Measurement Standards Used at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

CourtNuclear Regulatory Commission
Citation86 FR 16678
Record Number2021-06432
Published date31 March 2021
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 60 (Wednesday, March 31, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 31, 2021)]
                [Proposed Rules]
                [Pages 16678-16679]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-06432]
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                Proposed Rules
                 Federal Register
                ________________________________________________________________________
                This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
                the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
                notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
                the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
                ========================================================================
                Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 /
                Proposed Rules
                [[Page 16678]]
                NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                10 CFR Part 50
                [Docket No. PRM-50-118; NRC-2019-0071]
                Measurement Standards Used at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
                AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
                ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; denial.
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a
                petition for rulemaking, submitted by Mr. Michael Taylor (the
                petitioner), dated December 3, 2018. The petition was docketed by the
                NRC on March 4, 2019, and was assigned Docket No. PRM-50-118. The
                petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations regarding the
                measurement standards used at U.S. nuclear power plants. The NRC is
                denying the petition because the NRC's current regulations and
                oversight activities provide reasonable assurance of adequate
                protection of public health and safety.
                DATES: The docket for PRM-50-118 is closed on March 31, 2021.
                ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0071 when contacting the
                NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may
                obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of
                the following methods:
                 Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0071. Address
                questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407;
                email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
                individuals 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 ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
                Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
                Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
                by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each
                document referenced in this document (if that document is available in
                ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
                 Attention: The Public Document Room (PDR), where you may
                examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You
                may submit your request to the PDR via email at [email protected] or
                call 1-800-397-4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday
                through Friday, except Federal holidays.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Solomon Sahle, Office of Nuclear
                Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-3781, email:
                [email protected], or Greg Galletti, Office of Nuclear Reactor
                Regulation, telephone: 301-415-1831, email: [email protected]. Both
                are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
                20555-0001.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                I. The Petition
                 Section 2.802 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
                CFR), ``Petition for rulemaking--requirements for filing,'' provides an
                opportunity for any interested person to petition the Commission to
                issue, amend, or rescind any regulation. On December 3, 2018, the NRC
                received a petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Mr. Michael Taylor, as
                amended on July 22, 2019 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML19074A303 and
                ML19199A014, respectively). The petitioner requested that the NRC amend
                its regulations to require that all metrology and calibration
                laboratories at nuclear power plants become certified by accrediting
                organizations that require the use of certain measurement standards.
                The petitioner also requested that the NRC require training of all
                personnel and their management that make measurements at nuclear power
                plants, to ensure a clear understanding of the effects of measurement
                standards.
                 The petitioner is concerned that U.S. nuclear power plants are not
                required to use or have internal metrology or calibration laboratories
                that are certified under an accrediting organization such as the
                American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, National Voluntary
                Laboratory Accreditation Program, or similar accrediting body, as a
                part of normal and required operations. The petitioner states that,
                because of this lack of accreditation, certain important factors are
                not currently considered in measurements conducted at nuclear power
                plants, including the ratio of measurement standards to units under
                test. The petitioner contends that this leads to an unresolved safety
                issue for Quality (safety-related) measurements in particular. The
                petitioner also states that existing internal quality assurance and
                documents and standards currently in use for inspections and audits do
                not adequately address this concern.
                II. Public Comments on the Petition
                A. Overview of Public Comments
                 The NRC published the notice of receipt and request for public
                comment in the Federal Register on May 15, 2019 (84 FR 21727). The
                public comment period closed on July 29, 2019. The NRC received a total
                of five public comments. Three comments expressed support for the
                petition, one did not clearly support or oppose the petition, and one
                (from the petitioner) provided grammatical corrections and minor
                clarifications to the petition.
                 The NRC reviewed and considered the public comments received in
                making its decision to deny the PRM. The NRC response follows a short
                summary of each comment.
                B. NRC Responses to Public Comments
                 Comment: One comment, from an anonymous individual, agrees with the
                petitioner that the current regulations leave margin for error and that
                additional regulations are necessary.
                 NRC Response: The NRC disagrees with this comment. The NRC
                performed an independent search of all licensee event reports and
                greater-than-green inspection findings since 2015 and did not identify
                any examples of safety issues caused by the lack of laboratory
                certification requirements. In addition, a licensee's calibration
                program must meet the requirements of criterion XII, ``Control of
                Measuring and Test Equipment,'' of appendix B, ``Quality Assurance
                Criteria for Nuclear Power
                [[Page 16679]]
                Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,'' to 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic
                Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities.'' Furthermore, a
                licensee's compliance with the requirements of appendix B to 10 CFR
                part 50 is subject to inspection by the NRC. As such, the NRC has
                reasonable assurance that the existing regulations provide adequate
                protection of public health and safety.
                 Comment: A comment from an anonymous individual stated that current
                internal labs in the utility industry should be required to go through
                the same requirements that external calibration facilities must go
                through when calibrating and testing equipment for nuclear plants.
                According to this comment, it is not economically fair for the external
                calibration labs to pay for and go through the rigorous audits and try
                to compete for business when internal laboratories are not required to
                pay for this expensive certification. This comment suggests that this
                petition puts every calibration business on an equal playing field and
                would ensure uniform, basic knowledge and skills prior to employment
                and continuing education each year after to satisfy certification
                renewal.
                 NRC Response: The NRC disagrees with this comment. Training
                requirements for nuclear power plant personnel, including calibration
                technicians, are covered under criterion II, ``Quality Assurance
                Program,'' of appendix B to 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of
                Production and Utilization Facilities.'' Meeting these requirements
                provides reasonable assurance that the calibration technicians will
                have the education, training, knowledge, and skills necessary to
                adequately perform their responsibilities. The economic considerations
                for external calibration activity facilities are outside the scope of
                NRC's rulemaking determination. To the extent that a nuclear power
                plant licensee chooses to use an external calibration facility, the
                licensee must ensure that the calibration facility meets appendix B
                requirements.
                 Comment: A comment from an anonymous individual stated that any
                entity such as the Tennessee Valley Authority's Central Lab Calibration
                Services should be accredited. According to this comment, just because
                the Tennessee Valley Authority is a federal agency does not mean it
                should not have to adhere to the rules of all the other calibration
                services.
                 NRC Response: The NRC disagrees with this comment. When performing
                safety-related calibration services for nuclear power plants, Tennessee
                Valley Authority's Central Lab Calibration Services must meet the
                requirements of criterion II of appendix B to 10 CFR part 50. Meeting
                this regulation provides reasonable assurance of adequate protection of
                public health and safety.
                 Comment: A comment from James Anderson, a private citizen,
                requested that the NRC not reduce time or money spent on nuclear power
                plants.
                 NRC Response: The NRC interprets this comment to request that the
                NRC not reduce its oversight or resources spent on the regulation of
                nuclear power plants. The NRC considers the comment to be out-of-scope
                of this petition.
                 Comment: The petitioner, Michael Taylor, submitted a document
                providing revisions to the PRM, including grammatical corrections and a
                few minor clarifications of the original petition.
                 NRC Response: The NRC considered the revised PRM submitted in this
                comment.
                III. Reasons for Denial
                 The NRC is denying the petition because the petition does not raise
                a significant safety or security concern that would warrant the
                requested changes to the NRC's regulations. To reach this
                determination, the staff evaluated the merits of the petition, public
                comments received, the immediacy of any safety concerns raised by the
                petition, and the NRC's relevant past decisions and current policies.
                Specifically, staff considered existing NRC requirements for the
                control of measuring and test equipment. Although the NRC does not
                require nuclear power plant laboratories to be certified by accrediting
                organizations, their programs for safety-related measuring and test
                equipment calibration must meet the requirements in 10 CFR part 50,
                ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,''
                appendix B, ``Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and
                Fuel Reprocessing Plants,'' criterion XII, ``Control of Measuring and
                Test Equipment,'' and their programs are subject to NRC inspection. The
                NRC inspections provide additional assurance that licensees are
                adequately implementing the requirements of criterion XII of appendix B
                to 10 CFR part 50 to measure and test equipment programs through direct
                inspection of calibration and testing activities. These direct
                inspections ensure that measurement calculations are being adequately
                performed.
                 Any safety-related calibrations or measurements that are performed
                at metrology laboratories utilized by nuclear power plants would fall
                under these requirements. The requirements for the training of nuclear
                power plant personnel performing safety-related activities are covered
                by criterion II, ``Quality Assurance Program,'' of appendix B to 10 CFR
                part 50. Any personnel performing safety-related calibrations in an
                onsite laboratory or at a metrology laboratory utilized by nuclear
                power plants would fall under these requirements.
                 In addition, the NRC conducted an independent search of all license
                event reports and greater-than-green inspection findings from 2015
                onward and did not identify any examples of safety issues caused by
                improper calibrations of measurement and test equipment at nuclear
                power plant internal laboratories or by the lack of laboratory
                certification requirements.
                 In summary, the NRC is denying the petition because the petition
                does not raise a significant safety or security concern. The requested
                amendments to NRC regulations are not necessary because existing NRC
                regulations and inspection procedures provide reasonable assurance of
                adequate protection of public health and safety.
                IV. Conclusion
                 For the reasons cited in this document, the NRC is denying PRM-50-
                118. The NRC has concluded that its existing regulations provide
                reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and
                safety.
                 Dated March 24, 2021.
                 For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
                Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
                Secretary of the Commission.
                [FR Doc. 2021-06432 Filed 3-30-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
                

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