Electronic Availability of 10 CFR Part 21 and 10 CFR 50.55(e) Notifications

UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

October 2, 1998

Addressees

All holders of licenses for nuclear power reactors and vendors for nuclear power reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this administrative letter to inform addressees of the electronic availability of notifications under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 21 (10 CFR Part 21), "Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance," and 10 CFR 50.55(e) notifications, for nuclear power plants under construction. No specific action or written response is required.

Discussion

With respect to nuclear reactors, the NRC receives and considers reports required by regulations at 10 CFR 50.72, "Immediate notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors," and 10 CFR 50.73, "Licensee event report system." Less frequently, the NRC receives and considers reports required by regulations at 10 CFR Part 21, "Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance," and 10 CFR 50.55, "Conditions of construction permits," Section (e). In addition, the NRC daily considers reactor safety information that is internally generated in its regional offices in the forms of morning telephone conferences, written morning reports, and preliminary notices of occurrences. The NRC responses to this information include, as needed, staff reviews, generic communications, inspections, and investigations.

10 CFR Part 21 requires certain firms and organizations to evaluate deviations or to inform licensees or purchasers so they may evaluate these deviations to determine the existence of a substantial safety hazard. The firms and organizations are those (1) building, operating, or owning NRC-licensed facilities or conducting NRC-licensed activities and (2) supplying safety-related components and safety-related design, testing, inspection, and consulting services. The deviations identified typically describe potential defects of basic components.

In the spirit of the National Performance Review, public responsiveness, and Enhanced Participatory Rulemaking initiatives, NRC has an electronic homepage for public access to regulatory information. The NRC is now including incoming Part 21 and 50.55(e) reports on this homepage (referred to as the Part 21 website), expecting that the ability of licensees and vendors to evaluate these reports will be significantly improved. For example, if key organizations in the supply chain of a basic component are not available to pass along information or evaluate the safety significance of reported defects, the end user would be enabled to make the evaluations. The Part 21 website is obtained by clicking on the Reference Library icon and then the Part 21 Reports link.

The Part 21 website contains Part 21 and 10 CFR 50.55(e) reports received during the years 1995-1997. The NRC is considering the addition of graphics to some of these reports and the addition of brief summaries of reports received before 1995. Users of the website have the capability to view, search, or download the reports and send comments to the NRC staff. (Note: Commentors desiring a formal response should submit a written request pursuant to 10 CFR Part 21. Comments received at the Part 21 website do not constitute formal requests.) The NRC staff will add new reports as they become available.

Questions regarding this administrative letter may be directed to the contact listed below or to the appropriate NRR Project Manager.

(NUDOCS Accession Number 9809300117)