NRC standards provide for protection of the public and nuclear industry workers from radiation, the safeguarding of nuclear materials and facilities from theft and sabotage, and protection of the quality of the environment in nuclear activities. Thus, the development of standards cuts across the range of the NRC's activities and requires close interaction between the Office of Standards Development and the agency's other program offices. While many of the standards issued or worked on during fiscal year 1979 are discussed in this chapter, some are discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report under the topics to which they relate (e.g., transportation in Chapter 4 and safeguards in Chapter 5). CONCERNS OF HIGH PRIORITY Current issues of high priority in standards development include: Standards Development After TMI. Lessons learned as a result of the accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) will have a substantial impact on the NRC standards program for fiscal year 1979 and succeeding years. Major efforts to incorporate into NRC standards a consistent treatment of fission product release caused by fuel failure, and on improving NRC standards for emergency planning and for nuclear power plant operations, are underway. In response to recommendations from the NRC staff and from other groups that have been investigating the TMI accident, the NRC is developing new standards, revising existing standards, and working with the national standards development program to incorporate the lessons of TMI into national standards. In addition, the NRC Office of Standards Development has assigned a number of its senior staff to participate in the various TMI investigations and to assist in carrying out agency-wide activities during the post-TMI period. (See Chapter 2.) Degraded Core Cooling. The TMI accident involved a condition of inadequate cooling of the reactor fuel that led to substantial fuel damage and associated release of radioactivity to the reactor coolant and, into the containment. Accompanying this condition of degraded core cooling was the generation of substantial quantities of hydrogen, attributable to the reaction of the overheated fuel cladding with the reactor coolant. Furthermore, radioactivity was released into other parts of the plant and the surrounding environment. Degraded core cooling conditions in accidents do not appear to be consistently handled in NRC's regulations and guides. In view of this situation, a group has been established within the Office of Standards Development to reevaluate the regulatory requirements and guidance related to various design and operational aspects of the nuclear power plants that may be affected by degraded core cooling conditions that could occur during severe accidents. The objective of the group is to assess these regulations and regulatory guides in order to identify and implement whatever improvements may be needed to better ensure that any systems and components that may be required to function during or following a degraded core cooling situation are designed, constructed, and operated to do so. Emergency Planning. A proposed rule change was published in the Federal Register in December 1979 that would require as a condition of operating license issuance that State and local governmental emergency response plans be submitted to and concurred in by the NRC. In addition, during the 60-day public comment period, several workshops will be held to (a) present the proposed rule changes to State and local governments, utilities, and other interested parties, and (b) obtain comments concerning the costs, impacts, and practicality of the proposed rule change. Comments from the workshops and the public will be considered prior to preparing a final rule in 1980. REGULATIONS AND GUIDES NRC standards are primarily of two types: • Regulations, setting forth in Title 10, Chapter 1, of the Code of Federal Regulations requirements that must be met. • Regulatory Guides, describing, primarily, methods acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations. When a new or amended regulation is proposed, it is normally published in the Federal Register to allow interested citizens time for comment before final adoption, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Following the public comment period, proposed regulations are revised, as needed, to reflect the comments received. If the regulation is adopted by the NRC, it is published in the Federal Register in final form with the date it becomes effective. After that publication, rules are codified for inclusion in the annual publication of the Code of Federal Regulations. Some regulatory guides delineate techniques used by the staff to evaluate specific situations. Others provide guidance to applicants concerning the information needed by the staff in its review of applications for permits and licenses. Many NRC guides refer to or endorse consensus standards (also called "national standards") that are developed by recognized national organizations, often with NRC participation. NRC makes use of a national standard in the regulatory process only after an independent review of the standard has been made by the NRC staff and after public comment on NRC's planned use of the standard has been reviewed. The NRC encourages comments and suggestions for improvements in regulatory guides at all times, and they are revised to take account of appropriate comments and suggestions and to reflect new information or experience. In its continuing effort to provide for increased public participation in the regulatory process, the NRC instituted a new procedure for developing and issuing guides during this fiscal year. Guides are now being issued for public comment in draft form before complete staff review and before an official NRC staff position has been established. Copies of draft regulatory guides, together with their value/impact statements, are mailed for comment to many individuals and organizations. The value/impact statement indicates the objective of the guide, its expected effectiveness compared to alternative ways of achieving the objective, and expected impacts on other safety systems, NRC operations, other Government agencies, industry, and the public. In order to reduce the burden on the taxpayer, the NRC has made arrangements with the U.S. Government Printing Office to become a consigned sales agent for certain NRC publications. Effective November 1, 1979, regulatory guides are being included in this sales program. Draft guides, which are issued for public comment, will continue to receive free distribution. Active guides will be sold on a subscription or individual copy basis. Licensees of the NRC will receive, at no cost, pertinent draft and active guides as they are issued. Proposed and effective regulations published during fiscal year 1979 are summarized in Appendix 4. Draft and active regulatory guides issued, revised, or withdrawn are listed in Appendix 5. Inservice Inspection. The NRC is seeking to upgrade the capability of inservice reactor inspection methods to reliably detect and characterize flaws in components of the primary coolant and other safetyrelated systems. Contract studies are continuing, and a guide on inspection of welds in austenitic piping is under development. A draft guide has been issued on inspection of welds in pressure vessels. Siting Policy. In August 1979, a Siting Policy Task Force, established by the NRC in November 1978, recommended (NUREG-0625) extensive revision of NRC's Reactor Site Criteria (10 CFR Part 100). Similarly, Congressional committees and the President's Commission have recommended amendment of the siting criteria, especially with regard to demographic factors such as population density and distribution around nuclear power plants. Action plans are being developed to implement the recommendations. Nuclear Power Plant Simulation. Concern for the improvement of operator training led to the initiation of contract work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Memphis State University Center for Nuclear Studies to investigate the capabilities of nuclear power plant simulators within the United States. In particular, the study is investigating the feasibility of increasing the use of simulators and expanding their role in operator training. A regulatory guide to provide guidance concerning the use of simulators in operator training is planned for the near future. Improvement of Regulatory Guidance. As part of the NRC's evaluation of the TMI accident, review of regulatory guides and rules has been initiated to determine necessary improvements in regulatory guidance. For example, Guide 1.8, on the qualifications of nuclear power plant personnel, and Guide 1.33, on overall quality assurance program requirements for the operational phase of nuclear power plants, were reviewed to determine areas where guidance could be improved. A notice for each of the guides was published in the Federal Register requesting specific comments that would improve the recommendations of the guides in these areas. In addition, work was initiated to improve the regulatory guidance presented in Guide 1.97 on instrumentation to assess plant and environs conditions during and following an accident at a nuclear power plant. Radiological Health. Major NRC efforts related to the effects of low-level ionizing radiation included: (1) A joint EPA/NRC report was sent to the Congress on the research needs, capabilities, and current programs of the two agencies with regard to health effects of ionizing radiation. (2) A contract was awarded for the preparation of a study to identify and analyze the feasibility of options for Federal epidemiological studies of populations exposed to low-level ionizing radiation. (3) NRC staff participated in preparing the report of HEW's (now the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]) Interagency Task Force on the Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation, issued for comment in April and in final form in June. (4) A Federal Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation Research was formed by HEW (now HHS) with NRC participation. The NRC staff also participated as members of a Task Force subcommittee formed to evaluate and make recommendations on possible followup studies of the residents in the TMI area. (5) NRC staff members assisted HEW (now HHS) in designing a questionnaire for a population census in the vicinity of TMI. This effort is ex A health physics technician prepares to conduct a contamination survey. The filter paper in her right hand is used to pick up surface dust or other material that may be contaminated. The portable survey meter carried over her shoulder is used to locate and identify sources of radioactivity. Contamination surveys are conducted frequently in facilities where fuel is handled as well as at power reactor plants. pected to facilitate any future health effects studies that may be performed on this population. One of the major tasks of the Interagency Task Force on the Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation was to reexamine the organization of Federal radiation protection programs. NRC staff members assisted that Task Force in preparing recommendations to the President on reorganization of Federal radiation protection and radiation research activities. Congressional hearings on this topic were held in May by a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Nuclear Medicine. A final policy statement and rule changes provide for NRC regulation of the radiation safety of workers, the general public, and patients, but with minimal intrusion into medical judgments affecting patients. Efforts in the regulation of radiopharmacies and on licensee reports of misadministrations in this area are progressing, but these matters remain unresolved. Occupational Radiation Protection. The NRC is considering rule changes to strengthen its requirements that workers' exposures to radiation be kept not only within regulatory limits but "as low as is reasonably achievable" (ALARA) and to make them more readily subject to inspection and enforcement. In addition, the NRC expects to participate in a public hearing jointly with the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on new EPA occupational exposure guidance for Federal agencies, the adequacy of current occupational exposure standards, and related matters early in 1980. Transportation. Sandia Laboratories continued work on assessing the environmental impacts resulting from the transportation of radioactive materials through urban areas. Results concerning the consequences of the sabotage of spent fuel shipments influenced the decision to establish interim requirements for the protection of spent fuel in transit. (See Chapters 4 and 5.) Safeguards. Major staff efforts continue to be focused on (1) developing through regulations and guides a material control capability that is both timely and sensitive with respect to material loss, and (2) implementing a material access authorization program for licensees. Other matters of importance include determining the level of safeguards needed to protect SNM in the cores of nonpower reactors and publishing the final rule to implement the US/IAEA Agreement. (See Chapter 5.) Radiation Protection Standards. The NRC has begun to update and restructure its radiation protection standards as contained in 10 CFR Part 20. Public comments are being sought on areas of the present regulations that need improvement. POWER REACTOR STANDARDS Development of power reactor standards continued during fiscal year 1979, aimed primarily at protecting the health and safety of the public and secondarily at reducing the regulatory burden. Surveillance and Inservice Inspection Increased emphasis in this area brought about several changes to regulations and the issuance of two draft guides. Section 50.55a, "Codes and Standards," of 10 CFR Part 50 has been amended to incorporate, by reference, the 1977 Edition of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Division 1 of Section XI, "Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plants," with certain modifications, and Division 1 of Section III, "Nuclear Power Plant Components," as well as their addenda through 1978. This will result in more flexibility for inservice inspection of pipe welds in facilities under construction and in operation and will avoid potential conflict between the code and the technical specifications concerning examination requirements for steam generator tubing. This regulation was also amended to clarify certain ambiguities in the requirements for inservice inspection of nuclear power plants. Appendix G, "Fracture Toughness Requirements," and Appendix H, "Reactor Vessel Material Surveillance Program Requirements," to 10 CFR Part 50 were revised with regard to material toughness requirements for bolts and requirements for location and method of attachment of surveillance capsules. Two draft guides were issued for public comment. The first, issued in May 1979, deals with ultrasonic testing of welds for inservice inspection and defines some ultrasonic testing criteria considered acceptable by NRC; the second, issued in August 1979, pertains to inservice inspection code case acceptability for ASME Section XI, Division 1, and lists the ASME inspection code cases that the NRC accepts. Accident Analysis The NRC is considering modifying the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) Rule (Section 50.46 of 10 CFR Part 50 and Appendix K to 10 CFR Part 50) to take into account experience derived from using the rule in the licensing process, new research information, and reactor operating experience gained since the rule was implemented. In December 1978, the NRC published in the Federal Register an advance notice of proposed rulemaking action and invited public comments and recommendations. The NRC is currently evaluating the public comments as well as the lessons learned from the Three Mile Island accident with respect to the proposed ECCS rulemaking. Reactor Containment Containment Design. In October 1978, the NRC published a regulation that is expected to significantly |