[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71676-71677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27302]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0217]


Monitoring Criteria and Methods To Calculate Occupational 
Radiation Doses

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-8060, ``Monitoring 
Criteria and Methods to Calculate Occupational Radiation Doses.'' This 
DG is proposed Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 8.34 of the same 
name. This proposed revised guidance describes an approach that is 
acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet the NRC regulations for 
monitoring and determining the dose to occupationally exposed 
individuals.

DATES: Submit comments by January 31, 2022. 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; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0217. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    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: Steven Garry, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2766,

[[Page 71677]]

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. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0217 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this action. You may 
obtain publicly available information related to this action, by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0217.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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 (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0217 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 https://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 
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific 
parts of the agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff 
uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to 
describe information that the staff needs in its review of applications 
for permits and licenses.
    This DG, titled ``Monitoring Criteria and Methods to Calculate 
Occupational Radiation Doses,'' is temporarily identified by its task 
number, DG-8060.
    The DG is a proposed Revision 1 to RG 8.34 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21068A160). The proposed revision of RG 8.34 (Revision 1) describes 
acceptable methods for calculating the total effective dose equivalent. 
Revision 1 also provides acceptable methods for:
     Performing prospective dose evaluations,
     monitoring of unintended doses,
     monitoring dose from hot particles,
     assessing dose from wound injuries,
     calculating soluble uranium intakes, and
     processing of dosimetry devices.
    On October 25, 2013 (78 FR 64030), the NRC staff issued DG-8031, 
``Monitoring Criteria and Methods to Calculate Occupational Radiation 
Doses,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13168A095), for public comment. DG-8031 
was the proposed Revision 1 to RG 8.34. The NRC staff has elected not 
to finalize DG-8031 and is issuing DG-8060 as a replacement. The staff 
notes that DG-8060 considers and addresses technical issues and public 
comments related to the issuance of DG-8031.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML21068A161). The staff develops a 
regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or revising a 
regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    DG-8060, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined 
in sections 50.109, 70.76, 72.62, or 76.76 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), all titled ``Backfitting,'' and as 
described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of 
Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information 
Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087); would not affect the 
issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants''; and would not 
constitute forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 
8.4. As explained in DG-8060, applicants and licensees are not required 
to comply with the positions set forth in DG-8060.

    Dated: December 13, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs, Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-27302 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
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