September 12, 2007

Mr. W. Edward Cummins

AP600 and AP1000 Projects

Westinghouse Electric Company

P.O. Box 355

Pittsburgh, PA 15230-0355

Mr. Keith Paulson

Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems, Inc.

310 Oxford Drive, Suite 310

Monroeville, PA 15146

Mr. Robert E. Brown

Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC

3901 Castle Hayne Road, MC A-45

Wilmington, NC 28401

Mr. Ronnie L. Gardner, Manager

Site Operations and Regulatory Affairs 

AREVA NP

3315 Old Forrest Road

P.O. Box 10935

Lynchburg, VA 24506-0935

SUBJECT: ISSUANCE OF ORDER IMPOSING SAFEGUARDS INFORMATION

PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS AND FINGERPRINTING AND CRIMINAL

HISTORY RECORDS CHECK REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESS TO

SAFEGUARDS INFORMATION

Dear Messrs. Cummins, Paulson, Brown, and Gardner:

The Commission has decided to require, through rulemaking, that nuclear power plant

designers perform a rigorous assessment of design features that could provide additional

inherent protection to avoid or mitigate the effects of a large, commercial aircraft impact, while

reducing or eliminating the need for operator actions, where practicable. In anticipation of this

requirement, and to assist designers in completing this assessment, the Commission has

decided to provide the detailed aircraft impact characteristics that should be used as

reasonable inputs for reactor vendors and architect/engineers who have a need to know and

who meet the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) requirements for the disclosure

of such information to use in studies of the inherent capabilities of their designs. The NRC

derived these characteristics from agency analyses performed on operating reactors to support,

in part, the development of a broadly effective set of mitigation strategies to combat fires and

explosions from a spectrum of hypothetical aircraft impacts. Although these detailed

characteristics were not selected as a basis for designing new reactors, the staff is suggesting

them as a starting point for aircraft impact assessments. As proposed by the Commission, the

Commission would specify in a Safeguards Information guidance document the detailed aircraft

impact characteristics that should be used in a required assessment of the new reactor

designs. The agency will finalize the form and values of those characteristics when finalizing

the associated rulemaking. In addition, the staff recognizes that no national or international

consensus has been reached on the selection of appropriate characteristics for such analyses. 

Therefore, the information should be considered preliminary and subject to authorized

stakeholder comment. The Order in Enclosure 1 designates the detailed aircraft characteristics
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1 SGI is a form of sensitive, unclassified, security-related information that the Commission has the

authority to designate and protect under Section 147 of the AEA.

as Safeguards Information (SGI),1 in accordance with Section 147 of the Atomic Energy Act

(AEA) of 1954, as amended. 

The NRC is issuing the enclosed Order to Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC), General 

Electric - Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems, Inc., and AREVA

NP to impose requirements for the protection of SGI, as well as for the fingerprinting of all

persons who have or seek access to this SGI. In addition, the Order contains restrictions on

the locations where this SGI may be stored and for the sharing of this SGI with individuals for

whom fingerprinting and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history records check

is not reasonably expected to yield sufficient criminal history information to form the basis of an

informed decision on granting access to SGI. Examples of such individuals include foreign

nationals, U.S. citizens living abroad, or individuals under the age of 18. 

This Order supercedes EA-07-154, issued to WEC on June 8, 2007, and 

EA-07-159, issued to GEH, formerly General Electric Company (GE), on June 15, 2007. 

Except for the restrictions on storage and access by certain individuals discussed above, this

Order is identical to the orders previously issued to WEC and GEH. Therefore, since both

vendors have already fully complied with those orders, WEC and GEH shall only respond to the

enclosed Order with an answer consenting to the Order pursuant to Section IV. 

Before your respective company grants an individual access to SGI, your respective company

must submit the fingerprints of the individual to the NRC for an FBI criminal history records

check. The results of the FBI criminal history records check will be provided to your respective

company and your respective company must consider that information when making a

determination of whether an individual, who has a need to know SGI, may be given access to

SGI (see the attachment to the Order and Enclosure 2 to this letter).

Certain categories of individuals are excepted by rule from the fingerprinting requirement, as

given in Title 10, Section 73.59, “Relief from Fingerprinting and Criminal History Records Check

for Designated Categories of Individuals,” of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 73.59),

including Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel; Agreement State inspectors who

conduct security inspections on behalf of the NRC; members of Congress; certain employees of

members of Congress or congressional committees who have undergone fingerprinting for a

prior U.S. Government criminal history check; and representatives of the International Atomic

Energy Agency or certain foreign government organizations. In addition, the NRC has

determined that individuals who have active Federal security clearances, or who have had a

favorably decided U.S. Government criminal history records check within the last 5 years, have

already been subjected to fingerprinting and criminal history records checks and, thus, have

satisfied the fingerprinting requirement under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 

To implement the enclosed Order, your respective company must nominate an individual who

will review the results of the FBI criminal history records check to make SGI access

determinations. This individual, referred to as the “reviewing official,” must be someone who

seeks access to SGI. Based on the results of the FBI criminal history records check, the NRC

staff will determine whether this individual may have access to SGI. If the NRC determines that
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the individual may not be granted access to SGI, the enclosed Order prohibits that individual

from obtaining access to any SGI. Enclosure 3 describes the NRC process that will govern this

determination, and the rights of the individual nominated to be the reviewing official. Once the

NRC approves a reviewing official, that reviewing official, and only that reviewing official, can

make SGI access determinations for other individuals who have been identified by your

respective company as having a need to know SGI, and who have been fingerprinted and have

had a criminal history records check. The reviewing official can only make SGI access

determinations for other individuals, but cannot approve other individuals to act as reviewing

officials. Only the NRC can approve a reviewing official; therefore, if your respective company

wishes to have a new or additional reviewing official, the NRC must approve that individual

before he or she can act in that capacity. 

In the event that the NRC does not approve access to SGI for the individual nominated as your

respective company’s initial reviewing official, the individual may appeal this decision by

following the procedures in Enclosure 3. Your respective company may then nominate a

different individual to be the reviewing official. If your respective company decides to withdraw

the nomination of an individual as a reviewing official after submitting fingerprints to the FBI

through the NRC, the NRC will still complete the review process for determining access to SGI.

Your respective company is required to submit fingerprints in accordance with the enclosed

Order. The current processing fee is $27.00 per submission, and payment must accompany

the request. On October 1, 2007, the processing fee will be increased to $36.00. The

attachment to the Order provides details regarding fingerprint submittals and payment of fees

are found in the Attachment to the Order. If the person your respective company nominates as

reviewing official already has a national security clearance, please submit that person’s name

along with documentation that supports the claim. NRC staff will verify that the nominated

individual has the necessary clearance to be able to receive approval as reviewing official. If

your company has had a reviewing official or reviewing officials previously approved by the

NRC, provide a copy or a reference to the approval letter in your response.

The enclosed Order is effective immediately. These requirements will remain in effect until the

Commission determines otherwise. This Order supercedes EA-07-154, issued to WEC on

June 8, 2007, and EA-07-159, issued to GEH, formerly GE, on June 15, 2007.

The enclosed Order requires that your respective company respond to the Order within 20 days

of the date of the Order, and implement the requirements of the Order before providing access

to SGI to any individual. Please contact Ms. Anissa Coates at (301) 415-1897, or via e-mail to

ARC3@nrc.gov, to facilitate resolution of any issues or questions related to compliance with the

requirements of the enclosed Order. 

Your respective company’s responses to the Order (not fingerprint cards) must be submitted to

the Director, Office of New Reactors, and should be addressed to the attention of

Ms. Anissa Coates, Mail Stop T-6F15. The mailing addresses given below should be used:

For normal postal delivery, mail to the following address:

Director, Office of New Reactors

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC, 20555-0001

Attn: Anissa Coates, Mail Stop T-6F15
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For delivery services requiring a street address, mail to the following address:

Director, Office of New Reactors

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

One White Flint North

11555 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852-2738

Attn: Anissa Coates, Mail Stop T-6F15

Please include the docket or project number for your design(s) listed below in all your

correspondence to the NRC. In addition, your respective company’s responses shall be

marked as "Security-Related Information - Withhold Under 10 CFR 2.390." The enclosed Order

has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, “Public Inspection, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding,”

of the NRC’s “Rules of Practice,” a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available

electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly

Available Records component of the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management

System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely, 

/RA/

R. W. Borchardt, Director

Office of New Reactors

Docket Nos. 52-001, 52-003, 52-006, 52-010 and Project Nos. 0733 and 0751.

Enclosures: 

1. Order Imposing Safeguards Information 

Protection Requirements and Fingerprinting 

and Criminal History Records Check Requirements 

for Access to Safeguards Information

2. Guidance for Licensee’s Evaluation of Access to 

Safeguards Information with the Inclusion of 

Criminal History (Fingerprint) Checks

3. Process to Challenge NRC Denials or

Revocations of Access to Safeguards 

Information
- 4 -

For delivery services requiring a street address, mail to:

Director, Office of New Reactors

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

One White Flint North

11555 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852-2738

Attn: Anissa Coates, Mail Stop T-6F15

Please include the docket or project number for your design(s) listed below in all your

correspondence to the NRC. In addition, your respective company’s responses shall be

marked as "Security-Related Information - Withhold Under 10 CFR 2.390." The enclosed Order

has been forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 “Public Inspection, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding,” of

the NRC’s “Rules of Practice,” a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available

electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly

Available Records component of the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management

System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely, 

/RA/

R. W. Borchardt, Director

Office of New Reactors

Docket Nos. 52-001, 52-003, 52-006, 52-010 and Project Nos. 0733 and 0751.

Enclosures: 

1. Order Imposing Safeguards Information 

 Protection Requirements and Fingerprinting 

 And Criminal History Records Check Requirements 

 For Access to Safeguards Information

2. Guidance for Licensee’s Evaluation of Access to 

 Safeguards Information With the Inclusion of 

 Criminal History (Fingerprint) Checks

3. Process to Challenge NRC Denials or

 Revocations of Access to Safeguards 

 Information

Distribution:

NGIF R/F JGoldberg RidsOgcMailCenter WHeld

GHolahan RidsNroOd WReckley RWBorchardt

MAdams MBurrell MLomard RidsOeMailCenter

JZorn SSchoenmann RidsNroDnrl DMatthews 

BStapleton RidsNroDnrlNgif APretzello SCoffin

ACubbage MShuaibi JColaccino

ADAMS Accession Number: ML072220343 (package)

OFFICE NRO/DNRL/NRGA TECH ED BC:NRO/DNRL/NRGA D:OE BC:ADM/DFS/FSB NSIR/DSO/DDSP/IS D:NRO/DNRL OGC D:NRO

NAME WHeld/RCarmon HChang WReckley CCarpenter APretzello via email BStapleton via email DMatthews JGoldberg RWBorchardt

DATE 08/30/2007 08/31/2007 09/05/2007 09/12/2007 09/06/2007 08/13/2007 09/12/2007 09/12/2007 09/12/2007

OFFICIAL AGENCY RECORD