[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23821-23822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10389]



[[Page 23821]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0521]


Final License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance LR-ISG-2009-01: 
Aging Management of Spent Fuel Pool Neutron-Absorbing Materials Other 
Than Boraflex; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The NRC is issuing the final License Renewal Interim Staff 
Guidance (LR-ISG), LR-ISG-2009-01, ``Aging Management of Spent Fuel 
Pool Neutron-Absorbing Materials other than Boraflex.'' This LR-ISG 
provides aging management guidance to address the potential loss of 
material and loss of neutron-absorbing capability of certain nuclear 
power plant spent fuel pool neutron-absorbing materials for compliance 
with part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR part 54). The final LR-ISG revises the NRC staff's aging 
management recommendations currently described in NUREG-1801, Volumes 1 
and 2, ``Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report,'' Revision 1, 
dated September 2005, which are available in the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Nos. 
ML052770419 and ML052780376. The final LR-ISG also includes revisions 
to the NRC staff's review procedures and acceptance criteria in NUREG-
1800, Revision 1, ``Standard Review Plan for Review of License Renewal 
Applications for Nuclear Power Plants'' (SRP-LR), available under 
Accession No. ML052110007. The final LR-ISG-2009-01 is available under 
Accession No. ML100621321.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Matthew Homiack, Division of 
License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone 301-415-
1683; or e-mail [email protected].

ADDRESSES: Documents created or received after November 1, 1999, are 
available electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into ADAMS. If you do not have access 
to the Internet or if there are any problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at [email protected].
    The NRC posts LR-ISGs on its public Web page under the ``License 
Renewal'' heading at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The NRC issues LR-ISGs to communicate insights and lessons learned 
and to address emergent issues that are not addressed in the guidance 
documents published to facilitate implementation of 10 CFR part 54. The 
NRC staff and stakeholders use LR-ISGs until their guidance is 
incorporated into a formal license renewal guidance document revision.
    The NRC staff developed draft LR-ISG-2009-01, ``Staff Guidance 
Regarding Plant-Specific Aging Management Review and Aging Management 
Program for the Neutron-Absorber Material in the Spent Fuel Pool 
Associated with License Renewal Applications,'' in light of recent 
operating experience concerning instances of degradation and 
deformation of neutron-absorbing materials in the spent fuel pools of 
nuclear power plants. Primarily, the draft LR-ISG proposed guidance for 
managing the potential loss of material and loss of neutron-absorbing 
capability aging effects for spent fuel pool neutron-absorbing 
materials other than Boraflex. A proposed aging management program was 
included in the draft LR-ISG to address these aging effects during the 
period of extended operation, as one approach acceptable to the NRC 
staff for meeting the requirements of 10 CFR part 54.
    On December 1, 2009, the NRC requested public comments on the draft 
LR-ISG-2009-01 in the Federal Register (74 FR 62829). The public 
comment period ended on December 31, 2009. By letters dated December 
17, 2009 (ML093570197), and December 28, 2009 (ML100060388), the NRC 
received comments from two nuclear power plant licensees, Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and Exelon Generation Company, LLC, 
respectively. The NRC also received comments from the Nuclear Energy 
Institute, an industry group, by letter dated December 31, 2009 
(ML100060387). After the comment period closed, the NRC received 
additional comments from the Nuclear Energy Institute in an e-mail 
dated January 6, 2010 (ML100280648). No other comments were received. 
The NRC staff considered all the comments in developing the final LR-
ISG-2009-01, as discussed in the ``Comments and Responses'' section of 
this notice.

Final Action

    By this action, the NRC is making the final LR-ISG-2009-01 
available. The NRC staff approves of the LR-ISG for NRC staff and 
stakeholder use. The NRC staff will also incorporate the approved LR-
ISG into the next revision of the GALL Report and the SRP-LR.
    The final LR-ISG revises the staff's aging management 
recommendations concerning spent fuel pool neutron-absorbing materials 
other than Boraflex, which are currently described in the GALL Report 
and SRP-LR. Specifically, the LR-ISG provides a program for managing 
the effects of aging on these spent fuel pool neutron-absorbing 
materials, whereas before, a plant-specific program was recommended. In 
addition, the corresponding aging management review line items in both 
documents are clarified and reference the recommended program instead 
of recommending further evaluation. The final LR-ISG also includes 
corresponding revisions to the SRP-LR for the staff's review procedures 
and acceptance criteria concerning these spent fuel pool components and 
materials. The title of the LR-ISG has been changed from the draft 
title, ``Staff Guidance Regarding Plant-Specific Aging Management 
Review and Aging Management Program for the Neutron-Absorber Material 
in the Spent Fuel Pool Associated with License Renewal Applications,'' 
to the final, ``Aging Management of Spent Fuel Pool Neutron-Absorbing 
Materials other than Boraflex,'' to clarify that the LR-ISG provides 
guidance concerning generic, not plant-specific, aging management 
recommendations.

Comments and Responses

    The comment providers, in general, recommended clarifications to 
the draft LR-ISG. The NRC staff included these clarifications in the 
final LR-ISG as appropriate. One comment indicated that the aging 
management program in GALL Report, Volume 2, Section XI.M2, ``Water 
Chemistry,'' should be credited to manage the loss of material aging 
effect. Another comment requested the NRC staff to provide the 
technical justification for the testing frequency in the proposed aging 
management program. Based on its technical evaluations, the NRC staff 
did not make substantive revisions to the LR-ISG in response to these 
two comments. Detailed NRC staff responses to all comments are in an 
appendix to the final LR-ISG document.


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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of April, 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Holian,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-10389 Filed 5-3-10; 8:45 am]
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