[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39462-39463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-18926]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-206, 50-361, 50-362]
    In the Matter of Southern California Edison Company (San Onofre 
Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3).


Southern California Edison Co.

Exemption

I

    Southern California Edison Company (SCE or the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-13, which authorizes 
possession and maintenance of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating 
Station, Unit 1 (SONGS 1) and Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-10 
and NPF-15, which authorizes operation of San Onofre Nuclear Generating 
Station, Units 2 and 3 (SONGS 2 and 3), respectively. The licenses 
provide, among other things, that the SONGS units are subject to all 
rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in 
effect. The facilities consist of three pressurized water reactors at 
the SCE site located in San Diego County, California. SONGS 1 is 
permanently shut down, while Unites 2 and 3 remain operational.

II

    It is stated in 10 CFR 73.55, ``Requirements for physical 
protection of licensed activities in nuclear power reactors against 
radological sabotage,'' paragraph (a), that ``The licenses 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 

[[Page 39463]]
picture badge identification system shall be used for all individuals 
who are authorized access to protected areas without escort.'' It 
further states that individuals not employed by the licensee (e.g., 
contractors) may be authorized access to protected areas without an 
escort provided that the individual, ``receives a picture badge upon 
entrance into the protected area which must be returned upon exit from 
the protected area * * *.''
    By letter dated March 13, 1995, the licensee requested an exemption 
from certain requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5). Specifically, the 
requested exemption would allow contractors who have unescorted access 
to retain possession of their picture badges instead of returning them 
as they exit the protected area. (The existing regulations allow 
licensee employees authorized unescorted access to protected areas to 
retain their badges upon departure from the protected area.) The 
proposed exemption is a preliminary step towards enabling SCE to revise 
the SONGS security plan under 10 CFR 50.54(p) to facilitate 
implementation of an alternative unescorted access system which would 
eliminate the need for site security personnel to issue and retrieve 
picture badges at the entrance/exit locations to the protected area and 
would eventually allow all individuals (contractors and SCE employees) 
with unescorted access to the protected area to keep their picture 
badges in their possession when departing the SONGS protected area.

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. The 
Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 73.55 allows the Commission to 
authorize a licensee to provide alternative measures for protection 
against radiological sabotage provided the licensee demonstrates that 
the proposed measures meet 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.
    Currently, unescorted access into the protected area for both 
employee and contractor personnel into the SONGS plants is controlled 
through the use of picture badges. Positive identification of personnel 
who are authorized and request access into the protected area is 
established by security personnel making a visual comparison of the 
individual requesting access and that individual's picture badge. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), contractor personnel are not 
allowed to take their picture badges offsite. In addition, in 
accordance with the plant's physical security plan, the licensee's 
employees are also not allowed to take their picture badges offsite.
    The proposed alternative measure, to provide an equivalent level of 
protection against radiological sabotage, is a system that will require 
that all individuals with authorized unescorted access have the 
physical characteristics of their hand (hand geometry) registered with 
their picture badge number in a computerized access control system. 
Therefore, all authorized individuals must not only have their picture 
badge to gain access to the protected area, but must also have their 
hand geometry confirmed. initially, following revision to the site 
security plan, individuals with unescorted access will be allowed to 
retrieve their own badges before entering the protected area and return 
their badges to storage locations when existing the protected area for 
retrieval on their next entrance. Eventually, following changes to the 
security plan conducted under 10 CFR 50.54(p), all individuals, 
including contractors, who have authorized unescorted access into the 
protected area may be allowed to keep their picture badges in their 
possession when departing the SONGS protected area.
    All other access processes, including search function capability, 
will remain the same. A security officer responsible for access control 
will continue to be positioned within a hardened structure. It should 
be noted that the proposed system is only for individuals with 
authorized unescorted access and will not be used for those individuals 
requiring escorts.
    Sandia National Laboratories conducted testing which demonstrated 
that the hand geometry equipment that SCE proposed to use possesses 
strong performance characteristic. Details of the testing performed, 
available in thee Sandia report, ``A performance Evaluation of 
Biometric Identification Devices,'' SAND91--0276 UC--906 Unlimited 
Release, June 1991, demonstrated that the hand geometry equipment is 
capable of meeting a detection probability of 90 percent with a 95 
percent confidence level. Based on the Sandia report, the false 
acceptance rate for the proposed hand geometry system would be at least 
equivalent to that of the current photo-identification system. The site 
security plans will be revised in accordance with 10 CFR 50.54(p) to 
allow implementation of the hand geometry system.

IV

    For the foregoing reasons, the Commission has determined that the 
proposed alternative measure for protection against radiological 
sabotage meet the same high assurance objective and the general 
performance requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. In addition, the staff has 
determined that the overall level of the proposed system's performance 
will provide protection against radiological sabotage equivalent to 
that which is provided by the current system in accordance with 10 CFR 
73.55.
    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, the Commission hereby grants Southern 
California Edison 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 unescort4ed access into 
the protected area, can retrieve their own badges before entering the 
protected area and return their badges to the badge storage location 
when existing the protected area.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
issuance of this exemption will have no significant impact on the 
environment (60 FR 37110 as July 19, 1995).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of July 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian K. Grimes,
Director, Divisions of Project Support, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulations.
[FR Doc. 95-18926 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M