[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 30648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11847]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Issuance of Regulatory Guide

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance, Availability of Regulatory Guide 1.45, Revision 1.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Ridgely, Regulatory Guide 
Development Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6555 or e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a revision 
to an existing guide in the agency's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. This 
series was developed to describe and make available to the public 
information such as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for 
implementing specific parts of the agency'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 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.45, ``Guidance on Monitoring and 
Responding to Reactor Coolant System Leakage,'' was issued with a 
temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1173. 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 (RCS) 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 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.

II. Further Information

    In June 2007, DG-1173 was published with a public comment period of 
60 days from the issuance of the guide. The public comment period 
closed on August 28, 2007. The staff's responses to the public comments 
are located in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS), Accession Number ML073200289.
    Electronic copies of Regulatory Guide 1.45, Revision 1 are 
available through the NRC's public Web site under ``Regulatory Guides'' 
at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/.
    In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), which is located at Room O-1F21, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-
2738. 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) 397-4209, by fax at (301) 415-3548, and by e-mail to [email protected].
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of May, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea D. Valentin,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
 [FR Doc. E8-11847 Filed 5-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P