3150-AH42 201410 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 3150 Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC Performance-Based Emergency Core Cooling System Acceptance Criteria [NRC-2008-0332]

The NRC staff is developing a proposed rule to amend the Commission's regulations to revise the acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) for light-water nuclear power reactors. The proposed ECCS acceptance criteria would be performance-based, and reflect recent research findings which identified new embrittlement mechanisms for fuel rods with zirconium alloy cladding under loss-of-coolant accident conditions. The proposed rule would also address two petitions for rulemaking by establishing requirements applicable to all fuel types and cladding materials, and requiring the consideration of crud, oxide deposits, and hydrogen content in zirconium-based alloy fuel cladding. Further, the proposed rule would contain a provision allowing entities to use a risk-informed alternative to address the effects of debris during the long-term period.

]]> Substantive, Nonsignificant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Long-Term Actions No No 10 CFR 50 42 USC 2201 42 USC 5841 No ANPRM 08/13/2009 74 FR 40765 ANPRM Comment Period End 10/27/2009 NPRM 03/24/2014 79 FR 16106 NPRM Comment Period End 06/09/2014 Final Rule 06/00/2017 The NRC staff provided the proposed rule package (SECY-12-0034, Proposed Rulemaking 10 CFR 50.46c: Emergency Core Cooling System Performance During Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (RIN 3150-AH42)) to the Commission on March 1, 2012. The package is publicly available at ADAMS Accession No. ML112620346. That package was supplemented by a memo to the Commission dated June 1, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12137A852). The staff requirements memorandum was issued on January 7, 2013, and is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML13007A478. The proposed rule will be published following Commission review of the revised proposed rule package that incorporates the Commission direction in SRM-SECY-12-0034. Per COMSECY-13-0006, "10 CFR 50.46c Rulemaking: Request to Defer Draft Guidance and Extension Request for Final Rule and Final Guidance" (ADAMS Accession No. ML13129A401), the final 10 CFR 50.46c rule is due to the Commission on February 28, 2016. No No None No No No Alysia Bone 3150 Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC 301 415-1034 alysia.bone@nrc.gov Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Washington DC 20555-0001