[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29248-29249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13277]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0232]


Environmental Dosimetry-Performance Specifications, Testing, and 
Data Analysis

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.13, ``Environmental Dosimetry-
Performance Specifications, Testing, and Data Analysis.'' Revision 2 
provides updated guidance that the NRC staff considers acceptable for 
performing surveys and evaluations of public dose in the unrestricted 
area and the controlled area of a licensed facility from direct 
radiation using environmental dosimetry. The RG endorses the American 
National Standards Institute/Health Physics Society (ANSI/HPS) N13.37-
2014, ``Environmental Dosimetry-Criteria for System Design and 
Implementation.''

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 4.13 is available on June 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0232 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document, 
using the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0232. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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.
     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 ``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 2 to Regulatory Guide 4.13 and the regulatory analysis may be 
found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML19044A595 and ML18087A167 
respectively.
     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: Steven Garry, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2766, email: 
[email protected], and Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2493, email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    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 regarding methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
agency's regulations, techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs 
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 2 of RG 4.13 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-4019, to provide updated guidance that the 
NRC staff considers acceptable for performing surveys and evaluations 
of public dose in the unrestricted area and the controlled area of a 
licensed facility from direct radiation using environmental dosimetry.
    This revision also provides updated NRC guidance on an acceptable 
dosimetry program by endorsing ANSI/HPS N13.37-2014. The 2014 ANSI/HPS 
standard provides up-to-date environmental dosimetry system design 
criteria and dosimeter laboratory test protocols and data-analysis 
methods suitable to assess potential facility-related radiation doses.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-4019 in the 
Federal Register on October 17, 2018 (83 FR 52576) for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on December 17, 2018. 
Public comments on DG-4019 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML19044A594.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG 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

    This RG provides guidance on establishing and conducting an 
environmental dosimetry program that the NRC staff considers acceptable 
for

[[Page 29249]]

monitoring direct radiation released into the unrestricted area and the 
controlled area of a licensed facility. The NRC regards these 
requirements as constituting information collection and reporting 
requirements. The NRC has long taken the position that information 
collection and reporting requirements are not subject to the NRC's 
backfitting and issue finality regulations in title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) 50.109, 10 CFR 70.76, 10 CFR 72.62, 10 CFR 
76.76 and 10 CFR part 52 (e.g., ``Material Control and Accounting 
Methods,'' December 23, 2002 (67 FR 78130); and ``Regulatory 
Improvements to the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards 
System,'' June 9, 2008 (73 FR 32453)). Therefore, the NRC has 
determined that its backfitting and issue finality regulations do not 
apply to this RG because the RG does not include any provisions within 
the scope of matters covered by the backfitting provisions in 10 CFR 
parts 50, 70, 72, or 76, or the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR 
part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of June 2019.

    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. 2019-13277 Filed 6-20-19; 8:45 am]
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