INFORMATION REPORT

March 2, 2006 SECY-06-0050

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

FEBRUARY 17, 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/

William M. Dean

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

L. Rakovan, OEDO
March 2, 2006 SECY-06-0050

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING

FEBRUARY 17, 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/

William M. Dean 

Assistant for Operations, OEDO

Contact:

L. Rakovan, OEDO

DISTRIBUTION:

Central File

Public Document Name: C:\WIR\week217.WPD

OEDO AO/OEDO

LRakovan:paa WMDean

03/02/06 03/02/06
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 17, 2006

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

Headquarters and Regional Office activities. 

Contact: L. Rakovan, OEDO by E-mail: ljr2@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 *

ADM 10 Region II 21

OIS 11 Region III *

CFO * Region IV 23

HR 15 EDO *

SBCR * OCA 24

OE * ACRS/ACNW *

*No input this week
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Staff Issues Palisades License Renewal Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact

Statement for Public Comment

On February 14, 2006, the staff issued the draft of NUREG-1437, “Generic Environmental

Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 27, Regarding Palisades

Nuclear Plant,” for public comment. This supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS)

includes the staff’s preliminary analysis that considers and weighs the environmental effects of

the proposed action, the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action, and

mitigative measures available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. It also includes the

staff’s preliminary recommendation regarding the proposed action: that the Commission

determine that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for Palisades Nuclear

Plant are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning decision

makers would be unreasonable. 

A 75-day public comment period is scheduled to begin on February 23, 2006, with the Notice of

Filing of the draft SEIS by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register,

and end on May 18, 2006. The staff has scheduled public meetings for April 5, 2006, in South

Haven, Michigan, to present its analyses and to accept public comments on the draft SEIS.

Information Notice (IN) on Galvanized Supports and Cable Trays with Meggitt Cables

On January 19, 2006, the Information Notice “Use of Galvanized Supports and Cable Trays

with Meggitt Si 2400 Stainless-Steel-Jacketed Electrical Cables” was issued to the public for

their use. This IN informs all licensees about adverse effects that occur due to a fire, as a

result of reaction between the cable material and its supports. 

Meetings Held to Discuss Testing Methodology

On February 10, 2006, the NRC staff held meetings with several replacement strainer vendors

including two open meetings with Framatome/Areva and Alion, and a closed meeting with

Control Components Incorporated. The discussions mainly concerned technical areas that

have yet to be resolved regarding testing methodology in such areas as the near-field effect,

chemical precipitation, and downstream effects. The two open meetings will help to facilitate a

consistent approach among vendors in resolving the outstanding issues with regard to strainer

testing. One of the open meetings further identified a patented design to add a filter

downstream of the strainer to mitigate both downstream effects and head loss.

NRR Working to Resolve Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191 

On February 14, 2006, NRR staff met with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards

(ACRS) Subcommittee on Thermal Hydraulics to discuss progress and issues related to

GSI-191 pressurized water-reactor sump strainer clogging. The staff described its overall

approach to resolving the GSI. In addition, presenters summarized current status and work

regarding downstream effects, coatings, and chemical effects. The Subcommittee had a
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE A

number of questions regarding the technical bases for the staff’s future reviews of licensee

submittals and to what extent the staff has provided guidance to the industry in addressing the

various technical aspects of the GSI. The staff emphasized the importance of addressing

undersized strainers, recognizing that the testing and technical work to reduce uncertainties

regarding the GSI are not yet complete. The staff will meet with the ACRS Full Committee on

March 9 to discuss GSI-191. 

Duke Energy Proposed Resolving Vulnerabilities at Oconee

On February 7, 2006, NRR staff participated in a meeting with Duke Energy to discuss the

licensee's plans and schedules for resolving tornado and high energy line break vulnerabilities

at the Oconee units as proposed in a letter to the NRC dated January 31, 2006. Duke's

resolution of these issues includes the submittal of License Amendment Requests to address

licensing basis considerations, analytical approaches for resolving some vulnerabilities, and

implementation of major plant modifications that include (for example) upgrading the station

auxiliary service water pump to high head with the capability to provide secondary makeup to all

three Oconee units, and providing protection for the inventory of the borated water storage

tanks from the effects of tornado missiles. While the staff questioned the schedule for

completing some of the proposed actions (June 30, 2009), the licensee explained that the

schedules are preliminary estimates based upon long lead times for material procurement,

outage schedule constraints, and tornado season considerations.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Staff Visits the Fran Ridge Large Block Test at the Yucca Mountain Site

On February 13, 2006, staff visited the Fran Ridge Large Block Test facility at the Yucca

Mountain site in Nevada, which is a 36-cubic-meter rock carved out of Yucca Mountain. The

Department of Energy (DOE) used the rock for fracture mapping, flow, seepage, and transport

experiments. DOE is currently planning to remove the rock to use the site for other purposes. 

Staff is evaluating whether the Fran Ridge Large Block Test facility could be used for validating

NRC's computer simulation models.

NMSS’/Regional Division Directors’ Counterpart Meeting

On February 9-10, 2006, in order to enhance communications between NMSS and the regions,

NMSS Division Directors met with their counterparts from the regional Divisions of Nuclear

Materials Safety at NRC Headquarters. The meeting included discussions on: (1) safety and

security issues for NMSS and Agreement State licensees; (2) training initiatives; (3) various

program status updates for a number of projects across the materials and waste arenas; and

(4) discussions on the long-range changes envisioned for the various programs over the next

several years. Managers, supervisors, and senior staff from the Office of Nuclear Security and

Incident Response, the Office of Human Resources, the Office of Information Services, and the

Office of State and Tribal Programs also participated. This was the first of two Division Director

counterpart meetings held this year. Plans call for the next meeting to take place in

approximately 6 months.

Meeting of the Therapy Physics Committee (TPC), American Association of Physicists in

Medicine (AAPM)

On February 7-8, 2006, an NMSS staff member attended a meeting of the TPC, AAPM, held in

Houston, TX. The principal purposes of the meeting were to review the AAPM site visit report

for the Radiological Physics Center located at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and to

review the report preparation status and activities of multiple task groups and subcommittees,

many of interest to NRC's medical use regulatory program. The NRC Liaison advised TPC

members of the availability of the NMSS Licensee Newsletter published quarterly, which can be

found on the NRC public website. In addition, TPC members were advised that there is a paper

on the adequacy of medical event definitions and communicating associated risks to the public,

that the Commission is now considering. It was noted that development of the paper involved

input from NRC's Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes, which has three

members with AAPM affiliation.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Decision on Differing Professional Opinion (DPO) on Issuance for Public Comment of a Draft

NUREG on Fire Model Verification and Validation (V&V) (DPO-2005-006)

On February 13, 2006, the Director, RES, issued the subject decision. The DPO focused on

whether the draft NUREG should be published without publishing certain benchmark exercise

research reports which addressed potential issues and limitations with two of the five fire

models in the V&V. An Ad Hoc Review Panel determined that it was acceptable to publish the

draft NUREG for public comment. Based on a review of the panel’s report and additional

comments provided by the DPO submitter and staff, the Director, RES, agreed with the panel,

and concluded that the issues and/or limitations of the fire models had already been

successfully addressed by the RES staff in development of the draft NUREG.

Halden Project Releases Report Related to Alternate Source Terms

At the request of NRC, the Halden Research Project (HRP), a multinational research

organization located in Norway, released its report, "The Treatment of Radioactive Fission Gas

Release Measurements and Provision of Data for Development and Validation of the ANS 5.4

Model," into the public domain. The HRP work is associated with Regulatory Guide 1.183 -

“Alternative Radiological Source Terms for Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at Nuclear Power

Reactors.” These data will be further used to validate the fission product release models, the

first step in quantifying radiological consequences. Recently, the Boiling Water Reactor 

Owners' Group proposed a method of determining radioactive fission gas release based on

efforts of the ANS 5.4 Working Group.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE D

Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Preliminary Notifications

1. PNO-I-06-002, Mostoller Landfill - IDENTIFICATION OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL AT A

PENNSYLVANIA LANDFILL.

2. PNO-RIII-06-004, Dresden 2 and 3 - TRITIUM LEAKAGE.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006 (AH83 - Parts 170 and 171)

On February 10, 2006 (71 FR 7350), a proposed rule that would amend the licensing,

inspection, and annual fees charged to the Commission’s applicants and licensees was

published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule is intended to ensure NRC compliance

with the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended. The Act mandates that

the NRC recover approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year 2006, less

amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund and for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing

activities. The amount to be recovered for FY 2006 is approximately $625 million. The

comment period on this action closes March 13, 2006.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Agency-Wide Corel Office Suite Upgrade

OIS is planning to upgrade all Windows desktops with a new Corel Office Suite. OIS is working

with major stakeholders to test and evaluate WordPerfect Office 12 and the latest version just

released from Corel this month, WordPerfect Office X3. A decision on the upgrade path will be

made shortly, then program offices and regions will be notified of the upgrade process and

given time to review and test the chosen product. The rollout is currently targeted for the fourth

quarter of Fiscal Year ‘06.

Progress on the Hidden Text Issue 

OIS staff has finished briefing all information technology (IT) coordinators about the hidden text

issue and provided them with additional information to disseminate to their staffs. OIS is

currently completing work on an automated script that will examine each WordPerfect

document used to generate a PDF file that is currently publicly-available in ADAMS to

determine if the document uses any of the WordPerfect features/codes that could potentially

result in "hidden" text in the final PDF file. The use of the automated script will greatly reduce

the number of existing documents that each office/region might have to examine to ensure that

hidden text was not inappropriately released. OIS has also met with the Professional

Development Center (PDC) to discuss incorporating information regarding "hidden text" into its

appropriate PDC classes.

IT/Information Management (IM) Strategic Planning

On February 9, 2006, IT/IM Strategic Planning activities continued at the OIS Managers’ OffSite meeting. A facilitated working session was used to begin the development of strategies

and measures for the six strategic goals. The OIS Strategic Planning Subgroup is now working

on refining the draft strategies and measures for discussion with the OIS Strategic Planning

Team on February 21. An update on the process was presented at the OIS All-Hands Meeting

on February 15, in preparation for soliciting staff input on the strategies and measures. On

February 23, a video teleconference session will be held with the Regional IT/IM Strategic

Planning Group (ISPG) representatives. After that meeting the final agencywide IT/IM Mission,

Vision, and Strategic Goals, reflecting ISPG and IT Advisory Council comments, will be

provided to the Chief Information Officer.

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

February 10, 2006 through February 16, 2006:

Nuclear Materials Events Database (NMED), all years available FOIA/PA-2006-0107

Strange Co., 342 N. Western Ave., license no. 12-12877-01, all

records (MLTS1001210780)

FOIA/PA-2006-0108
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE G

USS King deck logs FOIA/PA-2006-0109

Argonne National Lab research conducted on high-burnup reactor

fuel, all records

FOIA/PA-2006-0110

Records on named individuals FOIA/PA-2006-0111

OI Report 1-2003-011, all records FOIA/PA-2006-0112

Nuclear Management Co. Fitness-For-Duty Program at Kewaunee &

Point Beach, 1-1-01 to present; OI Reports 3-2002-04 & 3-2002-020

FOIA/PA-2006-0113

Statistical breakdown of FOIA requester types for FY2005, number of

requests received & distribution percentage

FOIA/PA-2006-0114

Braidwood tritium spill resident inspector condition report A2000-

04281; communications with Region III, NRR, OGC & Commission

FOIA/PA-2006-0115

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, NRC’s strategic plan to

identify critical infrastructure & key resources & protect them from

terrorist attacks, executive summary or similar

FOIA/PA-2006-0116

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, NRC’s strategic plan to

identify critical infrastructure & key resources & protect them from

terrorist attacks, Table of Contents

FOIA/PA-2006-0117

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, NRC’s strategic plan to

identify critical infrastructure & key resources & protect them from

terrorist attacks, first 3 pages of plan

FOIA/PA-2006-0118
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Arrival

BERRIOS, ILKA T. MECHANICAL ENGINEER (NSPDP) RES

BOWER, PHYLLIS A. BRANCH CHIEF ADM

DEMPSEY, MARLENE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR OIG

EVEN, CHRISTOPHER J. REACTOR INSPECTOR (NSPDP) R-II

REGNER, LISA M. PROJECT MANAGER NRR

WILLBANKS, CHARLES PROJECT MANAGER NRR

Retirements

MARKEN, SHELLY L. PROGRAM ASSISTANT CFO

Departures

FORDER, JAMIE L. PROGRAM SUPPORT ASSISTANT NSIR

LOEFFLER, APRIL M. SECRETARY (OA) NSIR

VELAZQUEZ-LOZADA, ALEXANDER REACTOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER RES

ZIPKIN, SHANA C. LEGAL INTERN OGC
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Media Interest

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

Chairman’s Platts speech (2/13) on New Reactors.

Exelon testing for tritium at all of its reactors resulting from issues at Dresden, Braidwood and

Bryron. 

Oyster Creek license renewal.

Private Fuel Storage license application process and issuance.

Palo Verde financial assessments associated with units being offline.

Other Public Affairs Items:

Mike Weber, NSIR, spoke to AP about security and the Design Basis Threat.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

06-024 NRC Terminates ACHP Consultation, Prepares to Issue License to Private

Fuel Storage (2/13)

06-025 NRC Releases Results of its 2005 Safety Culture and Climate Survey

(2/16)

06-026 NRC Issues Report for Comment on Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation

Cask Response to Caldecott Tunnel Fire Scenario (2/17)

06-027 NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation for Clinton Early Site Permit Application

(2/17)

Regions:

II-06-002 NRC to Continue Heightened Inspections at Honeywell although Plant

Operated Safely During Past Year (2/14)

I-06-008 New NRC Resident Inspector Assigned to Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant

(2/16)

II-06-003 NRC Sends Augmented Inspection Team to Review Security at Florida

Nuclear Power Plant and Issues Confirmatory Action Letter (2/17)
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SRM-SECY-05-0234 02/15/06 Adequacy of Medical Event Definitions in 10

CFR 35.3045, and Communicating

Associated Risks to the Public

Commission Voting

Record on 05-0234

02/15/06 (same)

Memoranda

1. M060131B 02/14/06 SRM-Briefing on Strategic Workforce

Planning and Human Capital Initiatives

2. M060206A 02/17/06 Staff Requirements - Briefing on Materials

Degradation Issues and Fuel Reliability

3. M060208B 02/17/06 Staff Requirements - Briefing on RES

Programs, Performance, and Plans

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congress, dated February 10, 2006, provides the December 2005 report on the

status of NRC’s licensing and other regulatory activities.

2. Letter to Congress, dated February 10, 2006, provides NRC’s Annual Report of

Administration of the Government in the Sunshine Act for Calendar Year 2005.

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Subcommittee Meeting on Planning

and Procedures, notice of meeting (3/8/06).

2. ACRS Meeting of the Subcommittee on Early Site Permits, notice of meeting (3/8/06).
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Farley Management Meeting

On February 14, 2006, Region II management met with representatives from the Southern

Nuclear Company, Inc., in the Regional Office to discuss Farley nuclear plant’s operating

performance and other site issues.
February 17, 2006 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

Nebraska Public Power District - Cooper Nuclear Station

On February 10, 2006, Bill Fehrman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nebraska Public

Power District, announced his resignation. Mr. Fehrman will accept a position as Senior Vice

President with MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, effective April 1. Mr. Fehrman’s

replacement has not been named. 

Entergy Operations, Inc. - River Bend Nuclear Station

On February 10, 2006, the River Bend nuclear reactor unit was shut down to inspect possible

causes of moisture carryover from the unit’s steam dryer to the outlet steam lines. On

February 15, 2006, River Bend completed inspection of the steam dryer and found no evidence

of cracking or defects. NRC inspectors observed the inspections. The licensee determined

that the method they used for detecting moisture carryover was not accurate. The licensee’s

methodology for measuring moisture carryover relied primarily on the amount of Sodium 24 that

was detected in the main steam lines. However, Iodine-135 activity in the steam plant resulting

from known fuel leaks was misidentified as Sodium-24, which resulted in a false indication of

moisture carryover. Region IV is coordinating with NRR to evaluate this issue for a potential

generic communication.
February 17, 2006 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending February 17, 2006

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 6

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Decker 02/14/06

SD-366

10:00 Energy Information

Administration

Energy Outlook and Trends Senators 

Energy a

Combs 03/07/06

SR-232A

2:45 Linton Brooks-National

Nuclear SecurityAdminstration,Joseph Rispoli-AssistantSecretary fo Energy forEnvironmental Mgmt.

FY 2007 Budget - Nuclear Weaponsand Environmental Cleanup

Senators Strategic Armed Se

Decker 03/08/06

2362BRHOB

10:00 DOE Department of Energy-Overview Reps. Ho

Energy aAppropria

Shane 03/09/06

SD-406

TBA NRC NRC Oversight Senators 

Clean Air

 and NuEnvironm

Decker 03/09/06

2362BRHOB

10:00 DOE Department of EnergyEnvironmental Management Reps. Ho

Energy aAppropria

Combs 03/14/06

Tentative

TBA DOE Status of Yucca Mountain license

application

Senators Energy a
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 6

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

February 17, 2006 

Combs 03/15/06

2362BRHOB

10:00 DOE Department of Energy - Nuclear

Waste Disposal

Reps. HoEnergy aAppropria

Combs 03/23/06

Las Vegas,NV

10:00 NRC, GAO, DOE/OCRWM,

DOE/IG, Bechtel

Yucca Mountain Project: PersistentManagement and Quality Assurance

Reps. PoFederal WOrganizaGovernm

Combs 03/28/06 or

03/30/06TBD

TBD NRC, GAO, DOE/NNSA,

DHS/Customs and BorderProtection

GAO findings with regard tocounterfeiting an NRC license andgeneral availability of exemptquantity radioactive sources

Senators PermaneInvestigatHomeland  Affairs