[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45678-45679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19015]
[[Page 45678]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2009-0303]
Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Document for
Fuel Cycle Facilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamara D. Powell, Nuclear Process
Engineer, Technical Support Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001. Telephone:
(301) 492-3211; Fax: (301) 492-3363; E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) prepares and issues Interim
Staff Guidance (ISG) documents for fuel cycle facilities. These ISG
documents provide clarifying guidance to the NRC staff when reviewing
licensee's integrated safety analyses (ISA), license applications,
amendment requests, or other related licensing activities for fuel
cycle facilities under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR) Part 70. This notice is being published to inform the public that
after general revision based on NRC staff and public comment, FCSS-ISG-
12, Revision 0, ``10 CFR Part 70, Appendix A--Reportable Safety
Events,'' Revision 0, has been issued and is provided for information,
however additional comments will be accepted. The final disposition of
the information addressed in this guidance may later be issued as an
NRC Regulatory Guide.
II. Discussion of Significant Comments and Changes
On July 10, 2009, notice was given in the Federal Register (74 FR
33281) of the availability for public comment of the draft of FCSS-ISG-
12 (then numbered FCSS-ISG-11). In response to comments received on the
draft ISG, the following modifications were made.
The NRC made minor editorial changes and re-numbered the ISG to be
consistent with existing Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards ISG
documents. In addition, there was a general comment from one
commentator about the NRC's interpretation of when event ``discovery''
occurs. The commentator considers event ``discovery'' to have occurred
after the initial event has been observed, appropriate internal
notifications made, and a licensee determination made that the event
meets the applicable reporting requirements. The commentator further
believes that the time of ``discovery'' will vary because it is driven
by the culmination of three actions, and, as such, should not be
determined based solely upon the occurrence of the actual event or the
observation. The NRC agrees that event ``discovery'' will vary and
starts when an individual who, by position or experience, is expected
to understand that a particular condition or event adversely impacts
safety observes, identifies, or is notified of a safety significant
event or condition. The NRC, however, does not agree that the time of
``discovery'' is delayed until after the licensee has determined
reportability. As stated in the guidance, the twenty-four hour time
period for reportable events allows for this evaluation and
determination step. The more substantive comments on the draft ISG are
summarized below along with the NRC's response.
Proposed Time of Discovery Section
Some general editorial comments were suggested by the commentator
related to the event ``discovery'' concern discussed above; however,
the NRC determined that the proposed changes in wording could create
ambiguity so no changes were made. There was also a recommendation that
the third example in Table 1, ``Examples of Discovery Determination,''
be changed to state that the time of ``discovery'' would be when the
operator informed the supervisor of the possible exposure not when the
operator realized that he would have been exposed. The staff reviewed
the suggested revision and determined that a cognizant individual, as
defined earlier in the guidance, may not necessarily be aware of the
NRC reporting requirements, but should understand when a condition
impacts safety. The NRC expects that operators would be trained to
recognize, when possible, when they may have received an acute exposure
to a hazardous material such as UF6, therefore no change to
the wording was made.
Loss or Degradation of Items Relied on for Safety (IROFS) Section
The last sentence of this section states that all situations where
IROFS have failed or degraded are reportable. One commentator suggested
that this section be edited to remove this statement because IROFS may
have failed or become degraded without meeting the reporting
requirement. The NRC disagreed with removing this statement, but
rearranged the section for clarity. The intent of ``all other
situations'' in the sentence in question was meant to apply to those
situations not discussed in the section.
Inadequate ISA Section
The NRC did not receive any comments on this section, however
substantial edits were made. The use of the concept ``creditable
controls'' and the term ``non-IROFS'' were removed from this section.
10 CFR 70.61 (e) requires that the controls needed to meet the
performance requirements be designated as IROFS. The NRC determined
that using ``non-IROFS'' in combination with available IROFS to meet
the performance requirements was not supported by the regulations.
Press Release Section
With respect to licensee-issued press releases, the guidance states
that routine radiation releases are not specifically reportable under
Appendix A unless the release receives media attention. One commentator
indicated that 10 CFR Part 70 licensees issue semi-annual reports on
effluent releases which are routine radiation releases of low safety
significance. The commentator felt that simple media inquiries about
these routine radiation releases should not result in a required report
to the NRC. The regulation states that, ``[a]ny event or situation
related to the health and safety of the public or onsite personnel, or
protection of the environment, for which a news release is
planned[hellip]shall be reported.'' In the example of an effluent
release which has some impact on the environment, media attention would
likely result and should be reported. The NRC agrees that simple media
inquiries may not necessarily result in reportability, but if a news
release is planned in response to such inquiries, this would be
reportable. The NRC revised the section to clarify that radiation
releases that receive ``significant media attention'' would be
reportable under paragraph (c) of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 70.
Attachment C
The commentator provided a suggested revision to the flow chart in
Attachment C. The NRC reviewed the suggested changes and determined
that if followed, the revised flow chart would lead to the failure to
report under paragraph (a)(5) of Appendix A. Therefore, the NRC did not
incorporate the suggested revisions and removed the flow chart from the
ISG.
[[Page 45679]]
Glossary Section
The NRC agreed with the commentator that the definition for
``degraded IROFS'' should be modified to ensure consistency of use
throughout the guidance. The NRC incorporated, in part, the suggested
change. The NRC did not incorporate that portion of the suggested
change which would have stated that a degraded IROFS was also an IROFS
that is ``potentially unable to perform the required safety function.''
The NRC determined that an IROFS meeting this part of the definition
would, in many cases, be considered a failed IROFS and did not include
this portion in the revision. The NRC also removed the definitions of
``non-IROFS'' and ``creditable control'' for the reasons discussed
earlier in this notice.
III. Further Information
The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The ADAMS accession number for the document related to
this notice is provided in the following table.
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ADAMS
Interim staff guidance accession No.
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FCSS Interim Staff Guidance-12, Revision 0............. ML102020267
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This document may also be viewed electronically on the public
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction
contractor will copy documents for a fee. Persons who do not have
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS should contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR)
reference staff at 1(800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or via e-mail to
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21 day of July 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marissa G. Bailey,
Deputy Director,Special Projects and Technical Support Directorate,
Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2010-19015 Filed 8-2-10; 8:45 am]
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