32566 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 120 / Thursday, June 22, 1995 / Notices

73.55(d)(5) requires that ‘‘A numbered

picture badge identification system shall

be used for all individuals who are

authorized access to protected areas

without escort.’’ 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) also

states that an individual not employed

by the licensee (i.e., contractors) may be

authorized access to protected areas

without escort provided the individual

‘‘receives a picture badge upon entrance

into the protected area which must be

returned upon exit from the protected

area * * *’’

The licensee proposed to implement

an alternative unescorted access control

system which would eliminate the need

to issue and retrieve badges at each

entrance/exit location and would allow

all individuals with unescorted access

to keep their badge with them when

departing the site.

An exemption from 10 CFR

73.55(d)(5) is required to allow

contractors who have unescorted access

to take their badges offsite instead of

returning them when exiting the site. By

letter dated March 27, 1995, the licensee

requested an exemption from certain

requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) for

this purpose.

III

Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, ‘‘Specific

exemptions,’’ the Commission may,

upon application of any interested

person on upon its own initiative, grant

such exemptions from the requirements

of the regulations in this part as it

determines are authorized by law and

will not endanger life or property or the

common defense and security, and are

otherwise in the public interest.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, the

Commission may authorize a licensee to

provide alternative measures for

protection against radiological sabotage

provided the licensee demonstrates that

the alternative measures have ‘‘the same

high assurance objective’’ and meet ‘‘the

general performance requirements’’ of

the regulation, and ‘‘the overall level of

system performance provides protection

against radiological sabotage

equivalent’’ to that which would be

provided by the regulation.

At STP, unescorted access into

protected areas is controlled through the

use of a photograph on a combination

badge and keycard (hereafter referred to

as a badge). The security officers at each

entrance station use the photograph on

the badge to visually identify the

individual requesting access. The

badges for both licensee employees and

contractor personnel, who have been

granted unescorted access, are issued

upon entrance at each entrance/exit

location and are returned upon exit. The

badges are stored and are retrievable at

each entrance/exit location. In

accordance with 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5),

contractor individuals are not allowed

to take badges offsite. In accordance

with the plants’ physical security plans,

neither licensee employees nor

contractors are allowed to take badges

offsite.

Under the proposed system, each

individual who is authorized for

unescorted entry into protected areas

would have the physical characteristics

of their hand (hand geometry) registered

with their badge number in the access

control system. When an individual

enters the badge into the card reader

and places the hand on the measuring

surface, the system would record the

individual’s hand image. The unique

characteristics of the extracted hand

image would be compared with the

previously stored template in the access

control system to verify authorization

for entry. Individuals, including

licensee employees and contractors,

would be allowed to keep their badge

with them when they depart the site and

thus eliminate the process to issue,

retrieve and store badges at the entrance

stations to the plant. Badges do not

carry any encoded information other

than a unique identification number.

All other access processes, including

search function capability, would

remain the same. This system would not

be used for persons requiring escorted

access, i.e., visitors.

Based on a Sandia report entitled, ‘‘A

Performance Evaluation of Biometric

Identification Devices’’ (SAND91—0276

UC—906 Unlimited Release, Printed

June 1991), and on its experience with

the current photo-identification system,

the licensee concludes that the

biometric access control system will

provide the same high assurance

objective regarding onsite physical

protection that is achieved by the

current system. The biometric system is

now in use at other NRC-licensed

nuclear generating facilities. The

licensee will implement a process for

testing the proposed system to ensure a

continued overall level of performance

equivalent to that specified in the

regulation. The Physical Security Plans

for STP will be revised to include

implementation and testing of the hand

geometry access control system and to

allow licensee employees and

contractors to take their badges offsite.

The licensee will control all points of

personnel access into a protected area

under the observation of security

personnel through the use of a badge

and verification of hand geometry. A

numbered picture badge identification

system will continue to be used, once

inside the protected area, for all

individuals who are authorized

unescorted access to protected areas.

Badges will continue to be displayed by

all individuals while inside the

protected area.

IV

Since both the badge and hand

geometry would be necessary for access

into the protected area, the proposed

system would provide for a positive

verification process. In addition,

potential loss of a badge by an

individual, as a result of taking the

badge offsite, would not enable an

unauthorized entry into protected areas.

For the foregoing reasons, pursuant to

10 CFR 73.55, the NRC staff has

determined that the proposed

alternative measures for protection

against radiological sabotage meet ‘‘the

same high assurance objective,’’ and

‘‘the general performance requirements’’

of the regulation and that ‘‘the overall

level of system performance provides

protection against radiological sabotage

equivalent’’ to that which would be

provided by the regulation.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

73.5, an exemption is authorized by law,

will not endanger life or property or

common defense and security, and is

otherwise in the public interest.

Therefore, as long as the licensee uses

the hand geometry access control

system, the Commission hereby grants

Houston Lighting and Power Company

an exemption from these requirements

of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) relating to the

returning of picture badges upon exit

from the protected area such that

individuals not employed by the

licensee, i.e., contractors, who are

authorized unescorted access into the

protected area, can take their badges

offsite.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (60 FR 30117). This

exemption is effective upon issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day

of June 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John N. Hannon,

Acting Deputy Director, Division of Reactor

Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–15292 Filed 6–21–95; 8:45 am]

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