ML103540002
| ML103540002 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/22/2010 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research |
| To: | |
| Moyer, Carol, RES/DE/CMB 301-251-7641 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML103500188 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML103540002 (6) | |
Text
Title: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Fiscal Year 2010 Agency Report
- 1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and links to your agency's standards website.
It is the policy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to increase the involvement of stakeholders in our regulatory development process and, consistent with the provisions of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-113), to encourage NRC staff participation in the development of consensus standards in support of its mission. NRC involvement also encourages standards developing organizations (SDOs) to develop codes, standards, and guides that can be endorsed by the NRC and carried out by the industry, and increases the likelihood that the standards that SDOs develop will meet both public and private sector needs.
The NRC uses voluntary consensus standards (VCSs) as a key part of our regulatory framework. Some standards are incorporated by reference into NRC regulations. NRCs regulations may be found at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. The NRC staff also issues documents providing guidance on acceptable methods for complying with NRC regulations, such as regulatory guides. These guidance documents frequently reference consensus standards as acceptable methods for compliance with NRC regulations. Regulatory Guides are cataloged here:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/management-directives/
The NRCs reasons for using standards include providing the level of regulatory certainty and predictability desired by stakeholders, recognizing and considering the broad range of technical expertise and experience of the individuals who are represented on many consensus standards organizations, and minimizing the expenditure of NRC resources that would otherwise be necessary to develop regulations and guidance which provide the level of detail comparable to that provided by consensus standards.
Work is underway with several standards developing organizations to update voluntary consensus standards that may be applied to license renewal or new nuclear plant construction, including advanced reactor technologies. For example, NRC is partnering with ASME Standards Technology, LLC, to develop a roadmap for ASME standards changes that will support advanced reactor design, construction, operation, and maintenance. In addition, the NRC cooperated with the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to establish the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Cooperative (NESCC). Formed in 2009, and continuing to meet two to three times per year, NESCC works to facilitate and coordinate the timely identification, development, and revision of standards for the design, operation, development, licensing, and deployment of nuclear power plants.
Standards for other nuclear technologies, including advanced reactor concepts, will also be addressed. The intent has been to create a highly inclusive, collaborative forum with participation from a range of perspectives.
Benefits of NRC staff participation in voluntary consensus standards development include cost savings, improved efficiency and transparency, and high technical quality of regulatory requirements. For more information, the NRC website on standards development is at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/standards-dev.html.
- 2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards during FY 2010.
Ans.: 0
- 3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2010 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB Circular A-119.
Ans.: 0
- 4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to use during FY 2010: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Non-consensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your
agency used during FY 2010. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.
Ans.:
Voluntary Consensus Standards: 6 VCSs Used in Regulatory Guidance:
ANSI Standard N271-1976, Containment Isolation Provisions for Fluid Systems, is endorsed in Revision 1 of RG 1.11, Instrument Lines Penetrating the Primary Reactor Containment, March 2010.
ANSI/ANS-15.8-1995, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Research Reactors, was endorsed in Revision 1 of RG 2.5, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Research and Test Reactors, June 2010.
ANSI/ISA-67.02.01-1999, Nuclear Safety-Related Instrument-Sensing Line Piping and Tubing Standard for Use in Nuclear Power Plants, is endorsed in Revision 1 of RG 1.151, Instrument Sensing Lines, July 2010.
ASME NQA-1-2008, Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications, and ASME NQA-1a-2009 Addenda to ASME NQA-1-2008, Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications, were endorsed in Revision 4 of RG 1.28, Quality Assurance Program Criteria (Design and Construction), June 2010.
IEEE Standard 334-2006, IEEE Standard for Qualifying Continuous Duty Class 1E Motors for Nuclear Power Generating Stations, was endorsed in Revision 1 of RG 1.40, Qualification of Continuous Duty Safety-Related Motors for Nuclear Power Plants, February 2010.
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) 752, The Standard of Safety for Bullet-Resisting Equipment, is endorsed in RG 5.78, Physical Protection of Mixed-Oxide Fuels in Nuclear Power Plants - Safeguards Information (limited distribution)
Other Technical Standards: 0 Rationale: N/A
- 5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency participated in during FY 2010.
Ans.: 15
Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym American Concrete Institute ACI American Institute of Steel Construction AISC American National Standards Institute ANSI American Nuclear Society ANS American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME American Welding Society AWS Health Physics Society HPS Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE Institute of Nuclear Materials Management INMM International Society of Automation ISA International Electrotechnical Commission IEC National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRPM National Fire Protection Association NFPA
- 6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary consensus standards activities during FY 2010 and the total number of activities these agency representatives participated in.
Ans.:
Agency Representatives: 184 Activities: 325
- 7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in Guidance on Federal Conformity Assessment Activities found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2010.
Ans.: None
- 8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and recommendations for any changes.
Ans.:
The NRC believes that the Circular provides appropriate direction and encouragement for federal agencies to develop internal agency-wide guidelines.
The circular also provides sufficient and reasonable flexibility for each agency to make an independent determination relative to participation on voluntary consensus bodies and use of developed standards.
- 9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.
Ans.: No Comment
- 10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports its use of voluntary consensus standards:
Ans.:
10.6, 10.7 - Our agency reviews and updates its use of standards on a continuing basis.
10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable.
Ans.: Yes 10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) Neither; or (e) Not applicable.
Ans.: D 10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No
Ans.: No 10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [Enter the number of years]
Ans.: 0 (continuous)