[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 174 (Thursday, September 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54921-54922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22492]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0295]


Withdrawal of Regulatory Guides 1.38, 1.94, and 1.116

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Withdrawal of three Regulatory Guides: Regulatory Guide 1.38, 
``Quality Assurance Requirements for Packaging, Shipping, Receiving, 
Storage, and Handling of Items for a Water-Cooled Nuclear Power 
Plant,'' dated May 1977; Regulatory Guide 1.94, ``Quality Assurance 
Requirements for Installation, Inspection, and Testing of Structural 
Concrete, and Structural Steel During the Construction Phase of Nuclear 
Power Plants,'' dated April 1976; and Regulatory Guide 1.116, ``Quality 
Assurance Requirements for Installation, Inspection, and Testing of 
Mechanical Equipment and Systems,'' dated May 1977.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark P. Orr, Regulatory Guide 
Development Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-251-7495 or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing 
Regulatory Guide 1.38, ``Quality Assurance Requirements for Packaging, 
Shipping, Receiving, Storage, and Handling of Items for Water-Cooled 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1977; Regulatory Guide 1.94, 
``Quality

[[Page 54922]]

Assurance Requirements for Installation, Inspection, and Testing of 
Structural Concrete, and Structural Steel During the Construction Phase 
of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated April 1976; and Regulatory Guide 
1.116, ``Quality Assurance Requirements for Installation, Inspection, 
and Testing of Mechanical Equipment and Systems,'' dated May 1977.
    Regulatory Guide 1.38 endorses the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers (ASME) American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Standard 
N45.2.2--1972, ``Packaging, Shipping, Receiving, Storage and Handling 
of Items for Nuclear Power Plants (During the Construction Phase),'' 
dated December 20, 1972.
    Regulatory Guide 1.94 endorses the ASME/ANSI Standard N45.2.5--
1974, ``Supplementary Quality Assurance Requirements for Installation, 
Inspection, and Testing of Structural Concrete and Structural Steel 
During the Construction Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated July 8, 
1974 and American Concrete Institute (ACI) standard 309-72, 
``Recommended Practices for Consolidation of Concrete,'' dated October 
1, 1972.
    Regulatory Guide 1.116 endorses ASME/ANSI Standard N45.2--1975, 
``Supplementary Quality Assurance Requirements for Installation, 
Inspection and Testing of Mechanical Equipment and Systems for the 
Construction Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 20, 1975; U.S. 
Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC) Technical Reports WASH 1309, 
``Guidance on Quality Assurance Requirements During the Construction 
Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 10, 1974; and WASH-1284, 
``Guidance on Quality Assurance Requirements During the Operations 
Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated October 26, 1973.
    The standards endorsed by Regulatory Guides 1.38, 1.94, and 1.116 
have been superseded and replaced by the ASME/ANSI Standard NQA-1, 
``Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications,'' 
which is endorsed by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) Subsection 50.55a, ``Codes and Standards,'' (10 CFR 50.55a).
    The quality assurance requirements in 10 CFR 50.55a paragraphs 
(b)(1)(iv), ``Quality Assurance,'' (b)(2)(x), ``Quality Assurance,'' 
and (b)(2)(xxvii)(3)(i), ``Quality Assurance'' all state that the 
requirements in specific editions and addenda of NQA-1 are an 
acceptable method of demonstrating compliance with the quality 
assurance requirements of Appendix B to 10 CFR part 50, ``Quality 
Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing 
Plants.'' In those cases where the requirements of the licensee's 
Appendix B quality assurance program are more stringent than those 
contained in NQA-1, the licensee's quality assurance program applies.
    Additional quality assurance guidance for NRC staff, licensees, and 
applicants may be found in NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan,'' 
Chapter 17, ``Quality Assurance'' as well as Regulatory Guide 1.28, 
``Quality Assurance Program Criteria (Design and Construction)'' which 
was revised and issued in June 2010 to endorse (with additions and 
modifications) the Part I and Part II requirements of NQA-1-2008 and 
the NQA 1a-2009 Addenda for the implementation of a QA program during 
the design and construction phases of nuclear power plants and fuel 
reprocessing facilities.

II. Further Information

    The withdrawal of Regulatory Guides 1.38, 1.94, and 1.116 does not 
alter any prior or existing licensing commitments based on their use. 
The guidance provided in these regulatory guides is no longer 
necessary. Regulatory guides may be withdrawn when their guidance no 
longer provides useful information, or is superseded by technological, 
congressional actions, or other events.
    Guides are revised for a variety of reasons and the withdrawal of a 
Regulatory Guide should be thought of as the final revision of the 
guide. Although a regulatory guide is withdrawn, current licensees may 
continue to use it, and withdrawal does not affect any existing 
licenses or agreements. Withdrawal means that the guide should not be 
used for future NRC licensing activities. Changes to existing licenses 
would be accomplished using other regulatory products.
    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 31st day of August 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2010-22492 Filed 9-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P