[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27790-27791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13275]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-255]
In the Matter of Consumers Power Company; (Palisades Plant);
Exemption
I
Consumers Power Company (CPCo, the licensee) is the holder of
Facility Operating License No. DPR-20 which authorizes operation of the
Palisades Plant. The Palisades facility is a pressurized water reactor
located at the licensee's site in Van Buren County, Michigan. The
license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to
all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter
in effect.
II
In 10 CFR 73.55, ``Requirements for physical protection of licensed
activities in nuclear power reactors against radiological sabotage,''
paragraph (a), in part, states that ``The licensee shall establish and
maintain an onsite physical protection system and security organization
which will have as its objective to provide high assurance that
activities involving special nuclear material are not inimical to the
common defense and security and do not constitute an unreasonable risk
to the public health and safety.''
In 10 CFR 73.55(d), ``Access Requirements,'' paragraph (1), It
specifies that ``The licensee shall control all points of personnel and
vehicle access into a protected area.'' Also, 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5)
requires that ``A numbered picture badge identification system shall be
used for all individuals who are authorized access to protected areas
without escort.'' It further states that individuals not employed by
the licensee (e.g., contractors) may be authorized access to protected
areas without escort provided that the individual, ``receives a picture
badge upon entrance into the protected area which must be returned upon
exit from the protected area * * *.''
The licensee proposes to implement an alternative unescorted access
system that would eliminate the need to issue and retrieve picture
badges at the entrance/exit location to the protected area and would
allow all individuals, including contractors, to keep their picture
badges in their possession when departing the Palisades site.
III
Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission
may, upon application of any interested person or upon its own
initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of the
regulations in this part as it determines are authorized by law and
will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security,
and are otherwise in the public interest. According to 10 CFR 73.55,
the Commission may authorize a licensee to provide alternative measures
for protection against radiological sabotage provided the licensee
demonstrates that the alternative measures have the same ``high
assurance'' objective, that the proposed measures meet the general
performance requirements of the regulation, and that the overall level
of system performance provides protection against radiological sabotage
equivalent to that which would be provided by the regulation.
Currently, unescorted access into the protected area of Palisades
for both employee and contractor personnel is controlled through the
use of picture badges. Positive identification of personnel who are
authorized and request access into the protected area is established by
security personnel making a visual comparison of the individual
requesting access and that individual's picture badge. In accordance
with 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), contractor personnel are not allowed to take
their picture badges off site. In addition, in accordance with the
plant's physical security plan, the licensee's employees are also not
allowed to take their picture badges off site.
The proposed system will require that all individuals with
authorized unescorted access have the physical characteristics of their
hand (hand geometry) registered with their picture badge number in a
computerized access control system. Therefore, all authorized
individuals must not only have their picture badge to gain access to
the protected area, but must also have their hand geometry confirmed.
All individuals, including contractors, who have authorized unescorted
access into the protected area will be allowed to keep their picture
badges in their possession when departing the Palisades site.
All other access processes, including search function capability
and access revocation, will remain the same. A security officer
responsible for access control will continue to be positioned within a
bullet-resistant structure. A numbered picture badge identification
system will continue to be used for all individuals who are authorized
access to the protected area without escorts. Badges will continue to
be displayed by
[[Page 27791]]
all individuals while inside the protected area.
It should also be noted that the proposed system is only for
individuals with authorized unescorted access and will not be used for
those individuals requiring escorts.
Sandia National Laboratories conducted testing that demonstrated
that the hand geometry equipment possesses strong performance
characteristics. Details of the testing performed are in the Sandia
report, ``A Performance Evaluation of Biometric Identification
Devices,'' SAND91--0276 UC--906 Unlimited Release, June 1991. Based on
the Sandia report and the licensee's experience using the current photo
picture identification system, the false acceptance rate for the
proposed hand geometry system would be at least equivalent to that of
the current system. To assure that the proposed system will continue to
meet the general performance requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), the
licensee will implement a process for testing the system. The site
security plan will also be revised to allow implementation of the hand
geometry system and to allow employees and contractors with unescorted
access to keep their picture badges in their possession when leaving
the Palisades site.
IV
For the foregoing reasons, the NRC staff has determined that the
proposed alternative measures for protection against radiological
sabotage meet the same high assurance objective and the general
performance requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. In addition, the staff has
determined that the overall level of the proposed system's performance
will provide protection against radiological sabotage equivalent to
that which is provided by the current system in accordance with 10 CFR
73.55.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the following
exemption:
The requirement of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) that individuals who have
been granted unescorted access and are not employed by the licensee are
to return their picture badges upon exit from the protected area is no
longer necessary. Thus, these individuals may keep their picture badges
in their possession upon leaving the Palisades site. The exemption is
granted on the condition that the licensee implements a system testing
process and revises the site security plan as discussed in Section III
above.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment (62 FR 22975).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of May, 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-13275 Filed 5-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
