[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 160 (Wednesday, August 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44477-44478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22331]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Assessment and Recommendations for Fissile Material Packaging 
Exemptions and General Licenses; Availability of NUREG/CR

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the 
availability of NUREG/CR-5342, ``Assessment and Recommendations for 
Fissile Material Packaging Exemptions and General Licenses Within 10 
CFR Part 71,'' dated July 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of NUREG/CR-5342 may be obtained by writing to the 
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box

[[Page 44478]]

37082, Washington, DC 20402-9328. Copies are also available from the 
National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, 
Springfield, VA 22161-0002. A copy is also available for inspection and 
copying, for a fee, at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW 
(Lower Level), Washington, DC 20555-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip G. Brochman, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-8592, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NRC is announcing the availability of NUREG/
CR-5342, ``Assessment and Recommendations for Fissile Material 
Packaging Exemptions and General Licenses Within 10 CFR Part 71.'' This 
final report contains an assessment of the technical and regulatory 
bases for the NRC's regulations in Part 71 related to the transport of 
fissile material under general license or fissile exemption limits and 
provides recommendations on potential changes to the regulations.

I. Background

    In September 1996, an NRC licensee identified that the fissile 
material exemption standards in Sec. 71.53 do not provide adequate 
criticality safety for certain shipments of fissile material 
1 (i.e., highly-enriched uranium in the presence of 
beryllium oxide). The NRC licensee determined through calculation, that 
a planned shipment, which contained large amounts of low-concentration, 
highly-enriched uranium'which met the fissile exemption material limits 
in Sec. 71.53(d)--and which was also mixed with a large amount of 
beryllium, could result in a nuclear criticality 2 under 
certain conditions. As a consequence, the Commission issued an 
emergency final rule to revise the fissile material exemption limits in 
Part 71 (62 FR 5907; February 10, 1997). The Commission also requested 
that the public submit comments on the final rule, during a 30-day 
period following the rule's publication.
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    \1\ Fissile material is defined in Part 71 as: plutonium-238, 
plutonium-239, plutonium-241, uranium-233, uranium-235, or any 
combination of these radionuclides. Transportation packages used for 
shipment of materials containing these radionuclides must meet 
specific standards and operating limits designed to preclude nuclear 
criticality during transport, unless excepted by specific 
regulations.
    \2\ For transportation purposes, nuclear criticality means a 
condition in which an uncontrolled, self-sustaining, and neutron-
multiplying fission chain reaction occurs. Nuclear criticality is 
generally a concern when sufficient concentrations and masses of 
fissile material and neutron moderating material exist together in a 
favorable configuration. Neutron moderating material cannot achieve 
criticality by itself in any concentration or configuration. 
However, It can enhance the ability of fissile material to achieve 
criticality by slowing down neutrons or reflecting neutrons.
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    In developing the emergency final rule, the NRC staff noted that 
the regulatory and technical bases for the fissile material exemption 
limits and general license provisions of Part 71 were not internally 
consistent nor well documented. Additionally, all seven of the 
commenters on the final rule objected to parts of the rule as being 
unduly burdensome and overly restrictive. The NRC determined that 
further evaluation into the regulatory and technical bases for these 
regulations was necessary.
    Subsequently, the NRC contracted with Oak Ridge National Laboratory 
(ORNL) to: (1) perform an independent evaluation of the regulations 
related to the transport of fissile material under the fissile material 
exemption and general license limits of Part 71; (2) review the 
technical issues raised by public comments on the emergency final rule; 
(3) perform independent calculations of the minimum critical mass 
limits for different combinations of fissile material and moderating 
material; and (4) identify potential changes to the fissile material 
exemption and general license limits of Part 71 which may be warranted.
    The results of ORNL's study are contained in NUREG/CR-5342 and are 
available for public review. The NRC is currently reviewing the 
recommendations contained in this report.

II. Electronic Access

    NUREG/CR-5342 is also available electronically in the Reference 
Library area of the NRC's Home Page under Technical Reports (http://
www.nrc.gov).

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act of 
1996, NRC has determined that this action is not a major rule and has 
verified this determination with Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of July 1998.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Susan F. Shankman,
Deputy Director, Licensing and Inspection Directorate, Spent Fuel 
Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-22331 Filed 8-18-98; 8:45 am]
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