[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24871-24872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6342]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Potentially Nonconforming HEMYC and MT Fire Barrier 
Configurations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued 
Generic Letter (GL) 2006-03 to all holders of operating licenses for 
nuclear power reactors, except those who have permanently ceased 
operation and have certified that fuel has been removed from the 
reactor vessel. The NRC is issuing this GL to:
    (1) Request that addressees evaluate their facilities to confirm 
compliance with the existing applicable regulatory requirements in 
light of the information provided in this GL and, if appropriate, take 
additional actions. Specifically, although Hemyc and MT fire barriers 
in nuclear power plants (NPPs) may be relied on to protect electrical 
and instrumentation cables and equipment that provide safe shutdown 
capability during a fire, 2005 NRC testing has revealed that both 
materials failed to provide the protective function intended for 
compliance with existing regulations, for the configurations tested 
using the thermal acceptance criteria from the National Fire Protection 
Association (NFPA) Standard 251, ``Standard Methods of Fire Tests of 
Building Construction and Materials.'' The NRC staff applied the 
supplemental guidance in GL 86-10, Supplement 1, ``Fire Endurance Test 
Acceptance Criteria for Fire Barrier Systems Used to Separate Redundant 
Safe Shutdown Trains Within the Same Fire Area'' for

[[Page 24872]]

the test details of thermocouple number and location, and
    (2) Require that addressees submit a written response to the NRC in 
accordance with NRC regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations Section 50.54(f).
    This Federal Register notice is available through the NRC's 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under 
Accession Number ML061080011.

DATES: The GL was issued on April 10, 2006.

ADDRESSEES: Not applicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Daniel Frumkin at 301-415-2280 or by 
email [email protected] or Angie Lavretta at 301-415-3285 or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NRC Generic Letter 2006-03 may be examined, 
and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically 
from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the 
NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. The ADAMS number 
for the GL is ML053620142.
    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if you have problems in 
accessing the documents in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of April 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher I. Grimes,
Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E6-6342 Filed 4-26-06; 8:45 am]
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