ML19308C145
| ML19308C145 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 01/31/1975 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19308C144 | List: |
| References | |
| TASK-TF, TASK-TMR NUDOCS 8001210452 | |
| Download: ML19308C145 (10) | |
Text
January 31, 1975 Guide for the Development i.nd Implementation of
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Standard Technical Specifications (STS)
The guidelines to be followed by the Regulatory staff for the development of STS and the implementation of these on individual plants are set forth below. The objectives of this standardization effort are to provide Technical Specifications (TS) that:
(1) have a comon format and technical approach, (2) will provide all limits and requirements necessary for safe plant operation, and (3) will facilitate the development of TS's for specific p? ants.
The development of STS will fully utilize the experience from the operation and inspection history of operating plants. This experience will be factored into the STS to assure that they are compatible with safe operation and do not present operating restrictions or operating requirements which would unduly affect schedules, cost or plant availability.
In-depth consultation with the licensing and inspection staff of regulatory, the appropriate NSS vendor, and with any individual utilities or utility groups or any other individual or group having an interest and that wish to do so will be utilized in the development of STS packages.
The implementation of STS will be such that, consistent with the important objectives of achieving standardization in this area and upgrading technical specifications to uniformly reflect current requirements, it does not have undue impact on the schedule of plants 80.01210fy,
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in the l'icensing process and does not impose undue training or procedural obstacles, s
Development The approach to be taken in the development of the STS is to review and evaluate the basis for all technical specifications currently in use to determine their need and applicability. Wherever the necessity or applicability of a specific technical specification cannot be established, it is to be deleted; conversely, where an adequate basis for necessity exists for a new TS, it is to be added.
The format to be used shall provide maximum clarity, specify exa'ctly when (during various modes of reactor operation) each technical specification is applicable, delineate corrective action, and provide coninon language to minimize the possibility of misinterpretation in the licensing process, plant operation, and the Office of Inspection and Enforcement inspection. Within regulatory, the STS will be developed in concept and format by the Division of Reactor Licensing, reviewed.
for need and technical acceptability by the Division of Technical Review, and reviewed for applicability and inspectability by the Office o.
Inspection and Enforcement. The STS so developed will be made available to the appropriate NSSS ar.d interested utilities for review as to technical need and adequacy, compatability with operating practices, and impact on plant availability coninensurate with plant safety.
Development of the STS shall make maximum use of licensing and operating experiences to achieve usable and technically sound STS.
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A STS for each LWR class of plant (e.g., for each LWR NSSS) will i
be developed; differences between each of these will be limited strictly to those required by differences in design and operating requirements.
Implementation The STS for each class of plant will be applied to and utilized by the earliest plant in the OL licensing process where such application would not cause undue hardship to the utility or delay licensing action.
This impact will be evaluated considering the expected OL issuance date, time required for the utility to train operations personnel in TS matters, and time and effort required to complete procedures which implement or reference the TS. All OL's issued subsequent to this earliest plant will utilize the STS as modified by any changes found necessary as a result of application to the lead and other plants, and modified, to the extent necessary, to reflect any differences in plant design, operating organization or operating requirements.
Implementation of the STS on a lead case is an important step in this standardization effort. A previously licensed operating plant may be utilized for this purpose if,the next OL issuance for that class of plant is not expected ir. the reasonable future, but only with the consent and cooperation of the licensee.
The STS developed using an operating plant as the lead plant shall be applied to that plant on a time scale for implementation that factors in training, procedures, and turnover time for new or differing requirements.
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There are n'o plans for the general backfitting of STS to operating plants except those operating plants used as lead plants for STS development.
For utilities having plants now operating, with additional unit (s) to be licensed in the future that will have STS, it will be advantageous to utilize STS for all units at the same site, particularly if all units are of the same general design.
If the STS are to be applied to the previously licensed units, the time scale for implementation will duly consider the problems associated with such a changeover.
With respect to new requirements, the STS may contain certain requirements not included in previously issued technical specifications.
These new requirements may be based on additional requirements important to safety that have been identified in new or revised Regulatory Guides or on additional requirements that evolved from evaluation of operating experience.
In addition, the STS will include appropriate surveillance requirements to ensure that each limiting condition for operation (LCO) is met.
This approach will result in some additional surveillance requirements as compared to previously issued specifications, and some persons may view these new surveillance requirements as "racheting".
These requirements are, however, needed for safety and are consistent with and required by 10 CFR S0.36.
It is therefore true that changes of this type are not unique to the STS program and would be necessary regardless of whether STS or custom specifications are used.
Maintenance The STS package for any class of plant will be maintained up-to-date through the following inputs:
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a.' Revised regulatory requirements, b.
New safety related technical considerations, c.
Licensing experiences, including proposed TS changes by licensees, d.
Inspection experiences, e.
Operating experience.
It should be noted that the STS package for any class of plant should contain all of the TS's that could be applicable to that class of plant.
For example, a certain class of plant could utilize any one of several containment concepts, depending on technical requirements and utility preference; technical specifications for each possible containment shall be included in the STS package.
Similarly where equipment options might require differing technical specif,ications, technical specifications for each option should be included. Therefore, in applying a STS package to a particular plant, certain TS would be deleted as not applicable.
A master copy of the STS package for. each class of plant will be kept current to reflect all changes that are found desirable. Where changes are deemed necessary in order to provide substantial, additional pro'. action to the health and safety of the public, the changes will be made in the master copy and all licensees having STS of that class will be notified and requested to propose appropriate revisions to their STS.
Where changes are deemed desirable for reasons of clarity, better operations application, or diminished requirements, the changes will be made in the master copy and all affected utilities will be notified, so that they may apply for such changes to their TS if they wish.
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From'this, it can be seen that although the title of the STS packages include the word " standard", they essentially never will be a final document. Rather, they will be "living" documents that can always be changed for good cause, as can all issued TS that were based on the STS packages.
It is certainly reasonable to expect that changes to the STS packages and the TS that are based on them should become much fewer in number as they are refined by application and experience.
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i REGULATORY STAFF POSITION ON SHIFT MANNING FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS These criteria are applicable to single and multiple unit stations having up to four units, similar or different in character.
Criteria for numbers and qualifications of persons assigned to each shift are given in Part I, while Part II includes additional criteria for special circumstances.
Part III provides a discussion of the bases and definitions for interpretation of criteria.
I.
Arsignments
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A.
Notwithstanding the minimum numbers below, it is the responsibility of the management of each nuclear power station to assign a sufficient number of qualified personnel to each shift to provide. reasonable assurance that the station can be operated and maintaiped in a safe manner, and in conformity with rules, regulations, and license conditions.
B.
Minimum Numbers of Shift Personnel 1.
Shift Operating Crews for each Station.
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Assignments of personnel meeting ANSI N18.1-1971 qualifications, Sec. 4.3.1 or Sec. 4.5.1, should be made to onsite shift operating crews in numbers not less than prescribed as follows:
For any station having only one licensed unit, each shift crew should have at least three persons at all times, plus two addi-tional persons when the unit is operating; for multi-unit stations, each shift crew should have at least three persons per licensed uni.t, at all tines, plus an additional one person per operating unit.
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2.
Radiation Protection Personnel The management of each station having one or more
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units containing fuel should either (1) qualify and
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designate at least one member of each shift operating fi crew to implement radiation protection procedures, including routine or special radiation surveys using
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portable radiation detectors, use of protective barriers and signs, use of protective clothing and l
breathing apparatus, performance of contamination surveys, checks on radiation monitors, and limits lz of exposure ratis and accumulated dose, or (2) assign a health physics technician to each shift, such assignment to be in addition to those assigned to shift operating crews in accordance with B.1. above.
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C.
Operator License Qualifications of Shift Operating Crews 1.
Senior Licensed Operators a.
A senior licensed operator who is also a member of management should be onsite at all times when at least one unit is licensed to operate.
b.
For any station with more than one reactor containing fuel, (1) the number of senior licensed operators onsite at all times should not be less than the number of control rooms from which the fueled units are monitored, and (2) the number of senior licensed operators onsite should not be less than the number of reactors operating.
2.
Licensed Operators a.
Fcr each reactor containing fuel there should be at least one licensed operator in the control room at all times.
Shift crew compositions should be specified such that this condition can be satisfied independently of senior licensed operators assigned to shift crews to meet the criteria of C.l. above, b.
If all units operable from a given control room are being operated, an additional licensed operator should be onsite and available to serve as relief operator for that c9ntrol room.
Shift crew compositions should be specified such that this condition can be satisfied independently of C.l. and C.2.a., and for each such control room.
II.
Additional Criteria for Special Circumstances A.
Initial Fueling, Start-up, and Power Eseclation Testing l
If the cadre of personnel licensed by " cold" examinations for any newly licensed unit is insufficient to meet the j
shift manning criteria of section I for licensed operators, l
then the provisions of I.C.2.b. may be temporarily replaced i
by assignment of a person to one or more shifts, as necessary, 3.:
who meets or exceeds the qualifications of section 4.3.1 of ANSI N18.1-1971 for " Supervisors requiring AEC Licenses,"
but who has not actually obtained a license to operate the b
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3-unit in question.
Such persons may be regular or contract licensee or vendor employees, or consultants.
By virtue of their combination of education, training, experience, and prior operator licensing record. they should be able to provide competent on-shift support even though they are not eligible to manipulate the controls.
Such substitution for I.C.2.b. should terminate when a sufficient number of operator personnel obtain licenses.
Evaluation and authorization of this provision should be done on a case by case basis.
B.
Control Room Surveillance during Scheduled Non-Steady Operation Two licensed operators should be in the control room of a unit during (a) startup trom cold shutdown, (b) scheduled shutdowns, and (c) recoveries from trips or unscheduled or unexplained power reductions.
Neither of these operators should be at the controls of any other unit during these periods.
At least one of these operators should possess a Senior License for condition (c).
C.
Refueling and Irradiated Fuel Handling Operations
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A senior licensed operator with no concurrent operational duties for any other reactor should directly supervise i
irradiated fuel handling and transfer activities and fuel assembly transfers into or out of a reactor vessel.
D.
Unexpected Absences of Shift Crew Personnel In the event that any member of a minimum shift crew is absent or incapacitated due to illness or injury, a qualified replacement should be designated to report onsite within two hours.
III. Bases and Interpretative Definitions A.
A station is a power generating faci Ly consisting of one or more units under a common plant me..ger.
The multiple i
l units may or may not be similar.
If some units at a station are not nuclear, it is assumed that personnel assigned to shifts to meet the criteria herein other than I.C.l.a. are not assigned routine duties for the operation of any non-nuclear generating units at the same station.
B.
Senior licensed operators and licensad operators assigned to shifts to meet the criteria herein are assumed to possess valid operator licenses for all licensed units on the station.
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Any special conditions on individual operator licenses are assumed to be met, over and above these criteria if necessary.
C.
Reactors (or units) are considered to be operating for purposes of I.B.l., I.C.l.b.(2), and I.C.2.b. when they are within 1% of critical or in a hot shutdown or hot standby condition.
D.
A minimum shift crew is one for which the numbers of assigned personnel are not greater than the minimum numbers specified in Part I., Sections B and C herein.
E.
It is intended that meeting these criteria should assure the ready availability of a sufficient number of properly qualified personnel to perform safety oriented functions, if and when called upon, during any shift.
Unique features of plant or control room layouts, or other operability considerations may in some cases make departures from some of these criteria necessary or possible. Justifications
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for departures will, however, require very careful evaluation.
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