ML20085H035
| ML20085H035 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Farley  |
| Issue date: | 06/05/1995 |
| From: | Varga S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20085H039 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9506200452 | |
| Download: ML20085H035 (7) | |
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7590-01 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of
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SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING
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COMPANY AND ALABAMA POWER
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COMPANY
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Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant
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Units 1 and 2
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Docket Nos. 50-348 and 50-364 EXEMPTION I.
The Southern Nuclear Operating Company, et al. (SNC or the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and NPF-8 for the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Farley). The licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and i
orders of the Commission in effect now and hereafter.
The facility consists of two pressurized water reactors at Farley, located in Houston County, Alabama.
II.
Title 10 CFR 73.55, " Requirements for Physical Protection of Licensed i
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."
9506200452 950605 PDR ADOCK 05000348 F
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- s Section 73.55(d), " Access Requirements," paragraph (1), specifies that "The licensee shall control all points of personnel and vehicle access into a protected area." Section 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." Section 73.55(d)(5) also states that an individual not employed by the licensee (i.e., contractors) may be authorized access to protected areas without escort provided the individual
" receives a picture badge upon entrance into the protected area which must be returned upon exit from the protected area..."
The licensee has proposed to implement an alternative unescorted access control system that would eliminate the need to issue and retrieve badges at each entrance / exit location and would allow all individuals with unescorted access to keep their badges when departing the site.
An exemption from 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) is required to allow contractors who have unescorted access to take their badges offsite instead of returning them when exiting the site.
By letter dated April 3, 1995, SNC requested an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) for this purpose.
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 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.
Pursuant 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" and meet "the
i general performance requirements" of the regulation, and "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 areas at the SNC plants is controlled through the use of a photograph on a badge /keycard (hereafter, referred to as " badge"). The security officers at each entrance station use the photograph on the badge to visually identify the individual requesting access. The licensee's employees and contractor personnel who have been granted unescorted access are issued badges upon entrance at each entrance / exit location and are returned upon exit.
The badges are stored and are retrievable at each entrance / exit location.
In accordance with 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), contractors are not allowed to take these badges offsite.
Under the proposed biometric system, each individual who is authorized unescorted entry into protected areas would have the physical characteristics of his/her hand (i.e., hand geometry) registered, along with his/her badge number, in the access control system. When a registered user enters his/her badge into the card reader and places his/her hand onto the measuring surface, the system detects that the hand is properly positioned, and records the image. The unique characteristics of the hand image are then compared with the previously stored template in the access control computer system corresponding to the badge to verify authorization for entry.
Individuals, including SNC employees and contractors, would be allowed to keep their badges when they depart the site and, thus, eliminate the need to issue, retrieve, and store badges at the entrance stations to the plant.
Badges do not carry any information other than a unique identification number, i
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All other access processes, including search function capability, would remain the same. This system would not be used for persons requiring escorted access (i.e., visitors).
Based on the Sandia report, "A Performance Evaluation of Biometrics Identification Devices," SAND 91-0276.UC-906, Unlimited Release, June 1991, that concluded har d geometry equipment possesses strong performance and high detection characteristics, and on its own experience with the current photo-identification system SNC determined that the proposed hand geometry system would provide the same high level of assurance as the current system that access is only granted to authorized individuals. The biometric system has l
been in use for a number of years at several sensitive Department of Energy facilities and, recently, at nuclear power plants.
The licensee will implement a process for testing the proposed system to ensure continued overall level of performance equivalent to that specified in th'e regulation. When the changes are implemented, the respective Physical 1
Security Plan will be revised to include implementation and testing of the l
hand geometry access control system and to allow SNC employees and contractors l
to take their badges offsite.
When implemented, SNC will control all points of personnel access into a l
protected area under the observation of security personnel through the use of a badge and a hand geometry verification system. The numbered picture badge identification system will continue to ba used for all individuals who are authorized unescorted access to protected areas. Badges will continue to be displayed by all individuals while inside the protected areas.
Since both the badge and hand geometry would be necessary for access into the protected areas, the proposed system would provide a positive verification process.
The potential lors of a badge by an individual as a
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5-result of taking the badge offsite would not enable an unauthorized entry into protected areas.
IV.
For the foregoing reasons, pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, 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 the regulation and t. hat "the overall level of system performance provides protection against radiological sabotage equivalent" to that which would be provided by the regulation.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, this exemption is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public
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interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the requested exemption l
from the requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) to allow individuals not employed by SNC (i.e., contractors) to take their photo identification badges offsite in conjunction with the use of a hand geometry bionetrics system to control access into protected areas at the Farley Nuclear plant.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will not result in any significant adverse environmental impact ( 60 FR 29718 ).
For further details with respect to this action, see the request for exemption dated April 3,1995, which is available for public inspection at the l
Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at l
the local public document room located at the Houston-Love Memorial Library, 212 W. Burnshaw Street, Post Office Box 1369 Dothan, Alabama.
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s This exemption is effective upon issuance and is expected to be implemented when modifications, procedures, and training are completed.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION even
- rga, actor Division of React
)rojects - I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of June 1995.
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. - June 5, 1995 This exemption is effective upon issuance and is expected to be implemented when modifications, procedures, and training are completed.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/s/
Steven A. Varga, Director Division of Reactor Projects - I/II office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of June 1995.
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transmittal letter
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To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box:
"C" - Copy without attachment / enclosure "E" - Copy with atta ahment/ enclosure "N" - No copy 1 rA i
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