[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 211 (Friday, October 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62103-62104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27456]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Call for Anticipatory Research Projects

    NRC research is performed in order to meet a known or anticipated 
regulatory need. There are two main categories of research that require 
separate consideration: Confirmatory research and anticipatory 
research. Confirmatory research aids the agency in responding to 
license issues that are now before the agency or that are anticipated 
to come before the agency in the near term. This type of research is 
performed either when the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 
recognizes issues of concern or at the request of a program office that 
is directly responsible for regulatory oversight, e.g., Offices of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Nuclear Materials Safety and 
Safeguards (NMSS), or Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR).
    The NRC also conducts research programs that are more forward 
looking, which we refer to as ``anticipatory'' research, an effort to 
try to foresee where the NRC may need information to respond to future 
regulatory issues. This research is related to better understanding 
evolving technologies or issues that may become important regulatory 
concerns in the future. Some of this work may also be confirmatory in 
nature by providing independent assessment of information developed by 
the nuclear industry. These types of programs may have been requested 
by the other program offices, or they may be developed as a result of 
independent examination of industry trends and emerging issues. If the 
agency waits until these potential issues become actual regulatory 
concerns, it may be too late to develop the technical information to 
respond in a timely fashion. Examples of anticipatory research that 
have been highly valuable to the agency include probabilistic risk 
analysis methods and applications, severe accident source term 
research, and the evaluation of the effects of aging on plant 
components.
    Therefore, the NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) is 
seeking recommendations for anticipatory research both within NRC and 
from external stakeholders. This research will

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help the NRC resolve current challenges and prepare for anticipated 
future regulatory issues. The responding submittal should describe the 
proposed research and the potential use of the research results in 
current or future regulatory activities. We also solicit your comments 
on the factors that should be considered when anticipatory research 
topics are prioritized. Responses to this request will be evaluated for 
possible inclusion in the FY 2006 and FY 2007 budgets.
    To permit these new topics to be considered in developing future 
plans, your recommendations should be submitted no later than November 
28, 2003, to: Michael Lesar, Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Mail 
Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to [email protected].


(5 U.S.C. 552(a))
    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 27th Day of October 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Alan E. Levin,
Senior Technical Advisor to the Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research.
[FR Doc. 03-27456 Filed 10-30-03; 8:45 am]
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