ML20203F672
| ML20203F672 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/12/1997 |
| From: | Collins S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | Knapp M NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20203F677 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9712170439 | |
| Download: ML20203F672 (7) | |
Text
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l December 12. 1997 MEMDRANDUM T0:
Malcolm R. Knapp.-Director Office af Nuclear Regulatory Research FROM:
Samuel J. Collins. Director Frank J. Miraglia/for Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
NRR INPUT TO IAEA NUCLEAR SAFETY REVIEW 1998 The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has prepared the attached input in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) request dated November 20, 1998.
Included are brief discussions of major programs where NRR has expended significant resources during the past year. including licensing and inspection programs, license renewal, and design certification for advanced reactors.
If you have any questions regarding this input, please contact Tom Essig.
Acting Chief of the Generic Issues and Environmental Projects Branch, Division of Reactor Program Management, at 415-1082.
Attachment:
NRR input to IAEA Nuclear Safety Review 1998 i
Distribution:
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g WASHINGTON. D.C. 30ea6 4001 December 12, 1997 MEMORANDUM TO:
Malcolm R. Knapp. Director Office of Nuclear Regulatorf Research f
FROM:
r Samuel J. Collins. Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Q
6 NRR INPUT T0 iAEA NUCLEAR SAFETY REVIEW 1998 (G970844)
SUBJECT:
The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has prepared the attached input in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) request dated
- 20. 1998.
Included are brief discussions of major programs where NRR November has expended significant resources during the past year, including licensing and inspection programs, license renewal. and design certification for advanced reactors.
If you have any questions regarding this input please contact Tom Essig.
Acting Chief of the Generic Issues and Environmental Projects Branch. Division of Reactor Program Management at 415-1282,
Attachment:
NRR input to IAEA Nuclear Safety Review 1998
DISTRIBUT10N:
tCentFaT file (w/ incoming)(GT970844)
-PUBLIC (w/ incoming)(GT970844)
PGEB r/f (w/ incoming)(GT970844)
NRR Mailroom (w/ incoming)(GT970844)
EDO r/f (w/ incoming)(GT970844)
LCallan HThompson AThadani PNorry-JBlaho SBurns.0GC CPaperiello, NMSS TMartin. AEOD KCyr 0GC SCollins/FMiraglia RZimmerman BSheron WTravers JRoe DMatthews TEssig JWilson-MThadani MBoyle (Email)
MClark (GT970844)
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U.S. Nuclear Power Plants: Achievements, Developments, and issues for 1997 NRC initiatives during 1997 focussed on improvements in licensing and inspection programs for currently operating plants, on ensuring that the necessary framework for plant license renewal is in place, and on licensing of advanced light water reactor designs.
LICENSING ANI) INSPECTION PROGRAM INITIATIVES Risk-informed Regulatory Approaches The staff continued to implement the Commission's Final Policy Statement on the Use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Nuclear Regulatory Activities (60 FR 42622; August 16, 1995). During 1997, the staff continued to work on and complete activities described in the PRA implementation Plan, including the review of several ongoing PRA pilot programs in the areas of grad 6d QA, risk-informed inservice testing, risk-informed inservice inspection, and risk informed technical spacification impmvements. The graded QA PRA pilot program was completed in 1997 and the other PRA pilot programs are scheduled to be completed during 1998. The purposes of the PRA pilot programs are to develop, test, and validate risk-informed methodologies and to develop guidance documeros for risk-informed regulatory applications.
The staff completed its review of Individual Plant Examinations (IPEs) and issued, for comment, a report summarizing the results of the IPE program and providing staff perspectives on reactor safety and plant performance. The staff intends to publish the final report in early 1998, and determine necessary followup activities, including the identification of possible safety enhancements.
Adequacy and Availability of Design Bases Information During 1996, NRC's findings during inspections and reviews identified broad programmatic weaknesses that resulted in design and configuration defic'encies at a new plants that could impact the operability of required equipment. These inspections and reviews also highlighted numerous instances in which timely and complete implementation of corrective action for known degraded and nonconforming conditions and for past violations of NRC requirements had not been evident. As a consequence of this information, the NRC belie /ed that the industry's voluntary efforts to improve and maintain design bases information for their plants have not been effective in all cases. In October 1996, the NRC issued a letter to each utility with power reactors licensed to operate that required information that would provide the NRC added confidence and assurance that its plants are operated and maintained within the design bases and that any deviations are reconciled in a timely manner. This information has been submitted and the NRC staff began its review in early 1997. Inspection resources are being directed toward the engineering and design areas.
Action Plan for 10 CFR 50.59 Section 59 in Part 50 of Title 10 of NRC regulations was promulgated in 1962 to describe the circumstances under which licensees may make changes to their facility (or make changes to procedures or conduct tests and experiments) without prior NRC approval when the change
l does not involve the Technical Specifications or an unreviewed safety question. Licensees are requirod to perbdically submit information related to changes made in accordance with 10 CFR 50.59. The NRC monitors each licensee's processes for implementing the requirements in this section. In an October 1995 memorandum, Chairman Jackson raised a number of questions concoming implementation of 10 CFR 50.59 and NRC oversight and proposed a systematic reconsideration and reevaluation of the process. During 1996, the staff developed short term guidance and developed a long-term action plan to identify actions to be undertaken to improve both the licensee's implementation and the NRC staff's oversight of this process. '.mplementation of the plan continued in 1S97.
Other important initiatives During 1997, the NRC staff pursued numerous engineering and other technicalissues related to licensing and inspection progam improvements which are too numerous to discuss in detail in this report. For convenience of the reader, a number of the issues are listed below-
- Effects of electric industry daregulation on nuclear power plants
- Application of revised accident source term for operating reactors
+ Nuclesi safety assistance to Russia and Ukraine
+ Fire protection Emergency core cooling system strainer blockage in boiling-water reactors
- Environmentcl qualification of electric equipment Primary water stress-corrosion cracking Reactor vessel materials
+
Steam generator issues Upgrades of instrumentation and control systems PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL Nuclear power provides approximately 20 percent of the electric power produced in the United States. The Atomic Energy Act and NRC regulations limit commercial power reactor licenses to 40 years, but also permits the renewal of such licenses.
Environmental and technical requirements for renewal of operating licenses are contained in NRC's regulations,10 CFR Parts 51 and 54, respectively. Part 54 was revised in May 1995 to simplify and clarify the renewal process. The revision emphasizes managing the effects of aging rather than managing aging mechanisms, thus allowing greater credit for existing licensee programs and maintenance rule provisions in the license renewal process.
In 1996, NRC revised the final generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) and Part 51 rule based on public comments. The final environmental protection rulemaking was published on December 18,1996, with an effective date of January 17,1997. The staff is developing a regulatory guide for the format and content of the environmental portion of a license renewal application as well as a staff environmental standard review plan. These documents are expected to be completed by March 1998 and August 1998, respectively.
DESIGN CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR NEXT-GENERATION REACTORS l
The Commission has long sought nuclear power plant (NPP) standardization and the enhanced safety and licensing reform that it could make possible. The Commission issued 10 CFR Part 52 (a rule that sets out a more predictable and stable licensing process, including provisions for certifications of next-gen 5 ration reactor designs) to improve the licensing environment for next-generation nuclear power reactors by minimizing the uncertainty in the regulatory process.
The design certification process is the key for early resolution of licensing issues. The status of the three designs under current consideration is as follows:
Advanced Bolling Water Reactor (ABWR). The NRC issued the FSER (NUREG-1503) for the GE ABWR in July 1994. A final design certification rule for the ABWR was issued on June 11, 1997.
System 80+. The NRC issued the FSER (NUREG-1462) for ABB-Combustion Engineering's System 80+ in August 1994. A final design certification rule for the System 80+ was issued on June 20,1997.
AP600, in November 1994, the NRC issued a Draft Safety Evaluation Report for the AP600, a reactor design with passive safety systems. Westinghouse has completed a comprehensive test program in support of its application. Unique aspects of this design, however, have resulted in a large number of staff questions and concems. Assuming timely resolution of these issues, Final Design Approval is currently scheduled for late 1998.
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FINAL REPLY:
Carlton R. Stoiber IP TO:
Callan, EDO FOR SIGNATURE OF :
- GRN CRC NO:
Callan, EDO DESC:
ROUTING:
IAEA NUCLEAR SAFETY REVIEW 1998 Callan (Due to IAEA:
1/2/98)
Thadani Thompson Norry Blaha pne DATE: 12/05/97 doilins, Nk Paperiello,NMSS ASSIGNED TO:
CONTACT:
Martin, AEOD Cyr, OGC RES Knapp SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS:
NRR RECEIVED:
DECEMBER 8, 1997
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