Notice of Availability of Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-18; Information on Requests for Extending Use of Expiring Transportation Packages, 49721-49722 [E8-19553]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 164 (Friday, August 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49721-49722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19553]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Availability of Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-18; 
Information on Requests for Extending Use of Expiring Transportation 
Packages

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The NRC staff has issued Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2008-
18, Information on Requests for Extending Use of Expiring 
Transportation Packages. The RIS is intended to provide information to 
licensees and certificate holders who may request NRC consideration on 
a case-by-case basis for limited domestic use of transportation 
packages beyond the October 1, 2008, expiration date. The RIS does not 
impose any additional regulatory requirements on NRC licensees.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Osgood, Project Manager, 
Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone: (301) 492-3326; 
fax number: (301) 492-3348; e-mail: nancy.osgood@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The attachment to this Federal Register 
notice contains RIS 2008-18, Information on Requests for Extending Use 
of Expiring Transportation Packages. RIS 2008-18 is also available 
electronically in the NRC's Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-
rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access NRC's Agencywide Document 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. RIS 2008-18 can be found in ADAMS at 
accession number ML081920729. If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if 
there are problems accessing documents located in ADAMS, contact the 
NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference Staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-
415-4737, or e-mail pdr.resource@nrc.gov. This document may also be 
viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, 
O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of August 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric Benner,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Attachment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, Washington, DC 20555-0001. August 14, 2008.

NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-18; Information on Requests for 
Extending Use of Expiring Transportation Packages

Addressees

    Users of, or certificate holders for, transportation packages 
that expire on October 1, 2008, specifically:
    (a) Type B packages, that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) has previously approved, but not designated as B(U), B(M), 
B(U)F, or B(M)F in the identification number of the NRC Certificate 
of Compliance, or Type AF transportation packages, that NRC approved 
before September 6, 1983; or
    (b) Existing Type B packagings, constructed to U.S. Department 
of Transportation (DOT) Specification 6M, 20WC, or 21WC, conforming 
in all aspects to the requirements of 49 CFR Subchapter C, in effect 
on October 1, 2003, or existing fissile material packagings 
constructed to DOT Specification 6L, 6M, or 1A2, conforming in all 
aspects to the requirements of 49 CFR Subchapter C, in effect on 
October 1, 2003.

Intent

    Sections 71.19(a) and 71.20 of 10 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) part 71 expire on October 1, 2008. Section 71.19(a) authorizes 
the use of Type B transportation packages, previously approved by 
NRC, but not designated as B(U), B(M), B(U)F, or B(M)F in the 
identification number on the NRC Certificate of Compliance or Type 
AF transportation packages approved by NRC, before September 6, 
1983. Section 71.20 authorizes use of DOT specification containers 
for fissile material or for a Type B quantity of radioactive 
material, as specified in DOT regulations at 49 CFR parts 173 and 
178. NRC is issuing this regulatory issue summary (RIS) to inform 
addressees regarding information that will be considered in requests 
for extending use of these packages beyond October 1, 2008.

Background Information

    On January 26, 2004, NRC published a final rule in the Federal 
Register (69 FR 3698), amending its transportation regulations in 
Part 71, to be compatible with the latest version of the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ``Regulations for the Safe 
Transport of Radioactive Material'' (IAEA Safety Standards Series 
No. TS-R-1). NRC coordinated this rulemaking with DOT, since NRC and 
DOT jointly regulate the safety of radioactive material in 
transport. In this rulemaking, NRC and DOT implemented a planned 
phaseout of the Type B and fissile material transportation packages 
described above. The phaseout is to be completed by October 1, 2008 
(when the regulations authorizing use of these packages expire). 
Certain licensees have indicated that they may need to make 
shipments in these packages after the October 1, 2008, expiration 
date.

Summary of Issue

    NRC regulations for packaging and transportation of radioactive 
materials are contained in part 71. These regulations are amended 
from time to time, to harmonize them with periodic revisions to IAEA 
regulations, which are used internationally. Grandfathering 
provisions, such as 10 CFR 71.19(a) and 71.20, have historically 
been included both in NRC and IAEA regulations. The grandfathering 
provisions allow continued use, with some conditions, of 
transportation packages approved to previous editions of the 
regulations. The purpose of the grandfathering provisions is to 
minimize cost and impact on implementing the changes to the 
regulations.
    In the January 2004 rulemaking, NRC adopted revised regulations 
in part 71, to harmonize with the 1996 edition of the IAEA 
regulations (TS-R-1), which no longer authorized the use of the Type 
B and fissile material transportation packages described above. 
Among other changes, the 10 CFR 71.19(a) and 10 CFR 71.20 
grandfathering provisions were adopted to allow continued use of 
these Type B and fissile material transportation packages until 
October 1, 2008.
    Certain licensees and certificate holders have indicated that 
there may be instances where limited use of these packages may be 
needed beyond the October 1, 2008, expiration date. This RIS is 
intended to provide information to licensees and certificate holders 
in requesting authorization for such limited use.

NRC Review of Requests

    Requests for limited use of these packages after the October 1, 
2008, expiration date must address all five elements listed below. 
NRC will consider these requests on a case-by-case basis. Applicants 
should note that these requests will not be considered a form of 
certificate renewal, either under 10 CFR 71.38 or any other NRC 
regulation.
    Licensees or certificate holders who have identified the need to 
use these packages should provide the following information to NRC 
and DOT before the October 1, 2008, expiration date:
    (1) Package Information. NRC Certificate of Compliance Number or 
DOT Specification Number.
    (2) Identification of Shipments. (a) Number of shipments; (b) 
number of packages per shipment; (c) packaging serial numbers; (d) 
package contents; (e) end use of the radioactive material; (f) 
shipment origin and destination; (g) mode; (h) general timeframe 
(e.g., first quarter 2009); and (i) date last shipment will be 
completed.
    (3) Reasons for Requesting Extended Use. Justification for 
extending the use of expiring packages must describe why acquiring 
replacement packages is not practical and

[[Page 49722]]

why shipments cannot be made before the October 1, 2008, expiration 
date. The justification must demonstrate that: (a) There are no 
alternative domestically approved packages available; (b) the 
contents cannot be reconfigured such that transport can be conducted 
in accordance with the regulations; and (c) the transport schedule 
cannot be adjusted so as to be conducted in accordance with the 
regulations. The justification must also describe any good-faith 
efforts to acquire replacement packages that meet the current 
package performance requirements, including a detailed description 
of past activities and the current status of acquiring replacement 
packages. In addition, any adverse impacts that will result if the 
shipment is not conducted should be fully described.
    (4) Safety Justification for Continued Use and Proposed 
Compensatory Measures. Since the expiring package designs may lack 
safety enhancements included in newer designs, the request must 
include a safety justification for continued use and a description 
of compensatory measures that will be used to provide an equivalent 
level of safety. Examples of compensatory measures that may be 
considered are: (a) Special package inspections, tests, or 
determinations that ensure that the packaging is in unimpaired 
physical condition; (b) transport by exclusive use; (c) transport 
during time of low road usage; and (d) accompaniment of shipment by 
escort equipped to effect a recovery in an emergency situation or in 
case of a transportation accident.
    (5) A Plan and Schedule to Acquire Replacement Packages or 
Complete Necessary Shipments. Details about the planned acquisition 
of replacement packages must be provided, along with key milestones, 
and proposed implementation dates, unless the licensee can show why 
acquiring a replacement package is not practical and why shipments 
cannot be made before the October 1, 2008, expiration date.

Filing Requests for Extension

    Requests to extend use of these packages should be sent to NRC, 
with a copy sent separately to DOT (applications to DOT should be in 
accordance with 49 CFR 107.105). The requests should be addressed as 
follows:

ATTN: Document Control Desk, Director, Division of Spent Fuel 
Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-001;
ATTN: Special Permits, PHH-31, Associate Administrator for Hazardous 
Material Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave., SE., Washington, DC 20590.

Backfit Discussion

    This RIS outlines information that licensees should consider for 
incorporation in voluntary submittals for extending the use of the 
subject transportation packages. The identified information will 
assist the NRC in the regulatory process and aids licensees in 
developing thorough submittals. Any requests to extend the use of 
the subject transportation packages are proposed by licensees and 
are therefore not backfits. Further, this RIS requires no action or 
written response and therefore is not a backfit. Consequently, the 
staff did not perform a backfit analysis.

Federal Register Notification

    A notice of opportunity for public comment on this RIS was not 
published in the Federal Register because it is informational and 
pertains to a staff position that does not represent a departure 
from current regulatory status and practice. This RIS is being 
published in the Federal Register for information.

Congressional Review Act

    This RIS is not a rule, as designated by the Congressional 
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808) and, therefore, is not subject to the 
Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This Regulatory Issue Summary contains information collections 
that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501, et seq.). These information collections were approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0008.

Public Protection Notification

    If a means used to impose an information collection does not 
display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
request for information collection.

Contact

    Please direct any questions about this matter to the technical 
contact listed below.
E. William Brach, Director,
Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
    Technical Contact: Nancy L. Osgood, NMSS/SFST, (301) 492-3326, 
e-mail: Nancy.Osgood@nrc.gov.

[FR Doc. E8-19553 Filed 8-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P