66038 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM–50–63A]

Peter G. Crane; Receipt of an Amended

Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Amended petition for

rulemaking: Notice of receipt.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) has received and

requests public comment on an

amended petition for rulemaking filed

by Mr. Peter G. Crane. The amended

petition has been docketed by the

Commission and has been assigned

Docket No. PRM–50–63A. The

petitioner states, in this amendment to

the earlier petition, that the rulemaking

he seeks is to amend NRC’s emergency

planning regulations to require

consideration of sheltering, evacuation,

and the prophylactic use of potassium

iodide for the general public in

developing a range of emergency

planning protective actions.

DATES: Submit comments by January 16,

1998. Comments received after this date

will be considered if it is practical to do

so, but assurance of consideration

cannot be given except to those

comments received on or before this

date.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to:

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001. Attention: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff.

Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30

am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.

You may also provide comments via

the NRC’s interactive rulemaking

website through the NRC home page

(http://www.nrc.gov). This site provides

the availability to upload comments as

files (any format), if your web browser

supports that function. For information

about the interactive rulemaking

website, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher,

301–415–5905; e-mail: CAG@nrc.gov.

For a copy of the petition, write: Rules

and Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555. A

copy of the petition is also available for

public inspection, and copying for a fee,

in the NRC Public Document Room,

2120 L Street, NW (Lower Level),

Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Jamgochian, Office of Nuclear

Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555. Telephone: 301–415–6534, email: MTJ1@nrc.gov; or Michael T.

Lesar, Office of Administration, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555. Telephone:

301–415–7163 or Toll Free: 1–800–368–

5642, e-mail: MTL@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The NRC received a petition for

rulemaking dated September 9, 1995,

submitted by Mr. Peter G. Crane on his

own behalf. The petition was docketed

as PRM–50–63 on September 12, 1995.

The notice of receipt of this petition was

published on November 27, 1995 (60 FR

58256). On November 12, 1997, the NRC

received an amendment to this petition

submitted by Mr. Crane in response to

the Commission’s invitation at a public

meeting held on November 5, 1997, at

which the petitioner spoke. The

amended petition was assigned docket

number PRM–50–63A. The amended

petition revises the original petition by

requesting that the NRC add one

sentence to the planning standard in 10

CFR 50.47(b)(10) that refers to

considering evacuation, sheltering, and

the prophylactic use of potassium

iodide for the general population in

developing a range of emergency

planning protective actions. In

particular, as proposed, 10 CFR 50.47

(b)(10) would include the use of

potassium iodide (KI) as one action to

be considered in emergency situations

under onsite and offsite emergency

plans.

Potassium Iodide

The petitioner states that KI protects

the thyroid gland, which is highly

sensitive to radiation, from the

radioactive iodide that could be released

in extremely serious nuclear accidents;

that by saturating the gland with iodide

in a harmless form, KI can prevent

inhaled or ingested radioactive iodide

from lodging in the thyroid gland,

where it could lead to thyroid cancer or

other illnesses; and that KI itself has a

long shelf life—at least five years—and

causes negligible side effects.

The petitioner further states that, in

addition to preventing deaths from

thyroid cancer, KI prevents radiationcaused illnesses. The petitioner states

that thyroid cancer, curable in 90–95

percent of cases, generally means

surgery, radiation treatment, and a

lifetime of medication and monitoring.

The petitioner asserts that the changes

in medication that go with periodic

scans put many patients on a

physiological and psychological roller

coaster. The petitioner also states that

hypothyroidism can cause permanent

retardation in children and, if

undiagnosed, can condemn adults to a

lifetime of fatigue, weakness, and chills.

The Petitioner’s Proposed Amendment

The petitioner initially requested that

10 CFR 50.47 be amended by revising

paragraph (b)(10) to read as follows:

§ 50.47 Emergency plans.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(10) A range of protective actions,

including sheltering, evacuation, and

prophylactic use of iodide, have been

developed for the plume exposure

pathway EPZ [emergency planning

zone] for emergency workers and the

public. Guidelines for the choice of

protective actions during an emergency,

consistent with Federal guidelines, are

developed and in place, and protective

actions for the ingestion exposure

pathway EPZ appropriate to the locale

have been developed.

* * * * *

In the amended petition, the

paragraph, as revised, would read as

follows:

§ 50.47 Emergency plans.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(10) A range of protective actions have

been developed for the plume exposure

EPZ for emergency workers and the

public. In developing this range of

actions, consideration has been given to

evacuation, sheltering, and the

prophylactic use of potassium iodide

(KI), as appropriate. Guidelines for the

choice of protective actions during an

emergency, consistent with Federal

guidelines, are developed and in place,

and protective actions for the ingestion

exposure pathway EPZ appropriate to

the locale have been developed.

* * * * *

As part of the amended petition, the

petitioner also attached a proposed

Statement of Considerations and, as

invited by the Commission, a draft

mark-up of a document from the Federal

Emergency Management Agency

entitled ‘‘Federal Policy on Distribution

of Potassium Iodide Around Nuclear

Power Sites for Use as a Thyroidal

Blocking Agent.’’

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day

of December, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John C. Hoyle,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 97–32879 Filed 12–16–97; 8:45 am]

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