Approval of American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Code Cases

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to incorporate by reference the latest revisions of three regulatory guides approving new, revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This action allows licensees and applicants to use the Code Cases listed in these regulatory guides as voluntary alternatives to engineering standards for the construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components. These engineering standards are set forth in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes and American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Operation and Maintenance Codes, which are currently incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations. Further, this final rule announces the availability of a related regulatory guide, not incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations, that lists Code Cases that the NRC has not approved for use.