E8-22780. Draft Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice of Issuance and Availability of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-5026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Valerie Barnes, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: [phone] or e-mail to [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft regulatory guide in the agency's “Regulatory Guide” series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the public such information as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.

The draft regulatory guide (DG), entitled, “Fatigue Management for Nuclear Power Plant Personnel,” is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-5026, which should be mentioned in all related correspondence. This regulatory guide provides a method that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for complying with the Commission's regulations for managing personnel fatigue at nuclear power plants.

The regulations established by the NRC in Title 10, Part 26, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 26), “Fitness for Duty Programs,” establish requirements for ensuring that personnel are fit to safely and competently perform their duties. Subpart I, “Managing Fatigue,” of 10 CFR part 26 establishes requirements for managing personnel fatigue at nuclear power plants. The regulations in Subpart I provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to fatigue management, taking into account the multiple causes and effects of worker fatigue. The Commission recognizes that the potential for excessive fatigue is not solely based on extensive work hours, but also on other causal factors, such as stressful working conditions, sleep disorders, accumulation of sleep debt and the disruptions of circadian rhythms associated with shift work. These considerations are reflected in the requirements of the rule in order to ensure that licensees effectively manage worker fatigue and provide reasonable assurance that workers are able to safely and competently perform their duties.

A public meeting will be held on October 10, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in room T10-A1 of the NRC headquarters building at Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 to discuss this draft regulatory guide. For those unable to attend in person, they may participate via teleconference. The call in number is 1-888-469-0975 followed by the pass code 37181 and the # key.

II. Further Information

The NRC staff is soliciting comments on DG-5026. Comments may be accompanied by relevant information or supporting data, and should mention DG-5026 in the subject line. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available to the public in their entirety through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).

Personal information will not be removed from the comments. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

1. Mail to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

2. E-mail to: [e-mail].

3. Hand-deliver to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.

4. Fax to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at [phone].

Requests for technical information about DG-5026 may be directed to Valerie Barnes at [phone] or e-mail to Valerie Barnes.

Comments would be most helpful if received by October 31, 2008. Comments received after that date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

Electronic copies of DG-5026 are available through the NRC's public Web site under Draft Regulatory Guides in the “Regulatory Guides” collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​doc-collections/​. Electronic copies are also available in ADAMS (http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html), under Accession No. ML081960515.

In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), which is located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The PDR can also be reached by telephone at [phone] or [phone], by fax at [phone], and by e-mail to [e-mail].

Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not required to reproduce them.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of September, 2008.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Stephen C. O'Connor,

Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.