[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 33 (Friday, February 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 7526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3233]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0052]


Withdrawal of Regulatory Guide

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Withdrawal of Regulatory Guide 1.56, ``Maintenance of Water 
Purity in Boiling Water Reactors.''

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew D. Yoder, Division of 
Component Integrity, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone 301-415-
4017 or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) is 
withdrawing Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.56, ``Maintenance of Water Purity 
in Boiling Water Reactors,'' Revision 1, dated July 1978. Revision 1 of 
RG 1.56 was issued for comment in July 1978 and never finalized. It was 
intended to support General Design Criterion (GDC) 14, ``Reactor 
Coolant Pressure Boundary'' and GDC 31, ``Fracture Prevention of 
Reactor Coolant Pressure Boundary'' of Appendix A, ``General Design 
Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants,'' in Title 10, Part 50, of the Code 
of Federal Regulations, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities.''
    RG 1.56 describes an acceptable method for maintaining water purity 
levels in the reactor coolant in order to ensure that degradation of 
the reactor coolant pressure boundary is not exacerbated by poor 
chemistry conditions. However, degradation of the reactor coolant 
pressure boundary is generally a long-term process and other direct 
means to monitor and correct reactor coolant pressure boundary 
degradation exist, which are controlled by regulations and plant 
technical specifications. For example, in-service inspection of 
components and primary coolant leakage limits are regulatory 
requirements that provide direct means to identify degradation of the 
reactor coolant pressure boundary. Therefore, requirements related to 
the chemistry program do not constitute initial conditions that are 
assumed in any design basis accident or transient related to reactor 
coolant system integrity.
    The staff considers water chemistry to be an operational issue for 
plants. If a licensee frequently repairs or replaces components because 
poor chemistry practices are causing degradation, then that is a cost 
the licensee must incur. It is in the licensee's best interest to 
operate the plant with a chemistry regime that optimizes component 
performance. There is adequate industry-generated guidance available 
for licensees to develop a plant-specific water chemistry program. For 
example, the 2004 revision of the Electric Power Research Institute 
report BWRVIP-130: ``BWR Water Chemistry'' provides a framework for 
plant-specific chemistry programs. The industry routinely updates this 
guidance to incorporate the latest knowledge and lessons learned in the 
area of water chemistry.

II. Further Information

    The withdrawal of RG 1.56 does not alter any prior or existing 
licensing commitments or conditions based on its use. The guidance 
provided in this regulatory guide no longer provides useful 
information. Regulatory guides may be withdrawn when their guidance is 
superseded by congressional action or no longer provides useful 
information.
    Regulatory guides are available for inspection or downloading 
through the NRC's public Web site under ``Regulatory Guides'' in the 
NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections. Regulatory guides are also available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), Room O-1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738. The PDR's mailing 
address is US NRC PDR, Washington, DC 20555-0001. You can reach the 
staff 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 4th day of February 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea D. Valentin,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2010-3233 Filed 2-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P