[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5811-5812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01487]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 34

[Docket No. PRM-34-6; NRC-2017-0022; NRC-2008-0173]


Industrial Radiographic Operations and Training

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking and denial of petition for 
rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responding to 
public comments on an interpretation of its requirements for industrial 
radiographic operations and Agreement State Compatibility Category 
change for these requirements published in the Federal Register on June 
1, 2021. As a result of these actions, the NRC is discontinuing a 
planned rulemaking activity and is denying an associated petition for 
rulemaking, PRM-34-6.

DATES: The docket for the planned rulemaking activity is closed on 
January 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0022 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for 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-2017-0022. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individual 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 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, at 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 the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory R. Trussell, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-6244, email: 
[email protected], U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 1, 2021, the NRC published a notification of interpretation 
and request for comment in the Federal Register (86 FR 29173). Under 
the new interpretation, the NRC's requirements at Sec.  34.41 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Conducting industrial 
radiographic operations,'' are met if the additional qualified 
individual, who is to observe the operation and be capable of providing 
immediate assistance to prevent unauthorized entry, is in sufficiently 
close proximity to the operation and is sufficiently aware of the 
ongoing activities to provide assistance or take charge when necessary. 
The second individual may perform other tasks nearby, provided that the 
individual is cognizant of the site-specific circumstances when 
radiographic operations are in progress.
    The NRC held a public meeting on August 26, 2021, during which the 
NRC provided background on the ``two-person'' requirement, its 
relationship with other industrial radiography surveillance 
requirements, and an overview of the new interpretation. The NRC 
answered questions from participants and clarified the NRC's 
reinterpretation of the requirements. Participants questioned the 
necessity and feasibility of the interpretation and requested more 
realistic examples of how a licensee could implement the new 
interpretation. The meeting summary is available under ADAMS Accession 
No. ML21218A156.

II. Public Comments

    The NRC received written comments on the notification of 
interpretation from: a private citizen, the Organization of Agreement 
States (OAS), the State of Oklahoma (Oklahoma), and the State of 
Arkansas (Arkansas) (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21155A124, ML21182A320, 
ML21172A130, and ML21182A362). The comments were binned into three 
categories.
    The NRC met with the Agreement States on April 6, 2022, to discuss 
the NRC's responses to the comments submitted on the June 1, 2021, 
notice of interpretation. This section provides a summary of the 
comments and the NRC's responses.
    Request for clarification and additional guidance. Commenters 
requested additional guidance to clarify the interpretation and 
requested that the guidance include multiple examples of acceptable 
surveillance practices. Specifically, comments from the OAS, Oklahoma, 
and Arkansas asked for clarification on how the interpretation relates 
to other requirements, how close ``sufficient proximity'' is, and what 
tools can be used to maintain awareness.
    Response: The NRC agrees with these comments. The NRC will issue 
revised guidance to provide greater detail and to clarify the issues 
raised by the comments, and is providing the following statements to 
clarify specific issues raised by the comments:
     The interpretation only affects radiographic operations in 
limited circumstances; for example, in situations where the 
radiographer has clear view of the entire operation.
     The interpretation focuses on the performance requirements 
for the second individual to maintain sufficient awareness to provide 
immediate assistance and perform radiographic operations and to prevent 
unauthorized entry. Licensees may use any appropriate tools that allow 
the second individual to perform these functions. In the notification 
of interpretation, the NRC mentioned the option of video surveillance. 
The NRC recognizes that the use of video surveillance may be rare but 
could allow the second individual to meet the requirement. Other tools 
that could work include an open radio channel or cell phone.
     Future technology may provide additional tools for meeting 
this performance-based requirement.
    Safety and security: Comments from the OAS, Oklahoma, and Arkansas 
questioned the overall safety of the new interpretation, suggesting 
that the second individual would not have sufficient awareness and 
proximity to the radiographic operation to perform required functions 
and that direct observation is necessary. These comments also assert 
that the interpretation would reduce the use and number of alarming 
rate meters, dosimetry, and survey instruments. In addition, the 
comment from Oklahoma questioned the security impact of the 
interpretation.
    Response: The NRC disagrees with these comments. The NRC disagrees

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with the comment that direct observation is necessary by the second 
individual. Direct observation by the second individual is not 
necessary under the limited circumstances allowed by the interpretation 
to ensure safety because a second individual is available to provide 
immediate assistance. For example, it may be acceptable for the second 
individual to have less awareness of the operations or to be located 
further away when the radiographer has a clear view of the entire 
operation because the radiographer is able to observe all points of 
entry and alert the second qualified individual of a potential 
unauthorized entry. The new interpretation provides flexibility when 
the situation allows it and does not compromise radiation safety and 
security. Section 34.41(a) provides the minimum requirements for the 
number of personnel at every temporary jobsite; it does not address 
security, dosimetry requirements, or the use and number of survey 
instruments. Other regulations or circumstances may apply as described 
in NUREG-1556, Volume 2, Revision 1, ``Program-Specific Guidance About 
Industrial Radiography Licenses,'' that require a licensee to have more 
than two individuals present at a temporary jobsite; for example, in 
situations where there are multiple access points to the restricted 
area that need to be controlled.
    The performance-based aspects of the regulations require the second 
individual to be sufficiently aware of the operation to be able to 
provide immediate assistance. Therefore, if the second individual does 
not have sufficient awareness and proximity to the radiographic 
operation to perform these functions, then the requirement is not met. 
For example, if the second individual is in the darkroom and is not 
able to hear or see the radiographic operations, then the second 
individual is not meeting the requirements as the NRC has interpretated 
them.
    Reciprocity and consistency: Comments from the OAS and Oklahoma 
expressed concern that the interpretation, combined with the 
compatibility category change from B to C, may cause reciprocity and 
consistency issues.
    Response: The NRC disagrees with these comments. In the June 1, 
2021, notification (86 FR 29173), the NRC, with the benefit of over 20 
years of experience with Agreement States implementing the two-person 
rule differently, determined that essentially identical implementation 
is not necessary to provide an orderly pattern of regulation. The 
essential objective of Sec.  34.41(a) is to have a second qualified 
individual maintain awareness of the radiographic operations, maintain 
direct communications with the radiographer, and be capable of 
providing immediate assistance to the radiographer or taking charge 
when necessary, and to prevent unauthorized entry into a restricted 
area. Despite differences in implementation of the two-person rule, the 
NRC is not aware of any cross-jurisdictional boundary issues for the 
National Materials Program from these different interpretations. 
Further, other requirements in 10 CFR part 34 that apply to radiography 
at temporary jobsites are designated as Compatibility Category C, such 
as the survey requirement in Sec.  34.49(b), and have not resulted in 
cross-jurisdictional boundary issues. Therefore, the NRC has no reason 
to believe this compatibility change will cause reciprocity or 
consistency issues.

III. Interpretation and Agreement State Compatibility

    This document completes the NRC's actions on the interpretation and 
the change in Agreement State Compatibility Category published in the 
Federal Register on June 1, 2021 (86 FR 29173). The issues raised by 
the comments are not new and were considered by the NRC before 
publishing the new interpretation. The NRC recognizes that currently 
there are limited circumstances where the interpretation would be 
applicable, and that more guidance is needed. The NRC finds that the 
new interpretation provides the flexibility to accommodate emerging 
technologies for the surveillance of radiographic operations. This 
approach allows Agreement States the flexibility to align their 
programs with the NRC's proposed interpretation, continue their current 
interpretation of requiring two individuals to observe the restricted 
area, or adopt another more restrictive approach.
    The NRC intends to develop an addendum to the current version of 
NUREG-1556, Volume 2, Revision 1, and to revise Inspection Procedure 
87121, ``Industrial Radiography Programs,'' to address the 
interpretation of the surveillance requirements.

IV. Discontinuation of the Rulemaking and Denial of the Associated 
Petition

    The new interpretation resolves the issues raised in PRM-34-6 
related to the two-person rule. The interpretation makes Sec.  34.41(a) 
consistent with the requirement in Sec.  34.51 that at least one of the 
two individuals present at a temporary jobsite must ``maintain direct 
observation of the operation.''
    In addition, the NRC reviewed the petition regarding training 
requirements and concluded, based on associated operational experience 
since 1997, that the current training requirements in Sec.  34.43(c) 
are sufficient to ensure safe radiographic operations. Specifically, 
the second qualified individual must receive training on radiographic 
devices, sources, associated equipment, radiation survey equipment, and 
the daily inspection requirements on the equipment. The training 
requirements in 10 CFR part 34 prepare individuals conducting 
radiographic operations with sufficient knowledge and understanding of 
the regulations and safety requirements and familiarity with the 
equipment that they will use in the performance of their work.
    Based on the NRC's review and lack of comments warranting a change 
to the new interpretation, the NRC has concluded that conducting 
rulemaking to amend its requirements for industrial radiographic 
operations and training is not necessary and, therefore, is 
discontinuing the rulemaking activity. The NRC is denying PRM-34-6 
pursuant to Sec.  2.803(i)(2).

V. Conclusion

    This document provides the NRC's responses to public comments on an 
interpretation and corresponding Agreement State Compatibility Category 
change. The NRC is not revising the interpretation or changing the 
Compatibility Category in response to comments. The NRC is 
discontinuing the planned rulemaking that would have amended its 
requirements for industrial radiographic operations and training and is 
denying PRM-34-6 for the reasons discussed in this document.

    Dated: January 20, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Wesley W. Held,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-01487 Filed 1-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P