POLICY ISSUE 

(Information) 

July 29, 2009 SECY-09-0106

FOR: The Commissioners 

FROM: Brian W. Sheron, Director 

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES RELATED TO GENERIC ISSUES PROGRAM 

PURPOSE: 

This paper provides the annual summary of the Generic Issues Program (GIP) activities 

including improvements to ensure timely and effective resolution of generic issues (GIs). 

This paper does not address any new commitments. 

BACKGROUND: 

In the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) related to SECY-05-0126, “Summary of Activities 

Related to Generic Safety Issues,” dated August 31, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML052430101), the Commission directed the 

NRC staff to develop a plan to focus renewed attention to the GIP to resolve the older GIs and 

to ensure that future GIs are resolved in a timely manner. In its response to that SRM, “Response 

to Staff Requirements Memorandum on SECY-05-0126, ‘Summary of Activities Related to 

Generic Safety Issues,’” dated March 29, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML053570259), the staff 

provided a plan to ensure timely resolution of GIs. Progress reports on this plan were 

subsequently provided to the Commission in the following documents: 

- SECY-06-0161, “Summary of Activities Related to Generic Safety Issues,” 

dated July 20, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML061860078) 

- SECY-07-0110, “Summary of Activities Related to Generic Safety Issues,” 

dated July 6, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071620042) 

CONTACT: Richard Perkins, RES/DRA 

(301) 251-7479 
The Commissioners -2- 

- SECY-08-0108, “Summary of Activities Related to Generic Safety Issues,” 

dated July 28, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML081630158) 

 

SECY-07-0022, “Status Report on Proposed Improvements to the Generic Issues Program,” 

dated January 30, 2007, (ADAMS Accession No. ML063460239) discussed GIP improvement 

elements the staff would implement through a revision of Management Directive (MD) 6.4, 

“Generic Issues Program.” An update on these improvements is provided below. 

DISCUSSION: 

This paper addresses updates to the GIP. The status of GIs is provided in the 3rd quarter report 

on the Generic Issue Management Control System (GIMCS). This report is contained in the 

NRC ADAMS (Accession No. ML091760541) and is also available at the NRC public website on 

the Generic Issues Program webpage. 

In order to have GIMCS Report data available as timely input for this paper and required reports 

to Congress, the GIMCS reporting cycle will be adjusted earlier by one month beginning with the 

next quarterly report. Because of this change, next year’s summary of activities related to the 

GIP will cover eleven months, providing status through May 31, 2010 rather than June 30, 

2010. Subsequent annual reports of GIP activities will return to a twelve month cycle. 

Status of GIs

Since the previous annual report to the Commission (SECY-08-0108), the NRC staff has not 

closed any GIs. Three reactor GIs remain open in the GIP. Three reactor GIs in “regulatory 

office implementation” will continue to proceed under other established programs and processes 

and will continue to be tracked in GIMCS. There are no open nonreactor GIs. 

 

Active GIs in the GIP 

 

The following reactor GIs are open in the GIP: 

• GI-186, “Potential Risk and Consequences of Heavy Load Drops in Nuclear Power Plants.” 

(completion of all Agency actions, estimated August 2009) 

• GI-193, “BWR ECCS Suction Concerns.” (finish safety/risk assessment, estimated March 

2011) 

• GI-199, “Implications of Updated Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Estimates in Central and 

Eastern United States for Existing Plants.” (finish safety/risk assessment, estimated August 

2009) 

Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) is the lead office for GI-186. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory 

Research (RES) is the lead office for GI-193 and GI-199. 

GIs in Regulatory Office Implementation 
The Commissioners -3- 

The following reactor GIs have been previously transferred from the GIP to NRR for regulatory 

office implementation: 

• GI-163, “Multiple Steam Generator Tube Leakage.” (completion of all Agency actions, 

estimated August 2009) 

• GI-189, “Susceptibility of Ice Condenser and Mark III Containments to Early Failure from 

Hydrogen Combustion During a Severe Accident.” (completion of all Agency actions, 

estimated March 2010) 

• GI-191, “Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump Performance.” (completion of 

all Agency actions, estimated September 2010) 

Their status will continue to be tracked and reported in GIMCS until completion by the program 

office. 

Update on GIP Improvements

The GIP staff will continue to coordinate with other cognizant offices on the timely review and 

evaluation of new proposed generic issues. During the past year, the staff has made significant 

progress on improvements to the GIP. The staff has completed a revision to MD 6.4, “Generic 

Issues Program,” that is with the Chairman for review and approval. The RES office instruction, 

TEC-002, “Procedures for Processing Generic Issues,” has been drafted and will be finalized 

after final review and comments from the other offices and after final issuance of MD 6.4. The 

NRC staff has and will continue its outreach to inform stakeholders about the new MD 6.4 

processes. The staff also has made significant improvements to the GIP internal and external 

Web pages by expanding the available information on GIP policy and procedures, records on 

old generic issues, and instructions on how to prepare and submit a new generic issue. 

International Efforts

In February 2009, the NRC staff participated in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 

meeting in Vienna, Austria, titled “Consultants’ Meeting on the Establishment of the International 

Regulatory Network.” The agenda for this meeting included discussion on the potential 

development of a website on generic issues which would allow each member country to 

maintain an IAEA webpage with information on its own generic issues. It is anticipated that the 

website will enhance the exchange of technical information and eliminate duplication of effort 

among member counties. NRC staff recently met with staff from other member countries 

regarding the development of a draft framework and will continue informal discussions. 

RESOURCES: 

For FY 2010, the NRC staff has further streamlined the GIP process and has reduced the total 

budget resources. A small increase in full-time employees (FTE) exists because there is a 

small increment in the workload assisting with the resolution of existing issues during the 

safety/risk assessment process. Thus, for FY 2010, the staff estimates that the resources 

needed for these activities will total $660K and 8.9 FTE. 
The Commissioners -4- 

Table of Budgeted Resources for FY2010 in Comparison to FY 2009 

 FY 2009 FY 2010 

RES $850K and 7.5 FTE $660K and 7.7 FTE 

NRR 0.8 FTE 0.8 FTE 

NMSS 0.1 FTE 0.1 FTE 

FSME 0.2 FTE 0.2 FTE 

NRO 0.1 FTE 0.1 FTE 

COORDINATION: 

The Office of the General Counsel reviewed this package and has no legal objection. The 

Chief Financial Officer reviewed this package and determined that it has no financial impact. 

 /RA/ 

 Brian W. Sheron, Director 

 Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 
The Commissioners -4-

Table of Budgeted Resources for FY2010 in Comparison to FY 2009 

 FY 2009 FY 2010 

RES $850K and 7.5 FTE $660K and 7.7 FTE 

NRR 0.8 FTE 0.8 FTE 

NMSS 0.1 FTE 0.1 FTE 

FSME 0.2 FTE 0.2 FTE 

NRO 0.1 FTE 0.1 FTE 

COORDINATION: 

The Office of the General Counsel reviewed this package and has no legal objection. The 

Chief Financial Officer reviewed this package and determined that it has no financial impact. 

 /RA/

Brian W. Sheron, Director 

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 

ADAMS Accession No.: ML091410361 WITS 198300621/EDATS: SECY-2008-0456 

OFFICE RES/DRA SUNSI Review Tech Editor RES/DRA BC:RES/DRA D:RES/DRA 

NAME A. Malliakos A. Malliakos J. Zabel 

(via email) 

J. Kauffman B. Beasley C. Lui 

(D.Coe for) 

DATE 07/01/09 07/01/09 06/08/09 07/01/09 07/07/09 07/13/09 

OFFICE D:RES/DE D:RES/DSA NMSS NRR NSIR NRO 

NAME M. Case 

(S. Richards for) 

J. Uhle E. Doolittle 

(via email) 

B. Boger 

(via email) 

W. Dean 

(via email) 

C. Ader 

(via email) 

DATE 07/15/09 07/23/09 07/24/09 07/24/09 07/23/09 07/24/09 

OFFICE FSME OCFO OGC D:RES 

NAME A.McIntosh 

(via email) 

T. Pulliam 

(via email)

G.Mizuno 

(via email) 

B. Sheron 

DATE 07/16/09 07/29/09 07/15/09 07/29/09 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY