Interim Staff Guidance JLD-ISG-2012-02; Compliance With Order EA-12-050, Order Modifying Licenses With Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents, 33777-33778 [2012-13806]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2012 / Notices NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD General Aviation Safety Forum: Climbing to the Next Level The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will convene a 2-day forum focused on safety issues related to general aviation on June 19–20, 2012 in Washington, DC. The event, ‘‘General Aviation Safety: Climbing to the Next Level,’’ will be chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman and all five Board Members will participate. ‘‘Each year, hundreds of people are killed in general aviation crashes, and thousands more are injured,’’ said Chairman Hersman. ‘‘Tragically, the circumstances leading to these accidents are often repeated over and over, year after year. If we are going to prevent future fatalities and injuries, these common causes must be addressed.’’ Over the years, the NTSB has issued numerous safety recommendations addressing general aviation operations and last year, added General Aviation Safety to its revamped Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. Among the key safety issues the forum will address are pilot training and performance, pilot access to and use of weather-related information, and aircraft design, maintenance, and certification. Panelists participating in the forum will represent industry, government, academia, and professional associations. At the conclusion of all presentations for each topic area, presenters will take part in a question and answer discussion with Board Members and NTSB staff. A detailed agenda and list of participants will be released closer to the date of the event. Below is the preliminary forum agenda: Tuesday, June 19 —Welcome and Opening Remarks —Session One: Safety Priorities —Session Two: Safety Programs —Session Three: Role of the Flight Instructor —Session Four: Content/Quality/ Consistency of Pilot Training srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Wednesday, June 20 —Session Five: Weather-Related Decision Making —Session Six: New Aircraft Design and Certification —Session Seven: Advanced Avionics and Handhelds —Session Eight: Aircraft Maintenance and Modification —Closing Remarks VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:48 Jun 06, 2012 Jkt 226001 A detailed agenda and list of participants will be released closer to the date of the event. The forum will be held in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, located at 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC. The forum is open to the public and free of charge. In addition, the forum can be viewed via webcast at www.ntsb.gov. NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314–6100, keith.holloway@ntsb.gov. NTSB Forum Manager: Jill Demko, 203–463–8320, jill.demko@ntsb.gov. Candi R. Bing, Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2012–13787 Filed 6–6–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2012–0069] Interim Staff Guidance JLD–ISG–2012– 02; Compliance With Order EA–12–050, Order Modifying Licenses With Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate guidance; request for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is issuing the draft Japan LessonsLearned Project Directorate Interim Staff Guidance (JLD–ISG), JLD–ISG–2012–02, ‘‘Compliance with Order EA–12–050, Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents.’’ This draft JLD–ISG provides guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactors applicants and licensees with the identification of measures needed to comply with requirements to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. DATES: Comments must be filed no later than July 7, 2012. Comments received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publically available, by searching on https:// www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC–2012–0069. You may submit comments by the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 33777 for Docket ID NRC–2012–0069. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–492–3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB–05– B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. • Fax comments to: RADB at 301– 492–3446. For additional direction on accessing information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Accessing Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert J. Fretz, Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415– 1980; email: Robert.Fretz@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments A. Accessing Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2012– 0069 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may access information related to this document by the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2012–0069. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access publiclyavailable documents online in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The draft JLD– ISG–2012–02 is available under ADAMS Accession No. ML12146A371. • 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. • NRC’s Interim Staff Guidance Web Site: JLD–ISG documents are also available online under the ‘‘Japan E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1 33778 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2012 / Notices Lessons Learned’’ heading at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/#int. srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES B. Submitting Comments Please include Docket ID NRC–2012– 0069 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. The NRC posts all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not 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 in their comment submissions that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS. II. Background Information The NRC staff developed draft JLD– ISG–2012–02 to provide guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees with the identification of measures needed to comply with requirements to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. These requirements are contained in Order EA–12–050, ‘‘Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML12054A696). The draft ISG is not a substitute for the requirements in Order EA–12–050, and compliance with the ISG is not a requirement. This ISG is being issued in draft form for public comment to involve the public in development of the implementing guidance. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu. The earthquake resulted in a large tsunami, estimated to have exceeded 14 meters (45 feet) in height that inundated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant site. The earthquake and tsunami produced widespread devastation across northeastern Japan and significantly affected the infrastructure and industry in the northeastern coastal areas of Japan. When the earthquake occurred, Fukushima Dai-ichi Units 1, 2, and 3, VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:48 Jun 06, 2012 Jkt 226001 were in operation and Units 4, 5, and 6, were shut down for routine refueling and maintenance activities. The Unit 4 reactor fuel was offloaded to the Unit 4 spent fuel pool (SFP). Following the earthquake, the three operating units automatically shut down and offsite power was lost to the entire facility. The emergency diesel generators started at all six units providing alternating current (ac) electrical power to critical systems at each unit. The facility response to the earthquake appears to have been normal. Following the events at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, the NRC established a senior-level agency task force referred to as the NearTerm Task Force (NTTF). The NTTF was tasked with conducting a systematic and methodical review of the NRC regulations and processes, and determining if the agency should make additional improvements to these programs in light of the events at Fukushima Dai-ichi. As a result of this review, the NTTF developed a comprehensive set of recommendations, documented in SECY–11–0093, ‘‘NearTerm Report and Recommendations for Agency Actions Following the Events in Japan,’’ dated July 12, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11186A950). These recommendations were enhanced by the NRC staff following interactions with stakeholders. Documentation of the staff’s efforts is contained in SECY–11– 0124, ‘‘Recommended Actions to be Taken without Delay from the NearTerm Task Force Report,’’ dated September 9, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11245A158) and SECY–11–0137, ‘‘Prioritization of Recommended Actions to be Taken in Response to Fukushima Lessons Learned,’’ dated October 3, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11272A111). As directed by the Commission’s Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) for SECY–11–0093 (ADAMS Accession No. ML112310021), the NRC staff reviewed the NTTF recommendations within the context of the NRC’s existing regulatory framework and considered the various regulatory vehicles available to the NRC to implement the recommendations. SECY–11–0124 and SECY–11–0137 established the staff’s prioritization of the recommendations based upon the potential for each recommendation to enhance safety. After receiving the Commission’s direction in SRM–SECY–11–0124 (ADAMS Accession No. ML112911571) and SRM–SECY–11–0137 (ADAMS Accession No. ML113490055), the NRC staff conducted public meetings to discuss the importance of reliable operation of hardened vents during PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 conditions involving loss of containment heat removal capability which was already well established and this understanding has been reinforced by the clear lessons of Fukushima. Hardened vents have been in place in U.S. plants with boiling-water reactor (BWR) Mark I containments for many years but a wide variance exists with regard to the reliability of the vents. Additionally, hardened vents are not required on plants with BWR Mark II containments although as discussed above, Mark II containments are only slightly larger than Mark I. Therefore, reliable hardened venting systems in BWR facilities with Mark I and Mark II containments are needed to ensure that adequate protection of public health and safety is maintained. In SRM–SECY–11–0137, the Commission directed the NRC staff to take certain actions and provided further guidance including directing the staff to consider filtered vents. The NRC staff plans to submit a Policy Paper to the Commission in July 2012. On February 17, 2012, the NRC staff submitted SECY–12–0025, ‘‘Proposed Orders and Requests for Information in Response to Lessons Learned from Japan’s March 11, 2011, Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML12039A103) to the Commission, including the order to implement requirements relating to reliable hardened venting systems at BWR facilities with Mark I and Mark II containment designs. As directed by SRM–SECY–12–0025 (ADAMS Accession No. ML120690347), the NRC staff issued Order EA–12–050, ‘‘Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents.’’ Proposed Action By this action, the NRC is requesting public comments on draft JLD–ISG– 2012–02. This draft JLD–ISG proposes guidance related to requirements contained in Order EA–12–050, Reliable Hardened Containment Vents. The NRC staff will make a final determination regarding issuance of the JLD–ISG after it considers any public comments received in response to this request. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of May 2012. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. David L. Skeen, Director, Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2012–13806 Filed 6–6–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33777-33778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13806]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0069]


Interim Staff Guidance JLD-ISG-2012-02; Compliance With Order EA-
12-050, Order Modifying Licenses With Regard to Reliable Hardened 
Containment Vents

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate guidance; 
request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is issuing the draft Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate Interim 
Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-2012-02, ``Compliance with Order EA-
12-050, Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened 
Containment Vents.'' This draft JLD-ISG provides guidance and 
clarification to assist nuclear power reactors applicants and licensees 
with the identification of measures needed to comply with requirements 
to mitigate challenges to key safety functions.

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than July 7, 2012. Comments 
received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do 
so, but the NRC staff is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related 
to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publically available, 
by searching on https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-
0069. You may submit comments by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0069. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert J. Fretz, Japan Lessons-
Learned Project Directorate, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 
301-415-1980; email: Robert.Fretz@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0069 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0069.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly-available documents online in the NRC 
Library at https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The draft JLD-ISG-2012-02 is available under ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12146A371.
     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.
     NRC's Interim Staff Guidance Web Site: JLD-ISG documents 
are also available online under the ``Japan

[[Page 33778]]

Lessons Learned'' heading at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/#int.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0069 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. The NRC posts all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into 
ADAMS, and the NRC does not 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 in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should 
state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Background Information

    The NRC staff developed draft JLD-ISG-2012-02 to provide guidance 
and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor applicants and 
licensees with the identification of measures needed to comply with 
requirements to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. These 
requirements are contained in Order EA-12-050, ``Order Modifying 
Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12054A696). The draft ISG is not a substitute for the 
requirements in Order EA-12-050, and compliance with the ISG is not a 
requirement. This ISG is being issued in draft form for public comment 
to involve the public in development of the implementing guidance.
    On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast 
of the Japanese island of Honshu. The earthquake resulted in a large 
tsunami, estimated to have exceeded 14 meters (45 feet) in height that 
inundated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant site. The 
earthquake and tsunami produced widespread devastation across 
northeastern Japan and significantly affected the infrastructure and 
industry in the northeastern coastal areas of Japan. When the 
earthquake occurred, Fukushima Dai-ichi Units 1, 2, and 3, were in 
operation and Units 4, 5, and 6, were shut down for routine refueling 
and maintenance activities. The Unit 4 reactor fuel was offloaded to 
the Unit 4 spent fuel pool (SFP). Following the earthquake, the three 
operating units automatically shut down and offsite power was lost to 
the entire facility. The emergency diesel generators started at all six 
units providing alternating current (ac) electrical power to critical 
systems at each unit. The facility response to the earthquake appears 
to have been normal.
    Following the events at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, 
the NRC established a senior-level agency task force referred to as the 
Near-Term Task Force (NTTF). The NTTF was tasked with conducting a 
systematic and methodical review of the NRC regulations and processes, 
and determining if the agency should make additional improvements to 
these programs in light of the events at Fukushima Dai-ichi. As a 
result of this review, the NTTF developed a comprehensive set of 
recommendations, documented in SECY-11-0093, ``Near-Term Report and 
Recommendations for Agency Actions Following the Events in Japan,'' 
dated July 12, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11186A950). These 
recommendations were enhanced by the NRC staff following interactions 
with stakeholders. Documentation of the staff's efforts is contained in 
SECY-11-0124, ``Recommended Actions to be Taken without Delay from the 
Near-Term Task Force Report,'' dated September 9, 2011 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML11245A158) and SECY-11-0137, ``Prioritization of Recommended 
Actions to be Taken in Response to Fukushima Lessons Learned,'' dated 
October 3, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11272A111).
    As directed by the Commission's Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) 
for SECY-11-0093 (ADAMS Accession No. ML112310021), the NRC staff 
reviewed the NTTF recommendations within the context of the NRC's 
existing regulatory framework and considered the various regulatory 
vehicles available to the NRC to implement the recommendations. SECY-
11-0124 and SECY-11-0137 established the staff's prioritization of the 
recommendations based upon the potential for each recommendation to 
enhance safety.
    After receiving the Commission's direction in SRM-SECY-11-0124 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML112911571) and SRM-SECY-11-0137 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML113490055), the NRC staff conducted public meetings to discuss 
the importance of reliable operation of hardened vents during 
conditions involving loss of containment heat removal capability which 
was already well established and this understanding has been reinforced 
by the clear lessons of Fukushima. Hardened vents have been in place in 
U.S. plants with boiling-water reactor (BWR) Mark I containments for 
many years but a wide variance exists with regard to the reliability of 
the vents. Additionally, hardened vents are not required on plants with 
BWR Mark II containments although as discussed above, Mark II 
containments are only slightly larger than Mark I. Therefore, reliable 
hardened venting systems in BWR facilities with Mark I and Mark II 
containments are needed to ensure that adequate protection of public 
health and safety is maintained.
    In SRM-SECY-11-0137, the Commission directed the NRC staff to take 
certain actions and provided further guidance including directing the 
staff to consider filtered vents. The NRC staff plans to submit a 
Policy Paper to the Commission in July 2012.
    On February 17, 2012, the NRC staff submitted SECY-12-0025, 
``Proposed Orders and Requests for Information in Response to Lessons 
Learned from Japan's March 11, 2011, Great Tohoku Earthquake and 
Tsunami'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12039A103) to the Commission, 
including the order to implement requirements relating to reliable 
hardened venting systems at BWR facilities with Mark I and Mark II 
containment designs. As directed by SRM-SECY-12-0025 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML120690347), the NRC staff issued Order EA-12-050, ``Order 
Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment 
Vents.''

Proposed Action

    By this action, the NRC is requesting public comments on draft JLD-
ISG-2012-02. This draft JLD-ISG proposes guidance related to 
requirements contained in Order EA-12-050, Reliable Hardened 
Containment Vents. The NRC staff will make a final determination 
regarding issuance of the JLD-ISG after it considers any public 
comments received in response to this request.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of May 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Skeen,
Director, Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-13806 Filed 6-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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