[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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