ML092680467 

UNITED STATES 

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

December 10, 2009 

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 2009-31: NONPOWER REACTOR LICENSEE 

NOTIFICATIONS TO THE NRC DURING AN 

INCIDENT 

ADDRESSEES

All holders of operating licenses for nonpower (research or test) reactors under the provisions of 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, “Domestic Licensing of 

Production and Utilization Facilities.” 

PURPOSE 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice (IN) to 

distribute lessons learned from a recent emergency declaration at a nonpower reactor regarding 

the appropriate NRC office to contact and the types of information that the NRC may request 

from licensees at that time. Recipients should review the information for applicability to their 

facilities and consider actions, as appropriate. The suggestions contained in this IN are not 

NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required. 

DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES

On June 11, 2008, a tornado damaged the building housing the Kansas State University 

research reactor, prompting the licensee to declare an Alert. The licensee appropriately notified 

the Operations Officer at the NRC Headquarters Operations Center by telephone. However, in 

subsequent conversations with other nonpower licensees, it became apparent that not all 

licensees knew to call the NRC Headquarters Operations Center and not the respective region 

or project manager during an incident. 

DISCUSSION

Licensees’ emergency plans describe several emergency situations covering a spectrum of 

emergency conditions that require the notification of the NRC. In addition, Appendix G of 10 

CFR Part 73 requires licensees to contact the NRC for safeguard events. It is requested that 

licensees refer to Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 20, “Standards for Protection Against Radiation” 

for information on how to contact the NRC during an incident. 

 

Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 20 consists of a table with the first column “Region,” under which is 

a separate row for Region I, Region II, Region III, and Region IV, as well as a separate row for 

“NRC Headquarters Operations Center.” The NRC staff requests that nonpower reactor 

licensees make notifications by telephoning the NRC Headquarters Operations Center because 

(1) although nonpower reactors are located throughout the country and in all four NRC Regions, 

all inspections, licensing, and operating licensing programs are centralized at NRC 
IN 2009-31 

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Headquarters and (2) the NRC Headquarters Operations Center has equivalent capabilities for 

contacting the Administrator any time day or night. 

Table 1 lists the basic information that the NRC Headquarters Operations Officer may request 

from the licensee during the initial emergency notification call. 

Table 1 Information Given during the Initial Emergency Notification Call 

Emergency classification 

Description of what occurred 

Safety status of the facility and reactor 

Status of security posture 

Status of event, any possibility of the event degrading 

Response efforts 

Contact information of facility personnel who will maintain communications with the NRC 

Table 2 lists some questions the NRC is likely to ask. 

Table 2 Topics the NRC Is Likely To Discuss with the Licensee 

What are the licensee’s current top priorities for the facility? 

Are there significant uncertainties about any aspect of the event (e.g., is the situation 

improving or degrading)? 

Does the licensee need help from the NRC or other Federal agencies? 

Is the licensee having any communication or staffing problems? 

The licensee’s primary responsibilities during an event are to mitigate the accident, secure the 

facility, classify the event, and make notifications. Meeting these primary responsibilities takes 

precedence over discussing the event with the NRC. If taking time to talk to the NRC would 

interfere with its primary responsibilities, the NRC expects the licensee’s designated manager to 

direct a subordinate to take the call. If this is not feasible, the NRC will inform the licensee when 

the NRC Executive Team Director would like to speak with the licensee’s designated 

representative. 
IN 2009-31 

Page 3 of 3 

CONTACT

This IN requires no specific action or written response. Please direct any questions about this 

matter to the technical contact listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation (NRR) project manager. 

 /RA/ 

Timothy J. McGinty, Director 

Division of Policy and Rulemaking 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

Technical Contact: Beth Reed, NRR 

(301) 415-2130 

E-mail: Elizabeth.Reed@nrc.gov

Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, 

http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections. 
IN 2009-31 

Page 3 of 3 

CONTACT

This IN requires no specific action or written response. Please direct any questions about this 

matter to the technical contact listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation (NRR) project manager. 

 /RA/

Timothy J. McGinty, Director 

Division of Policy and Rulemaking 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

Technical Contact: Beth Reed, NRR 

301-415-2130 

E-mail: Elizabeth.Reed@nrc.gov

Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, 

http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections. 

ADAMS Accession Number: ML092680467 TAC No. ME1758

OFFICE PRTA:DPR TECH EDITOR* BC:PRTA:DPR PGCB:DPR PGCB:DPR BC:PGCB:DPR D:DPR 

NAME EReed KAzariah-Kribbs KBrock DBeaulieu CHawes MMurphy TMcGinty 

DATE 11/16/09 10/ 7/09 12/03/09 11/20/09 12/03/09 12/04/09 12/10/09 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY