Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Notices 44779 

public is invited to comment on the 

adequacy of this technical information, 

including the following: 

I. Technical Basis 

1. RIL 0801 Figure 1 provides the 

measured embrittlement threshold for 

all fresh and irradiated cladding 

specimens investigated during the ANL 

research program. Hydrogen dependent 

post-quench ductility regulatory criteria, 

similar to the lines on this figure, may 

be established from these experimental 

results. 

a. Is the technical information 

presented within NUREG/CR–6967 

sufficient in scope and depth to justify 

specific regulatory criteria applicable to 

all current zirconium cladding alloys? 

b. Is the technical information 

presented within NUREG/CR–6967 

sufficient in scope and depth to justify 

periodic testing on as-fabricated 

cladding material? 

c. Is the technical information 

presented within NUREG/CR–6967 

sufficient in scope and depth to address 

sensitivities to alloy composition, trace 

elements, manufacturing practices, fuel 

rod burnup, and transient temperature 

profile? 

2. Section 2 of NUREG/CR–6967 

details the experimental techniques and 

procedures employed at ANL to assess 

cladding properties. 

a. Were the experimental techniques 

and procedures adequate for their 

intended purpose of defining acceptable 

fuel criteria (e.g., specimen preparation, 

specimen size, heating/cooling rates, 

ring-compression techniques, test 

temperature, acceptance criteria for 

post-quench ductility and breakaway 

oxidation, etc.)? 

b. Is the technical information 

presented within NUREG/CR–6967 

sufficient in scope and depth to address 

uncertainties related to and repeatability 

of measured results? 

II. Performance-Based Testing 

Requirements 

1. Due to potential sensitivities to 

manufacturing processes, performance 

based testing may be required to 

characterize the loss-of-coolant accident 

(LOCA) performance of new cladding 

alloys. 

a. Section 2.1 of NUREG/CR–6967 

details all of the fresh and irradiated 

cladding specimens investigated during 

the ANL research program. Is the extent 

of the ANL material database sufficient 

to justify the applicability of 

experimental results to future cladding 

alloys? 

b. Conducting testing on irradiated 

specimens is more difficult and 

expensive than similar tests performed 

on unirradiated specimens. Does a 

sufficient technical basis exist to justify 

testing on hydrogen charged, 

unirradiated cladding specimens as a 

surrogate for irradiated fuel cladding? 

2. Due to potential sensitivities to 

manufacturing processes, routine testing 

may be required to verify material 

performance. Are there difficulties or 

limitations with periodic testing that 

would make such a requirement 

impractical? 

III. Implementation 

1. Implementing new regulatory 

criteria for 10 CFR 50.46(b) may 

necessitate further testing and new 

licensing activities (e.g., revised 

methods, updated safety analyses, etc.). 

What is the cost-benefit for 

implementing new regulatory 

requirements similar to those discussed 

in RIL 0801? 

2. Implementing hydrogen-based 

regulatory criteria may require the 

development of high confidence 

corrosion and hydrogen pickup models. 

a. What type of information is needed 

to develop such models and is such 

information readily available? 

b. What performance indicators (e.g., 

pool-side measurements, hot cell 

examinations, etc.) could be used to 

validate models? 

c. What additional regulatory 

requirements would be necessary to 

assure that the fuel is performing in 

accordance with the approved models? 

How will compliance with the rule be 

demonstrated on a cycle by cycle basis? 

3. Crud deposits on the fuel cladding 

surface may affect fuel stored energy, 

fuel rod heat transfer, and cladding 

corrosion. 

a. What role does plant chemistry and 

crud deposits play on these items? 

b. How should normal and abnormal 

levels of crud deposits be addressed 

from a regulatory perspective? 

The NRC is seeking public comment 

to receive feedback from the widest 

range of interested parties and to ensure 

that all information relevant to revision 

of the embrittlement criteria in 10 CFR 

50.46 is available to the NRC staff. The 

NRC will review public comments 

received on this technical information 

and incorporate appropriate changes 

before starting to develop the proposed 

revisions to the regulations. Comments 

will be discussed during a 10 CFR 

50.46(b) public workshop tentatively 

scheduled for September 2008 (specific 

date and location to be noticed 

separately). 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day 

of July 2008. 

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

William H. Ruland, 

Director, Division of Safety Systems, Office 

of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. 

[FR Doc. E8–17543 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

Draft Regulatory Guide: Issuance, 

Availability 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Issuance and 

Availability of Draft Regulatory Guide, 

DG–3034. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy Johnson, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, telephone: (301) 492–

3121 or e-mail to 

Timothy.Johnson@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) has issued for public 

comment a draft regulatory guide in the 

agency’s ‘‘Regulatory Guide’’ series. 

This series was developed to describe 

and make available to the public such 

information as methods that are 

acceptable to the NRC staff for 

implementing specific parts of the 

NRC’s regulations, techniques that the 

staff uses in evaluating specific 

problems or postulated accidents, and 

data that the staff needs in its review of 

applications for permits and licenses. 

The draft regulatory guide (DG), titled, 

‘‘General Design Guide for Ventilation 

Systems of Plutonium Processing and 

Fuel Fabrication Plants,’’ is temporarily 

identified by its task number, DG–3034, 

which should be mentioned in all 

related correspondence. 

Proposed Revision 1 of Regulatory 

Guide 3.12 describes a method that the 

staff of the NRC considers acceptable for 

use in complying with 10 CFR 

70.23(a)(3) and (a)(4) with respect to the 

design of ventilation systems for 

plutonium processing and fuel 

fabrication plants. At plutonium 

processing and fuel fabrication plants, a 

principal risk to health and safety is the 

release and dispersal of radioactive 

materials. The prevention of such 

release and dispersal is an important 

function of the ventilation systems. To 

meet these objectives, this guide 

provides recommendations for 

achieving defense in depth and for 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
44780 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Notices 

minimizing the release of radioactive 

materials to the environment. 

Each applicant for a license to possess 

and use special nuclear material in a 

plutonium processing and fuel 

fabrication plant as defined in 10 CFR 

70.4, ‘‘Special Nuclear Material,’’ must 

satisfy the provisions of 10 CFR 70.23, 

‘‘Requirements for the approval of 

applications.’’ Paragraphs (a)(3) and 

(a)(4) of 10 CFR 70.23 require that the 

applicant’s proposed equipment, 

facility, and procedures be adequate to 

protect health and minimize danger to 

life or property. 

II. Further Information 

The NRC staff is soliciting comments 

on DG–3034. Comments may be 

accompanied by relevant information or 

supporting data, and should mention 

DG–3034 in the subject line. Comments 

submitted in writing or in electronic 

form will be made available to the 

public in their entirety through the 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access 

and Management System (ADAMS). 

Personal information will not be 

removed from your comments. You may 

submit comments by any of the 

following methods: 

1. Mail comments to: Rulemaking, 

Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001. 

2. E-mail comments to: 

NRCREP@nrc.gov. 

3. Hand-deliver comments to: 

Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing 

Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 

on Federal workdays. 

4. Fax comments to: Rulemaking, 

Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission at (301) 415–5144. 

Requests for technical information 

about DG–3034 may be directed to 

Timothy Johnson at (301) 492–3121 or 

e-mail to Timothy.Johnson@nrc.gov. 

Comments would be most helpful if 

received by October 1, 2008. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered if it is practical to do so, but 

the NRC is able to ensure consideration 

only for comments received on or before 

this date. Although a time limit is given, 

comments and suggestions in 

connection with items for inclusion in 

guides currently being developed or 

improvements in all published guides 

are encouraged at any time. 

Electronic copies of DG–3034 are 

available through the NRC’s public Web 

site under Draft Regulatory Guides in 

the ‘‘Regulatory Guides’’ collection of 

the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/. Electronic copies are also 

available in ADAMS (http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html), 

under Accession No. ML081080479. 

In addition, regulatory guides are 

available for inspection at the NRC’s 

Public Document Room (PDR), which is 

located at 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland. The PDR’s mailing 

address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC 

20555–0001. The PDR can also be 

reached by telephone at (301) 415–4737 

or (800) 397–4205, by fax at (301) 415–

3548, and by e-mail to PDR@nrc.gov. 

Regulatory guides are not 

copyrighted, and Commission approval 

is not required to reproduce them. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day 

of July, 2008. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Harriet Karagiannis, 

Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development 

Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of 

Nuclear Regulatory Research. 

[FR Doc. E8–17542 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2008–0419] 

Request for Comments on the Security 

and Continued Use of Cesium-137 

Chloride Sources and Notice of Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC). 

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting and a 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The NRC is conducting a 

public meeting to solicit early public 

input on major issues associated with 

the use of certain forms of cesium 

chloride (CsCl) currently used by NRCand Agreement State-licensees. To aid 

in that process, the NRC is requesting 

comments on the issues discussed in 

this notice. While the NRC has not 

initiated rulemaking on this subject, we 

are utilizing the conventionally 

established rulemaking comment 

channels. Additionally, the NRC is 

requesting names of individuals to 

participate at the public meeting in a 

roundtable discussion of the issues 

discussed in Sections II and III of this 

notice. 

DATES: Comment Dates: 

1. Comments on this notice should be 

submitted by September 30, 2008. 

Comments received after this date will 

be considered if it is practical to do so, 

but the NRC is able to assure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

2. Nominations for participation in 

the roundtable discussion should be 

submitted by September 1, 2008. 

Public Meeting Dates: The NRC will 

also take public comments on the issues 

raised in this notice at a public meeting 

on September 29–30, 2008. Please refer 

to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section for additional information. 

ADDRESSES: Members of the public are 

invited and encouraged to submit 

comments by mail to Michael Lesar, 

Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and 

Editing Branch, Office of 

Administration, Mail Stop T–6D59, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

You may also submit comments 

electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; search on docket 

ID: NRC–2008–0419. 

To ensure efficient and complete 

comment resolution, comments should 

include references to the section and 

page numbers of the document to which 

the comment applies, if possible. When 

commenting on the CsCl issues 

presented in this notice, please exercise 

caution with regard to site-specific 

security-related information. Comments 

will be made available to the public in 

their entirety; personal information, 

such as your name, address, telephone 

number, e-mail address, etc. will not be 

removed from your submission. 

You can access publicly available 

documents related to this notice using 

the following methods: 

Regulations.gov: Documents related to 

this notice, including public comments, 

are accessible at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, by searching on 

docket ID: NRC–2008–0419. 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): 

The public may examine and have 

copied for a fee, publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Public 

File Area O–1F21, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

NRC’s Agencywide Document Access 

and Management System (ADAMS): 

Publicly available documents created or 

received at the NRC after November 1, 

1999, are available electronically at the 

NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. From this site, the public 

can gain entry into ADAMS, which 

provides text and image files of NRC’s 

public documents. If you do not have 

access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the PDR 

Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–

415–4737 or by e-mail to 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES