19610 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 19, 1995 / Notices

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Room: 430.

Program: This meeting will review

Biennial/Triennial applications submitted by

state humanities councils to Federal-State

Partnership, for projects beginning after

November, 1995.

19. Date: May 22, 1995.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Room: 315.

Program: This meeting will review

proposals submitted to the April 1, 1995

deadline in the Higher Education Program,

for projects beginning after October, 1995.

20. Date: May 24, 1995.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Room: 415.

Program: This meeting will review

proposals submitted to the April 1, 1995

deadline in the Higher Education Program,

for projects beginning after October, 1995.

21. Date: May 25–26, 1995.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Room: 430.

Program: This meeting will review

applications for Special Projects of the

Special Competition deadline for April 28,

1995, submitted to the Division of Public

Programs, for projects beginning after

September, 1995.

David C. Fisher,

Advisory Committee, Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 95–9678 Filed 4–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7536–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–306]

Northern States Power Company

(Prairie Island Unit 2); Exemption

I

Northern States Power Company

(NSP, the licensee) is the holder of

Facility Operating License No. DPR–60

which authorizes operation of Prairie

Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit

No. 2. The unit is a pressurized water

reactor (PWR) located in Goodhue

County, Minnesota. The license

provides, among other things, that the

facility is subject to all rules,

regulations, and orders of the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (the

Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), the NRC

may grant exemptions from the

requirements of the regulations (1)

which are authorized by law, will not

present an undue risk to the public

health and safety, and are consistent

with the common defense and security;

and (2) where special circumstances are

present.

Section III.D.1.(a) of Appendix J to 10

CFR Part 50 requires the performance of

three Type A containment integrated

leakage rate tests (ILRTs), at

approximately equal intervals during

each 10-year service period of the

primary containment. The third test of

each set shall be conducted when the

plant is shut down for the 10-year

inservice inspection of the primary

containment.

III

By letters dated February 23 and

March 3, 1995, NSP requested

temporary relief from the requirement to

perform a set of three Type A tests at

approximately equal intervals during

each 10-year service period of the

primary containment. The requested

exemption would permit a one-time

interval extension of the third Type A

test by approximately 24 months (from

the 1995 refueling outage, currently

scheduled to begin in May 1995, to the

1997 refueling outage) and would

permit the third Type A test of the

second 10-year inservice inspection

period to not correspond with the end

of the current American Society of

Mechanical Engineers Boiler and

Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code)

inservice inspection interval.

The licensee’s request cites the

special circumstances of 10 CFR 50.12,

paragraph (a)(2)(ii), as the basis for the

exemption. NSP points out that the

existing Type B and C testing programs

are not being modified by this request

and will continue to effectively detect

containment leakage caused by the

degradation of active containment

isolation components as well as

containment penetrations. It has been

the consistent and uniform experience

at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating

Plant, Unit No. 2, during the five Type

A tests conducted from 1977 to date,

that any significant containment leakage

paths are detected by the Type B and C

testing. The Type A test results have

only been confirmatory of the results of

the Type B and C test results.

IV

Section III.D.1.(a) of Appendix J to 10

CFR Part 50 states that a set of three

Type A leakage rate tests shall be

performed at approximately equal

intervals during each 10-year service

period.

The licensee proposes an exemption

to this section which would provide a

one-time interval extension for the Type

A test by approximately 24 months. The

Commission has determined, for the

reasons discussed below, that pursuant

to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(1) this exemption is

authorized by law, will not present an

undue risk to the public health and

safety, and is consistent with the

common defense and security. The

Commission further determines that

special circumstances, as provided in 10

CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present justifying

the exemption; namely, that application

of the regulation in the particular

circumstances is not necessary to

achieve the underlying purpose of the

rule.

The underlying purpose of the

requirement to perform Type A

containment leak rate tests at intervals

during the 10-year service period is to

ensure that any potential leakage

pathways through the containment

boundary are identified within a time

span that prevents significant

degradation from continuing or

becoming unknown. The NRC staff has

reviewed the basis and supporting

information provided by the licensee in

the exemption request. The NRC staff

has noted that the licensee has a good

record of ensuring a leak-tight

containment. All Type A tests have

passed with significant margin and the

licensee has noted that the results of the

Type A testing have been confirmatory

of the Type B and C tests which will

continue to be performed. The licensee

has stated that it will perform the

general containment inspection

although it is only required by

Appendix J (Section V.A.) to be

performed in conjunction with Type A

tests. The NRC staff considers that these

inspections, though limited in scope,

provide an important added level of

confidence in the continued integrity of

the containment boundary. The Prairie

Island containment vessels are freestanding steel structures designed for

the peak pressure of the design basis

accident and low leakage. A concrete

shield building surrounds the

containment vessel, providing a shield

building annulus between the two

structures. Penetrations of the

containment vessel for piping, electrical

conductors, ducts and access hatches

are provided with double barriers

against leakage. The NRC staff also notes

that due to the free-standing design of

the containment structure, the vessel

shell and penetrations are accessible for

inspection from both inside

containment and outside in the shield

building annulus.

The NRC staff has also made use of

the information in a draft staff report,

NUREG–1493, ‘‘Performance-Based

Containment Leak-Test Program,’’

which provides the technical

justification for the present Appendix J

rulemaking effort which also includes a

10-year test interval for Type A tests.

The integrated leakage rate test, or Type

A test, measures overall containment

leakage. However, operating experience
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 19, 1995 / Notices 19611

with all types of containments used in

this country demonstrates that

essentially all containment leakage can

be detected by local leakage rate tests

(Type B and C). According to results

given in NUREG–1493, out of 180 ILRT

reports covering 110 individual reactors

and approximately 770 years of

operating history, only 5 ILRT failures

were found which local leakage rate

testing could not detect. This is 3% of

all failures. This study agrees well with

previous NRC staff studies which show

that Type B and C testing can detect a

very large percentage of containment

leaks. The Prairie Island Nuclear

Generating Plant, Unit No. 2, experience

has also been consistent with these

results.

The Nuclear Management and

Resources Council (NUMARC), now the

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), collected

and provided the NRC staff with

summaries of data to assist in the

Appendix J rulemaking effort. NUMARC

collected results of 144 ILRTs from 33

units; 23 ILRTs exceeded 1La. Of these,

only nine were not type B or C leakage

penalties. The NEI data also added

another perspective. The NEI data show

that in about one-third of the cases

exceeding allowable leakage, the asfound leakage was less than 2La; in one

case the leakage was found to be

approximately 2La; in one case the asfound leakage was less than 3La; one

case approached 10La; and in one case

the leakage was found to be

approximately 21La. For about half of

the failed ILRTs the as-found leakage

was not quantified. These data show

that, for those ILRTs for which the

leakage was quantified, the leakage

values are small in comparison to the

leakage value at which the risk to the

public starts to increase over the value

of risk corresponding to La

(approximately 200La, as discussed in

NUREG–1493). Therefore, based on

these considerations, it is unlikely that

an extension of one cycle for the

performance of the Appendix J, Type A

test at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating

Plant, Unit No. 2, would result in

significant degradation of the overall

containment integrity. As a result, the

application of the regulation in these

particular circumstances is not

necessary to achieve the underlying

purpose of the rule. Based on the

generic and plant-specific data, the NRC

staff finds the basis for the licensee’s

proposed one-time schedular exemption

to allow an extension of one cycle for

the performance of the Appendix J,

Type A test, provided that the general

containment inspection is performed, to

be acceptable.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that

granting this exemption will not have a

significant effect on the quality of the

human environment (60 FR 18428).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day

of April 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Elinor G. Adensam,

Acting Director, Division of Reactor Projects

III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–9637 Filed 4–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M

Advisory Committee on Medical Uses

of Isotopes: Meeting Notice

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission will convene its next

regular meeting of the Advisory

Committee on the Medical Uses of

Isotopes (ACMUI) on May 11 and 12,

1995. Topics of discussion will include:

(1) Brachytherapy issues; (2) Guidance

documents for the final Radiopharmacy

Rule; (3) Prostate implant procedures;

(4) National Program Review II; (5)

Training and experience of authorized

users to allow exemptions to Subpart J;

(6) Dose ranges in written directives; (7)

Petition to review the final

Radiopharmacy Rule; (8) Information

from NIST on Sr–90 calibration errors

for eye applicators; (9) Revisions to

Regulatory Guide 10.8; (10) Status of

implementation of the Quality

Management rule; (11) Update on the

study of the medical use program by the

National Academy of Science; (12)

Summary of ‘‘Business Process

Reengineering;’’ (13) Update on

rulemakings: ‘‘Medical Administration

of Radiation and Radioactive Materials,’’

‘‘Release of Patients Containing

Radiopharmaceuticals or Permanent

Implants,’’ and ‘‘Administration of

Byproduct Material or Radiation from

Byproduct Material to Patients who may

be Pregnant or Nursing.’’

DATES: The meeting will begin at 8 a.m.

on May 11 and 12, 1995.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Two White Flint North,

11545 Rockville Pike, Room T2B3,

Rockville, MD 20852–2738.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Josephine M. Piccone, Ph.D., U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office

of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, MS T8F5, Washington, DC

20555, Telephone (301) 415–7270. For

administrative information, contact

Torre Taylor, (301) 415–7900.

Conduct of the Meeting

Barry Siegel, M.D., will chair the

meeting. Dr. Siegel will conduct the

meeting in a manner that will facilitate

the orderly conduct of business. The

following procedures apply to public

participation in the meeting:

1. Persons who wish to provide a

written statement should submit a

reproducible copy to Josephine M.

Piccone (address listed above).

Comments must be received by May 3,

1995, to ensure consideration at the

meeting. The transcript of the meeting

will be kept open until May 19, 1995,

for inclusion of written comments.

2. Persons who wish to make oral

statements should inform Dr. Piccone in

writing, by May 3, 1995. Statements

must pertain to the topics on the agenda

for the meeting. The Chairman will rule

on requests to make oral statements.

Members of the public will be permitted

to make oral statements if time permits.

Permission to make oral statements will

be based on the order in which requests

are received. In general, oral statements

will be limited to approximately 5

minutes. Oral statements must be

supplemented by detailed written

statements for the record. Rulings on

who may speak, the order of

presentation, and time allotments may

be obtained by calling Dr. Piccone, (301)

415–7270, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.,

EST, on May 9, 1995.

3. At the meeting, questions from

attendees other than committee

members, NRC consultants, and NRC

staff will be permitted at the discretion

of the Chairman.

4. The transcript, minutes of the

meeting, and written comments will be

available for inspection, and copying,

for a fee, at the NRC Public Document

Room, 2120 L Street NW, Lower Level,

Washington, DC 20555 (202) 634–3273,

on or about May 26, 1995.

5. Seating for the public will be on a

first-come, first-served basis.

This meeting will be held in

accordance with the Atomic Energy Act

of 1954, as amended (primarily Section

161a); the Federal Advisory Committee

Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the

Commission’s regulations in Title 10,

Code of Federal Regulations, Part 7.

Dated: April 13, 1995.

Andrew L. Bates,

Advisory Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 95–9638 Filed 4–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–M