[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78693-78694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31080]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 249 / Friday, December 27, 2013 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 78693]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2012-0020]
RIN 3150-AJ10


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Transnuclear, Inc. 
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Cask System

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of effective date.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the 
effective date of January 7, 2014, for the direct final rule that was 
published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2013. This direct 
final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising 
the Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Cask System listing 
within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include 
Amendment No. 11 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004.

DATES: The effective date of January 7, 2014, is confirmed for the 
direct final rule published October 24, 2013 (78 FR 63375).

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0020 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this direct final rule. 
You may access publicly-available information related to this direct 
final rule by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0020. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual 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 document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Trussell, Office of Federal 
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-
6445, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion

    On October 24, 2013 (78 FR 63375), the NRC published a direct final 
rule amending its regulations at Sec.  72.214 of Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. 
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Cask System listing within the ``List of 
Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 11 to CoC 
No. 1004. Amendment No. 11 added a new transfer cask, the OS197L, for 
use with the 32PT and 61BT dry shielded canisters, and converted the 
CoC No. 1004 Technical Specifications to the format in NUREG-1745, 
``Standard Format and Content for Technical Specifications for 10 CFR 
Part 72 Cask Certificates of Compliance.'' In addition, the amendment 
made several other changes as described in Section III, ``Discussion of 
Changes,'' section of the direct final rule.

II. Public Comments on the Companion Proposed Rule

    In the direct final rule, the NRC stated that if no significant 
adverse comments were received, the direct final rule would become 
effective on January 7, 2014. The NRC received one public comment on 
the companion proposed rule (78 FR 63408), from Mr. Richard Ochs (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13320A027). Mr. Ochs stated his concern that the 
neutron emissions inside the outer shell of nuclear waste storage 
containers are dangerous to living organisms, including insects, 
microbes, bacteria or virus that attach to dust that passes through the 
screened windows in the outer steel covers of storage containers. 
Specifically, Mr. Ochs raises a concern based on the emergence of 
Lyme's Disease in Lyme, Connecticut, which he asserts occurred 
following an unintended release of radioactive gas from the nearby 
Millstone Nuclear Reactor. According to his comment, ``[T]he Deer Tick 
has carried a spirochete bacteria for millions of years, but after the 
Millstone release, that spirochete was mutated, causing the emergence 
of Lyme's Disease.''
    The NRC staff reviewed this comment and concluded that this comment 
is not a significant adverse comment as defined in NUREG-BR-0053, 
Revision 6, ``United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulations 
Handbook'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML052720461), as it is beyond the scope 
of this rulemaking. Instead, this comment raises a generic concern 
regarding the use of any spent fuel storage casks and is not specific 
to any issue or concern with the amendment to the cask certificate that 
is the subject of this rulemaking effort.
    Moreover, the NRC staff has concluded that there would be no 
significant environmental impacts as confirmed in Section VII, 
``Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact: Availability,'' of 
the direct final rule. This comment does not challenge that finding 
because, as the Environmental Assessment explained, this amendment to 
the rule will not result in any significant change in the types or 
significant revisions in the amounts of any effluent released, no 
significant increase in the individual or cumulative radiation 
exposure, and no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from radiological accidents. This amendment continues to 
ensure that the Commission's regulations regarding dose rates, found in 
10 CFR Part 20, are maintained. A challenge to those dose rates, or the 
method by which the Commission

[[Page 78694]]

establishes those dose rates, would be most appropriately addressed as 
a petition for rulemaking pursuant to 10 CFR 2.802. Therefore, this 
rule will become effective as scheduled.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of December 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Helen Chang,
Acting Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch, Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-31080 Filed 12-26-13; 8:45 am]
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