INFORMATION REPORT

June 6, 2005 SECY-05-0100

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0100 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MAY 20, 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
June 6, 2005 SECY-05-0100

For: The Commissioners

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

Subject: SECY-05-0100 - “WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK 

ENDING MAY 20, 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\week520.WPD

*See previous concurrence

OEDO AO/OEDO

TKim:paa WMDean

06/03/05* 06/06/05
WEEKLY INFORMATION REPORT - WEEK ENDING MAY 20, 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 18

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 *

*No input this week
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE A

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Monthly Public Meeting on Implementation of the Mitigating System Performance Indicator

(MSPI)

On May 18, 2005, NRR staff, together with staff members from the Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research (RES) and regional offices, hosted the subject meeting. One of the main topics of

the meeting involved discussion of a proposed alternative to the previous recommendations of

the Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Quality Task Group regarding the minimum PRA

quality requirements needed for MSPI implementation. Additionally, RES staff presented a

computer-based demonstration of the MSPI PRA database, which is currently being developed

to assist in the identification of PRA model “outliers” in support of staff inspection activities for

MSPI implementation. The MSPI is a more risk-informed performance indicator that addresses

many of the concerns with the current Safety System Unavailability performance indicator used

as part of the Agency’s Reactor Oversight Process. 

Monthly Working Group Meeting on the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP)

On May 19, 2005, NRR staff, together with representatives from the NRC regional offices, held

the subject meeting. Topics discussed include: (1) implementation issues associated with the

Significance Determination Process (SDP);status of the task forces activities regarding

implementation issues associated with certain performance indicators; (3) guidance changes for

substantive cross-cutting issues; (4) periodic assessments of the effectiveness of the PI

program; and (5) recent appeal decisions by the NRC staff regarding five frequently asked

question (FAQ) concerning the performance indicator “scrams with loss of normal heat

removal.” The next monthly meeting is scheduled for July 21, 2005. 
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE B

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Workshop on Utilization of Risk Information for Nuclear Safety Regulation

On May 10-12, 2005, staff representatives from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

and NMSS participated in the subject workshop held in Tokyo, Japan, organized by the Nuclear

Safety Commission of Japan. The workshop participants were very interested in the integrated

safety analysis (ISA) approach for risk-informing regulation of fuel cycle facilities. In particular,

questions were raised regarding the safety goals for facilities other than reactors, why safety

goals are not consistent among facilities, and how the ISA process would be applied to the

Mixed Oxide fuel fabrication facilities, which the Japanese view as comparable to its

reprocessing facility. The French, who have traditionally relied on a deterministic approach,

also expressed interest in the ISA approach.

Audit of Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA)

On May 9-13, 2005, NRC staff observed an CNWRA’s Internal Quality Assurance (QA) Audit

conducted in San Antonio, Texas. The NRC observers evaluated this performance-based audit

to determine whether the CNWRA is effectively implementing the requirements of its QA

program. The NRC observers agreed with the CNWRA audit team findings that the CNWRA

QA program is being effectively implemented and appears to provide adequate controls for

technical product development.

Meeting with MDS Nordion and the Department of Transportation (DOT)

On May 17, 2005, staff from the Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) met with MDS Nordion and

DOT about a DOT request for SFPO staff’s recommendation on revalidation of Canadian

Certificate No. CDN/2079/B(U)-96 (Model No. F-458) for import/export use. To facilitate SFPO

staff review, MDS Nordion presented details of several transport packages, including testing

and combustible gas generation. A portion of the meeting was closed to the public, to discuss

proprietary information.

Meeting with Holtec International and Utilities

On May 17, 2005, staff from SFPO met with representatives from Holtec International, Southern

Nuclear Corp., and Entergy. The draft final rulemaking on the HI-STORM 100 Amendment 2

dry storage cask was withdrawn on May 12, because of a public comment on the rule. The

discussion focused on the potential submittal of exemption requests by licensees from the

requirements of 10 CFR 72.212 and 10 CFR 72.214 to load HI-STORM 100, Amendment 2

casks, before the final rule is issued. The utilities explained that the cask loadings are

necessary to support adequate spent fuel pool space. The exemption requests would be

processed in parallel with the final rulemaking review.
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE C

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Summary of Semiannual OECD Piping Failure Data Exchange (OPDE) Meeting

On May 11-12, 2005, RES staff attended the OPDE meeting to present the status of U.S.

efforts towards completing the project goals. Eleven representatives from 11 countries were in

attendance. The purpose of the OPDE project is to assemble a database of light water reactor

piping failures submitted by the member countries and the joint US effort between the NRC and

the Electric Power Research Institute. The meeting attendees discussed the status of member

countries’ efforts towards completing project goals, and planning for the next phase of the

project scheduled to begin in June 2005. Beginning in June, the database will be available to

participating countries in its finalized form for members to continue to add piping event

information. Also, several representatives presented examples of recent interesting piping

events that have been submitted to the database, including updated information on the recent

Mihama pipe rupture event in Japan. The NRC participation in the OPDE project and meetings

provide vital leverage for our ongoing passive component failure projects. Because of the rarity

of piping failures and precursor events, it is crucial to have both an accurate count of these

events and a large pool of relevant reactor experience to draw from in order to develop

meaningful piping failure frequency estimates. The next OPDE meeting is scheduled for

October 2005 in Ottawa, Canada.

Progress Review of ANL Tests on Post-LOCA Ductility of Cladding from High-Burnup Fuel

On May 10, 2005, a progress review meeting was held with NRC’s partners on a high-burnup

fuel testing program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The purpose of this program is to

provide the technical basis for revising criteria in the regulation for loss-of-coolant accident

(LOCA) analysis, 10 CFR 50.46. This regulation specifies limits on peak cladding temperature

and maximum cladding oxidation to ensure cladding ductility and thereby maintain coolable

geometry following a LOCA. First-of-a-kind ductility tests on high-burnup fuel rods from

commercial plants have been performed at ANL in recent months. A draft report describing a

LOCA embrittlement correlation based on the emerging data was prepared by ANL in early

April and the correlation was discussed at the meeting. This draft report was placed in ADAMS

(ML051010265) and made available to the public on April 22. A public meeting to discuss the

ANL database and correlation was proposed for late October or early November 2005.

Belgonucleaire MALIBU Program Review Meeting

On May 11-12, 2005, the 2nd MALIBU program committee meeting (PCM) was held near

Avignon, France. Under this program, high burnup spent fuel samples, up to 80 Gwd/MtU

[gigaWatt-days per metric ton of uranium] burnup, from MOX [mixed oxide] and UO2 [uranium

oxide] fuels are being acquired and analyzed for use in code validation. Measurements are

being performed and cross checked between three independent laboratories: SCK/CEN

(Belgium), PSI (Switzerland), and CEA (France). The MALIBU data will provide isotopic

measurements on high burnup UO2 and MOX fuel samples with very high confidence in the

measurement accuracy and with low uncertainty. These results will be crucial for validating

codes used by the NRC to confirm predicted high burnup fuel isotopic compositions used in

burnup credit, decay heat, radiation source terms, and accident analyses.
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE D

Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Millstone License Renewal Application

On May 18, 2005, the Emergency Preparedness Directorate (EPD) staff provided support 

to the Office of General Counsel, at a meeting with representatives from Suffolk County, New

York, and the licensee (Dominion/Millstone), as parties to a petition filed by Suffolk County to

intervene in the Millstone license renewal application. This meeting was requested by the

NRC’s Atomic Safety Licensing Board. Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives

of the State of New York and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The

meeting provided an opportunity for discussion with Suffolk County representatives regarding

their concerns associated with the Millstone application. Most of those concerns focused on

emergency preparedness (EP). The basis for EP and the 10 and 50 mile emergency planing

zones were described by the EPD staff. Dominion presented a discussion on past and

continuing interactions with Suffolk County and associated municipalities in the EP process. 

Suffolk County continues to have specific concerns with evacuation issues and believes that

these concerns need to be considered in the license renewal process. 
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE F

Office of Administration (ADM)

Items of Interest 

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Contract Award

On May 9, 2005, a competitive time and materials type delivery order No. DR-33-05-346 was

awarded to Ruland Associates, Incorporated under the General Service Administration's

Federal Supply Schedule. The contractor shall provide hardware and software support for the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technology Assessment Lab. The total estimated cost is

$691,093. The period of performance is four years, including three one-year options. 
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE G

Office of Information Services (OIS)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

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

May 13 through May 19, 2005:

Records containing information on named individual FOIA/PA-2005-0232

Radioactive materials authorized users licenses, Region I, current

with fax numbers 

FOIA/PA-2005-0233

NRC Reporter, Tomorrow’s News Tonight, copy of an issue of each FOIA/PA-2005-0234

Beaver Valley Power Station, recent investigation re: guard fatigue,

reports, interviews, e-mails, etc.

FOIA/PA-2005-0235

Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation, docket no. 72-005, license no. SFGL-03, application,

permit, licensing, inspections, costs, etc.

FOIA/PA-2005-0236

NRC Credit card holders FOIA/PA-2005-0237

NRC NMSS material licensees, complete list FOIA/PA-2005-0238
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE I

Office of Human Resources (HR)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Arrivals

Samuel Wren Fowler Reactor Inspector (NSPDP) R-II

Jeremy R. Groom Reactor Inspector (NSPDP) R-IV

Adam N. Kalkman Student Clerk (Summer) OI/R-III

Christopher Lange Student Engineer (Summer) OIG

John Lehning, III General Engineer NRR

Zachary Mehlhaff Student Clerk (Summer) R-IV

Thomas S. Woodson Student Engineer (Summer) R-IV

Mathew R. Young Student Engineer (Summer) R-IV

Departures

Joe Foster Sr. Intelligence Analyst NSIR

Stephen Holmes Reactor Inspector NRR
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE M

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

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

The conclusion of the NRC inspection into the unplanned shutdown that led to an Alert

declaration at Millstone.

Friday’s announcement that Davis-Besse will return to the Reactor Oversight Process. 

Other Public Affairs Items:

OPA staff continued to assist at public end-of-cycle meetings.

OPA has been working with several media outlets to coordinate interviews with Chairman Diaz,

notably the magazines The Hill and Time.

Press Releases

Headquarters:

No HQ Press Releases this week.

Regions:

I-05-029 NRC Reports Preliminary Results of Millstone 3 Special Inspection (5/18)

III-05-026 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Quad Cities Nuclear

Power Plant (5/19)

III-05-027 NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Fermi Nuclear Power

Station (5/19)

III-05-028 NRC Terminates Special Oversight Panel, Begins Augmented Reactor

Oversight Program for Davis-Besse (5/20)

IV-05-022 NRC to Discuss Performance Assessment for River Bend Nuclear Plant (5/17)
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE N

Office of International Programs (OIP)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Visit by Korean Ministry of Science and Technology Officials

On May 16, 2005 an eight-member delegation from Korea’s Ministry of Science and

Technology (MOST) met with staff members from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident

Response to discuss physical protection at nuclear power plants. The delegation also visited

the Sandia National Laboratory and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) for

additional discussions on physical protection.
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Office of the Secretary (SECY)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Document Released

to Public

Date Subject

Decision Documents

1. SECY-05-0073 4/28/05 Implementation of New U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission Responsibilities

Under the National Defense Authorization

Act of 2005 in Reviewing Waste

Determinations for the U.S. Department of

Energy

2. SECY-05-0074 4/28/05 Proposed Rule to Amend the Fitness-ForDuty Requirements in 10 CFR Part 26

Information Papers

1. SECY-05-0081 5/11/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

April 29, 2005

2. SECY-05-0083 5/12/05 Weekly Information Report - Week Ending

May 6, 2005

Memoranda

1. M050511AB 5/18/05 SRM - All Employees Meeting

2. M050426 5/19/05 SRM - Briefing on Grid Stability and Offsite

Power Issues

Commission Correspondence

1. Letter to Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, dated May 9, 2005, responds to request that

NRC expeditiously resolve its objects to release the publicly available version of the NAS

report “Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage.”

2. Letter to Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., dated May 10, 2005, responds to request for

NRC to take immediate action in response to the NAS report “Safety and Security of

Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage.”

3. Letter to Senator James M. Inhofe, dated May 13, 2005, concerns legislation which would

enhance the security of nuclear facilities and materials falling within the jurisdiction of the

NRC.
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE O

Federal Register Notices Issued

1. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Meeting of the Subcommittee on Plant

License Renewal, notice of meeting (5/31/05).

2. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting on Planning and

Procedures, notice of meeting (5/31/05).

3. Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, USEC, Inc. (American Centrifuge

Plant), Docket No. 70-7004-ML, ASLBP No. 05-838-01-ML.

4. Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, Andrew Siemaszko (Enforcement

Action), IA-05-021, ASLBP No. 05-839-02-EA. 
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region II (RII)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Catawba Nuclear Plant - Regional Administrator Site Visit

On May 17, the Regional Administrator visited the Catawba nuclear plant for a site tour and met

with licensee management and the NRC’s resident inspectors.
May 20, 2005 ENCLOSURE P

Region IV (RIV)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

Cooper Nuclear Station - Site Visit by the NRC’s Executive Director for Operations

On May 16, 2005, the NRC’s Executive Director of Operations visited Cooper Nuclear Station. 

During the visit, he was accompanied by the resident inspectors on a plant tour and also met

with licensee management to discuss topics of interest involving the plant.

Fort Calhoun Station - Site Visit by the Deputy Regional Administrator

On May 16, 2005, the Deputy Regional Administrator visited the Fort Calhoun Station. During

the visit, he was accompanied by the resident inspectors on a plant tour and also met with

licensee management to discuss topics of interest involving the plant.
May 20, 2005 

Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)

Items of Interest

Week Ending May 20, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 20

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

Shane May 24

SD-366

9:30 TBA Markup of Draft FY 2006 Energy Bill Senators 

Energy a

Combs May 24

2322RHOB

2:00 NRC, DOE, Nuclear Threat

Initiative, and Counsel onForeign Relations

Reducing the Threat of NuclearTerrorism: A Review of the DOE'sGlobal Threat Reduction Initiatives

Reps WhOversight Energy a

Shane May 25

SD-366

9:30 TBA Markup of Draft FY 2006 Energy Bill Senators 

Energy a

Shane May 26

SD-406

9:30 NRC, GAO, Union of

Concerned Scientists, andNustart Corp.

Legislative Oversight Senators 

Clean Air

Nuclear SEnvironm

Shane May 26

SD-366

9:30 TBA Markup of Draft FY 2006 Energy Bill Senators 

Energy a

Combs May 26

210 CHOB

1:00 Institute for International

Security, InternationalScience and TechnologyCenter, and DOD

Building a Nuclear Bomb: IdentifyingEarly Indicators of Terrorist Activities

Reps LindPreventioAttackHomeland 
CONGRESSIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE, NO. 20

 OCAContact

 DATE & PLACE

TIME WITNESS SUBJECT 

May 20, 2005 

Madden TBA

SD-562

TBA OMB, GAO Accountability and Results in Federal

Budgeting

Senators Federal FGovernmInternatioHomeland Affairs

Combs TBA

SD-366

TBA DOE, NRC Status of Yucca Mountain Senators 

Energy a

Combs April 13

2247RHOBPostponed

10:00 TBA Yucca Mountain Project: Digging for

the Truth

Reps PorFederal WOrganizaGovernm