80 FR 42067 - Power Reactor In-Core Monitoring

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 136 (July 16, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking (PRM) requesting that the NRC amend its ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities'' regulations to require all nuclear power plant (NPP) licensees to use in-core monitoring devices at different elevations and radial positions throughout the reactor core. The PRM was submitted by Mr. Mark Edward Leyse (the petitioner) on March 13, 2015, docketed by the NRC on April 24, 2015, and assigned Docket No. PRM-50-111. The NRC is examining the issues raised in this PRM to determine whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not requesting public comment on this PRM at this time.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 136 (Thursday, July 16, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42067-42068]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17442]


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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.

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 136 / Thursday, July 16, 2015 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 42067]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-111; NRC-2015-0124]


Power Reactor In-Core Monitoring

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a 
petition for rulemaking (PRM) requesting that the NRC amend its 
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities'' 
regulations to require all nuclear power plant (NPP) licensees to use 
in-core monitoring devices at different elevations and radial positions 
throughout the reactor core. The PRM was submitted by Mr. Mark Edward 
Leyse (the petitioner) on March 13, 2015, docketed by the NRC on April 
24, 2015, and assigned Docket No. PRM-50-111. The NRC is examining the 
issues raised in this PRM to determine whether they should be 
considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not requesting public comment on 
this PRM at this time.

DATES: The NRC received the PRM on March 13, 2015, and docketed it on 
April 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0124 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this PRM. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this PRM by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0124. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. 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 http://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 [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room 01-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natreon Jordan, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone 301-415-7410; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Petitioner

    On March 13, 2015, Mr. Mark Edward Leyse, a consultant for public 
interest groups and the author and co-author of papers, filed PRM-50-
111 with the Commission (ADAMS Accession No. ML15113B143). In PRM-50-
111, Mr. Leyse requests that the NRC amend its ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities'' regulations to require all NPP 
licensees to use in-core monitoring devices at different elevations and 
radial positions throughout the reactor core.
    Mr. Leyse previously submitted a similar PRM (PRM-50-105, ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12065A215) on February 28, 2012. Although only 
pertaining to pressurized water reactors, this earlier PRM requested 
that the NRC require all holders of operating licenses for NPPs to 
operate NPPs with in-core thermocouples at different elevations and 
radial positions throughout the reactor core to enable NPP operators to 
accurately measure a large range of in-core temperatures in NPP steady-
state and transient conditions. The NRC docketed and noticed Mr. 
Leyse's earlier PRM, in part based upon the NRC's determination that he 
had demonstrated sufficient interest in the subject matters raised in 
PRM-50-105 (77 FR 30435; May 23, 2012). Mr. Leyse's March 13, 2015, PRM 
provides a more extensive description of himself and his interest in 
the subject matter of the PRM, as compared with the discussion he 
provided in PRM-50-105.

II. The Petition

    The petitioner requests that the NRC amend part 50 of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities,'' to require all NPP licensees to use in-core 
monitoring devices at different elevations and radial positions 
throughout the reactor core. The petitioner states that in the event of 
a severe accident, ``in-core temperature-monitoring devices would 
enable NPP operators to accurately measure in-core temperatures, 
providing crucial information to help them track the progression of 
core damage and manage the accident.''
    The petitioner asserts that the in-core monitoring devices would 
``enable NPP operators to accurately measure a large range of in-core 
temperatures in steady-state and transient conditions.'' The petitioner 
further states that, in the event of a severe accident, the in-core 
monitoring devices would give NPP operators crucial information to 
``help them track the progression of core damage and manage the 
accident.'' The petitioner states also that by improving the monitoring 
of in-core temperatures, the in-core monitoring devices ``could 
actually increase the electrical production of NPPs.'' For additional 
information, see the PRM in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15113B143.

III. Conclusion

    The NRC has determined that the PRM meets the threshold sufficiency 
requirements for a PRM under Sec.  2.802, ``Petition for rulemaking,'' 
and it has been docketed as PRM-50-111.
    The NRC will examine the issues raised in PRM-50-111 to determine 
whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not 
requesting public comment on PRM-50-111 at this time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of July, 2015.


[[Page 42068]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-17442 Filed 7-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P