[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 24746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9998]



[[Page 24746]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0158]


Constraint on Releases of Airborne Radioactive Materials to the 
Environment for Licensees Other Than Power Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
revision to Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.20, ``Constraint on Releases of 
Airborne Radioactive Materials to the Environment for Licensees other 
than Power Reactors.'' This RG provides guidance on methods acceptable 
to the NRC's staff for meeting the constraint on airborne emissions of 
radioactive material to the environment.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2010-0158 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, using the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0158. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     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 ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. Revision 1 of RG 4.20 is available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML110120299. The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML110120351.
     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.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mekonen Bayssie, Regulatory Guide 
Development Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-251-7489; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC'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 1 of RG 4.20 was issued with a temporary identification as 
Draft Regulatory Guide (DG)-4018. This RG provides guidance on methods 
acceptable to the NRC staff for meeting the constraint on airborne 
emissions of radioactive material to the environment as described in 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 20.1101(d). In 
1996, the NRC added a constraint to 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for 
Protection Against Radiation,'' to remove dual regulation by the NRC 
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and to provide an ``ample 
margin of safety'' to members of the public from airborne emissions of 
radioactive material to the environment.
    In 10 CFR 20.1101(d), the NRC states the following:

    To implement the ALARA (as low as is reasonably achievable) 
requirements of Sec.  20.1101(b), and notwithstanding the 
requirements in Sec.  20.1301 of this part, a constraint on air 
emissions of radioactive material to the environment, excluding 
radon-222 and its daughters, shall be established by licensees other 
than those subject to Sec.  50.34a, such that the individual member 
of the public likely to receive the highest dose will not be 
expected to receive a total effective dose equivalent in excess of 
10 mrem [millirem] (0.1 mSv [millisievert]) per year from these 
emissions. If a licensee subject to this requirement exceeds this 
dose constraint, the licensee shall report the exceedance as 
provided in Sec.  20.2203 and promptly take appropriate corrective 
action to ensure against recurrence.

    The NRC staff examines licensee programs to determine whether they 
comply with the requirements in 10 CFR part 20. This guide addresses 
only a part of a licensee's overall radiation protection program. 
Specifically, it addresses methods that licensees can use to 
demonstrate that they meet the constraint on airborne emissions of 
radioactive material to the environment. In addition to controlling 
doses from airborne emissions of radioactive material to the 
environment, licensees must implement a radiation protection program 
that controls liquid effluents and dose rates in unrestricted areas.

II. Further Information

    On April 20, 2010 (75 FR 20645), DG-4018 was published in the 
Federal Register and it was reopened for a 60-day public comment period 
on June 25, 2010 (75 FR 36445). The public comment period closed on 
August 23, 2010. The Federal Register notice (FRN) dated June 25, 2010 
(75 FR 36445), inadvertently cited the ADAMS accession number for the 
original FRN noticing the issuance of DG-4018 (75 FR 20645; ADAMS 
Accession No. ML092600090) in place of the ADAMS accession number for 
DG-4018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML092590180). However, the original FRN 
noticing the issuance of DG-4018 (75 FR 20645; ADAMS Accession No. 
ML092600090) cited the correct ADAMS accession number for DG-4018.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of April, 2012.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark Orr,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-9998 Filed 4-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P