Regulatory Guide: Basis for Withdrawal of Regulatory Guides in Division 6, “Products,” and Division 10, “General”

• Citation: 89 FR 6007
• Published date: 31 January 2024
• FR Document: 2024-01872
• Pages: 6007-6008
• Section: Rules and Regulations
• Issuer: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
                [Rules and Regulations]
                [Pages 6007-6008]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2024-01872]
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                Rules and Regulations
                 Federal Register
                ________________________________________________________________________
                This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
                having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
                to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
                under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
                The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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                Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 /
                Rules and Regulations
                [[Page 6007]]
                NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 70, 71, 75, and 150
                [NRC-2024-0032]
                Regulatory Guide: Basis for Withdrawal of Regulatory Guides in
                Division 6, ``Products,'' and Division 10, ``General''
                AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
                ACTION: Regulatory guide; withdrawal.
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                SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing
                Regulatory Guides (RGs) in Division 6, ``Products,'' (RGs 6.1, 6.2,
                6.4, 6.5, and 6.9), and Division 10, ``General,'' (RGs 10.2, 10.3,
                10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, and 10.9). These RGs are being withdrawn
                because there is more up-to-date guidance in the NUREG-1556 Series,
                ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses,'' making these RGs
                obsolete.
                DATES: The withdrawal of the RGs listed in this document takes effect
                on January 31, 2024.
                ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0032 when contacting the
                NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
                may obtain publicly available information related to this document
                using any of the following methods:
                 Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0032. Address
                questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
                telephone: 301-415-0624; 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, at 301-415-4737,
                or by email to [email protected].
                 NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of
                publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
                appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
                [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
                a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
                Federal holidays.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leira Cuadrado, Office of Nuclear
                Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-0324; email:
                [email protected], or Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear
                Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2493; email:
                [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                I. Discussion
                 The NRC is withdrawing RGs in Division 6, ``Products,'' (RGs 6.1,
                6.2, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.9), and in Division 10, ``General,'' (RGs 10.2,
                10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, and 10.9). The titles of these RGs
                are as follows:
                 (1) RG 6.1, Leak Testing Radioactive Brachytherapy Sources;
                 (2) RG 6.2, Integrity and Test Specifications for Selected
                Brachytherapy Sources;
                 (3) RG 6.4, Verification of Containment Properties of Sealed
                Radioactive Sources;
                 (4) RG 6.5, General Safety Standard for Installations Using
                Nonmedical Sealed Gamma-Ray Sources;
                 (5) RG 6.9, Establishing Quality Assurance Programs for the
                Manufacture and Distribution of Sealed Sources and Devices
                Containing Byproduct Material;
                 (6) RG 10.2, Guidance to Academic Institutions Applying for
                Specific Byproduct Material Licenses of Limited Scope;
                 (7) RG 10.3, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for
                Special Nuclear Material Licenses for Less than Critical Mass
                Quantities;
                 (8) RG 10.4, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for
                Licenses to Process Source Material;
                 (9) RG 10.5, Applications for a Type A License of Broad Scope;
                 (10) RG 10.6, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for an
                Industrial Radiography License;
                 (11) RG 10.7, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for
                Licenses for Laboratory and Industrial Use of Small Quantities of
                Byproduct Material;
                 (12) RG 10.8, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for
                Medical Use Programs; and
                 (13) RG 10.9, Guide for the Preparation of Applications for
                Licenses for the Use of Self-Contained Dry Source-Storage Gamma
                Irradiators.
                 The NRC staff issued these RGs in the 1970s and 1980s to comply
                with the regulations in title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
                CFR), 10 CFR part 30, ``Rules of General Applicability to Domestic
                Licensing of Byproduct Material,'' 10 CFR part 33, ``Specific Domestic
                Licenses of Broad Scope for Byproduct Material,'' 10 CFR part 32,
                ``Specific Domestic Licenses to Manufacture or Transfer Certain Items
                Containing Byproduct Material,'' 10 CFR part 34, ``Licenses for
                Industrial Radiography and Radiation Safety Requirements for Industrial
                Radiographic Operations,'' 10 CFR part 35, ``Medical Use of Byproduct
                Material,'' 10 CFR part 70 ``Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear
                Material,'' 10 CFR part 150 ``Exemptions and Continued Regulatory
                Authority in Agreement States and in Offshore Waters under Section
                274,'' 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,''
                10 CFR part 71, ``Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive
                Material,'' and 10 CFR part 75, ``Safeguards on Nuclear Material--
                Implementation of Safeguards Agreements Between the United States and
                the International Atomic Energy Agency.''
                 Since the staff has consolidated and follows the latest guidance
                pertinent to materials licensees found in the NUREG-1556 Series,
                ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses,'' these RGs became
                outdated. Because NUREG-1556 provides up-to-date guidance to NRC
                byproduct material licensees, the staff determined that these RGs
                needed to be withdrawn. The basis for the withdrawal is available under
                ADAMS Accession No. ML23333A446.
                 Because these RGs are no longer needed, the NRC is withdrawing
                them. Withdrawal of an RG means that the guide no longer provides
                useful information or has been superseded by other guidance,
                technological innovations, congressional actions, or other events. The
                withdrawal of these RGs does not alter any prior or existing
                [[Page 6008]]
                NRC licensing approval or the acceptability of licensee commitments to
                these RGs. Although these RGs are withdrawn, current licensees may
                continue to use them, and withdrawal does not affect any existing
                licenses or agreements. However, these RGs should not be used in future
                requests or applications for NRC licensing actions.
                II. Additional Information
                 As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671),
                this document is being published in the ``Rules'' section of the
                Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under 1 CFR
                chapter I.
                III. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides
                 A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the
                NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs.
                Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html.
                Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to
                the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.
                 Dated: January 25, 2024.
                 For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
                Meraj Rahimi,
                Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of
                Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
                [FR Doc. 2024-01872 Filed 1-30-24; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 7590-01-P