[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 48 (Friday, March 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13062-13063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5896]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Workshop Concerning the Revision of the Oversight Program for
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: NRC will hold a public workshop at the Nuclear Energy
Institute (NEI), 1776 I Street, NW (Republic Place), in Washington, DC
to provide the public, those regulated by the NRC, and other
stakeholders, with information about and an opportunity to provide
views on how NRC plans to revise its oversight program for nuclear fuel
cycle facilities. This workshop follows the recent public stakeholder
workshop held in Rockville, Maryland on February 22-23, 2000.
Presentations and other documents provided at each workshop, together
with a transcript of each workshop, are placed on the NRC INTERNET web
page (http://www.nrc.gov).
Similar to the revision of the oversight program for commercial
nuclear power plants, NRC initiated an effort to improve its oversight
program for nuclear fuel cycle facilities. This is described in SECY-
99-188 titled, ``EVALUATION AND PROPOSED REVISION OF THE NUCLEAR FUEL
[[Page 13063]]
CYCLE FACILITY SAFETY 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 of Workshop
To obtain stakeholder views for improving the NRC oversight program
for ensuring licensee and certificate holders maintain protection of
worker and public health and safety, protection of the environment, and
safeguards for nuclear material and sensitive information and material
in the interest of national security. The oversight 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 environment. In revising
the oversight program, the goal is to have an oversight program that:
(1) Provides earlier and more objective indications of acceptable and
changing safety and safeguards performance, (2) increases stakeholder
confidence in the NRC, and (3) increases regulatory effectiveness,
efficiency, and realism. In this regard, the NRC desires the revised
oversight program to be more risk-informed and performance-based and
more focused on significant risks and poorer performers.
The workshop will focus on:
Plans for communicating revision of the oversight program
with stakeholders internal and external to the NRC;
Objective and scope of safety and national security
related cornerstones for meeting the NRC mission;
Key performance attributes for achieving each cornerstone;
Licensee performance attributes the NRC needs to monitor/
assess by means of licensee provided performance indicators and NRC
inspections to ensure cornerstone objectives are met;
Criteria for selection of performance indicators and risk
informed inspections;
Measurable parameters and measurement methods for
performance indicators; and
Thresholds for performance.
DATES: Members of the public and other stakeholders are invited to
attend and participate in the workshop, which is scheduled for 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 23, 2000.
ADDRESSES: NEI, 1776 I Street (Republic Place), Washington, DC. Visitor
parking around NEI is limited; however, the meeting site may be reached
from Rockville by taking the Red line metro to Farragut North, and
exiting at K Street. Farragut Park will be in front of you. Notice that
17th Street is parallel to the park. Walk one block along 17th Street
to I Street, turn right, walk one more block. NEI is on the left on
corner of 18th and I Streets, NW. From Reagan National Airport, NEI may
be reached by taking the Blue line train towards Addison Road to
Farragut West. Exit to 18th Street, and NEI is diagonally across the
street on the corner of 18th and I Streets, NW.
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 6th day of March, 2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-5896 Filed 3-9-00; 8:45 am]
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