[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72642-72643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27667]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0141]


Evaluating the Habitability of a Nuclear Power Plant Control Room 
During a Postulated Hazardous Chemical Release

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.78, ``Evaluating the 
Habitability of a Nuclear Power Plant Control Room during a Postulated 
Hazardous Chemical Release.'' The revision of RG 1.78 describes an 
approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff to meet regulatory 
requirements for evaluating the habitability of a nuclear power plant 
control room during a postulated hazardous chemical release. Releases 
of hazardous chemicals, onsite and off-site, can result in the nearby 
control room becoming uninhabitable.

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.78 is available on December 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0141 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0141. 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.

[[Page 72643]]

     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 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.
    Revision 2 to RG 1.78 and the regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21253A071 and ML21119A159, respectively.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Casper Sun, telephone: 301-415-1646, 
email: [email protected] and Michael Eudy, telephone: 301-415-3104, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff members of the Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing a revision 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 1.78 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1387.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1387 in the 
Federal Register on July 28, 2021 (86 FR 40661) for a 30-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on August 27, 2021. 
Public comments on DG-1387 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21253A074.

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, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    Revision 2 of RG 1.78 does not constitute backfitting as defined in 
section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4, 
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and 
Information Requests''; constitute forward fitting as that term is 
defined and described in MD 8.4; or affect the issue finality of any 
approval issued under 10 CFR part 52. As explained in Revision 2 of RG 
1.78, applicants and licensees would not be required to comply with the 
positions set forth in the RG.

    Dated: December 15, 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. 2021-27667 Filed 12-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P