ML20149E447
| ML20149E447 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/30/1987 |
| From: | Stello V NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| CON-IIT07-776-91, CON-IIT7-776-91, FRN-53FR25169, FRN-53FR47822, FRN-53FR9430, TASK-PINV, TASK-SE AD-1-20, AD00-1-20, NUREG-1455, SECY-87-314, NUDOCS 8801130350 | |
| Download: ML20149E447 (11) | |
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POLICY lSSUE (Notation Vote)
December 30, 1987 SECY-87-314 For: The Commissioners Frorr: ' lictor Stello, Jr.
Executive Director for Operations l
Subject:
INTERIM POLICY STATEMENT ON MAINTENANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER I PLANTS
Purpose:
To provide the Commission with an Interim Policy Statement onMaintenance(Enclosure).
Background:
Since 1985, when the NRC Maintenance and Surveillance i Program Plan was developed, the staff has provided the '
Commission with several reports and briefings to describe ,
, the status of maintenance in the U.S. nuclear industry.
, The staff's findings presented in these communications clearly established the relationship between maintenance and plant safety. In April 1987, the Commission directed the staff to develop a Policy Statement to formalize the Commission's position on maintenance.
Discussion: The Policy Statement on Maintenance (1) defines maintenance in a comprehensive manner; (2) describes a framework for effective maintenance programs; (3) states the Commissien's i position on structures, systems, and components to be included in maintenance programs; (4) specifies future NRC action, and (5) recognizes industry initiatives.
The Policy Statement has been developed, in part, to assure that various rules, regulations and requirements are fully integrated within each utility's organization. The underlying philosophy of the proposed Policy Statement is that corrective, preventive.and predictive maintenance should be conducted on all plant equipment.
C0tiTACT: John P. Jankovich, NRR 49-24892 ggel.n4xsb Xh
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- The Interim Policy Statement specifies a two-year period to evaluate t..! effectiveness of industry initiatives. The staff will conduct team inspections at selected sites over the next two years, commencing 4, Spring 1988. At the end of the evaluation period the NRC will decide whether a maintenance rule is required and, if so, what form the rule should take.
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. To prepare for that decision, the staff will develop an '
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and develop a j proposed rule during the evaluation period. The ANPR will !
recognize the variability of designs and vendor components j cnd systems, and emphasize the importance of developing a '
comprehensive maintenance program plan. Each licensee is l envisioned to have a maintenance program plan which accounts l for plant-specific differences in designs, vendors, and 1 maintenance practices. It is expected that the regulatory framework for the ANPR will include a review of the !
individeel licensee maintenance program plans similarly to l those utilized in other regulated industries or other -!
countries (e.g., the maintenance programs of the airline industry in the United States or nuclear, power industry in j Japan). l During this trial period, the NRC will continue to take l action to ensure that existing regulatory requirements are j met. l Resources: NRC will carry out team inspections at selected licensed facilit,ies to a'ssess industry progress. Resources for the team inspections will be reprogrammed from existing NRR programs.
Recommendation: That the Commission approve the Interim Policy Statement on Maintenance and note that it will be published in the '
Federal Register with a comment period of 60 days.
Schedule: Recommend affirmation at an open meeting.
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Vfctor Stello, Executive Dirdcfor for Operations
Enclosure:
NRC Interim Connission Policy Statement on Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants 0
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'a Commissioners' comments or consent should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary by c.o.b. Friday, January 15, 1988.
Commission Staff Office comments, if any, should be submitted to the Commissioners NLT Friday, January 8,1988, with an information copy to the Office of the Secretary. If the paper is of such a nature that it requires additional time. for analytical review and comment, the Commissioners and the Secretariat should be apprised of when comments may be expected.
DISTRIBUTION:
Commissioners OGC (H Street) 01 OIA GPA Regional Offices ED0 .
OGC (WF)
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. ENCLOSURE
[7590-01]'
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION INTERIM COMMISSION POLICY STATEMENT ON MAINTENANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Interim policy statement. '
SUMMARY
- This interim policy statem'ent is to inform the industry of the '
i expectations of the Commission regarding the maintenance of nuclear power i plants. With this interim policy statement, the Comission intends to emphasize the importance of maintenance in nuclear safety and to evaluate the i
industry initiatives underway to upgrade maintenance programs during a two-year evaluation period.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This interim policy statement is effective upon publication in the Federal Register. However, the public is invited to submit comments by . On the basis of the submitted comments, the !
Commission will determine whether to modify this interim policy statement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack W. Roe, Office of Nuclear Reactor l
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington,'DC 20555, l telephone (301)'492-4803. -
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2 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
POLICY
Background
The Commission has a program to evaluate continually the operational performance of nuclear power plants. Analysis of operational events has shown that, in many cases, nuclear power plant equipment is not being maintained at a level appropriate to its prescribed function. A limited examination of nuclear power plant maintenance programs has found a wide variation in the effectiveness o'f these programs. Inadequate maintenance at some plants has been a significant contributor to plant reliability problems and, hence, is of safety concern. It is for th'si reason that this policy statement is being issued.
l Policy Statement I
-l It is the objective of the Commission that all components, systems and structures of nuclear power plants be maintained so that they are available to perform their intended functions. In order to accomplish this objective, each licensee should develop and implement a maintenance program which !
includes repair, surveillance, diagnostic examinations and preventive 1
measures and which provides for the availability and prompt repair of plant I
components, systems and structures appropriate to their prescribed function.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Definition of Maintenance The Commission defines maintenance as the aggregate of those functions aimed at preserving or restoring safety, reliability, and availa'ility u of plant structures, systems, and components. As such, maintenance includes not ,
1 only activities traditionally associated with identifying and correcting ;
actual or potential degraded conditions, i.e., repair, surveillance, I diagnostic examinations, and preventive measures; but extends to include all
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l supporting functions for the conduct of these activities. For example, each of the following supporting functions has an integral role in maintenance:
engineering analyses and technical support; organization; platining, scheduling, and work control; reporting, trending, and analysis ac'tivities; staffing and qualifications for mechanical, electrical, electronic, 1
instrumentation and control, and chemistry functions; supervisory control; l parts and tool management; interface with operations, review groups, and similar activities; and radiation exposurb control. l l
Framework for Maintenance Programs Each commercial nuclear power plant should develop and implement a well-defined and effective program to assure that maintenance activities are conducted to preserve or restore the availability and reliability of plant structures, systems and components. Although licensees are organized and 4
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managed in different ways, the following elements have broad applicability in any framework for an effective maintenance program:
- 1. Establish program objectives. It is important to analyze plant maintenance requirements including technical, management and organizatio,1 needs and establish maintenance program objectives. .
The objectives should include those requirements necessary to ensure that all plant components, systems and structures are maintained so that they are available to perform their intended functions.
- 2. Develop and implement program. The maintenance program should accomplish the objectives. An adaquate program should consider:
technology in the areas of corrective maintenance, preventive '
maintenance, predictive maintenance and surveillance; engineering support and plant modifications; quality assurance; equipment history and trending; management of parts, tools and faciliti'es; procedures; post-maintenance testing and return-to-ser.vice activities; maintenance management and organization in the areas of plar.ning, scheduling, shift coverage, and resource allocation; quality control; radiological exposure control; staffing, qualification and-training; interface with plant operations; and wtt face with plant and corporate management. Maintenance recommendations or requirements of individual vendors must receive appropriate attention in the development of the maintenance l program. . ;
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- 3. Program evaluation. Licensees should develop methods and criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of maintenance activities on a periodic basis to assure that the objectives are being met.
4 Feedback. Evaluation results should be fed back into the program objectives and the maintenance program to assure that lessons are learned and shortcomings are corrected.
Components, Systems and Structures Maintenance programs should encompass all plant components, systems and structures. However, the Comission's position is that priority attention should be devoted to components, systems' or structures comensurate with their importance to safety. Althougl; the Commission expects maintenance programs to cover all aspects of plant operations, the Commission will focus primary attention to those items..
(a) Relied upon to remain functional during and following design basis events to ensure:
(1) The integrity of the reactor coolant pressure boundary; (2) The capability to shut down the reactor and maintain it in a safe shut down condition; or (3) The capability to prevent or mitigate the consequences of accidents that could result in potential offsite exposures comparable to the 10 CFR Part 100 guidelines; ,
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(b) Whosefailurecouldleaqto:
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(1) A reactor scram, or (2) A transient,'or t.
(3) .A condition outside the design basis of the plant, or (4) Being in an unanalyzed condition that compromises safety, or (5) An uncontrolled release of radioactive material; (c) Utilized in emergency operating procedures; '
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(d) Utilized in monitoring the status of reactor parameters; (e) Utilized in fire protection; (f) Utilized in the prevention or monitoring of radiation exposure; and (g) Utilized in plant security.
NRC Activities In order to monitor industry progress in meeting the expectations of this p'olicy statement, the NRC staff will conduct assessment efforts. During the two-year evaluation period, the NRC assessment efforts will include:
(a) Direct inspections and assessments of licensee maintenance programs at selected sites.. .
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. 7- l (b). Review of the licensee's use of the Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System (NPROS) reporting program and related activities concerning l I
trending and analysis of failure data. l l
l (c) Review of the INPO plant and corporate evaluation programs and j 1
evaluation reports in the area of maintenance.
During the two-year assessment period, the Commission intends to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and develop a draft rule on
~ maintenance. It is envisioned that the regulatory approach embodied in the i
rule will be to review each licensee maintenance program plan for adequacy. j 1
This approach is expected to be similar to those existing in other regulated industries (e.g., maintenance programs of the U.S. airline industry) or in other countries (e.g., the nuclear power industry in Japan).
Industry Activities The Commission recognizes that the industry has made progress in d'veloping e and implementing programs intended to improve nuclear power plant maintenance. The Comnission realizes the importance of these initiatives and l
wishes to encourage further self-improvement, including the development of consensus standards.
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Enforcement Nothing in this policy statement shall limit the authority of the NRC to coc. duct inspections or to take appropriate enforcement action when regulatory requirements are not met.
Dated at Washington, DC, this day of , 1988.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, l
Samuel J. Chilk, Secretary of the Commission 9
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