[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]


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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]
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