[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27570-27571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12666]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-445 and 50-446]


Texas Utilities Electric Company; (Comanche Peak Steam Electric 
Station, Units 1 and 2); Exemption

I

    Texas Utilities Electric Company (the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-87 and NPF-89 for the Comanche Peak 
Steam Electric Station, Unit Nos 1 and 2 (CPSES) respectively. The 
operating licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is 
subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or 
hereafter in effect.
    The facilities consists of two pressurized water reactors at the 
licensee's site in Somervell County, Texas.

II

    It is stated in 10 CFR 73.55, ``Requirements for physical 
protection of licensed activities in nuclear power reactors against 
radiological sabotage,'' paragraph (a), that ``The licensee shall 
establish and maintain an onsite physical protection system and 
security organization which will have as its objective to provide high 
assurance that activities involving special nuclear material are not 
inimical to the common defense and security and do not constitute an 
unreasonable risk to the public health and safety.''
    It is specified in 10 CFR 73.55(d), ``Access Requirements,'' 
paragraph (1), that ``the licensee shall control all points of 
personnel and vehicle access into a protected area.'' It is specified 
in 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) that ``A numbered picture badge identification 
system shall be used for all individuals who are authorized access to 
protected areas without escort * * *'' It also states that an 
individual not employed by the licensee (i.e., contractors) may be 
authorized access to protected areas without escort provided the 
individual ``receives a picture badge upon entrance into the protected 
area which must be returned upon exit from the protected area * * *''
    The licensee proposed to implement an alternative unescorted access 
control system which would eliminate the need to issue and retrieve 
badges at each entrance/exit location and would allow all individuals 
with unescorted access to keep their badges with them when departing 
the site.
    An exemption from 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) is required to allow 
contractors who have unescorted access to take their badges offsite 
instead of returning them when exiting the site. By letter dated 
January 16, 1995 (TXX-95012), as supplemented by letters dated March 1 
(TXX-95064), and April 3, 1995 (TXX-95089), the licensee requested an 
exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) for this 
purpose.

III

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission 
may, upon application of any interested person or upon its own 
initiative, grant such exemptions in this part as it determines are 
authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common 
defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, the Commission may authorize a licensee 
to provide measures for protection against radiological sabotage 
provided the licensee demonstrates that the measures have ``the same 
high assurance objective'' and meet ``the general performance 
requirements'' of the regulation, and ``the overall level of system 
performance provides protection against radiological sabotage 
equivalent'' to that which would be provided by the regulation.
    At the CPSES site, unescorted access into protected areas is 
controlled through the use of a photograph on a combination badge and 
keycard. (Hereafter, these are referred to as badges.) The security 
officers at the entrance station use the photograph on the badge to 
visually identify the individual requesting access. The badges for both 
licensee employees and contractor personnel who have been granted 
unescorted access are issued upon entrance at the entrance/exit 
location and are returned upon exit. The badges are stored and are 
retrievable at the entrance/exit location. In accordance with 10 CFR 
73.55(d)(5), contractor individuals are not allowed to take badges 
offsite. In accordance with the plant's physical security plan, neither 
licensee employees nor contractors are allowed to take badges offsite.
    Under the proposed system, each individual who is authorized for 
unescorted access into protected areas would have the physical 
characteristics of their hand (hand geometry) registered with their 
badge number in the access control system. When an individual enters 
the badge into the card reader and places their hand on the measuring 
surface, the system would record the individual's hand image. The 
unique characteristics of the extracted hand image would be compared 
with the previously stored template in the access control system to 
verify authorization for entry. Individuals, including licensee 
employees and contractors, would be allowed to keep their badges with 
them when they depart the site and thus eliminate the process to issue, 
retrieve and store badges at the entrance stations to the plant. Badges 
do not carry any information other than a unique identification number.
    All other access processes, including search function capability, 
would remain the same. This system would not be used for persons 
requiring escorted access, i.e., visitors.
    Based on a Sandia report entitled, ``A Performance Evaluation of 
Biometric Identification Devices'' (SAND91-0276 UC-906 Unlimited 
Release, printed June 1991), and on the licensee's experience with the 
current photo-identification system, the licensee stated that the false 
acceptance rate for the hand geometry system is comparable to that of 
the current system. The biometric system has been in use for a number 
of years at several sensitive Department of Energy facilities. The 
licensee will implement a process for testing the proposed system to 
ensure continued overall level of performance equivalent to that 
specified in the regulation. The Physical Security Plan for CPSES will 
be revised to include implementation and testing of the hand geometry 
access control system and to allow licensee employees and contractors 
to take their badges offsite.
    The licensee will control all points of personnel access into a 
protected area under the observation of security personnel through the 
use of a badge and verification of hand geometry. A numbered picture 
badge identification system will continue to be used for all 
individuals who are authorized unescorted access to protected areas. 
Badges will continue to be displayed by all individuals while inside 
the protected area.
    Since both the badges and hand geometry would be necessary for 
access into the protected areas, the proposed system would provide for 
a positive verification process and the potential loss of a badge by an 
individual, as a result of taking the badge offsite, would not enable 
an unauthorized entry into protected areas.
    For the foregoing reasons, pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, the NRC staff 
has determined that the proposed [[Page 27571]] alternative measures 
for protection against radiological sabotage meet ``the same high 
assurance objective,'' and ``the general performance requirements'' of 
the regulation and that ``the overall level of system performance 
provides protection against radiological sabotage equivalent'' to that 
which would be provided by the regulation.

IV

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
73.5, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest. Therefore, as long as the license uses the hand 
geometry access control system, the Commission hereby grants Texas 
Utilities Electric Company an exemption from those requirements of 10 
CFR 73.55(d)(5) relating to the returning of picture badges upon exit 
from the protected area such that individuals not employed by the 
licensee, i.e., contractors, who are authorized unescorted access into 
the protected area, may take their picture badges offsite.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the 
environment (60 FR 21835). This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of May 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Elinor G. Adensam,
Acting Director, Division of Reactor Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 95-12666 Filed 5-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M