[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60478-60479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24390]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[[NRC-2012-0231]


Control of Ferrite Content in Stainless Steel Weld Metal

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-1279, 
``Control of Ferrite Content in Stainless Steel Weld Metal.'' This 
guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for 
controlling ferrite content in stainless steel weld metal. Revision 4 
updates the guide to remove references to outdated standards and to 
remove an appendix that has been incorporated into relevant 
specifications.

DATES: Submit comments by December 2, 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 publicly available, 
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-
0231. 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-2012-0231. 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-2012-0231 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 are publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0231.
     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

[[Page 60479]]

regulatory guide is available electronically under ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12024A004. The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML12024A014.
    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-2012-0231 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, ``Control of Ferrite Content 
in Stainless Steel Weld Metal,'' is temporarily identified by its task 
number, DG-1279. The DG-1279 is proposed revision 4 of Regulatory Guide 
1.31, dated April 1978. Revision 4 updates the guide to remove 
references to outdated standards and to remove an appendix that has 
been incorporated into relevant specifications.
    This guide describes a method that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers acceptable for controlling 
ferrite content in stainless steel weld metal. This guide is intended 
to supplement the ASME Code requirements to ensure control of delta 
ferrite in welds in austenitic stainless steel core support structures, 
reactor internals, and Class 1, 2, and 3 components. The NRC staff 
seeking input on the latest technical standards that should be in this 
guide.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September, 2012.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September, 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-24390 Filed 10-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P