[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63517-63518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24893]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0231]


Control of Ferrite Content in Stainless Steel Weld Metal

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
revision to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.31, ``Control of Ferrite Content in 
Stainless Steel Weld Metal.'' This guide (Revision 4) describes a 
method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for controlling ferrite 
content in stainless steel weld metal. It updates the guide to remove 
references to outdated standards and to remove an appendix that has 
been incorporated into relevant specifications.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0231 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by 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: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     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 4 of Regulatory Guide 1.31 is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML13211A485. The regulatory analysis may be found 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13211A490.
     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: Michael Benson, telephone: 301-251-
7492; email: [email protected]; or Harriet Karagiannis, telephone: 
301-251-7477; email: [email protected]. Both of Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

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 
4 of RG 1.31 was issued with a temporary identification as Draft 
Regulatory Guide DG-1279 and it describes a method that the staff of 
the NRC considers acceptable for complying with the Commission's 
regulations concerning establishing and implementing a procedure for 
the control of ferrite content in stainless steel weld metal. This 
guide provides methods that the NRC's staff considers acceptable to 
implement certain requirements in part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities.'' Since microfissures in austenitic welds may 
have an adverse effect on the integrity of components, the control of 
weld deposits to ensure the presence of delta ferrite in these welds is 
advisable.

Reason for Revision

    To achieve control of ferrite content in stainless steel welds, the 
original version of this guide, Safety Guide 31, ``Control of Stainless 
Steel Welding,'' issued August 1972, provided guidance to test 
production welds. This guidance was retained in Revision 1 of the 
Safety Guide, which was issued June 1973 as Regulatory Guide 1.31, 
``Control of Ferrite Content in Stainless Steel Weld Metal.'' Revision 
2 (issued May 1977) and Revision 3 (issued April 1978) to this guide 
were based on recommendations of an NRC/industry study group. Revision 
2 of this guide replaced the guidance for testing production welds in 
Revision 1 with

[[Page 63518]]

guidance for process control through testing weld test pads. These 
changes considerably reduced the testing effort needed to control delta 
ferrite in welds.
    This revision (Revision 4) references the latest consensus 
standards. It supplements the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 
(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. Also, the appendix of the previous 
version has been removed and incorporated into the relevant 
specifications that are referenced in the guide.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published DG-1279 in the Federal Register on October 3, 
2012 (77 FR 60479), for a 60-day public comment period. The public 
comment period closed on December 2, 2012. Public comments on DG-1279 
and the NRC staff's responses to the public comments are available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML13211A483.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This regulatory guide is a rule as defined in the Congressional 
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and 
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the 
Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final regulatory guide does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not 
otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 
part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' Revision 4 of this regulatory guide provides guidance on 
methods for meeting NRC's regulatory requirements concerning 
establishing and implementing a procedure for the control of ferrite 
content in stainless steel weld metal. Licensees may voluntarily use 
the guidance in this document to demonstrate compliance with the 
underlying NRC regulations. The NRC staff does not expect any existing 
licensee to use or commit to using the guidance in this regulatory 
guide, unless the licensee seeks a voluntary change to its licensing 
basis.
    Further information on the staff's use of Revision 4 of this 
regulatory guide is contained in the regulatory guide under section D. 
Implementation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of September, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-24893 Filed 10-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P