[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 109 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31946-31947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12583]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 109 / Thursday, June 5, 2008 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 31946]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 71
NUREG-1886, ``Joint Canada--United States Guide for Approval of
Type B(U) and Fissile Material Transportation Packages, Draft Report
for Comment''
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of document availability and request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the
availability of and is seeking public comment on the draft NUREG-1886,
``Joint Canada--United States Guide for Approval of Type B(U) and
Fissile Material Transportation Packages.''
DATES: Comments on this document should be submitted by August 19,
2008. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is
practical to do so, however we are only able to assure consideration
for comments received on or before this date. To ensure efficient and
complete comment resolution, comments should include reference to the
section, page, and line numbers of the document to which the comment
applies, if possible.
ADDRESSES: Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit
written comments to Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and
Editing Branch, Mail Stop T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments may be submitted by electronic mail
to [email protected]. Comments may also be hand delivered to 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15
p.m. on Federal workdays.
Copies of comments received may be viewed at the NRC's Public
Document Room, One White Flint North, Public File Area O1-F21, 11555
Rockville Pike (First Floor), Rockville, Maryland.
This document, NUREG-1886 [ML073300230], is available at the NRC's
Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet, accessible through the NRC's
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov. This Web site provides text and
image files of the NRC's public documents. The public can gain entry
into ADAMS through the agency's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession No. ML073300230. The document
may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Room O1-F21, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction
contractor will copy documents for a fee. If you do not have access to
ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR Reference Staff at (800) 397-4209, (301)
415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele M. Sampson, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, NRC, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: (301) 492-3292; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ``Regulations for the
Safe Transport of Radioactive Material'' (TS-R-1) are designed to
provide a uniform and adequate level of safety for the transport of
radioactive materials. The standards for packaging of radioactive
material, the IAEA regulations, TS-R-1, are adopted by member states,
providing the basis for each member state's transport package approval.
In principle, this ``unilateral'' approval can be accepted by all other
member states, with little or no requirement for additional technical
review. However, the U.S. and other member states have routinely
performed some form of technical review for Type B(U) and fissile
material transport packages.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 10 CFR 71.4 for definitions of Type B(U) and fissile
material transport package classifications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, 49
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 173.471-473, for a Type B or
fissile material package design, a ``U.S. Competent Authority
Certificate'' must be obtained from the DOT prior to import or export
of Type B or fissile material packages. The June 8, 1979, Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU; 44 FR 38690, July 2, 1979) describes the roles and
responsibilities of both DOT and NRC in jointly regulating the
transportation of radioactive material in the U.S. DOT, assisted by NRC
as needed, performs a technical review as part of validation for each
foreign-approved package design prior to issuance of a U.S. Certificate
of Competent Authority.
In practice, the acceptance of approvals for Type B(U) and fissile
material packages, without additional package review by affected member
states, has remained an elusive goal. Implementation of a separate
technical review is influenced by the perspectives that individual
member states have concerning risk, safety margins, and because of
other differences in engineering standards, documentation, and quality
assurance requirements. Progress towards member state acceptance of
Type B(U) and fissile materials transportation packages requires a
framework in which these different perspectives, as well as the
qualification of technical reviewers, can be addressed, resolved, and
documented.
The purpose of this NUREG is to provide the framework to achieve
United States and Canadian validation of Competent Authority Type B(U)
and fissile materials transportation package approvals for export and
import without significant additional technical review.
The NUREG was developed by a working group of DOT, NRC, and
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) staff. The NUREG is to be
used by applicants in submitting safety analysis reports for the
certification of packages and by DOT and NRC reviewers in assessing
these reports. The NUREG describes a method that is acceptable to the
staffs of the DOT, NRC, and CNSC for complying with the United States
regulations in 10 CFR part 71 and 49 CFR part 173, the Canadian
Packaging and Transport of Nuclear Substances Regulations, and TS-R-1,
upon which the domestic United States and Canadian regulations are
based. Where differences in the regulatory requirements exist, guidance
is provided in the NUREG to assist the applicant in appropriately
addressing the specific regulatory requirement. The
[[Page 31947]]
NUREG is not intended as an interpretation of the regulations, and does
not have the force or effect of regulations.
The NUREG applies specifically to applications for approval of Type
B(U) and fissile material (Type A and Type B) transportation packages
for import or export. The NUREG does not apply to approval of special
form materials, certain air shipments of Type B packages, low
dispersible material, Type C packages, or fissile materials in less
than Type A packages. The NUREG does not change the certification
requirements for domestic shipment within the United States or Canada.
The CNSC has a companion Regulatory Document, ``Joint Canada--
United States Guide for Approval of Type B(U) and Fissile Material
Transportation Packages'' (RD-364) which provides the same guidance to
applicants in submitting safety analysis reports to the CNSC for the
certification of packages and to CNSC reviewers in assessing these
reports, as NUREG-1886. The CNSC document is being published for public
comment in Canada.
II. Bi-Lateral Agreement
The United States and Canada, through the working group process,
envision a formal process, such as a Memorandum of Agreement, to
implement use of NUREG-1886 in the United States and RD-364 in Canada.
The protocol for implementation of this formal agreement is expected to
detail the process to be followed by the United States and Canada.
The following elements have been identified for implementation:
Procedures for periodic review of both NUREG-1886 and RD-
364 to ensure the documents remain current with regulatory changes.
NRC and CNSC agreement on minimum qualification of staff
assigned to review packages that are part of the bi-lateral agreement.
Periodic audit by NRC and CNSC of each other's review
process.
Periodic full review by both NRC and CNSC of packages that
are part of the bi-lateral agreement.
Periodic meetings between NRC, DOT, and CNSC staff to
discuss technical issues related to package approvals that are part of
the bi-lateral agreement.
The formal bi-lateral agreement between NRC, DOT, and CNSC will be
made available to the public through a separate notice in the Federal
Register.
III. Public Participation
The NRC is seeking public comment in order to receive feedback from
the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all
information relevant to developing NUREG-1886 is available to the NRC
staff. The NRC will provide copies of public comments received to the
CNSC and DOT. In addition, public comments received by the CNSC on RD-
364 will be provided to the NRC and DOT. The NRC will review all public
comments, incorporate suggested changes as necessary, and then issue
the final NUREG-1886 for use.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of May 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Edwin Hackett,
Acting Director, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E8-12583 Filed 6-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P