[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17867-17868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08493]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0076]


Evaluating Electromagnetic and Radio-Frequency Interference in 
Safety-Related Instrumentation and Control Systems

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-1333, ``Guidelines for 
Evaluating Electromagnetic and Radio-Frequency Interference in Safety-
Related Instrumentation and Control Systems.'' DG-1333 is proposed 
Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.180, ``Guidelines for Evaluating 
Electromagnetic and Radio-Frequency Interference in Safety-Related 
Instrumentation and Control Systems,'' dated October 2003. This DG 
updates the guidance on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) practices 
and test methods that the staff of the NRC consider acceptable for 
qualifying safety-related instrumentation and control (I&C) systems for 
the expected electromagnetic environment in nuclear power plants.

DATES: Submit comments by June 25, 2018. 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 website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for NRC-2018-0076. Address questions 
about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-9127; email: 
[email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, 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 Dawood, telephone: 301-415-2389, 
email: [email protected] and Michael Eudy, telephone: 301-415-6003, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff members of the Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, 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-2018-0076 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for DG-1333 or Docket ID NRC-2018-0076.
     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]. This 
DG is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML16281A531. The regulatory analysis for this DG is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML17188A397.
     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-2018-0076 in your comment submission. 
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 ``Guidelines for Evaluating Electromagnetic and 
Radio-Frequency Interference in Safety-Related Instrumentation and 
Control Systems,'' is proposed Revision 2 to RG 1.180. The proposed 
revised RG is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1333. The 
proposed revised RG updates the guidance on EMC practices and test 
methods that the staff of the NRC consider acceptable for qualifying 
safety-related I&C systems for the expected electromagnetic environment 
in nuclear power plants. The revised RG endorses the current versions 
of previously endorsed military, Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and International Electrotechnical 
Commission (IEC) specifications and standards; incorporates additional 
guidance for evaluating the effects of electrostatic discharge; and 
accounts for the evolution of the operational environment at nuclear 
power plants arising from the increased use of digital technology, 
including wireless communication for both personnel (personal digital 
assistants and smartphones) and industrial (remote I&C) applications.
    Department of Defense, Federal, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, NASA, Department of Energy, and Government 
specifications,

[[Page 17868]]

standards, handbooks, and publications are available free from 
www.EverySpec.com. Copies of IEEE documents may be purchased from the 
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Service Center, 445 
Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855, or through the IEEE's 
public website at http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/index.html. Copies of IEC documents may be obtained through its website 
at http://www.iec.ch/ or by writing the IEC Central Office at P.O. Box 
131, 3 Rue de Varemb[eacute], 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41 
22 919 02 11.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This DG-1333, if finalized as Revision 2 to RG 1.180, would update 
the guidance on EMC practices and test methods that the staff of the 
NRC consider acceptable for qualifying safety-related I&C systems for 
the expected electromagnetic environment in nuclear power plants. The 
DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) section 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.'' The subject of this DG, as described above, 
is an NRC-defined process that does not fall within the purview of 
subjects covered by either the Backfit Rule or the issue finality 
provision in 10 CFR part 52. Issuance of the DG, in final form, would 
not constitute backfitting, and no further consideration of backfitting 
is required in order to issue the draft or final RG in final form.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of April 2018.

    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. 2018-08493 Filed 4-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P