NRC Generic Letter 83-43, Reporting Requirements of 10 CFR 50, Sections 50.72 and 50.73, and Standard Technical Specifications

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WASHINGTON. D.C. 20555

December 19, 1983

TO ALL LICENSEES AND APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING POWER REACTORS AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR POWER REACTORS

Gentlemen:

Subject: Reporting Requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Sections 50.72 and 50.73, and Standard Technical Specifications (Generic Letter No. 83-43)

Section 50.72 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations has recently been revised and will become effective January 1, 1984. A new Section 50.73 of Title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations has recently been added and it will also become effective January 1, 1984. Section 50.72 revises the immediate notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors. The new Section 50.73 provides for a revised Licensee Event Report System. Copies of each of these sections to 10 CFR Part 50 are enclosed for your information.

Since paragraph

(g) of Section 50.73 specifically states that: "the requirements contained in this section replace all existing requirements for licensees to report 'Reportable Occurrences' as defined in individual plant Technical Specifications," the reporting requirements incorporated into the "Administrative Controls" section of your facility's technical specifications, may require modification. Also, the definition "Reportable Occurrence" may need to be replaced by a new term, "Reportable Event." We will make these changes in the current version of Standard Technical Specifications (STS) for all nuclear power reactor vendors and in the technical specifications for plants not yet licensed.

Enclosed are model technical specification in STS format showing the revisions which you should make in the "Administrative Control" and "Definitions" sections of your facility's technical specifications to implement these regulation changes. Other conforming changes to your technical specifications will be required to reflect the revised reporting requirements. For example, technical specifications requiring a Licensee Event Report rather than a Special Report for operating conditions where the specific activity limits of the reactor coolant are exceeded should be changed to reflect the need for a SpecialReport rather than a Licensee Event Report within 30 days with the stated information requested in the requirements. Some technical specifications currently require Special Reports or other routine, reporting of events in lieu of a Licensee Event Report. Such reports are still required but the technical specification wording will need revision. These changes, where applicable, should also be included in your amendment request to modify your technical specifications. We will incorporate these changes, where applicable, in our next revision to the Standard Technical Specifications for all nuclear power reactor vendors.

Because this change to the technical specifications is clarifying and made at the request of the Commission, you are not required to remit a license fee for the change.

This request has been approved by OMB Clearance Number 3150-0011, which expires April 30, 1985.

Sincerely,

Darrell G. Eisenhut, Director Division of Licensing

Enclosures:

1. Revisions to STS Reporting Requirements, in Section 1.0, "Definitions," and Section 6.0, "Administrative Controls"

2. Revised Section 10 CFR Part 50.72

3. New Section 10 CFR Part 50.73