goal of issuance of its final Order in this proceeding during the

month of December 2006.

Letter issued to GE Regarding Design Certification Status and Schedule

By letter dated August 9, 2006, the NRC informed GE that the milestone for issuance of

Requests for Additional Information (RAI) for their design Certification application for the

Economic and Simplified Boiling Water Reactor has been extended until December 11, 2006, in

areas impacted by late submittals. These topical areas include Probabilistic Risk Assessment,

Instrumentation and Control, Human Factors Engineering, Fission Product Removal (Design

Basis Accident Dose Evaluation), and Control Rod Design. The staff intends to maintain its

schedule for issuance of the safety evaluation report with open items, however, the number and

scope of open items may be impacted if timely and complete RAI responses are not received.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Meeting

From July 29-August 3, 2006, NMSS staff attended the subject meeting in Orlando, Florida. 

During the meeting staff discussed NRC efforts toward improving public understanding of

medical events, as defined in 10 CFR 35.3045; the status of and schedule for NRC’s

rulemaking on requirements for an expanded definition of byproduct material; and the status of

and procedures for recognition of specialty boards’ certification processes under the 2005

revised training and experience requirements of 10 CFR Part 35.

Pre-Application Meeting with Holtec International

On August 4, 2006, representatives from Holtec International met with NMSS staff to provide an

overview of the HI-STAR 180 spent fuel transportation cask system. The discussion focused

on the bench-marking of codes for impact limiter qualification, analytical modeling of the

containment sealing system, and structural acceptance criteria. Holtec International plans to

submit a license application for the HI-STAR 180 system by the end of 2006.

Pre-Application Meeting with Department of Energy (DOE) and BWXT Y-12

On August 9, 2006, representatives from DOE and BWXT Y-12 met with staff to provide an

overview of their plans to develop and submit a license application for an extensive Revision to

Certificate of Compliance No. 71-9315, Model No. ES-3100 package for transport of highenriched uranium. BWXT Y-12 plans to submit an application for the revision by the end of

September 2006.

Pre-Application Meeting with DOE on the Design of a New Transport Package for Special-Form

Sources

On August 9, 2006, staff met with DOE, Offsite Source Recovery Project, to discuss the

proposed design of a transport package for special-form plutonium-beryllium sources. The

package will be used to recover certain unwanted sources in the U.S. and other countries. The

discussion centered on the package evaluation, under both normal transport conditions and

accident conditions. DOE expects to submit an application for the package by the end of

August 2006.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Publication of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.92, Revision 2, “Combining Modal Responses and

Spatial Components in Seismic Response Analysis”

On July 28, 2006, the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research issued the subject RG, available

in ADAMS at ML053250475 and on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/reg-guides/power-reactors/active/01-092/01-092r2.pdf. This RG revision provides

guidance on improved methods that the staff considers acceptable for meeting the

requirements of General Design Criterion 2 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations,

Part 50, Appendix A, which states that nuclear power plant systems, structures and

components (SSCs) important to safety must be designed to withstand the effects of natural

phenomena, such as earthquakes, without loss of capability to perform their safety functions. 

This revision incorporates improved methods for combining modal responses and spatial

components that provide more accurate estimates of SSC seismic response, while reducing

unnecessary conservatism. 
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Preliminary Notification

- PNO-III-06-017A, D.C. Cook 1 and 2-American Electric Power,-D.C. COOK UNIT 1

SHUTS DOWN DUE TO HIGH CONTAINMENT AIR TEMPERATURE (UPDATE).
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Mr. Lawrence T. Christian, et al.; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-79)

On August 7, 2006, the NRC republished a document in the Federal Register (71 FR 44593)

that denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by Lawrence T. Christian, et al. (PRM-50-79). 

The republication of the original December 19, 2005, denial (70 FR 75085) corrects errors and

clarifies NRC’s regulatory position. These changes do not affect the Commission’s denial of

the petition. The petition requested that the NRC amend its regulations regarding offsite state

and local government emergency plans for nuclear power plants to ensure that all daycare

centers and nursery schools in the vicinity of nuclear power facilities are properly protected in

the event of a radiological emergency. The NRC denied the petition because current NRC and

Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations and guidance provide reasonable

assurance of adequate protection of all members of the public, including children attending day

care centers and nursery schools, in the event of a nuclear power plant incident.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act Requests Received During the Period of

August 4 through August 10, 2006:

Contract NRC3303314 awarded to Ruland & Associates, copy of

contract, modifications & all related attachments & exhibits

FOIA/PA-2006-0264

OI Report 4-2006-008 FOIA/PA-2006-0265

Brachytherapy incident of May 12, 2003, at the University Hospitals of

Cleveland, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, any

documentation/report

FOIA/PA-2006-0266

Indian Point 2 & 3 license renewal, all records including

correspondence between NRC & Entergy Nuclear Northeast LLC &

any NY State agency

FOIA/PA-2006-0267

700 +/- acres of agricultural land, SW corner of Lorenzo Road & I55,

Will County, IL, re: tritium containment from the Braidwood & Dresden

Generating Stations, inspections, site assessments, violations

FOIA/PA-2006-0268

“Resolution of Generic Safety Issue 83, Control Room Habitability,”

specific letters & memos, reference NUREG-0933

FOIA/PA-2006-0269
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Arrival

BAXTER, ANGELA SECRETARY (OA) NSIR

BENOWITZ, HOWARD ATTORNEY OGC

HOLLENCAMP, KATHRYN H. SECRETARY (OA) NMSS

LATHROP, KAYE D. ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE ASLBP

WOODRUFF, GENA Y. FUEL FACILITIES INSPECTOR

(NSPDP)

R-II

Departures

BERGEON, BRYAN ANTHONY STUDENT ENGINEER NRR

DEASE, DERRICK A. STUDENT ENGINEER (SUMMER) NRR

KOLLATH-ROMANO, PAUL E. STUDENT ENGINEER NSIR

MOONEY, BARRETT L. STUDENT ENGINEER (CO-OP) R-II

MOORE, ROSS P. STUDENT ENGINEER (SUMMER) R-I

OTERO-GONZALEZ, LAURA L. STUDENT TRAINEE HR

PARRA, SABRINA M. STUDENT ENGINEER (CO-OP) R-II

PELLONI, BRIAN A. STUDENT LAW CLERK R-I

PETERKA, NICHOLAS E. STUDENT ENGINEER (CO-OP) R-II

RIVERA-TORRES, JOSE MANUEL STUDENT ENGINEER RES

ROBERSON, ERVIN C. STUDENT TRAINEE (IT SPEC) IS
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

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

The Chairman’s visit to Braidwood.

Security at nuclear power plants following the disruption of a U.K.-based plot to blow up U.S.-

bound airliners.

Amarillo Power’s intention to apply to NRC to build two new reactors.

The Department of Energy letter challenging NRC’s interpretation of the 2005 Defense

Authorization Act, in regards to waste incidental to reprocessing.

Press Releases

Regions:

I-06-045 New NRC Resident Inspector Assigned to Salem Nuclear Plant (8/7)

IV-06-017 Dean Overland Named Resident Inspector at Waterford 3 Nuclear Plant (8/10)
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SECY-05-0092 05/18/05 Proposed Rule: National Source Tracking of

Sealed Sources (RIN 3150-AH48)

SRM on SECY-05-0092 06/30/05 (same)

Voting Record on

SECY-05-0092

06/30/05 (same)

2. SRM on SECY-06-0101 06/21/06 Emergency Preparedness for Daycare

Facilities Within the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania; Update on Staff Actions and

Request for Commission Approval for

Related Staff Actions

Commission Voting

Record on 06-0101

06/21/06 (same)

Information Papers

1. SECY-06-0172 08/02/06 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

July 21, 2006

2. SECY-06-0164 07/25/06 The NRC Knowledge Management Program

3. SECY-06-0176 08/08/06 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

July 28, 2006

4. SECY-06-0167 07/25/06 Report on the Status of Mixed-Oxide Fuel

Fabrication Facility Activities and the

Plutonium Disposition Program

Memoranda

1. M060727A 08/07/06 Briefing on OIP Programs, Performance,

and Plans

2. M060727B 08/08/06 Briefing on EEO Programs

Commission Correspondence

- Letter to Senator Clinton and Congressman Markey, dated August 1, 2006, responds to

letter concerning the basis change for the National Source Tracking rule.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), notice of 535th meeting (9/7/06 -

9/9/06). 

2. ACRS Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and Procedures, notice of meeting (9/6/06).

3. ACRS Meeting of the Subcommittee on Early Site Permits, notice of meeting (9/6/06).

4. Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Call for Nominations. 
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region I (RI)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

Interagency Meeting Regarding Safety Light Corporation

On August 9, 2006, staff from Region I met with representatives from the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Region III office, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Protection. The representatives discussed actions that need to be completed

before mixed radioactive waste could be transferred from the Safety Light Corporation site for

further processing. This waste was excavated from two underground silos at the Safety Light

Corporation site, located near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

LES National Enrichment Facility Meeting

On August 10, 2006, Region II and NMSS staff conducted a public meeting in Eunice, NM, to

discuss the construction, pre-operational review and operational inspection programs that the

NRC will use to ensure that the LES National Enrichment Facility is constructed and operated in

a safe and secure manner.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

New Plant Manager Announced For Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station

On August 8, 2006, the Arizona Public Service Co. announced that Mr. Mike Perito will become

the new plant manager at Palo Verde, starting September 4. Mr. Perito will oversee operations,

maintenance, radiation protection, and chemistry. Mr. Perito was most recently the operations

manager at Quad Cities.
August 11, 2006 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 30

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Combs 09/14/06

SD406(Tentative)

9:30 NRC Commissioners NRC Oversight Senators 

Clean Air

Nuclear SEnvironm

Shane September

SD-406

9:30 Markup S. 2348, Nuclear Release Notice Act

of 2006

Senators Environm

The Senate and House of Representatives are in recess until September 5, 2006.
August 11, 2006 ENCLOSURE S

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)/

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW)

Items of Interest

Week Ending August 11, 2006

As a result of its 534th meeting (July 12-14, 2006), the ACRS issued letters and reports

on the following subjects. 

Date

August 1, 2006 Generic Safety Issue 191 - Assessment of Debris Accumulation on

PWR Sump Performance

August 2, 2006 Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application

for the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2

August 2, 2006 Draft NUREG Report, “Integrating Risk and Safety Margins”

As a result of its 172nd meeting (July 17-20, 2006), the ACNW issued letters and reports

on the following subjects. 

Date

July 27, 2006 Expanded Potential Nuclear Regulatory Commission Use of the

Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses Expertise - OUO