[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 193 (Thursday, October 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58490-58491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5472]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Draft Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued for public
comment a draft revision of an existing guide in the agency's
Regulatory Guide Series. This series has been developed to describe and
make available to the public such information as methods that are
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
The draft Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 8.38, entitled ``Control
of Access to High and Very High Radiation Areas in Nuclear Power
Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-8028, which
should be mentioned in all related correspondence. Like its
predecessors, this proposed revision describes an acceptable program
for implementing the requirements of Title 10, Part 20, of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 20), ``Standards for Protection
Against Radiation.'' In particular, 10 CFR 20.1101, ``Radiation
Protection Programs,'' requires licensees to develop and implement a
radiation protection program appropriate to the scope of licensed
activities and potential hazards. To augment that requirement, 10 CFR
20.2102, ``Records of Radiation Protection Programs,'' requires
licensees to document those radiation protection programs. An important
aspect of such programs at nuclear power plants is the institution of a
system of controls that includes procedures, training, audits, and
physical barriers to protect workers against unplanned exposures in
high and very high radiation areas. Toward that end, 10 CFR 20.1601
provides specific requirements applicable to controlling access to high
radiation areas, while 10 CFR 20.1602 provides additional requirements
to prevent unauthorized or inadvertent entry into very high radiation
areas. Appendix A to the proposed revised guide augments this guidance
with recommended procedures for good operating practices for underwater
diving operations in high and very high radiation areas. In addition,
Appendix B summarizes past experience with very high and potentially
very high radiation areas, so that pertinent historical information is
readily accessible.
Dose rates in areas of nuclear power plants that are accessible to
individuals can vary over several orders of magnitude. High radiation
areas, where personnel can receive doses in excess of the regulatory
limits in a relatively short time, require special controls. Very high
radiation areas require much stricter monitoring and controls, because
failure to adequately implement effective radiological controls can
result in radiation doses that result in a significant health risk.
Thus, it is important that licensees have effective
[[Page 58491]]
programs for controlling access to high and very high radiation areas
because of the potential for overexposure.
The primary purpose of this proposed revision is to clarify the
terminology related to the physical barriers that licensees could use
to prevent unauthorized personnel access to high and very high
radiation areas. The current version of Regulatory Guide 8.38 uses the
term ``inadvertent entry'' with two different connotations. As used in
Section 1.5, ``Physical Controls,'' the term was intended to connote
``not a willful violation.'' In several other sections, however,
``inadvertent entry'' was used to mean ``an accidental, or unintended,
entry.'' This disparity has led to inconsistent readings of the staff's
regulatory position by licensees and other stakeholders. Consequently,
in preparing this revision, the NRC staff rewrote Section 1.5 to
eliminate the use of the term ``inadvertent entry,'' and provide
additional guidance on the acceptability of physical barriers used to
control access to high radiation areas.
The staff also revised two additional sections of the guide to
explicitly state regulatory positions that are implied in the current
version. Section 1.6, ``Shielding,'' is revised to clarify that
monitors with local alarms are not necessary where the removal of
shielding does not result in dose rates greater than 1,000 mrem/hr (10
mSv/hr) at 30 cm from the source. Also, Section 4.2, ``Materials,'' is
revised to clarify that appropriate controls are required when diving
operations allow access to high and/or very high radiation areas in the
spent fuel pool. In addition, the staff updated Appendix B to include
recent references that discuss industry experiences with high and very
high radiation areas.
The proposed revision to Regulatory Guide 8.38 does not change
previous staff positions. Therefore, this revision does not constitute
a backfit, as defined in 10 CFR 50.109.
The NRC staff is soliciting comments on Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
8028, and comments may be accompanied by relevant information or
supporting data. Please mention DG-8028 in the subject line of your
comments. Comments on this draft regulatory guide submitted in writing
or in electronic form will be made available to the public in their
entirety through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS). Personal information will not be removed from your
comments. You may submit comments by any of the following methods.
Mail comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
Email comments to: [email protected]. You may also submit comments via
the NRC's rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address
questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol A. Gallagher (301)
415-5905; e-mail [email protected].
Hand-deliver comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on
Federal workdays.
Fax comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-5144.
Requests for technical information about Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
8028 may be directed to Harriet Karagiannis at (301) 415-6377 or by e-
mail to [email protected].
Comments would be most helpful if received by December 5, 2005.
Comments received after that date will be considered if it is practical
to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments
received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given,
comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in
guides currently being developed or improvements in all published
guides are encouraged at any time.
Electronic copies of the draft regulatory guide are available
through the NRC's public Web site under Draft Regulatory Guides in the
Regulatory Guides document collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading
Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Electronic
copies are also available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html,
under Accession ML052590173. Note, however, that the NRC has
temporarily limited public access to ADAMS so that the agency can
complete security reviews of publicly available documents and remove
potentially sensitive information. Please check the NRC's Web site for
updates concerning the resumption of public access to ADAMS.
In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), which is located at 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR,
Washington, DC 20555-0001. The PDR can also be reached by telephone at
(301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4205, by fax at (301) 415-3548, and by e-
mail to [email protected]. Requests for single copies of draft or final
guides (which may be reproduced) or for placement on an automatic
distribution list for single copies of future draft guides in specific
divisions should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Reproduction and
Distribution Services Section; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by
fax to (301) 415-2289. Telephone requests cannot be accommodated.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is
not required to reproduce them. (5 U.S.C. 552(a))
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of September, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Farouk Eltawila,
Director, Division of Systems Analysis and Regulatory Effectiveness,
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E5-5472 Filed 10-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P