Abnormal Occurrence Reports, 45907-45912 [2017-21043]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices simulator training since 2012 and has high regard on the software. The NRC welcomes more licensees to partner with the NRC to use the software. The licensees’ participation in the information collection is voluntary. In the partnership, the NRC provides the SACADA software license, training, and technical support to the participating licensees, and the participating licensees grant NRC access to analyze the data to improve the NRC’s HRA techniques. An agreement will be developed to specify the details. To participate in the information collection, the licensee will notify the NRC contact that it is interested in evaluating the software. Then the NRC will provide additional information including an onsite briefing. If the licensee thinks the SACADA software could be beneficial, the NRC will provide a training session, the software license, and technical support for the licensee to pilot the use of the software in its simulator training. After the pilot study, the licensee will decide on whether or not to partner with the NRC on the information collection. Either party can terminate the agreement at any time. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September 2017. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. David Cullison, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2017–20999 Filed 9–29–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2017–0001] Sunshine Act Meetings Weeks of October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, November 6, 2017. PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. STATUS: Public and Closed. DATE: Week of October 2, 2017 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Friday, October 6, 2017 10:00 a.m. Meeting with Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (Public) (Contact: Mark Banks: 301– 415–3718) This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/. Week of October 9, 2017—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of October 9, 2017. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 Week of October 16, 2017—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of October 16, 2017. 45907 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2015–0176] Week of October 23, 2017—Tentative Abnormal Occurrence Reports Tuesday, October 24, 2017 AGENCY: 10:00 a.m. Strategic Programmatic Overview of the Operating Reactors Business Line (Public (Contact: Trent Wertz: 301–415–1568) This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/. Week of October 30, 2017—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of October 30, 2017. Week of November 6, 2017—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of November 6, 2017. * * * * * The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short notice. For more information or to verify the status of meetings, contact Denise McGovern at 301–415–0681 or via email at Denise.McGovern@nrc.gov. * * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ public-meetings/schedule.html. * * * * * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g., braille, large print), please notify Kimberly Meyer, NRC Disability Program Manager, at 301–287–0739, by videophone at 240–428–3217, or by email at Kimberly.Meyer-Chambers@ nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. * * * * * Members of the public may request to receive this information electronically. If you would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, Washington DC 20555 (301– 415–1969), or email Brenda.Akstulewicz@nrc.gov or Patricia.Jimenez@nrc.gov. Dated: September 27, 2017. Denise L. McGovern, Executive Assistant, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–21151 Filed 9–28–17; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Policy revision; issuance. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a revision to its policy statement on reporting abnormal occurrences (AOs) to Congress. The revised policy statement adds more specific criteria for determining those incidents and events that the Commission considers significant from the standpoint of public health or safety for reporting to Congress and the public, and makes the policy consistent with recent changes to NRC regulations. The revised AO criteria contain more discrete reporting thresholds, making them easier to implement and ensuring more consistent reporting. DATES: This revision to the policy statement is effective on October 2, 2017. SUMMARY: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0176 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this action using any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0176. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 document (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. For the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS Accession numbers are provided in a ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1 45908 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices table in Section VIII, ‘‘Availability of Documents,’’ of this document. • The 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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya Palmateer Oxenberg, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–2437; email: Tanya.Oxenberg@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Background II. Opportunity for Public Participation III. Coordination With NRC Agreement States IV. Coordination With the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes V. Congressional Review Act VI. Availability of Documents I. Background Section 208, ‘‘Abnormal Occurrence Reports,’’ of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (Pub. L. 93-438) (the Act), defines an AO as an unscheduled incident or event that the NRC determines to be significant from the standpoint of public health or safety. The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-66) requires that AOs be reported to Congress annually. As required by Section 208, the discussion for each reported event includes the date and place, the nature and probable consequences, the cause or causes, and the action taken to prevent recurrence. The Commission must also widely disseminate the AO report to the public within 15 days of publishing the AO report to Congress. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Abnormal Occurrence Reporting The Commission has developed the AO policy statement to comply with Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act. The intent of the Act is to keep Congress and the public informed of unscheduled incidents or events that the Commission considers significant from the standpoint of public health or safety. The policy reflects a range of health and safety concerns and applies both to incidents and events involving a single individual and to those having an overall impact on the general public. The AO criteria use a high reporting threshold so that only those events considered significant from the standpoint of public health or safety are reported to Congress. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 Licensee Reports The changes to the policy statement do not change the reporting requirements for NRC licensees in Commission regulations, license conditions, or technical specifications. The NRC licensees will continue to submit required reports on a wide range of events, including instrument malfunctions and deviations from normal operating procedures that may not be significant from the standpoint of public health or safety but that provide data useful to the Commission in monitoring the operating trends of licensed facilities and in comparing the actual performance of these facilities with their design and/or licensing basis. II. Opportunity for Public Participation To develop the revised AO criteria, the NRC staff evaluated several AO approaches and consulted with experts in the reactor and nuclear material areas, including the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI), and coordinated with Agreement States. The NRC staff undertook this effort to ensure that it was properly identifying those events that have the potential for significant health or safety consequences are reported to Congress. After an evaluation, the NRC staff incorporated several comments provided by the States and ACMUI into the draft revision in SECY–15–0040, ‘‘Proposed Revisions to Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal Occurrence Criteria,’’ dated March 19, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12166A091). The proposed AO policy statement that was published for comment included the Commission’s subsequent direction in the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) for SECY–15–0040, dated June 30, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15181A030). The proposed AO criteria was published in the Federal Register (FR) on August 17, 2015 (80 FR 49177), for a 90-day public comment period. The NRC received three comment letters on the proposed AO criteria published in the FR from the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A194), Washington State Department of Health (WDH) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A199), and the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Health (VDH) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A196). Each letter contained multiple comments. In summary, the comments asked the NRC to (1) revise and/or remove the dose threshold for reporting AO events to Congress on unintended exposures to an adult and a minor or an PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 embryo/fetus, (2) add ‘‘medical physicist’’ or revise ‘‘independent physician’’ in the requirement to obtain the determination of an independent physician, (3) remove the requirements for ‘‘irretrievable well logging sources,’’ (4) clarify the applicability of the ‘‘substantial breakdown’’ provision in Criterion I.C.4 to materials licensees, and (5) remove or modify Criterion III.C medical events. III. Coordination With NRC Agreement States The NRC coordinated with the Agreement States throughout the development of this final policy statement. In October 2013, the NRC provided a preliminary proposed policy statement to the Agreement States for their review and comment. The Agreement States provided comments on the preliminary proposed policy statement. Several comments resulted in revisions to the proposed AO criteria. A summary of the Agreement State comments and the NRC staff responses to those comments are available at ADAMS Accession No. ML14346A274. The NRC received comment letters on the proposed AO criteria, which was published in the FR on August 17, 2015 (80 FR 49177). The NRC received comments from OAS, WDH, and VDH. Each letter contained multiple comments. The NRC staff analyzed and categorized these comments according to the AO criterion to which they apply. A summary of the Agreement States’ comments and the NRC staff responses to the comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16209A049. The staff did not make any changes in response to the comments. The AO criteria are designed to identify those events that could signal a potential public health or safety issue and evaluate events in a broad industrywide perspective. In response to comments regarding the requirement that an independent physician determine whether permanent functional damage occurred, the NRC staff did not agree to add ‘‘authorized medical physicist’’ because medical physicists are neither qualified nor credentialed to make a medical determination that unintended permanent functional damage to an organ or a physiological system has occurred. The criterion requires a determination by an independent physician ‘‘deemed qualified by the NRC or Agreement State,’’ which takes into account all pertinent credentialing aspects of the individual, including specialty in the relevant field. E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1 45909 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices The staff disagreed with removing or modifying requirements for ‘‘irretrievable well logging sources’’ and Criterion III.C medical events. The staff disagreed with modifying the criterion regarding ‘‘irretrievable well logging sources’’ as NRC and Agreement State regulations require the licensee to evaluate the potential threat to public health or safety from an abandoned irretrievable source. This evaluation and dose assessment would be used as a basis to evaluate these events as potential AOs for irretrievable well logging sources. The NRC previously added Criterion III.C for medical AO because the Commission considered misadministrations to be a concern. The current criteria are based on doses that would likely have a significant potential for resulting in permanent deterministic effects. In response to a comment that requested clarification of the applicability of the ‘‘substantial breakdown’’ provision in criterion l.C.4 to materials licensees, the staff explained that this criterion is principally for licensees that possess special nuclear material and whose activities are included in a security plan required by part 73 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Criterion I.C.1 is the principal criterion for security incidents involving materials subject to 10 CFR part 37 for NRC or Agreement State radioactive materials licensee events to determine if an AO has occurred. IV. Coordination With the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes The ACMUI submitted comments on the proposed AO policy statement in a letter dated November 6, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15356A087). These comments concerned the reporting of incidents and events related to medical use that the ACMUI found may not be significant for public health or safety. The NRC prepared a response to the ACMUI recommendations (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A061). Most of ACMUI’s comments indicated agreement with the proposed revisions to the policy statement. However, ACMUI had three comments recommending changes to the AO criteria. The staff disagreed with two comments and partially agreed with one comment. The staff agreed to add ‘‘and human research subjects’’ to footnote 2 to Criterion 1, but it disagreed with excluding events reported under § 35.3047 from Criterion I.A.2. The staff also disagreed with adding § 35.3047 to the footnote text because this would establish two different thresholds for reporting an AO involving exposure to an embryo/fetus: one for an embryo/ fetus unintentionally exposed due to a medical administration to a pregnant individual and one for an embryo/fetus exposed from all other sources of licensed material. V. Congressional Review Act This policy statement is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801–808). VI. Availability of Documents The documents identified in the following table are available as indicated. ADAMS Accession No./ FR citation Date Document 03/19/2015 ........ 06/30/2015 ........ SECY–15–0040, Proposed Revisions to Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal Occurrence Criteria ...... Staff Requirements—SECY–15–0040—Proposed Revisions to Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal Occurrence Criteria. Proposed revision to policy statement issued for a 90 day public comment period. ....................................... OAS letter to NRC, RE: Opportunity to Comment on Proposed Revision to Abnormal Occurrence Policy Statement. State of Washington Comment for Docket ID NRC-2015–0176 Abnormal Occurrence Criteria Revision ...... Virginia Comments on Abnormal Occurrence (AO) Reporting Revision .......................................................... Summary of Major Agreement State Comments .............................................................................................. and Staff Response .......................................................................................................................................... Summary of Organization of Agreement State (OAS), State of Washington, and Commonwealth of Virginia Comments and Staff Response. Final ACMUI Comments on Proposed Revision of the NRC Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal Occurrences to Congress. Meeting Summary, ACMUI Meeting, ................................................................................................................ October 8–9, 2015 ............................................................................................................................................ Staff’s Response to the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes’ November 6, 2015, Recommendations to Final Comments on Proposed Revision of the NRC Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal Occurrences to Congress. Management Directive 8.3, ‘‘NRC Incident Investigation Program’’ ................................................................. Management Directive 8.9, ‘‘Accident Investigation’’ ....................................................................................... Management Directive 8.13, ‘‘Reactor Oversight Process,’’ DT–10–14 .......................................................... Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, ‘‘Operating Reactor Assessment Program’’ ..................................... IMC 350, ‘‘Oversight of Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition Due to Significant Performance and/or Operational Concerns’’. NUREG–1520 Rev. 2, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for Fuel Cycle Facilities License Applications,’’ Final Report 08/17/2015 ........ 11/16/2015 ........ 11/17/2015 ........ 11/12/2015 ........ 03/19/2015 ........ 07/08/2016 ........ 11/06/2015 ........ 10/09/2015 ........ 08/08/2016 ........ 06/24/2014 04/11/2014 10/03/2010 12/23/2015 12/15/2006 ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 06/30/2015 ........ VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1 ML12166A091 ML15181A030 80 FR 49177 ML16209A194 ML16209A199 ML16209A196 ML14346A274 ML16209A049 ML15356A087 ML15294A461 ML16209A061 ML13175A294 ML13319A133 ML101400045 ML15317A147 ML063400076 ML15176A258 45910 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices The final policy statement is attached. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September 2017. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission. Statement of Policy General Statement of Policy on the Implementation of Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as Amended sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Applicability Implementation of Section 208, ‘‘Abnormal Occurrence Reports,’’ of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, involves the conduct of Commission business and does not impose requirements on licensees or certified facilities. The reports cover certain unscheduled incidents or events related to the manufacture, construction, or operation of a facility or the conduct of an activity subject to the requirements of parts 20, 30 through 37, 39, 40, 50, 61, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Agreement States provide information to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on incidents and events involving nuclear materials in those States. Agreement States are those States that have entered into formal agreements with the NRC, pursuant to Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) (Pub. L. 83– 703), to regulate certain quantities of AEA material at facilities located within their borders. Events reported by Agreement States that reach the threshold for reporting as abnormal occurrences (AOs) are also published in the ‘‘Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences.’’ Abnormal Occurrence General Statement of Policy The Commission will apply the following policy in determining whether an incident or event at a facility or involving an activity that is licensed or otherwise regulated by the Commission or an Agreement State is an AO.1 An incident or event is considered an AO if it involves a major reduction in the protection of public health or safety. The incident or event has a moderate or severe impact on public health or safety and could include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) Moderate exposure to, or release of, radioactive material licensed by or 1 Events reported to the NRC by Agreement States that reach the threshold for reporting as AOs will be reported as such by the Commission. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; (2) Major degradation of essential safety-related equipment; (3) Major deficiencies in design, construction, or use of, or management controls for, facilities or radioactive material licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; or (4) Substantiated case of actual loss, theft, or diversion of risk-significant radioactive material licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States. Appendix A to this policy statement sets forth the criteria for determining whether an incident or event is as an AO. Commission Dissemination of Abnormal Occurrence Information The Commission widely disseminates AO reports to the public. The Commission submits an annual report to Congress on AOs at or associated with any facility or activity that is licensed or otherwise regulated by the NRC. This report provides the date, place, nature, and probable consequences of each AO; the cause or causes of each AO; and any action taken by the licensee to prevent recurrence. Appendix A: Abnormal Occurrence Criteria An incident or event is considered an abnormal occurrence (AO) if it involves a major reduction in the degree of protection of public health or safety. This type of incident or event has a moderate or severe impact on public health or safety and could include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) Moderate exposure to, or release of, radioactive material licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; (2) Major degradation of essential safetyrelated equipment; (3) Major deficiencies in design, construction, or use of, or management controls for facilities or radioactive material licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; or (4) Substantiated case of actual loss, theft, or diversion of risk-significant radioactive material licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States. Abnormal Occurrence Criteria The following presents the criteria, by types of events, used to determine which events will be considered for reporting as AOs. PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 I. All Licensees.2 A. Human Exposure to Radiation from Licensed Material. 1. Any unintended radiation exposure to an adult (any individual 18 years of age or older) resulting in: (a) An annual total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) of 250 millisieverts (mSv) (25 rem) or more; (b) An annual sum of the deep dose equivalent (external dose) and committed dose equivalent (intake of radioactive material) to any individual organ other than the lens of the eye, the bone marrow, and the gonads of 2,500 mSv (250 rem) or more; (c) An annual dose equivalent to the lens of the eye of 1 sievert (Sv) (100 rem) or more; (d) An annual sum of the deep dose equivalent and committed dose equivalent to the bone marrow of 1 Sv (100 rem) or more; (e) A committed dose equivalent to the gonads of 2,500 mSv (250 rem) or more; or (f) An annual shallow dose equivalent to the skin or extremities of 2,500 mSv (250 rem) or more. 2. Any unintended radiation exposure to any minor (an individual less than 18 years of age) resulting in an annual TEDE of 50 mSv (5 rem) or more, or to an embryo/fetus resulting in a dose equivalent of 50 mSv (5 rem) or more. 3. Any radiation exposure that has resulted in unintended permanent functional damage to an organ or a physiological system as determined by an independent physician 3 deemed qualified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or Agreement State. B. Discharge or Dispersal of Radioactive Material from Its Intended Place of Confinement. The release of radioactive material to an unrestricted area in concentrations that, if averaged over a period of 24 hours, exceed 5,000 times the values specified in Table 2 of Appendix B, ‘‘Annual Limits on Intake (ALIs) and Derived Air Concentrations (DACs) of Radionuclides for Occupational Exposure; Effluent Concentrations; Concentrations for Release to Sewerage,’’ to 10 CFR part 20, ‘‘Standards for protection against radiation,’’ unless the licensee has demonstrated compliance with § 20.1301, ‘‘Dose limits for individual members of the public,’’ using § 20.1302(b)(1) or § 20.1302(b)(2)(ii). This criterion does not apply to transportation events. C. Theft, Diversion, or Loss of Licensed Material; Sabotage; or Security Breach.4 5 6 1. Any stolen, diverted, abandoned, or unrecovered lost radioactive material that 2 Medical patients and human research subjects are excluded from consideration under these criteria, and these criteria do not apply to medical events defined in § 35.3045 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Report and notification of a medical event,’’ which are considered in AO Criteria III.C. 3 ‘‘Independent physician’’ is defined as a physician not on the licensee’s staff and who was not involved in the care of the patient involved. 4 Information pertaining to certain incidents may either be classified or under consideration for E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES meets or exceeds the thresholds listed in Appendix A, ‘‘Category 1 and Category 2 Radioactive Materials,’’ to 10 CFR part 37, ‘‘Physical protection of category 1 and category 2 quantities of radioactive material.’’ Excluded from reporting under this criterion are those events involving sources that are lost or abandoned under the following conditions: sources that have been lost and for which a reasonable attempt at recovery has been made without success, or irretrievable well logging sources as defined in § 39.2, ‘‘Definitions.’’ These sources are only excluded if there is reasonable assurance that the doses from these sources have not exceeded, and will not exceed, the reporting thresholds specified in AO Criteria I.A.1 and I.A.2 and the agency has determined that the risk of theft or diversion is acceptably low. 2. An act that results in radiological sabotage as defined in § 73.2. 3. Any substantiated 7 case of actual theft, diversion, or loss of a formula quantity of special nuclear material,8 or an inventory discrepancy of a formula quantity of special nuclear material8 that is judged to be caused by theft or diversion. 4. Any substantial breakdown 9 of physical security, cyber security, or material control and accountability programs that significantly weakens the protection against loss, theft, diversion, or sabotage. 5. Any significant unauthorized disclosures (loss, theft, and/or deliberate disclosure) of classified information that classification because of national security implications. Classified information will be withheld when formally reporting these incidents in accordance with Executive Order 13526, ‘‘Classified National Security Information,’’ as amended (75 FR 707; January 5, 2010), or any predecessor or successor order to require protection against unauthorized disclosures. Any classified details about these incidents would be available to Congress upon request, under appropriate security arrangements. 5 Information pertaining to certain incidents may be Safeguards Information as defined in § 73.2 because of safety and security implications. The AO report would withhold specific Safeguards Information in accordance with Section 147 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Any safeguards details regarding these incidents would be available to Congress upon request, under appropriate security arrangements. 6 Reporting lost or stolen material is based on the activity of the source at the time the radioactive material was known to be lost or stolen. If, by the time the AO report is due to Congress, the radioactive material has decayed below the thresholds listed in Appendix A to 10 CFR part 37, the report will clarify that the radioactive material has decayed below the thresholds. 7 ‘‘Substantiated’’ means a situation in which there is an indication of loss, theft, or unlawful diversion, such as an allegation of diversion, report of lost or stolen material, or other indication of loss of material control or accountability that cannot be refuted following an investigation, and requires further action on the part of the agency or other proper authorities. 8 ‘‘Formula quantity of special nuclear material’’ is defined in § 70.4, ‘‘Definitions.’’ 9 A substantial breakdown is defined as a red finding under the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in the physical security inspection program or any plant or facility determined to have overall unacceptable performance. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 harms national security or of Safeguards Information that threatens public health or safety. D. Initiation of High-Level NRC Team Inspection.10 II. Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Licensees. A. Malfunction of Facility, Structures, or Equipment. 1. Exceeding a safety limit of a license technical specification (TS) (§ § 50.36(c)). 2. Serious degradation of fuel integrity, primary coolant pressure boundary, or primary containment boundary. 3. Loss of plant capability to perform essential safety functions so that a release of radioactive materials that could result in exceeding the dose limits of 10 CFR part 100, ‘‘Reactor site criteria,’’ or five times the dose limits of General Design Criteria (GDC) 19, ‘‘Control Room,’’ in Appendix A, ‘‘General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants,’’ to 10 CFR part 50, ‘‘Domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities,’’ could occur from a postulated transient or accident (e.g., loss of emergency core cooling system, loss of control rod system). B. Design or Safety Analysis Deficiency, Personnel Error, or Procedural or Administrative Inadequacy. 1. Discovery of a major condition not specifically considered in the safety analysis report or TS that requires immediate remedial action. 2. Personnel error or procedural deficiencies that result in the loss of plant capability to perform essential safety functions such that a release of radioactive materials exceeding the dose limits of 10 CFR part 100 or five times the dose limits of GDC 19 in Appendix A to 10 CFR part 50, could occur from a postulated transient or accident (e.g., loss of emergency core cooling system, loss of control rod drive mechanism). 10 This item addresses the initiation of any incident investigation teams, as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.3, ‘‘NRC Incident Investigation Program’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML13175A294), or initiation of any accident review groups, as described in MD 8.9, ‘‘Accident Investigation’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML13319A133). PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 45911 C. Any operating reactor events or conditions evaluated by the NRC ROP to be the result of or associated with licensee performance issues of high safety significance.11 D. Any operating reactor events or conditions evaluated by the NRC Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program to have a conditional core damage probability (CCDP) or change in core damage probability (DCDP) of greater than or equal to 1 × 10¥3.12 E. Any operating reactor plants that are determined to have overall unacceptable performance or are in a shutdown condition as a result of significant performance problems and/or operational event(s).13 III. Events at Facilities Other Than Nuclear Power Plants and All Transportation Events. A. Events Involving Design, Analysis, Construction, Testing, Operation, Transport, Use, or Disposal. 1. An accidental criticality. 2. A major deficiency in design, construction, control, or operation having significant safety implications that require immediate remedial action. 3. A serious safety-significant deficiency in management or procedural controls. 4. A series of events (in which the individual events are not of major importance), recurring incidents, or incidents with implications for similar facilities (generic incidents) that raise a major safety concern. B. Fuel Cycle Facilities.14 1. Absence or failure of all safety controls (engineered and human) such that conditions were present for the occurrence of a highconsequence event involving an 11 The NRC ROP uses four colors to describe the safety significance of licensee performance. As defined in NRC MD 8.13, ‘‘Reactor Oversight Process’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML101400045), green is used for very low safety significance, white is used for low to moderate safety significance, yellow is used for substantial safety significance, and red is used for high safety significance. Reactor conditions or performance indicators evaluated to be red are considered AOs. 12 Results from the NRC ASP program are used to monitor agency performance against the agency’s strategic safety goal (e.g., ensure the safe use of radioactive materials) and objectives (e.g., prevent and mitigate accidents and ensure radiation safety). A precursor event with a CCDP or DCDP of greater than or equal to 1 × 10¥3 is used as a performance indicator for the strategic safety goal by determining that there have been no significant precursors of a nuclear reactor accident and that there have been no more than one significant adverse trend in industry safety performance. 13 Any plants assessed by the ROP to be in the unacceptable performance column, as described in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0305, ‘‘Operating Reactor Assessment Program’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML15317A147), or under NRC IMC 0350, ‘‘Oversight of Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition Due to Significant Performance and/or Operational Concerns’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML063400076). This assessment of safety performance is based on the number and significance of NRC inspection findings and licensee performance indicators. 14 Criterion III.A also applies to fuel cycle facilities. E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1 45912 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2017 / Notices NRC-regulated hazard (radiological or chemical).15 2. An NRC-ordered safety-related or security-related immediate remedial action. C. Events Involving the Medical Use of Radioactive Materials in Patients or Human Research Subjects.16 1. A medical event, as defined in § 35.3045, which results in a dose that: (a) Is equal to or greater than 1 gray (Gy) (100 rad) to a major portion of the bone marrow or to the lens of the eye; or equal to or greater than 2.5 Gy (250 rad) to the gonads; or (b) Exceeds, by 10 Gy (1,000 rad), the expected dose to any other organ or tissue from the administration defined in the written directive; and 2. A medical event, as defined in § 35.3045, which involves: (a) A dose or dosage that is at least 50 percent greater than that prescribed, or (b) A prescribed dose or dosage that: (i) Uses the wrong radiopharmaceutical or unsealed byproduct material; or (ii) Is delivered by the wrong route of administration; or (iii) Is delivered to the wrong treatment site; or (iv) Is delivered by the wrong treatment mode; or (v) Is from a leaking source or sources; or (vi) Is delivered to the wrong individual or human research subject. Appendix B: Other Events of Interest sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES This appendix discusses other events of interest that do not meet the criteria for abnormal occurrences (AOs) in Appendix A to this policy statement. The Commission may determine that events other than AOs may be of interest to Congress and the public and should be included in an appendix to the AO report as ‘‘Other Events of Interest.’’ Such events may include, but are not necessarily limited to, events that do not meet the AO 15 High-consequence events for facilities licensed under 10 CFR part 70, ‘‘Domestic licensing of special nuclear material,’’ are those that could seriously harm the worker or a member of the public in accordance with § 70.61, ‘‘Performance requirements.’’ The integrated safety analysis conducted and maintained by the licensee or applicant of 10 CFR part 70 fuel cycle facilities identifies such hazards and the safety controls (§ 70.62(c)) applied to meet the performance requirements in accordance with § 70.61(b) through (d). Fuel cycle facilities licensed under 10 CFR part 40, ‘‘Domestic licensing of source material,’’ or certified under 10 CFR part 76, ‘‘Certification of gaseous diffusion plants,’’ have licensing basis documents that describe facility specific hazards, consequences, and those controls used to prevent or mitigate the consequences of such accidents. For these facilities, a high-consequence event would be a release that has the potential to cause acute radiological or chemical exposures to a worker or a member of the public similar to that defined in Appendix A to Chapter 3, Section A.2, of NUREG 1520, Revision 2, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for Fuel Cycle Facilities License Applications—Final Report,’’ issued June 2015, under ‘‘Consequence Category 3 (High Consequences)’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML15176A258). 16 Criteria III.A.2, III.A.3, and III.A.4 also apply to medical licensees. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:01 Sep 29, 2017 Jkt 244001 criteria but that have been perceived by Congress or the public to be of high health or safety significance, have received significant media coverage, or have caused the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to increase its attention to or oversight of a program area, or a group of similar events that have resulted in licensed materials entering the public domain in an uncontrolled manner. [FR Doc. 2017–21043 Filed 9–29–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Termination of SingleEmployer Plans, Missing Participants Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval. AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (‘‘PBGC’’) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) extend approval (with modifications), under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, of a collection of information in its regulations on Termination of SingleEmployer Plans and Missing Participants, and implementing forms and instructions. This notice informs the public of PBGC’s intent and solicits public comment on the collection of information. SUMMARY: Comments should be submitted by December 1, 2017. ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments. • Email: paperwork.comments@ pbgc.gov. • Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005–4026. PBGC will make all comments available on its Web site at www.pbgc.gov. Copies of the collection of information may be obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC at the above address or by visiting that office or calling 202– 326–4040 during normal business hours. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800– 877–8339 and ask to be connected to DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 202–326–4040.) The regulations and forms and instructions relating to this collection of information are available on PBGC’s Web site at www.pbgc.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns (burns.jo.amato@ pbgc.gov), Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005– 4026, 202 326–4400, ext. 3072, or Daniel S. Liebman (daniel.liebman@pbgc.gov), Acting Assistant General Counsel, same address and phone number, ext. 6510. TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 800– 877–8339 and ask to be connected to 202–326–4400. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 4041 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, a single-employer pension plan may terminate voluntarily only if it satisfies the requirements for either a standard or a distress termination. Pursuant to ERISA section 4041(b), for standard terminations, and section 4041(c), for distress terminations, and PBGC’s termination regulation (29 CFR part 4041), a plan administrator wishing to terminate a plan is required to submit specified information to PBGC in support of the proposed termination and to provide specified information regarding the proposed termination to third parties (participants, beneficiaries, alternate payees, and employee organizations). In the case of a plan with participants or beneficiaries who cannot be located when their benefits are to be distributed, the plan administrator is subject to the requirements of ERISA section 4050 and PBGC’s regulation on missing participants (29 CFR part 4050). These regulations may be found on PBGC’s Web site at https:// www.pbgc.gov/res/laws-andregulations/code-of-federalregulations.html. The collection of information under these regulations and the implementing forms and instructions has been approved by OMB under control number 1212–0036 (expires November 30, 2017). PBGC is requesting that OMB extend its approval for three years, with modifications. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. PBGC is proposing to provide that the plan administrator of a plan terminating in a standard termination, or a distress termination that closes out in the private sector, may submit termination forms electronically (scanned and emailed or faxed), rather than by mail or E:\FR\FM\02OCN1.SGM 02OCN1

Agencies

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45907-45912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21043]

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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0176]

Abnormal Occurrence Reports

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Policy revision; issuance.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
revision to its policy statement on reporting abnormal occurrences
(AOs) to Congress. The revised policy statement adds more specific
criteria for determining those incidents and events that the Commission
considers significant from the standpoint of public health or safety
for reporting to Congress and the public, and makes the policy
consistent with recent changes to NRC regulations. The revised AO
criteria contain more discrete reporting thresholds, making them easier
to implement and ensuring more consistent reporting.

DATES: This revision to the policy statement is effective on October 2,
2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC[dash]2015[dash]0176 when
contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this
action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this
action using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC[dash]2015[dash]0176.
Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-
415-3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions,
contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced. For the convenience of the reader, the
ADAMS Accession numbers are provided in a

[[Page 45908]]

table in Section VIII, ``Availability of Documents,'' of this document.
The 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya Palmateer Oxenberg, Office of
Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2437; email:
Tanya.Oxenberg@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Opportunity for Public Participation
III. Coordination With NRC Agreement States
IV. Coordination With the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of
Isotopes
V. Congressional Review Act
VI. Availability of Documents

I. Background

Section 208, ``Abnormal Occurrence Reports,'' of the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (Pub. L. 93[dash]438) (the Act),
defines an AO as an unscheduled incident or event that the NRC
determines to be significant from the standpoint of public health or
safety. The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (Pub. L.
104[dash]66) requires that AOs be reported to Congress annually. As
required by Section 208, the discussion for each reported event
includes the date and place, the nature and probable consequences, the
cause or causes, and the action taken to prevent recurrence. The
Commission must also widely disseminate the AO report to the public
within 15 days of publishing the AO report to Congress.

Abnormal Occurrence Reporting

The Commission has developed the AO policy statement to comply with
Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization Act. The intent of the Act is
to keep Congress and the public informed of unscheduled incidents or
events that the Commission considers significant from the standpoint of
public health or safety. The policy reflects a range of health and
safety concerns and applies both to incidents and events involving a
single individual and to those having an overall impact on the general
public. The AO criteria use a high reporting threshold so that only
those events considered significant from the standpoint of public
health or safety are reported to Congress.

Licensee Reports

The changes to the policy statement do not change the reporting
requirements for NRC licensees in Commission regulations, license
conditions, or technical specifications. The NRC licensees will
continue to submit required reports on a wide range of events,
including instrument malfunctions and deviations from normal operating
procedures that may not be significant from the standpoint of public
health or safety but that provide data useful to the Commission in
monitoring the operating trends of licensed facilities and in comparing
the actual performance of these facilities with their design and/or
licensing basis.

II. Opportunity for Public Participation

To develop the revised AO criteria, the NRC staff evaluated several
AO approaches and consulted with experts in the reactor and nuclear
material areas, including the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of
Isotopes (ACMUI), and coordinated with Agreement States. The NRC staff
undertook this effort to ensure that it was properly identifying those
events that have the potential for significant health or safety
consequences are reported to Congress.
After an evaluation, the NRC staff incorporated several comments
provided by the States and ACMUI into the draft revision in SECY-15-
0040, ``Proposed Revisions to Policy Statement on Reporting Abnormal
Occurrence Criteria,'' dated March 19, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML12166A091). The proposed AO policy statement that was published for
comment included the Commission's subsequent direction in the staff
requirements memorandum (SRM) for SECY-15-0040, dated June 30, 2015
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15181A030). The proposed AO criteria was
published in the Federal Register (FR) on August 17, 2015 (80 FR
49177), for a 90[dash]day public comment period.
The NRC received three comment letters on the proposed AO criteria
published in the FR from the Organization of Agreement States (OAS)
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A194), Washington State Department of
Health (WDH) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A199), and the Commonwealth of
Virginia Department of Health (VDH) (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A196).
Each letter contained multiple comments. In summary, the comments asked
the NRC to (1) revise and/or remove the dose threshold for reporting AO
events to Congress on unintended exposures to an adult and a minor or
an embryo/fetus, (2) add ``medical physicist'' or revise ``independent
physician'' in the requirement to obtain the determination of an
independent physician, (3) remove the requirements for ``irretrievable
well logging sources,'' (4) clarify the applicability of the
``substantial breakdown'' provision in Criterion I.C.4 to materials
licensees, and (5) remove or modify Criterion III.C medical events.

III. Coordination With NRC Agreement States

The NRC coordinated with the Agreement States throughout the
development of this final policy statement. In October 2013, the NRC
provided a preliminary proposed policy statement to the Agreement
States for their review and comment. The Agreement States provided
comments on the preliminary proposed policy statement. Several comments
resulted in revisions to the proposed AO criteria. A summary of the
Agreement State comments and the NRC staff responses to those comments
are available at ADAMS Accession No. ML14346A274.
The NRC received comment letters on the proposed AO criteria, which
was published in the FR on August 17, 2015 (80 FR 49177). The NRC
received comments from OAS, WDH, and VDH. Each letter contained
multiple comments. The NRC staff analyzed and categorized these
comments according to the AO criterion to which they apply. A summary
of the Agreement States' comments and the NRC staff responses to the
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16209A049. The
staff did not make any changes in response to the comments.
The AO criteria are designed to identify those events that could
signal a potential public health or safety issue and evaluate events in
a broad industrywide perspective. In response to comments regarding the
requirement that an independent physician determine whether permanent
functional damage occurred, the NRC staff did not agree to add
``authorized medical physicist'' because medical physicists are neither
qualified nor credentialed to make a medical determination that
unintended permanent functional damage to an organ or a physiological
system has occurred. The criterion requires a determination by an
independent physician ``deemed qualified by the NRC or Agreement
State,'' which takes into account all pertinent credentialing aspects
of the individual, including specialty in the relevant field.

[[Page 45909]]

The staff disagreed with removing or modifying requirements for
``irretrievable well logging sources'' and Criterion III.C medical
events. The staff disagreed with modifying the criterion regarding
``irretrievable well logging sources'' as NRC and Agreement State
regulations require the licensee to evaluate the potential threat to
public health or safety from an abandoned irretrievable source. This
evaluation and dose assessment would be used as a basis to evaluate
these events as potential AOs for irretrievable well logging sources.
The NRC previously added Criterion III.C for medical AO because the
Commission considered misadministrations to be a concern. The current
criteria are based on doses that would likely have a significant
potential for resulting in permanent deterministic effects.
In response to a comment that requested clarification of the
applicability of the ``substantial breakdown'' provision in criterion
l.C.4 to materials licensees, the staff explained that this criterion
is principally for licensees that possess special nuclear material and
whose activities are included in a security plan required by part 73 of
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Criterion I.C.1
is the principal criterion for security incidents involving materials
subject to 10 CFR part 37 for NRC or Agreement State radioactive
materials licensee events to determine if an AO has occurred.

IV. Coordination With the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of
Isotopes

The ACMUI submitted comments on the proposed AO policy statement in
a letter dated November 6, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15356A087).
These comments concerned the reporting of incidents and events related
to medical use that the ACMUI found may not be significant for public
health or safety. The NRC prepared a response to the ACMUI
recommendations (ADAMS Accession No. ML16209A061). Most of ACMUI's
comments indicated agreement with the proposed revisions to the policy
statement. However, ACMUI had three comments recommending changes to
the AO criteria. The staff disagreed with two comments and partially
agreed with one comment. The staff agreed to add ``and human research
subjects'' to footnote 2 to Criterion 1, but it disagreed with
excluding events reported under Sec. 35.3047 from Criterion I.A.2. The
staff also disagreed with adding Sec. 35.3047 to the footnote text
because this would establish two different thresholds for reporting an
AO involving exposure to an embryo/fetus: one for an embryo/fetus
unintentionally exposed due to a medical administration to a pregnant
individual and one for an embryo/fetus exposed from all other sources
of licensed material.

V. Congressional Review Act

This policy statement is not a rule as defined in the Congressional
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808).

VI. Availability of Documents

The documents identified in the following table are available as
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADAMS Accession No./FR
Date Document citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
03/19/2015............. SECY-15-0040, Proposed ML12166A091
Revisions to Policy
Statement on Reporting
Abnormal Occurrence
Criteria.
06/30/2015............. Staff Requirements-- ML15181A030
SECY-15-0040--Proposed
Revisions to Policy
Statement on Reporting
Abnormal Occurrence
Criteria.
08/17/2015............. Proposed revision to 80 FR 49177
policy statement
issued for a 90 day
public comment period..
11/16/2015............. OAS letter to NRC, RE: ML16209A194
Opportunity to Comment
on Proposed Revision
to Abnormal Occurrence
Policy Statement.
11/17/2015............. State of Washington ML16209A199
Comment for Docket ID
NRC[dash]2015-0176
Abnormal Occurrence
Criteria Revision.
11/12/2015............. Virginia Comments on ML16209A196
Abnormal Occurrence
(AO) Reporting
Revision.
03/19/2015............. Summary of Major ML14346A274
Agreement State
Comments.
and Staff Response.....
07/08/2016............. Summary of Organization ML16209A049
of Agreement State
(OAS), State of
Washington, and
Commonwealth of
Virginia Comments and
Staff Response.
11/06/2015............. Final ACMUI Comments on ML15356A087
Proposed Revision of
the NRC Policy
Statement on Reporting
Abnormal Occurrences
to Congress.
10/09/2015............. Meeting Summary, ACMUI ML15294A461
Meeting,.
October 8-9, 2015......
08/08/2016............. Staff's Response to the ML16209A061
Advisory Committee on
the Medical Uses of
Isotopes' November 6,
2015, Recommendations
to Final Comments on
Proposed Revision of
the NRC Policy
Statement on Reporting
Abnormal Occurrences
to Congress.
06/24/2014............. Management Directive ML13175A294
8.3, ``NRC Incident
Investigation
Program''.
04/11/2014............. Management Directive ML13319A133
8.9, ``Accident
Investigation''.
10/03/2010............. Management Directive ML101400045
8.13, ``Reactor
Oversight Process,''
DT-10-14.
12/23/2015............. Inspection Manual ML15317A147
Chapter (IMC) 0305,
``Operating Reactor
Assessment Program''.
12/15/2006............. IMC 350, ``Oversight of ML063400076
Reactor Facilities in
a Shutdown Condition
Due to Significant
Performance and/or
Operational Concerns''.
06/30/2015............. NUREG-1520 Rev. 2, ML15176A258
``Standard Review Plan
for Fuel Cycle
Facilities License
Applications,'' Final
Report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 45910]]

The final policy statement is attached.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September 2017.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.

Statement of Policy

General Statement of Policy on the Implementation of Section 208 of the
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as Amended

Applicability

Implementation of Section 208, ``Abnormal Occurrence Reports,'' of
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, involves the conduct
of Commission business and does not impose requirements on licensees or
certified facilities. The reports cover certain unscheduled incidents
or events related to the manufacture, construction, or operation of a
facility or the conduct of an activity subject to the requirements of
parts 20, 30 through 37, 39, 40, 50, 61, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
Agreement States provide information to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) on incidents and events involving nuclear materials in
those States. Agreement States are those States that have entered into
formal agreements with the NRC, pursuant to Section 274 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) (Pub. L. 83-703), to regulate
certain quantities of AEA material at facilities located within their
borders. Events reported by Agreement States that reach the threshold
for reporting as abnormal occurrences (AOs) are also published in the
``Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences.''

Abnormal Occurrence General Statement of Policy

The Commission will apply the following policy in determining
whether an incident or event at a facility or involving an activity
that is licensed or otherwise regulated by the Commission or an
Agreement State is an AO.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ Events reported to the NRC by Agreement States that reach
the threshold for reporting as AOs will be reported as such by the
Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

An incident or event is considered an AO if it involves a major
reduction in the protection of public health or safety. The incident or
event has a moderate or severe impact on public health or safety and
could include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) Moderate exposure to, or release of, radioactive material
licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement
States;
(2) Major degradation of essential safety-related equipment;
(3) Major deficiencies in design, construction, or use of, or
management controls for, facilities or radioactive material licensed by
or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; or
(4) Substantiated case of actual loss, theft, or diversion of
risk[dash]significant radioactive material licensed by or otherwise
regulated by the Commission or Agreement States.
Appendix A to this policy statement sets forth the criteria for
determining whether an incident or event is as an AO.

Commission Dissemination of Abnormal Occurrence Information

The Commission widely disseminates AO reports to the public. The
Commission submits an annual report to Congress on AOs at or associated
with any facility or activity that is licensed or otherwise regulated
by the NRC. This report provides the date, place, nature, and probable
consequences of each AO; the cause or causes of each AO; and any action
taken by the licensee to prevent recurrence.

Appendix A: Abnormal Occurrence Criteria

An incident or event is considered an abnormal occurrence (AO)
if it involves a major reduction in the degree of protection of
public health or safety. This type of incident or event has a
moderate or severe impact on public health or safety and could
include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) Moderate exposure to, or release of, radioactive material
licensed by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement
States;
(2) Major degradation of essential safety-related equipment;
(3) Major deficiencies in design, construction, or use of, or
management controls for facilities or radioactive material licensed
by or otherwise regulated by the Commission or Agreement States; or
(4) Substantiated case of actual loss, theft, or diversion of
risk-significant radioactive material licensed by or otherwise
regulated by the Commission or Agreement States.

Abnormal Occurrence Criteria

The following presents the criteria, by types of events, used to
determine which events will be considered for reporting as AOs.

I. All Licensees.[bds2]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ Medical patients and human research subjects are excluded
from consideration under these criteria, and these criteria do not
apply to medical events defined in Sec. 35.3045 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Report and notification of a
medical event,'' which are considered in AO Criteria III.C.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A. Human Exposure to Radiation from Licensed Material.

1. Any unintended radiation exposure to an adult (any individual
18 years of age or older) resulting in:
(a) An annual total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) of 250
millisieverts (mSv) (25 rem) or more;
(b) An annual sum of the deep dose equivalent (external dose)
and committed dose equivalent (intake of radioactive material) to
any individual organ other than the lens of the eye, the bone
marrow, and the gonads of 2,500 mSv (250 rem) or more;
(c) An annual dose equivalent to the lens of the eye of 1
sievert (Sv) (100 rem) or more;
(d) An annual sum of the deep dose equivalent and committed dose
equivalent to the bone marrow of 1 Sv (100 rem) or more;
(e) A committed dose equivalent to the gonads of 2,500 mSv (250
rem) or more; or
(f) An annual shallow dose equivalent to the skin or extremities
of 2,500 mSv (250 rem) or more.
2. Any unintended radiation exposure to any minor (an individual
less than 18 years of age) resulting in an annual TEDE of 50 mSv (5
rem) or more, or to an embryo/fetus resulting in a dose equivalent
of 50 mSv (5 rem) or more.
3. Any radiation exposure that has resulted in unintended
permanent functional damage to an organ or a physiological system as
determined by an independent physician \3\ deemed qualified by the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or Agreement State.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\3\ ``Independent physician'' is defined as a physician not on
the licensee's staff and who was not involved in the care of the
patient involved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Discharge or Dispersal of Radioactive Material from Its Intended
Place of Confinement.

The release of radioactive material to an unrestricted area in
concentrations that, if averaged over a period of 24 hours, exceed
5,000 times the values specified in Table 2 of Appendix B, ``Annual
Limits on Intake (ALIs) and Derived Air Concentrations (DACs) of
Radionuclides for Occupational Exposure; Effluent Concentrations;
Concentrations for Release to Sewerage,'' to 10 CFR part 20,
``Standards for protection against radiation,'' unless the licensee
has demonstrated compliance with Sec. 20.1301, ``Dose limits for
individual members of the public,'' using Sec. 20.1302(b)(1) or
Sec. 20.1302(b)(2)(ii). This criterion does not apply to
transportation events.

C. Theft, Diversion, or Loss of Licensed Material; Sabotage; or
Security Breach.4 5 6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\4\ Information pertaining to certain incidents may either be
classified or under consideration for classification because of
national security implications. Classified information will be
withheld when formally reporting these incidents in accordance with
Executive Order 13526, ``Classified National Security Information,''
as amended (75 FR 707; January 5, 2010), or any predecessor or
successor order to require protection against unauthorized
disclosures. Any classified details about these incidents would be
available to Congress upon request, under appropriate security
arrangements.
\5\ Information pertaining to certain incidents may be
Safeguards Information as defined in Sec. 73.2 because of safety
and security implications. The AO report would withhold specific
Safeguards Information in accordance with Section 147 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Any safeguards details regarding
these incidents would be available to Congress upon request, under
appropriate security arrangements.
\6\ Reporting lost or stolen material is based on the activity
of the source at the time the radioactive material was known to be
lost or stolen. If, by the time the AO report is due to Congress,
the radioactive material has decayed below the thresholds listed in
Appendix A to 10 CFR part 37, the report will clarify that the
radioactive material has decayed below the thresholds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Any stolen, diverted, abandoned, or unrecovered lost
radioactive material that

[[Page 45911]]

meets or exceeds the thresholds listed in Appendix A, ``Category 1
and Category 2 Radioactive Materials,'' to 10 CFR part 37,
``Physical protection of category 1 and category 2 quantities of
radioactive material.'' Excluded from reporting under this criterion
are those events involving sources that are lost or abandoned under
the following conditions: sources that have been lost and for which
a reasonable attempt at recovery has been made without success, or
irretrievable well logging sources as defined in Sec. 39.2,
``Definitions.'' These sources are only excluded if there is
reasonable assurance that the doses from these sources have not
exceeded, and will not exceed, the reporting thresholds specified in
AO Criteria I.A.1 and I.A.2 and the agency has determined that the
risk of theft or diversion is acceptably low.
2. An act that results in radiological sabotage as defined in
Sec. 73.2.
3. Any substantiated \7\ case of actual theft, diversion, or
loss of a formula quantity of special nuclear material,\8\ or an
inventory discrepancy of a formula quantity of special nuclear
material\8\ that is judged to be caused by theft or diversion.
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\7\ ``Substantiated'' means a situation in which there is an
indication of loss, theft, or unlawful diversion, such as an
allegation of diversion, report of lost or stolen material, or other
indication of loss of material control or accountability that cannot
be refuted following an investigation, and requires further action
on the part of the agency or other proper authorities.
\8\ ``Formula quantity of special nuclear material'' is defined
in Sec. 70.4, ``Definitions.''
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4. Any substantial breakdown \9\ of physical security, cyber
security, or material control and accountability programs that
significantly weakens the protection against loss, theft, diversion,
or sabotage.
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\9\ A substantial breakdown is defined as a red finding under
the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in the physical security
inspection program or any plant or facility determined to have
overall unacceptable performance.
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5. Any significant unauthorized disclosures (loss, theft, and/or
deliberate disclosure) of classified information that harms national
security or of Safeguards Information that threatens public health
or safety.

D. Initiation of High-Level NRC Team Inspection.10
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\10\ This item addresses the initiation of any incident
investigation teams, as described in NRC Management Directive (MD)
8.3, ``NRC Incident Investigation Program'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13175A294), or initiation of any accident review groups, as
described in MD 8.9, ``Accident Investigation'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13319A133).
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II. Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Licensees.

A. Malfunction of Facility, Structures, or Equipment.

1. Exceeding a safety limit of a license technical specification
(TS) (Sec. Sec. 50.36(c)).
2. Serious degradation of fuel integrity, primary coolant
pressure boundary, or primary containment boundary.
3. Loss of plant capability to perform essential safety
functions so that a release of radioactive materials that could
result in exceeding the dose limits of 10 CFR part 100, ``Reactor
site criteria,'' or five times the dose limits of General Design
Criteria (GDC) 19, ``Control Room,'' in Appendix A, ``General Design
Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants,'' to 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic
licensing of production and utilization facilities,'' could occur
from a postulated transient or accident (e.g., loss of emergency
core cooling system, loss of control rod system).

B. Design or Safety Analysis Deficiency, Personnel Error, or
Procedural or Administrative Inadequacy.

1. Discovery of a major condition not specifically considered in
the safety analysis report or TS that requires immediate remedial
action.
2. Personnel error or procedural deficiencies that result in the
loss of plant capability to perform essential safety functions such
that a release of radioactive materials exceeding the dose limits of
10 CFR part 100 or five times the dose limits of GDC 19 in Appendix
A to 10 CFR part 50, could occur from a postulated transient or
accident (e.g., loss of emergency core cooling system, loss of
control rod drive mechanism).

C. Any operating reactor events or conditions evaluated by the NRC
ROP to be the result of or associated with licensee performance
issues of high safety significance.11
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\11\ The NRC ROP uses four colors to describe the safety
significance of licensee performance. As defined in NRC MD 8.13,
``Reactor Oversight Process'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML101400045),
green is used for very low safety significance, white is used for
low to moderate safety significance, yellow is used for substantial
safety significance, and red is used for high safety significance.
Reactor conditions or performance indicators evaluated to be red are
considered AOs.
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D. Any operating reactor events or conditions evaluated by the NRC
Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program to have a conditional
core damage probability (CCDP) or change in core damage probability
([Delta]CDP) of greater than or equal to 1 x 10^-3.12
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\12\ Results from the NRC ASP program are used to monitor agency
performance against the agency's strategic safety goal (e.g., ensure
the safe use of radioactive materials) and objectives (e.g., prevent
and mitigate accidents and ensure radiation safety). A precursor
event with a CCDP or [Delta]CDP of greater than or equal to 1 x
10^-\3\ is used as a performance indicator for the
strategic safety goal by determining that there have been no
significant precursors of a nuclear reactor accident and that there
have been no more than one significant adverse trend in industry
safety performance.
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E. Any operating reactor plants that are determined to have overall
unacceptable performance or are in a shutdown condition as a result
of significant performance problems and/or operational event(s).13
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\13\ Any plants assessed by the ROP to be in the unacceptable
performance column, as described in NRC Inspection Manual Chapter
(IMC) 0305, ``Operating Reactor Assessment Program'' (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15317A147), or under NRC IMC 0350, ``Oversight of
Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition Due to Significant
Performance and/or Operational Concerns'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML063400076). This assessment of safety performance is based on the
number and significance of NRC inspection findings and licensee
performance indicators.
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III. Events at Facilities Other Than Nuclear Power Plants and All
Transportation Events.

A. Events Involving Design, Analysis, Construction, Testing,
Operation, Transport, Use, or Disposal.

1. An accidental criticality.
2. A major deficiency in design, construction, control, or
operation having significant safety implications that require
immediate remedial action.
3. A serious safety-significant deficiency in management or
procedural controls.
4. A series of events (in which the individual events are not of
major importance), recurring incidents, or incidents with
implications for similar facilities (generic incidents) that raise a
major safety concern.

B. Fuel Cycle Facilities.14
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\14\ Criterion III.A also applies to fuel cycle facilities.
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1. Absence or failure of all safety controls (engineered and
human) such that conditions were present for the occurrence of a
high-consequence event involving an

[[Page 45912]]

NRC[dash]regulated hazard (radiological or chemical).\15\
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\15\ High-consequence events for facilities licensed under 10
CFR part 70, ``Domestic licensing of special nuclear material,'' are
those that could seriously harm the worker or a member of the public
in accordance with Sec. 70.61, ``Performance requirements.'' The
integrated safety analysis conducted and maintained by the licensee
or applicant of 10 CFR part 70 fuel cycle facilities identifies such
hazards and the safety controls (Sec. 70.62(c)) applied to meet the
performance requirements in accordance with Sec. 70.61(b) through
(d).
Fuel cycle facilities licensed under 10 CFR part 40, ``Domestic
licensing of source material,'' or certified under 10 CFR part 76,
``Certification of gaseous diffusion plants,'' have licensing basis
documents that describe facility specific hazards, consequences, and
those controls used to prevent or mitigate the consequences of such
accidents. For these facilities, a high-consequence event would be a
release that has the potential to cause acute radiological or
chemical exposures to a worker or a member of the public similar to
that defined in Appendix A to Chapter 3, Section A.2, of NUREG 1520,
Revision 2, ``Standard Review Plan for Fuel Cycle Facilities License
Applications--Final Report,'' issued June 2015, under ``Consequence
Category 3 (High Consequences)'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML15176A258).
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2. An NRC-ordered safety-related or security-related immediate
remedial action.

C. Events Involving the Medical Use of Radioactive Materials in
Patients or Human Research Subjects.\16\
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\16\ Criteria III.A.2, III.A.3, and III.A.4 also apply to
medical licensees.
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1. A medical event, as defined in Sec. 35.3045, which results
in a dose that:
(a) Is equal to or greater than 1 gray (Gy) (100 rad) to a major
portion of the bone marrow or to the lens of the eye; or equal to or
greater than 2.5 Gy (250 rad) to the gonads; or
(b) Exceeds, by 10 Gy (1,000 rad), the expected dose to any
other organ or tissue from the administration defined in the written
directive; and
2. A medical event, as defined in Sec. 35.3045, which involves:
(a) A dose or dosage that is at least 50 percent greater than
that prescribed, or
(b) A prescribed dose or dosage that:
(i) Uses the wrong radiopharmaceutical or unsealed byproduct
material; or
(ii) Is delivered by the wrong route of administration; or
(iii) Is delivered to the wrong treatment site; or
(iv) Is delivered by the wrong treatment mode; or
(v) Is from a leaking source or sources; or
(vi) Is delivered to the wrong individual or human research
subject.

Appendix B: Other Events of Interest

This appendix discusses other events of interest that do not
meet the criteria for abnormal occurrences (AOs) in Appendix A to
this policy statement. The Commission may determine that events
other than AOs may be of interest to Congress and the public and
should be included in an appendix to the AO report as ``Other Events
of Interest.'' Such events may include, but are not necessarily
limited to, events that do not meet the AO criteria but that have
been perceived by Congress or the public to be of high health or
safety significance, have received significant media coverage, or
have caused the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to increase its
attention to or oversight of a program area, or a group of similar
events that have resulted in licensed materials entering the public
domain in an uncontrolled manner.

[FR Doc. 2017-21043 Filed 9-29-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

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