[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55497-55498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26702]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Workshop Concerning the Revision of the Baseline Safety 
Inspection Program for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: NRC will host a public workshop in Rockville, Maryland 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 safety inspection program for nuclear fuel cycle 
facilities. This workshop follows the recent initial public stakeholder 
meeting held at NRC Headquarters on September 16, 1999. Presentations 
given at each meeting together with a transcript of the meeting will be 
placed on the NRC Internet web page (http://www.nrc.gov). Similar to 
the revisions of the inspection and oversight program for commercial 
nuclear power plants, NRC initiated an effort to improve its programs 
for nuclear fuel cycle facilities. This is described in SECY-99-188 
titled, Evaluation and Proposed Revision of the Nuclear Fuel 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: To explain the planned revision of the fuel cycle safety 
inspection program and obtain stakeholder's views. The baseline safety 
inspection 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, or environment. In revising the inspection program, the goals 
are to have an inspection program that: (1) Provides earlier and more 
objective indications of acceptable and changing safety performance, 
(2) increases stakeholder confidence in the NRC, and (3) increases 
regulatory effectiveness and efficiency. In this regard, the NRC 
desires the revised inspection program to be more risk-informed and 
performance-based and more focused on significant risks. Where 
practicable, the

[[Page 55498]]

program will use more objective safety performance indicators (PIs) 
with accompanying performance thresholds.
    The safety rationale for NRC inspection commensurate with risk 
(hazards and controls) will be discussed in the context of establishing 
indicators of licensee performance. The focus of the workshop will be 
consideration of performance indicators (i.e., precursors) that will 
reliably indicate when there is a need for corrective action to 
preclude exceeding regulatory limits which were established to preclude 
adverse impacts on the public or worker health and safety or the 
environment. In this regard, careful consideration of the initial draft 
of candidate performance indicators (available at the aforementioned 
NRC web site) will significantly facilitate the workshop.

DATES: This workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20, 1999, from 
9:00 am to 5:00 pm and is open to the public.

ADDRESSES: NRC's Two White Flint North Auditorium, 11545 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Visitor parking around the NRC building is 
limited; however, the meeting site is located adjacent to the White 
Flint Station on the Metro Red Line.

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 October, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Operations Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 99-26702 Filed 10-12-99; 8:45 am]
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