[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 124 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 35521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12562]
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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 of a revised 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 regulatory guide, entitled ``Guidance on Monitoring and
Responding to Reactor Coolant System Leakage,'' is temporarily
identified by its task number, DG-1173, which should be mentioned in
all related correspondence.
General Design Criterion (GDC) 14, ``Reactor Coolant Pressure
Boundary,'' as set forth in Appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for
Nuclear Power Plants,'' to Title 10, Part 50, of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR Part 50), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities'', requires that the reactor coolant pressure
boundary (RCPB) shall be designed, fabricated, erected, and tested so
as to have an extremely low probability of abnormal leakage, of rapidly
propagating failure, and of gross rupture. As a result, these nuclear
components are normally designed to the criteria established in Section
III of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code promulgated by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers.
During the design phase, degradation-resistant materials are
normally specified for reactor coolant system components. However,
materials can degrade as a result of the complex interaction of the
materials, the stresses they encounter, and the normal and upset
operating environments in which they are used. Such material
degradation could lead to the leakage of the reactor coolant.
Consequently, GDC 30, ``Quality of Reactor Coolant Pressure Boundary,''
of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50, requires that means shall be provided
for detecting and, to the extent practical, identifying the location of
the source of reactor coolant leakage. Additionally, 10 CFR 50.55a,
``Codes and Standards'', requires the performance of inservice
inspection and testing of nuclear power plant components. Thus, the
concept of defense-in-depth is used to provide assurance that
structural integrity of the RCPB is maintained. This guide describes
methods that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
considers acceptable for implementing these requirements, with regard
to selecting reactor coolant leakage detection systems, monitoring for
leakage, and responding to leakage. This guide applies to light-water
cooled reactors.
The NRC staff is soliciting comments on Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
1173. Comments may be accompanied by relevant information or supporting
data, and should mention DG-1173 in the subject line. Comments
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: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch,
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
E-mail 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: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing
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: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office
of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-
5144.
Requests for technical information about Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
1173 may be directed to NRC Senior Program Manager, Makuteswara
Srinivasan, at (301) 415-6356 or e-mail [email protected].
Comments would be most helpful if received by 60 days from issuance
of FRN. 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 Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1173 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 ADAMS (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html), under Accession ML071070410.
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) 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 20th day of June, 2007.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jimi T. Yerokun,
Chief,Risk Applications and Special Projects Branch,Division of Risk
Assessment and Special Projects,Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E7-12562 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
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