[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14186-14187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04577]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2022-0215]


Material Compatibility for Non-Light Water Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment on its draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) ``Material 
Compatibility for non-Light Water Reactors, DANU-ISG-2023-01.'' The 
purpose of this draft ISG is to assist the NRC staff in reviewing 
certain applications for construction and operation of non-light water 
reactor designs, including power and non-power reactors.

DATES: Submit comments by May 8, 2023. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this 
date.

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-2022-0215. 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 obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meg Audrain, telephone: 301-415-2133, 
email: [email protected] and Jordan Hoellman, telephone: 301-
415-5481, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

[[Page 14187]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0215 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-2022-0215.
     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 draft ISG, ``Material 
Compatibility for non-Light Water Reactors, DANU-ISG-2023-01'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML22203A175.
     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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (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-2022-0215 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 will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 into ADAMS.

II. Background

    As part of its review of advanced non-light water reactor 
applications, the NRC determines whether materials proposed to be used 
will allow components to fulfill design requirements for the design 
life, or that adequate surveillance and monitoring programs are in 
place. NRC regulations in part 50 and part 52 of title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) include requirements for material 
qualification and performance monitoring. The NRC endorsed American 
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code Section III, Division 5, 
``High Temperature Reactors'' (Section III-5), with conditions, in 
Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 1.87, ``Acceptability of ASME Code, 
Section III, Division 5, `High Temperature Reactors,' '' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML22101A263).

III. Discussion

    The purpose of this draft ISG is to aid the NRC staff reviewing 
non-light water reactor applications for a construction permit or 
operating license under 10 CFR part 50 or for a design certification, 
combined license, standard design approval, or manufacturing license 
under 10 CFR part 52 that propose to use materials allowed under 
Section III-5. Section III-5 specifies the mechanical properties and 
allowable stresses to be used for design of components in high 
temperature reactors. Because Section III-5 states that it does not 
provide methods to evaluate deterioration that may occur in service as 
a result of corrosion, mass transfer phenomena, radiation effects, or 
other material instabilities, this draft ISG identifies information 
that the staff should consider as part of its review of a non-light 
water reactor application to review applicable design requirements 
including qualification and monitoring programs for safety-significant 
structures, systems, and components.

    Dated: March 1, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Steven T. Lynch,
Chief, Advanced Reactor Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors 
and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2023-04577 Filed 3-6-23; 8:45 am]
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