[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 224 (Monday, November 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 72009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29988]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0267]


Receipt of Request for Action

    Notice is hereby given that by petition dated July 29, 2011, David 
Lochbaum (petitioner) has requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or the Commission) take action to issue a Demand for 
Information (DFI) of all boiling-water reactor nuclear power reactors 
with Mark I or Mark II containment designs.
    As the basis for this request, the petitioner states that, during 
an accident scenario, the spent fuel pools have the potential to impact 
other plant equipment. The petitioner has requested that the DFI compel 
the subject licensees to demonstrate that the plant systems are capable 
of removing the combined heat loads from the reactor building during an 
accident, including the heat load from the spent fuel pool. 
Additionally, the petitioner requested that the DFI compel the subject 
licensees to demonstrate that, if the spent fuel pool were to boil, the 
equipment that would be exposed to additional temperature, humidity, 
and submergence conditions would be able to perform its design 
function.
    The request is being treated pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations Section 2.206 of the Commission's regulations. The 
request has been referred to the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation (NRR). As provided by Section 2.206, appropriate 
action will be taken on this petition within a reasonable time. The 
petitioner declined an opportunity to address the NRR Petition Review 
Board (PRB). After meeting internally, the PRB acknowledged the 
petitioner's concern about the impact of spent fuel pools during an 
accident, noting that this concern is consistent with the NRC's mission 
of protecting public health and safety. Additionally, the PRB noted 
that the effects of the spent fuel pool during an accident are 
undergoing NRC review as part of the lessons-learned from the Fukushima 
event. The PRB intends to use the results of the Fukushima review to 
inform its final decision on whether to implement the requested 
actions.
    A copy of the petition (Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System Accession No. ML11213A030) is available for inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint 
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available documents created or received 
at the NRC are accessible electronically through the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) in the NRC Library at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-(800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this November 10, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-29988 Filed 11-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P