[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 227 (Friday, November 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66513-66514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30733]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Workshop Concerning the Revision of the Baseline Safety 
Inspection Program for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: NRC will host a public workshop at the Doubletree Hotel in 
Rockville, Maryland for those regulated by the NRC and other 
stakeholders to provide and explain their views concerning NRC plans to 
revise its safety inspection program for nuclear fuel cycle facilities. 
This workshop follows the recent public stakeholder meetings held at 
NRC Headquarters on September 16 and October 20, 1999. Presentations 
given at each meeting together with a transcript of the meeting will be 
placed on the NRC INTERNET web page (http://www.nrc.gov). Similar to 
the revisions of the inspection and oversight program for commercial 
nuclear power plants, NRC initiated an effort to improve its inspection 
program for nuclear fuel cycle facilities. This is described in SECY-
99-188 titled, EVALUATION AND PROPOSED REVISION OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL 
CYCLE FACILITY SAFETY

[[Page 66514]]

INSPECTION PROGRAM. SECY-99-188 is available in the Public Document 
Room and on the NRC Web Page at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/
SECYS/index.html.
    Purpose: To provide those regulated by the NRC and other 
stakeholders an opportunity to explain their views concerning the NRC's 
planned revision of the fuel cycle safety inspection program. The 
safety inspection program applies to nuclear fuel cycle facilities 
regulated under 10 CFR parts 40, 70 and 76. The facilities currently 
include gaseous diffusion plants, highly enriched uranium fuel 
fabrication facilities, low-enriched uranium fuel fabrication 
facilities, and a uranium hexafluoride (UF6) production 
facility. These facilities possess large quantities of materials that 
are potentially hazardous (i.e., radioactive, toxic, and/or flammable) 
to the workers, public, and/or environment. In revising the inspection 
program, the goals are to have an inspection program that: (1) Provides 
earlier and more objective indications of acceptable and changing 
safety performance, (2) increases stakeholder confidence in the NRC, 
and (3) increases regulatory effectiveness and efficiency. In this 
regard, the NRC desires the revised inspection program to be more risk-
informed and performance-based and more focused on significant risks. 
Where practicable, the program will use more objective safety 
performance indicators (PIs) with accompanying performance thresholds.
    The safety rationale for NRC inspection commensurate with risk 
(hazards and controls) will be discussed in the context of establishing 
indicators of licensee performance. The focus of the workshop will be 
consideration of performance indicators (i.e., precursors) that will 
reliably indicate when there is a need for corrective action to 
preclude exceeding regulatory limits which were established to preclude 
adverse impacts on the public or worker health and safety or the 
environment.

DATES: The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, December 15, 1999, from 
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is open to the public.

ADDRESSES: Doubletree Hotel, Regency Conference Room, 1750 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Parking is limited around the hotel; 
however, the hotel is located adjacent to the Twinbrook Station on the 
Metro Red Line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Schwink, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 415-7253, e-mail [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day of November, 1999.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 99-30733 Filed 11-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P