[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15813-15814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6413]


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 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0065]


Preoperational Testing of Instrument and Control Air Systems

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1268, 
``Preoperational Testing of Instrument and Control Air Systems.'' This 
regulatory guide is being revised to address new issues that have been 
raised since RG 1.68.3 was first issued. These include vibration 
testing of instrument and control air systems (ICAS) to meet seismic 
requirement, ICAS air-dryer testing to meet dew point design 
requirements, ICAS accumulator check valves and solenoid valves 
operating and testing experience, an update to ISA S7.3 for acceptable 
industry standards for oil, water and particle matter in ICAS.

DATES: Submit comments by May 18, 2012. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related 
to this document, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, by 
searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-0065.
    You may submit comments by the following methods:

[[Page 15814]]

     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0065. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Talbot, Division of Construction 
Inspection, and Operational Programs, Office of New Reactors, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 
301-415-3146; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0065 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses 
and is publicly available, by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0065.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The draft regulatory guide 
is available electronically under ADAMS Accession Number ML113180379. 
The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML113180380.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0065 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not edit comment submissions to remove identifying 
or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should 
state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Further Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC'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.
    The draft regulatory guide, entitled, ``Preoperational Testing of 
Instrument and Control Air Systems,'' is temporarily identified by its 
task number, DG-1268. The DG-1268 is proposed revision 2 of Regulatory 
Guide 1.68.3, dated January 1977.
    This guide describes methods and procedures the staff of the NRC 
considers acceptable to implement preoperational testing of the 
instrument and control air systems (ICAS) in a commercial nuclear power 
plant. Successful demonstration of the operability of the ICAS is one 
of the items required by Appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities'' (10 CFR part 50). This guide also describes the methods 
that the NRC staff finds acceptable for the initial test program for 
ICAS systems, structures, and components (SSCs) in accordance with the 
regulations in 10 CFR Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and 
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' Subpart B, ``Standard Design 
Certifications,'' and Subpart C, ``Combined Licenses.''

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of March, 2012.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-6413 Filed 3-15-12; 8:45 am]
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