[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 126 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38857-38858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15960]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0152]


Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and 
Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light-Water-
Cooled Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1280, 
``Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and 
Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light-Water-
Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.'' This guide describes a method for 
design, inspection, and testing of normal atmosphere cleanup systems 
for controlling releases of airborne radioactive materials to the 
environment during normal operations, including

[[Page 38858]]

anticipated operational occurrences. This guide applies to all types of 
nuclear power plants that use water as the primary means of cooling.

DATES: Submit comments by August 27, 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 are publically available, 
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-
0152. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0152. 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: Mekonen Bayssie, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-251-7489 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0152 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-2012-0152.
     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 ML11273A057. 
The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML11273A060.
    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-2012-0152 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, ``Design, Inspection, and 
Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal 
Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1280. The 
DG-1280 is proposed revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.140, dated June 
2001. Since the last revision of RG 1.140, The American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Committee on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment 
(CONAGT) has revised and expanded the scope of equipment covered by 
ASME-AG-1, ``Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment,'' which the staff 
previously endorsed RG 1.140. The revision to ASME-AG-1b consolidated 
some requirements from ASME-N509, ``Nuclear Power Plant Air Cleaning 
Units and Components''; ASME-N510, ``Testing of Nuclear Air-Treatment 
Systems''; and other documents previously endorsed by the staff in RG 
1.140. In addition, CONAGT has developed and published a new standard, 
ASME N511-2007, ``Inservice Testing of Nuclear Air Treatment, Heating 
Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems.'' This new standard provides 
comprehensive test and inspection requirements and is written to 
complement the expanded ASME-AG-1b. This revision of the regulatory 
guide reflects the referenced industry standards.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Because this regulatory guide reflects current regulatory practice, 
it does not require a backfit analysis as described in 10 CFR 
50.109(c).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of June, 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-15960 Filed 6-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P