[7590-01] personnel; (3) wording the rule broadly; (4) limiting the rule to "vital" rather than to the more general "protected" areas of the plant; and (5) eliminating the requirement for maintaining records of written procedures for the life of the plant. The Commission has accepted recommendations (1), (3), and (5), each of which has been incorporated in the final rule. The word "ensure" was changed to the term "provide reasonable assurance." The rule is broadly worded in keeping with the Commission's belief that each licensee should establish criteria for fitness for duty and implementation methods (e.g., breath testers, psychological tests) taking into consideration circumstances unique to its facility. The requirement that records of the written procedures be kept for the life of the plant has been eliminated since paragraph (1) of the rule requires that the licensee's procedures be in written form. Recommendation (2), involving coverage of NRC personnel, was not included in the final rule. NRC personnel (e.g., inspectors) need unfettered access to nuclear power plants to perform their assigned duties, and they do not perform functions that directly and immediately affect plant safety. Recommendation (4), involving "vital" rather than "protected" areas, was not included in the final rule. Selective application of the rule only to persons with unescorted access to vital areas would be impractical, since implementation of the rule will occur at the entrance to and in the protected areas of the plant. Additionally, there is no way of guaranteeing that persons with unescorted access to protected areas will not penetrate vital areas through assistance or coercion of persons with unescorted access to vital areas, especially if under the influence of alcohol or other mind altering and mood changing drugs. Finally, the word "temporary" modifying the term physical impairments in paragraph (x)(1)(iii) of the proposed rule was eliminated as not being meaningful to the rule. Mental and physical impairments, whether temporary or permanent, may or may not preclude a person from being fit for duty. REGULATORY ANALYSIS The Commission has prepared a regulatory analysis for this rule. The analysis examines the costs and benefits of the rule as considered [7590-01] by the Commission. A copy of the regulatory analysis is available for PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT The information collection requirements contained in this rule have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget; OMB Approval No: 3150-0011. REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT CERTIFICATION In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Commission hereby certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The proposed addition to 10 CFR Part 50.54 applies solely to certain owners and operators of civilian nuclear power reactors. The companies that own these facilities do not fall within the scope of "small entities" set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the small business size standards set out in regulations issued by the Small Business Administration in 13 CFR Part 121. LIST OF SUBJECTS IN 10 CFR PART 50 Antitrust, Classified information, Fire prevention, Inter-governmental relations, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Penalty, Radiation protection, Reactor siting criteria, Reporting requirements. Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as ar , and section 553 of title 5 of the United States Code, the following amendment to 10 CFR Part 50 is published as a document subject to codification. The Honorable Richard L. Ottinger, Chairman United States House of Representatives Dear Mr. Chairman: The NRC has sent to the Office of the Federal Register for publication, the enclosed notice on an amendment to the Commission's rules in 10 CFR Part 50. The amendment will require licensees of nuclear power plants for which operating licenses have been or are being granted to: establish and implement adequate written procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that the licensee's and its contractors' personnel with unescorted access to protected areas, while in those protected areas, are not under the influence of alcohol, other drugs, or otherwise unfit for duty. Sincerely, Enclosure: Amendment to 10 CFR Part 50 Robert B. Minogue, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research CC: Rep. Carlos Moorhead ENCLOSURE "8" REGULATORY ANALYSIS FOR FINAL RULE TO PROVIDE REASONABLE This final rulemaking action requires each licensee operating a commercial power reactor licensed under 10 CFR 50.21(b) or 10 CFR 50.22 to establish and implement procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that all persons with unescorted access to protected areas, while in those protected areas, are not under the influence of alcohol or other drugs or otherwise unfit for duty. 1.2 Need for Proposed Action The Commission recognizes alcohol and drug abuse to be a social, medical and safety problem of epidemic proportions, affecting people in almost every industry and occupational group. For example, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in its 1981 Report to Congress, reports that 46% of all non-fatal and 40% of all fatal U.S. industrial accidents involve alcohol, at an annual cost of $12-15 billion. Given the pervasiveness of the problem in our society, it seems reasonable to assume that alcohol and drug abuse, as well as other emotional and psychological factors, are also prevalent in the nuclear industry. Prudence, therefore, requires that appropriate precautionary measures be imposed to reduce the probability of a person under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or otherwise unfit for duty either causing an accident or decreasing the effectiveness of the response to an accident. Alcohol and drug abusers' job performance can be expected to be negatively affected due to the presence of, or withdrawal from, chemicals in their blood stream. For example, four ounces of alcohol in the blood stream of a 165-pound sale requires approximately 12 hours to metabolize. This is one reason other regulatory agencies (e.g., U.S. Department of Transportation) mandate specific periods of abstinence (e.g., 4 or 8 hours) for interstate truck drivers, commercial airline pilots, etc., prior to coming on duty. Drugs other than alcohol such as cocaine and hashish require as much as 24-72 hours to metabolize. A recent Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 1979 Report on its Aicohol and Drug Dependency Program states that the program served 350 employees during that year (one out of every 143). TVA estimates that its annual cost due to alcohol abuse alone is approximately $18.5 million. As recently as mid-1981 approximately one-third of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) member companies operating nuclear stations had no programs to deal with this issu.. More recently, NRC Inspection and Enforcement (IE) Information Notice No. 82.05, "Increasing Frequency of Drug-Related Incidents," reports a steadily increasing number of drug-related arrests and terminations being reported by the nuclear industry since 1978. The reported incidents involve a range of licensee and contractor personnel, including personnel in operations and security. The reported incidents are widespread geographically, and involve power reactor sites in each of the five NRC regions. Reported incidents have involved both onsite use or possession of alcohol. and drugs, and personnel reporting to work under the influence of certain controlled substances. Marijuana was the most frequently reported controlled substance involved in these events; however, incidents involving amphetamines, cocaine, hashish, and methaqualone have also been reported. Since operation of a nuclear facility by persons not fit for duty could degrade a licensee's ability to operate the facility in a safe manner, development of a regulation concerning the determination of fitness for duty with respect to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, the use of other drugs which affect the faculties in a way contrary to safety, stress, and physical impairments, which could affect performance in any way contrary to safety, is necessary to protect the health and safety of the public. 1.3 Value/Impact of Proposed Action 1.3.1 NRC Operations The value of this final rulemaking action to the NRC will be an enhanced capability to carry out its mission with respect to ensuring the health and safety of the public by requiring licensees to focus on fitness for duty of |