7804 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 34 / Thursday, February 20, 1997 / Notices

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION

SAFETY BOARD

Reporting Statistics—Airlines

AGENCY: National Transportation Safety

Board.

ACTION: Notice of statistical reporting

changes.

SUMMARY: On January 7, 1997, the NTSB

adopted a system for classifying airline

accidents by their severity. This system

is a minor revision of a proposal

published in the Federal Register on

December 5, 1996. An improved

classification system providing more

meaningful measures of the level of

safety of airline transportation was

required by the FAA Reauthorization

Act of 1996. This notice describes

changes in the adopted version from the

proposed classification system and

additional accident parameters, many

focusing on passenger injuries. The

NTSB will remain open to suggestions

for improving the content and format of

its statistics.

DATES: The NTSB adopted the new

classification system on January 7, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions

may be submitted to: Analysis and Data

Division (RE–50), ATTN: Airline

Statistics, National Transportation

Safety Board, 490 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20594–2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan

Smith (202) 314–6550.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Safety

Board retained its proposed fourcategory system but re-designated the

second category ‘‘Serious’’ rather than

‘‘Severe.’’ A cautionary note was added

to the list of accidents in which one or

more passengers received fatal injuries.

That note reads:

The NTSB wishes to make clear to all users

of the following list of accidents that the

information it contains cannot, by itself, be

used to compare the safety either of operators

or of aircraft types. Airlines that have

operated the greatest number of flights and

flight hours could be expected to have

suffered the greatest number of fatal-topassenger accidents (assuming that such

accidents are random events, and not the

result of some systematic deficiency).

Similarly, the most used aircraft types would

tend to be involved in such accidents more

than lesser used types. The NTSB also

cautions the user to bear in mind when

attempting to compare today’s airline system

to prior years that airline activity (and hence

exposure to risk) has risen by almost 100%

from the first year depicted to the last.

Issued in Washington, DC on this 13th day

of February, 1997.

Jim Hall,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 97–4159 Filed 2–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7533–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. STN 50–454, STN 50–455, STN

50–456 and STN 50–457]

Commonwealth Edison Company;

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses, Proposed no Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of amendments to

Facility Operating License Nos. NPF–37,

NPF–66, NPF–72, and NPF–77 issued to

Commonwealth Edison for operation of

the Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, located

in Ogle County, Illinois and Braidwood

Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Will

County, Illinois.

The proposed amendments would

relocate certain cycle-specific parameter

limits from the Technical Specifications

to the Operating Limits Report (ORL).

Before issuance of the proposed

license amendments, the Commission

will have made findings as required by

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended (the Act) and the

Commission’s regulations.

The Commission has made a

proposed determination that the

amendments requested involve no

significant hazards consideration. Under

the Commission’s regulations in 10 CFR

50.92, this means that operation of the

facility in accordance with the proposed

amendments would not (1) involve a

significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of

a new or different kind of accident from

any accident previously evaluated; or

(3) involve a significant reduction in a

margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR

50.91(a), the licensee has provided its

analysis of the issue of no significant

hazards consideration, which is

presented below:

1. The proposed Technical Specification

changes do not involve a significant increase

in the probability or consequences of an

accident previously evaluated.

The relocation of the cycle-specific core

operating limits from the Technical

Specifications has no influence or impact on

the probability or consequences of any

accident previously evaluated. The Technical

Specifications will continue to require

operation within the analyzed core operating

limits and the appropriate actions will be

taken if the limits are exceeded. The cycle

specific limits within the OLR will be

implemented and controlled by plant

procedures. Any needed revisions of the

limit values in the OLR will be performed

based on NRC approved methodology as

delineated in TS 6.9.1.9. Each accident

analysis addressed in the Byron and

Braidwood Updated Final Safety Analysis

Report (UFSAR) will be examined with

respect to changes in cycle dependent

parameters. These parameters are obtained

from the application of NRC approved reload

design methodologies, to ensure that the

transient evaluation of new reloads are

bounded by previously accepted analysis.

This examination, which will be performed

under the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59

process, ensures that future reloads will not

involve a significant increase in the

probability or consequences of an accident

previously evaluated.

Therefore, the proposed changes do not

involve a significant increase in the

probability or consequences of an accident

previously evaluated.

2. The proposed changes do not create the

possibility of a new or different kind of

accident from any accident previously

evaluated.

The relocation of the cycle specific

variables has no influence or impact, nor

does it contribute in any way to the

probability or consequences of any new or

different kind of accident. No safety related

equipment, safety function or plant

operations will be altered as a result of this

proposed change. The cycle specific variables

are calculated using NRC approved methods

and submitted to the NRC for their review to

allow the Staff to continue to trend the values

of these limits. The Technical Specifications

will continue to require operation within the

analyzed core operating limits and

appropriate actions will be taken, when, or

if, the limits are exceeded.

Therefore, the proposed changes do not in

any way create the possibility of a new or

different kind of accident from any accident

previously evaluated.

3. The proposed change does not involve

a significant reduction in a margin of safety

for the following reasons:

The margin of safety is not affected by the

relocation of cycle specific core operating

limits from the Technical Specifications. The

margin of safety presently provided by

current Technical Specifications remains

unchanged. Appropriate measures exist to

control the values of these cycle specific

limits. The proposed amendment continues

to require operation within the core limits as

obtained from the NRC approved reload

design and safety analysis methodologies.

Appropriate actions are required to be taken,

when, or if, these limits are exceeded.

The development of the limits for future

reloads will continue to conform to those

methods described in the NRC approved

documentation. In addition, each future

reload will involve a 10 CFR 50.59 safety

review to assure that operation of the Byron

and Braidwood units within the cycle

specific limits will not involve a reduction in