[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 193 (Monday, October 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60188-60190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23743]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0209]
Nonmetallic Thermal Insulation for Austenitic Stainless Steel
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1312, ``Nonmetallic
Thermal Insulation for Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' also known as
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.36. The NRC is proposing to revise the guidance
toreflect the most current versions of voluntary consensus standards
since the initial publication of RG 1.36 in February 1973. The guide
describes methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers
acceptable when selecting and using nonmetallic thermal insulation in
the stainless steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary
and other systems, in order to minimize any contamination that could
promote stress-corrosion cracking. This RG applies to light-water-
cooled reactors.
DATES: Submit comments by November 5, 2014. Comments received after
this 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.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different
[[Page 60189]]
method for submitting comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0209. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David W. Alley, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2178, email: [email protected],
or Rick Jervey, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
251-7404, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0209 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0209.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2014-0209 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Additional Information
The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC'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 DG, entitled, ``Nonmetallic Thermal Insulation for Austenitic
Stainless Steel,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-
1312. This DG is a proposed revision 1 of RG 1.36. The RG describes
methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable
when selecting and using nonmetallic thermal insulation in the
stainless steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure boundary and
other systems, to minimize any contamination that could promote stress-
corrosion cracking. This guide applies to light-water-cooled reactors.
This guidance has been revised to update to the current industry
standards which have changed since the initial publication of RG 1.36
in February 1973. The changes update the related standards to those
currently available for use. Each type of insulating material should
meet the requirements of American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) C795, ``Standard Specification for Thermal Insulation for Use in
Contact with Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' including, but not limited
to, a preproduction corrosion test in accordance with ASTM C692, ``Test
Method for Evaluating the Influence of Thermal Insulation on External
Stress Corrosion Cracking Tendency of Austenitic Stainless Steel,'' and
a chemical analysis acceptance test for each lot of material in
accordance with ASTM C871, ``Test Method for Chemical Analysis of
Thermal Insulation Materials for Leachable Chloride, Fluoride, Silicate
and Sodium Ions.''
III. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Draft regulatory guide-1312/Regulatory Guide 1.36, Revision 1, if
finalized, would provide guidance on one acceptable way of meeting the
requirements in GDC 1 and GDC 14 with respect to stress-corrosion
cracking in austenic steel portions of the reactor coolant pressure
boundary which are caused in part by contact with nonmetallic thermal
insulation. This DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as
defined in Sec. 50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule), and is not otherwise inconsistent with the
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications
and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' The NRC's position is based
upon the following considerations.
Existing licensees, part 50 construction permit holders and part 50
operating license holders, and applicants of final design certification
rules would not be required to comply with the positions set forth in
DG-1312/RG 1.36, Revision 1, if finalized, unless the construction
permit or an operating license holder makes a voluntary change to its
licensing basis with respect to non-metallic thermal insulation in
contact with austenitic stainless steel, and the NRC determines that
the safety review must include consideration of the matters addressed
in this draft regulatory guide.
Existing design certification rules would not be required to be
amended to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1312 unless the
NRC addresses the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 52.63(a).
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Existing combined license holders (referencing the AP1000 design
certification rule in 10 CFR part 52, Appendix D) would not be required
to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1312 unless the NRC
addresses the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 52.63(a).
Draft Regulatory Guide-1312 may be applied to current applications
for operating licenses, combined licenses, and certified design rules
docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the revision to the
regulatory guide, as well as future applications submitted after the
issuance of the revised regulatory guide. Such action would not
constitute backfitting as defined in Sec. 50.109(a)(1) or be otherwise
inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR
part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality provisions
under part 52--with certain exclusions discussed below--were intended
to every NRC action which substantially changes the expectations of
current and future applicants.
The exceptions to the general principle are applicable whenever a
combined license applicant references a part 52 license (e.g., an early
site permit) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design
certification rule) with specified issue finality provisions. The NRC
does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in
the DG, if finalized, on combined license applicants in a manner that
is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future,
the NRC seeks to impose a position in the DG, if finalized, in a manner
which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable
issue finality provision, then the NRC must address the criteria for
avoiding issue finality as described applicable issue finality
provision.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of September, 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-23743 Filed 10-3-14; 8:45 am]
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