[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72863-72864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6984]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Final Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a revision 
to 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.
    Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 8.7, entitled ``Instructions for 
Recording and Reporting Occupational Radiation Dose Data,'' describes 
an acceptable program for the preparation, retention, and reporting of 
records of occupational radiation doses in accordance with Title 10, 
part 20, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 20), 
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation.'' Section 20.1502 
establishes ``Conditions Requiring Individual Monitoring of External 
and Internal Occupational Dose.'' Specifically, 10 CFR 20.1502 requires 
licensees to provide radiation monitoring for all occupationally 
exposed individuals who might receive a dose in excess of the specified 
percentage of the limits defined in 10 CFR 20.1201, 1207, or 1208. To 
augment that provision, 10 CFR 20.2106, ``Records of Individual 
Monitoring Results,'' requires licensees to maintain records of the 
radiation exposures of all individuals for whom personnel monitoring is 
required pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1502. Also, according to 10 CFR 20.2104, 
``Determination of Prior Occupational Dose,'' licensees shall determine 
the dose in the current monitoring year for all persons who must be 
monitored, and attempt to obtain the records of cumulative occupational 
radiation dose. In addition, 10 CFR 20.2104(b) requires that, prior to 
permitting an individual to participate in a planned special exposure, 
licensees shall determine the internal and external doses from all 
previous planned special exposures, and record all previous doses in 
excess of the limits received during the lifetime of the individual. 
Licensees are required to maintain prior dose records on NRC Form 4 or 
its equivalent. Further, 10 CFR 20.2206, ``Reports of Individual 
Monitoring,'' requires certain licensees to submit to the NRC an annual 
report of the results of individual monitoring. Licensees are required 
to record these annual reports on NRC Form 5 or its equivalent.
    The NRC is issuing this revision to make the guide consistent with 
a recent change to 10 CFR 20.2206, which allows electronic submittal of 
licensees' annual occupational radiation dose data via the NRC's 
Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) for 
Radiation Workers (a secure Web site) at http://www.reirs.com. Other 
changes include updating NRC Forms 4 and 5, and clarifying and 
improving the guide to reflect licensees' input and experience since 
the NRC issued Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 8.7 in 1992.
    The NRC previously solicited public comment on this revised guide 
by publishing a Federal Register notice (70 FR 25865) concerning Draft 
Regulatory Guide DG-8029 on May 16, 2005. Following the closure of the 
public comment period on July 12, 2005, the staff considered all 
stakeholder comments in the course of preparing Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide 8.7. In particular, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 
suggested that the NRC consider deferring this revision until the 
completion of an anticipated rulemaking related to collection, 
reporting, and posting of information (as specified in 10 CFR parts 19, 
20, and 50). However, since Regulatory Guide 8.7 is already out of date 
(in relation to 10 CFR 20.2206) and is used by materials licensees as 
well as reactor licensees, the staff decided to proceed with the 
current revision. When the agency completes the aforementioned 
rulemaking, the staff will once again update Regulatory Guide 8.7, as 
appropriate. The staff's responses to all comments received are 
available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under 
Accession ML053320145.
    The NRC staff encourages and welcomes comments and suggestions in 
connection with improvements to published regulatory guides, as well as 
items for inclusion in regulatory guides that are currently being 
developed. 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.
    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 Revision 2 of Regulatory 
Guide 8.7 may be directed to Sheryl A. Burrows at (301) 415-6086 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].
    Regulatory guides are available for inspection or downloading 
through the NRC's public Web site in the Regulatory Guides document 
collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Electronic copies of Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide 8.7 are also available in the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at http://

[[Page 72864]]

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession 
ML052970092.
    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.

(Authority: (5 U.S.C. 552(a)).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of November, 2005.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carl J. Paperiello,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E5-6984 Filed 12-6-05; 8:45 am]
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