[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 163 (Thursday, August 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40173-40174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17934]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0183]


Nuclear Criticality Safety Standards for Nuclear Materials 
Outside Reactor Cores

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-3053, ``Nuclear 
Criticality Safety Standards for Nuclear Materials Outside Reactor 
Cores.'' This DG would be published as Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide 
(RG) 3.71. The proposed revision would provide methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for criticality safety standards used with 
nuclear materials outside reactor cores. The revision would provide up-
to-date guidance based on changes to American National Standards 
Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS)-8 standards. The revision 
would also endorse International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 
Standard 7753:1987, ``Nuclear Energy--Performance and Testing 
Requirements for Criticality Detection and Alarm Systems.''

DATES: Submit comments by October 23, 2017. 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:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0183. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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: TWFN-8-D36M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Tripp, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-8741, email: 
[email protected], and Harriet Karagiannis, telephone: 301-415-
2493, email: [email protected], Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research. Both are staff members 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-2017-0183 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this action. You may 
obtain publically-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-2017-0183.
     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 this 
document. The DG-3053 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML17055B591.
     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-2017-0183 in your comment submission.

[[Page 40174]]

    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information regarding 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 issues or postulated events, and data that the staff needs in 
its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled ``Nuclear Criticality Safety Standards for Nuclear 
Materials Outside Reactor Cores,'' is a proposed revision temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-3053. The DG-3053 is proposed 
Revision 3 of RG 3.71, ``Nuclear Criticality Safety Standards for 
Nuclear Materials outside Reactor Cores.'' The NRC initially issued RG 
3.71 in 1998, and it was revised in 2005 and again in 2010. The three 
previous versions of RG 3.71 endorsed specific safety standards 
developed by ANSI/ANS-8 to provide guidance, criteria, and best 
practices for use in preventing and mitigating criticality accidents 
during operations that involve handling, processing, storing, or 
transporting special nuclear material at fuel and material facilities 
(or a combination of these activities). The proposed Revision 3 would 
revise the RG based on changes to ANSI/ANS-8 standards, with certain 
exceptions and clarifications. The revision would also consolidate and 
replace a number of earlier NRC RGs, thereby incorporating all of the 
relevant guidance in a single document. This revision would also 
endorse International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 
7753:1987, ``Nuclear Energy--Performance and Testing Requirements for 
Criticality Detection and Alarm Systems.'' In addition, the scope of 
this revision is expanded beyond part 70 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), fuel facilities to include transportation 
and storage facilities under parts 71 and 72.

III. Backfitting

    This DG-3053 would update RG 3.71 based on changes to ANSI/ANS 
standards, as well as endorsing an ISO standard and expanding the scope 
of the RG to include 10 CFR part 71 and part 72 licensees. Issuance of 
DG-3053 would not constitute backfitting under 10 CFR part 70 or part 
72. As discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this DG, the NRC 
has no current intention to impose the DG on current holders of 10 CFR 
part 70 or part 72 licenses. The DG could be applied to applications 
for licenses issued under 10 CFR part 70 or part 72 or amendments 
thereto. Such action would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 
CFR 70.76 or 10 CFR 72.62, inasmuch as such applicants are not within 
the scope of entities protected by 10 CFR 70.76 or 10 CFR 72.62.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on August 18, 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2017-17934 Filed 8-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P