Irradiated Fuel Reprocessing Plants

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Howard L. Hall, Ph.D., dated August 14, 2026, requesting that the NRC remove the exclusion of irradiated fuel reprocessing plants and establish material control and accounting requirements appropriate to that facility class. The petition was docketed by the NRC on September 14, 2026, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-74-1. The NRC is examining the issues raised in PRM-74-1 to determine whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is requesting public comment on this petition at this time.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 204 (Friday, October 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 204 (Friday, October 23, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66794-66795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21690]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 204 / Friday, October 23, 2026 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 66794]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 74

[Docket No. PRM-74-1; NRC-2026-4456]


Irradiated Fuel Reprocessing Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing, and request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a 
petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Howard L. Hall, Ph.D., dated August 
14, 2026, requesting that the NRC remove the exclusion of irradiated 
fuel reprocessing plants and establish material control and accounting 
requirements appropriate to that facility class. The petition was 
docketed by the NRC on September 14, 2026, and has been assigned Docket 
No. PRM-74-1. The NRC is examining the issues raised in PRM-74-1 to 
determine whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is 
requesting public comment on this petition at this time.

DATES: Submit comments by November 23, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2026-4456, 
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. If your material cannot be submitted 
using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, call or email the individual listed 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for 
alternate instructions.
    Do not include any personally identifiable information (such as 
name, address, or other contact information) or confidential business 
information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All comments are 
public records; they are publicly displayed exactly as received, and 
will not be deleted, modified, or redacted. Comments may be submitted 
anonymously.
    Follow the search instructions on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> to 
view public comments.
    You can read a plain language description of this petition for 
rulemaking at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2026-4456">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2026-4456</a>. For 
additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, 
see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Wu, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1951, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#08617a6d666d267f7d48667a6b266f677e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4ddc6d1dad19ac3c1f4dac6d79ad3dbc2">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-4456 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-4456.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</a>. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f5a5b1a7dba790869a80879690b59b8796db929a83"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e7e6a7c007c4b5d415b5c4d4b6e405c4d00494158">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
    <bullet> NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#015145532f5364726e74736264416f73622f666e77"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a4a5e4834487f69756f68797f5a746879347d756c">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2026-4456 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> as well as enter the comment submissions 
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. The Petitioner and Petition

    The PRM was submitted by Howard L. Hall, Ph.D., a nuclear and 
radiochemist. The petitioner submits this petition in his individual 
capacity as a member of the technical public, not on behalf of any 
institution. The PRM requests that the NRC amend 10 CFR part 74, 
``Material Control and Accounting of Special Nuclear Material,'' of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to remove the 
exclusion of irradiated fuel reprocessing plants from the material 
control and accounting (MC&A) requirements in Sec.  74.51(a). The 
petition proposes applying subpart E of 10 CFR part 74, ``Formula 
Quantities of Strategic Special Nuclear Material,'' requirements to 
irradiated fuel reprocessing facilities, adding bulk-processing 
provisions, and restoring proportionate relief for research and pilot-
scale operations. The petition may be found in ADAMS at Accession No. 
ML26257A310.

III. Discussion of the Petition

    The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations in Sec.  
74.51(a) to remove the exclusion of irradiated fuel reprocessing plants 
and establish MC&A requirements for the bulk handling of formula 
quantities of plutonium in a continuous chemical process, either in

[[Page 66795]]

the existing subpart E of 10 CFR part 74 or in a new subpart. The 
petitioner argues that the current regulatory framework for 
reprocessing facilities is inadequate and incomplete. Current 
regulations in 10 CFR part 74 place reprocessing facilities under 
requirements designated for special nuclear material (SNM) of moderate 
strategic significance (subpart D of 10 CFR part 74, ``Special nuclear 
material of moderate strategic significance), even though large-scale 
reprocessing facilities would handle formula quantities of strategic 
SNM. The petitioner emphasizes the exclusion in Sec.  74.51(a) was 
added to the regulations nearly 40 years ago when the NRC believed that 
commercial reprocessing was unlikely in the near future and that more 
advanced technology would be needed before new regulations could be 
written. The petitioner asserts that reprocessing has now become viable 
due to recent Federal actions, including Executive Order 14299, 
``Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National 
Security'' (May 29, 2025; 90 FR 22581), recent U.S. Department of 
Energy solicitations, and emerging commercial proposals for privately 
funded reprocessing facilities.
    The petitioner proposes several regulatory updates to 10 CFR part 
74. The proposals fall into four main categories:
    1. Primary amendment to Sec.  74.51(a): The petitioner proposes 
removing ``an irradiated fuel reprocessing plant'' from the exclusion 
list in Sec.  74.51(a). This change would place reprocessing facilities 
under subpart E of 10 CFR part 74 MC&A requirements for licensees 
possessing formula quantities of strategic SNM. The petitioner also 
proposes a conforming amendment to Sec.  74.41(a) in subpart D of 10 
CFR part 74 to create an upper bound of less than five formula 
kilograms, to ensure reprocessing facilities are not subject to both 
subparts simultaneously.
    2. Additions to subpart E of 10 CFR part 74 specifically addressing 
bulk chemical processing: The petitioner proposes adding a new section 
to subpart E establishing requirements specific to the continuous 
chemical processes used in reprocessing plants. The proposed 
requirements include near-real time accountancy for each material 
balance area for material balance periods of days to weeks; 
quantitative targets for inventory difference uncertainty; process 
monitoring aligned to the flowsheets of the continuous reprocessing 
operations employed; safeguards-by-design at the construction stage; 
and compatibility with international safeguards.
    3. Clarification of requirements for research and development (R&D) 
and pilot-scale operations: The petitioner proposes the NRC confirm the 
applicability of existing subpart E of 10 CFR part 74 provisions for 
R&D reprocessing operations and clarify requirements for pilot-scale 
reprocessing operations.
    4. Alternative approach if subpart E is not amended: If the NRC 
prefers to preserve the structure of subpart E, the petitioner proposes 
creating a new subpart in 10 CFR part 74 specifically for reprocessing 
plants which provides requirements equivalent to subpart E and 
incorporating the proposed elements for bulk chemical processing and 
small-scale operations.
    The petitioner concludes that rulemaking is the appropriate method 
to resolve the problem because it is a generic issue affecting all 
prospective reprocessing licensees, and rulemaking provides clarity and 
consistency in requirements for this facility class. The petitioner 
argues that establishing an updated, predictable, MC&A framework for 
reprocessing facilities will reduce long-term burden on applicants, 
enhance safeguards effectiveness, and align the regulatory landscape 
with current national nuclear fuel cycle initiatives.

IV. Request for Comment

    The NRC is seeking general comments from the public on the PRM. 
Additionally, the NRC asks the following specific questions:
    1. Should the exclusion for irradiated fuel reprocessing facilities 
be removed from Sec.  74.51(a)? Please explain the basis for your 
response.
    2. Given the requirements in subpart D of 10 CFR part 74, can a 
large-scale reprocessing facility credibly meet the subpart D general 
performance objectives for timely detection of a significant quantity 
and the required system capabilities for inventory difference and 
standard error of inventory difference without implementing some form 
of process monitoring? Please explain the basis for your response and 
provide examples as appropriate.
    3. Is there a need to clarify the MC&A requirements for R&D and 
pilot-scale reprocessing operations? Please explain your response.
    4. Are there additional changes to the MC&A regulations for 
reprocessing facilities that the NRC should consider? Please explain 
the basis for your response and provide specific recommendations to the 
extent possible.

V. Conclusion

    The NRC has determined that the petition meets the sufficiency 
requirements for docketing a PRM under Sec.  2.803, ``Petition for 
rulemaking-NRC action.'' The NRC will examine the issues raised in PRM-
74-1 and any comments received in response to this comment request to 
determine whether these issues should be considered in rulemaking. The 
public can monitor further action on the rulemaking that will address 
this petition by searching Docket ID NRC-2026-4456 on the Federal 
rulemaking website, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. The site allows 
members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur 
in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder 
(NRC-2026-4456); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an 
email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link. The NRC also tracks 
the status of all NRC rules and PRMs on its website at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/rules-petitions.html">https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/rules-petitions.html</a>.

    Dated October 21, 2026.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jody Martin,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2026-21690 Filed 10-22-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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