[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40943-40944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17441]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0216]


Notice of Issuance of Regulatory Guide

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Issuance and Availability of Regulatory Guide 1.152, 
Revision 3, ``Criteria for Use of Computers in Safety Systems of 
Nuclear Power Plants.''

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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 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 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.152, ``Criteria for Use of 
Computers in Safety Systems of Nuclear Power Plants,'' was issued with 
a temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1249, for 
public comments on June 22, 2010 (75 FR 35508). The public comment 
period closed on August 20, 2010. All comments that were received were 
considered and, where appropriate, the final guide was revised to 
address the comments. Editorial changes and clarifications were made to 
Regulatory Guide 1.152 as a result of the public comments. These 
include minor changes to the discussion section to improve consistency 
with other NRC regulations and guidance, clarification of the 
regulatory criteria to more clearly indicate that licensees are 
responsible for demonstrating establishment of a secure development and 
operational environment, and clarification of regulatory criteria to 
precisely state the expectations of actions taken to protect 
developmental activities. This guide describes a method that the staff 
of the NRC considers acceptable to implement Title 10, of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities'' (10 CFR part 50); 10 CFR 50.55a(h); General 
Design Criterion (GDC) 21, ``Protection System Reliability and 
Testability,'' of Appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear 
Power Plants,'' to 10 CFR part 50; and Criterion III, ``Design 
Control,'' of Appendix B, ``Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear 
Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,'' to 10 CFR part 50 with 
regard to the use of computers in safety systems of nuclear power 
plants. This guide applies to all types of commercial nuclear power 
plants. Regulatory Guide 1.152 was not uniquely developed for non-power 
reactors; therefore, the applicability of this guide for those 
facilities should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
    This regulatory guide describes a method that the NRC staff deems 
acceptable for complying with the Commission's regulations for 
promoting high functional reliability, design quality, and a secure 
development and operational environment for the use of digital 
computers in the safety systems of nuclear power plants. In this 
context, the term ``computer'' identifies a system that includes 
computer hardware, software, firmware, and interfaces.

II. Further Information

    Electronic copies of Regulatory Guide 1.152, Revision 3 are 
available through the NRC's public Web site under ``Regulatory Guides'' 
at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. The regulatory 
analysis may be found through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML101320317.
    In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) 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.


[[Page 40944]]


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of July, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
 Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2011-17441 Filed 7-11-11; 8:45 am]
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