[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 193 (Monday, October 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60188-60190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23743]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0209]


Nonmetallic Thermal Insulation for Austenitic Stainless Steel

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1312, ``Nonmetallic 
Thermal Insulation for Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' also known as 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.36. The NRC is proposing to revise the guidance 
toreflect the most current versions of voluntary consensus standards 
since the initial publication of RG 1.36 in February 1973. The guide 
describes methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable when selecting and using nonmetallic thermal insulation in 
the stainless steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary 
and other systems, in order to minimize any contamination that could 
promote stress-corrosion cracking. This RG applies to light-water-
cooled reactors.

DATES: Submit comments by November 5, 2014. 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 submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different

[[Page 60189]]

method for submitting comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0209. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David W. Alley, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2178, email: [email protected], 
or Rick Jervey, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
251-7404, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0209 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0209.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     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-2014-0209 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 in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment 
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment 
submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely 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 that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Additional 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 DG, entitled, ``Nonmetallic Thermal Insulation for Austenitic 
Stainless Steel,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-
1312. This DG is a proposed revision 1 of RG 1.36. The RG describes 
methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable 
when selecting and using nonmetallic thermal insulation in the 
stainless steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary and 
other systems, to minimize any contamination that could promote stress-
corrosion cracking. This guide applies to light-water-cooled reactors. 
This guidance has been revised to update to the current industry 
standards which have changed since the initial publication of RG 1.36 
in February 1973. The changes update the related standards to those 
currently available for use. Each type of insulating material should 
meet the requirements of American Society for Testing and Materials 
(ASTM) C795, ``Standard Specification for Thermal Insulation for Use in 
Contact with Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' including, but not limited 
to, a preproduction corrosion test in accordance with ASTM C692, ``Test 
Method for Evaluating the Influence of Thermal Insulation on External 
Stress Corrosion Cracking Tendency of Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' and 
a chemical analysis acceptance test for each lot of material in 
accordance with ASTM C871, ``Test Method for Chemical Analysis of 
Thermal Insulation Materials for Leachable Chloride, Fluoride, Silicate 
and Sodium Ions.''

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Draft regulatory guide-1312/Regulatory Guide 1.36, Revision 1, if 
finalized, would provide guidance on one acceptable way of meeting the 
requirements in GDC 1 and GDC 14 with respect to stress-corrosion 
cracking in austenic steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure 
boundary which are caused in part by contact with nonmetallic thermal 
insulation. This DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) (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.'' The NRC's position is based 
upon the following considerations.
    Existing licensees, part 50 construction permit holders and part 50 
operating license holders, and applicants of final design certification 
rules would not be required to comply with the positions set forth in 
DG-1312/RG 1.36, Revision 1, if finalized, unless the construction 
permit or an operating license holder makes a voluntary change to its 
licensing basis with respect to non-metallic thermal insulation in 
contact with austenitic stainless steel, and the NRC determines that 
the safety review must include consideration of the matters addressed 
in this draft regulatory guide.
    Existing design certification rules would not be required to be 
amended to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1312 unless the 
NRC addresses the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 52.63(a).

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    Existing combined license holders (referencing the AP1000 design 
certification rule in 10 CFR part 52, Appendix D) would not be required 
to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1312 unless the NRC 
addresses the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 52.63(a).
    Draft Regulatory Guide-1312 may be applied to current applications 
for operating licenses, combined licenses, and certified design rules 
docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the revision to the 
regulatory guide, as well as future applications submitted after the 
issuance of the revised regulatory guide. Such action would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in Sec.  50.109(a)(1) or be otherwise 
inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR 
part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality provisions 
under part 52--with certain exclusions discussed below--were intended 
to every NRC action which substantially changes the expectations of 
current and future applicants.
    The exceptions to the general principle are applicable whenever a 
combined license applicant references a part 52 license (e.g., an early 
site permit) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design 
certification rule) with specified issue finality provisions. The NRC 
does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in 
the DG, if finalized, on combined license applicants in a manner that 
is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, 
the NRC seeks to impose a position in the DG, if finalized, in a manner 
which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable 
issue finality provision, then the NRC must address the criteria for 
avoiding issue finality as described applicable issue finality 
provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of September, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-23743 Filed 10-3-14; 8:45 am]
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