ML20217J031
| ML20217J031 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/04/1997 |
| From: | Seale R Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards |
| To: | Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards |
| References | |
| ACRS-SL-0450, ACRS-SL-450, NUDOCS 9708130402 | |
| Download: ML20217J031 (9) | |
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UNITED STATES I
1 NUCLEAR RECULATORY COMMISSION SL-060 f
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WAMUNGToN, D. C,266 June 4, 1997 The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson Chairman U.S4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555-0001
Dear Chairman Jackson:
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
REPORT - FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-FIRST MEETING OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS, MAY 1-3, 1997, AND OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE During its 441st meeting, May 1-3, 1997, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguerds (ACRS) discussed several matters and completed
.the following reports and letters:
REPORTS e
Desian Basis verification (Report to Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated May 7, 1997) e The Poliev Reaardina Stocknilina of Potassium Iodide (Report to Shirle Jackson, Chairman, NRC, from R.
L.
- Saale, Chairman, y Ann ACRS, dated May 9, 1997)
LETTERS e
Pronosed Final Poliev Statement on the Restructurina and Economic Dereculation of the Electric Utility Industry (Letter to L. Joseph Callan, Executive Director for Operations, NRC, from R. L. Seale, Chairman, ACRS, dated May 8, 1997) e Mtter to L. Joseeh Callan. Executive Director for Ooerations.
NRC. from R.
L.
Saale. Chairman. ACRS. dated May 7.
1997.
transmitting a letter from Dr. David C. Williams, a retired physicist from Sandia National Laboratories, regarding the deficiency in the methodology used to calculate containment loads in the resolution of the Direct Containment Heating Issue.
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HIGHLTCHTS'OP KEY ISSUES CONSIDERRn BY THE COMMITTEE 1.
Desian-namis verification The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and the Nuclear Energy Institute regarding design-basis verification.
The Committee discussed the staff's review criteria for evaluating licensee responses to the NRC request for design-basis information pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54 (f). The Committee also discussed the NRC design inspection effort and the results of those inspec-tions.
The Committee discussed industry initiatives and activities to improve the design-basis information for nuclear power plants.
Conclusion The Committee issued a report to Chairman Jackson, dated May 7, 1997, on this matter.
2..
Electric Utility Restructurina and Deresulation The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff on the proposed final version of the Policy Statement on Electric Utility Restructuring and 4
Deregulation.
This Policy Statement is intended to make the licensees and the public aware of the steps being taken by the Agency to ensure that adequate funding is available for safe operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants, in light of the electric utility industry's move from an environ-ment of rate regulation toward greater competition.
Six specific issues are addressed in the Policy Statement.
Adequacy of the current regulatory framework to address
-e issues resulting from utility restructuring NRC interaction with State and Federal economic regula-e tors to minimize the possibility of rate actions inimica-ble to nuclear plant safety Actionr. relevant to co-owner division of responsibility e
to ensure adequate funding for decommissioning Financial qualification review requirements relevant to e
the potential for dilution of ' nuclear plant safety by rate _ deregulation or utility restructuring J
Proposed rulemaking pertaining to decommissioning funding e
assurance compliance reviews a
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Examination of the need for NRC antitrust reviews Conclusion The Committee issued a letter to the Executive Director for Operations dated May 8, 1997, on this matter.
The Committee plans to follow-up on the staff's resolution of the Commit-tee's concerns associated with the NRC Action Plan on this matter.
3.
Pronosed Final Recrulatory Guide 1.164. " Time Resnonse Das h Criteria for Safetv-Related Operator Actions" The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and the General Electric company regarding the proposed final Regulatory Guide 1.164, which endorses, without exception, ANSI /ANS-58.8-1994, " Time Response Design Criteria for Safety-Related Operator Actions."
The 1CRS previously reviewed this matter in October 1995 and issutd a report to the Commission on November 14, 1995.
The staff had reviewed this matter further and provided the
-Committee with a status report regarding planned actions to address ACRS concerns included in its November 14, 1995 report and to integrate insights for risk-informed, performance-based regulation and related matters.
The staff requested the ACRS not prepara a report at this time and agreed to submit a revised version of this Guide to the ACRS for review.
Conclusion After receiving a revised version of this Guide, the committee plans to provide comments and recommendations.
4.
M11atory Effectiveness Mr. Edward L. Jordan, Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Effectiveness, Program Oversight, Investigations and Enforce-ment,. briefed the Committee regarding the Regulatory Effec-tiveness Program.
A Regulatory Effectiveness Task Force, Chaired by Thomas O. Martin, has-been established to develop a program to independently assess regulation of reactor and materials licensees.as part of the regulatory effectiveness effort.
The program goal is to improve the NRC's regulatory oversight of licensees.
The concept is to proceed on three parallel paths for identification of weaknesses and feedback of constructive recommendations to NRC.
The three paths are:
develop and-implement independent review programs; develop and maintain regulatory matrix assessment tool; and compile and develop performance information.
The program is linkwd with
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Tho.Hongroblo:Shir1cy Jackosn 4
d Lthe-Direction Setting Issue (#23). - Regulatory Excellence.
4 The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, office of Investi-gations,= office of Enforcament, and the Office for Analysis
-and Evaluation of Operational Data will provide input to the-
' development-of this program.
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The implementation plan for this program includes the develop-ment of a Commission policy statement on the principles of regulatory effectiveness assessment.
The staff will develop 3
a concapt matrix. relating NRC regulations and processes to reactor licensee programs and hardware.
l conclusion This briefing was for information only.
The Committee plans to follow-up on the development of the Regulatory Effective-ness Program.
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- 5.
Itaatina with the NRC Commissioners - Commissioners' Conference Room. One-White Flint North i
The ACRS met with the NRC Commissioners on May 2, 1997, and discussed the following topfest i
Risk-informed, performance based regulation and related e
matters l-
- e Risk-based regulatory acceptance criteria for plant-
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specific application of safety goals l
Proposed _ regulatory approach associated with steam e
generator integrity Establishing a benchmark on risk during low-power and e
shutdown operations L
Status of ' ACRS review of the National Academy of Scienc-e es/ National Research Council Phase ' 2 Study Report on Digital Instrumentation and Control' Systems l
'e Human' Performance Program Plan I
_ACRS report to Congress on Nuclear Safety Research and e
Regulatory Reform.
6.
staf f Reautr===nta Memorandum f ERM) on Direction Settina Issua l
- 22. Research e
The: Committee discussed Direction Setting. Issue (DSI) #22
- related to the future role of the NRC research. - - This DSI describes a range. of possible roles of the NRC research l
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4 Th3 H*nsroblo Shir1cy Jcekcen 5-l program that includes both a long-term exploratory research component and a short-term confirmatory reser4rch component.
The committee also discussed the issues raised by the Commis-sion in the March 28, 1997 SRM related to research.
conclusion The Committee plans to-continue its discussion of this matter during future meetings.
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7.
fanlamentation of the Maintenance Rula i
The Committee heard presentations by and held discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the results and the j
lessons learned from the implementation and initial baseline j
inspections of the Maintenance Rule (10 CTR 50.65).
The Maintenance-Rule, issued on July 10, 1991, became effec-tive on July 10, 1996.
This rule consists of requirements that establish which structures, systems, or components (sscs) 4 are included within the scope of the rule, requirements for monitoring the performance or condition of those'SSCs within L
the scope of - the rule, and a requirement that licensees i
periodically assess the effectivaness of their maintenance programs.
i The staff has conducted 24 baseline inspections; in general, L
the staff found that licensees have adequately implemented the requirements of the Maintenance Rule.
However, in a few
- cases, despite the five-year implementation period, the inspections revealed that some licensees waited until the year prior to the effective date of the rule to aggressively pursue implementation. _ of the _18 baseline inspections for which enforcement action is complete, 14 have resulted in proposed 4
enforcement actions with severity Level IV violations, one resulted in escalated enforcement with severity Level III but no civil penalty, and three had no violations.
For the i -
remaining six inspections, proposed enforcement actions are under evaluation by the staff.
The implementation and initial-baseline inspections have provided the NRC staff with a number of insights regarding what was effective and what could be improved. These insights p
can be grouped into four categories:
imp rtance of communica-o tion, value of pilot prograr., importance of training, and importance of inspection and enforcement.
Conclusion This; briefing was for information only.
No Committee action
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4 RECONCILIATION OF ACRS COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS e -
The committee. discussed the response from the NRC Executive Director for Operations (EDO) dated April 25, 1997, responding to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated March 17, 1997, concerning the Proposed Standard Review Plan Sections and Regulatory Guides for Risk-Informed, Performaneg-Based Regulation.
The ' Committee decided that it was satisfied with the EDO's-response.
t The Committee discussed the response from the EDO dated April e
21, 1997, responding to ACRS comments and recommendations 4
included in the ACRS report dated March 17, 1997, concerning Publishing Unnormalized Test Data from the ROSA /AP600 Test Facility.
The Committee decided that it was satisfied with the EDO's response.
The Committee discussed the response from the EDO dated April 11, 1997, responding to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated December 13, 1996, concern-ing the Review by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards of Generic Letters, Bulletins, and Information Requests Issued on an Expedited Bases.
The Committee decided that it was satisfied with the EDO's response.
However, if the Committee experiences problems in receiving these documents in the future, it will bring them to
-the attention of the EDO for resolution, i'
The Committee discussed the response from the EDO dated April e
'l 10, 1997, responding to ACRS comments and recommendations included in the ACRS report dated February 13, 1997, concern-ing the Human Performance Program Plan.
The Committee decided that it was satisfied with the EDO's response.
The Committee plans to review the proposed Human L
Performance Program Plan at the early stages of development of this Plan.
OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE 4
On April 30, 1997, the Committee met with representatives of the German Reactor Safety Committee. (RSK) and the French Reactor Safety-2 Committee.(GPR) to discuss issues of mutual interest.. The entire meeting was closed in order to discuss information provided in i
confidence by-a_ foreign source.
Subjects discussed included advanced reactor designs, operational experience, risk-informed 4
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performance-based regulation, and resaarch and development work in the areas of human factors, digital instrumentation and control systems, and hydrogen control during severe accidents.
The GPR and j
RSK representatives agreed to share documents associated with iodine spiking following reactor trips, human factors, and the safety approach used in design of advanced reactors.
SLIBC010tITTEE MEETINGS During the period from April 4 through May 3, 1997, the *;,11owing subcommittee meetings were holdt gaggriale and Mata11urgy - April 15-16, 1997 e
The subcommittee discussed generic letters regarding steam generator tube inspection technAques, effective uns of ultrasonic techniques in inservice inspection
- programs, degradation of steam generator internals, and degradation-of reacL;,
vessel head penetrations.
The subcommittee also discussed the status of issues related to reactor pressure j
vessel integrity.
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Plannina and Proceduras-- May 1, 1997 i
The subcommittee discussed proposed ACRS activities, practic-i es, and procedures for conducting Com.nittee business and organizational and personnel matters relating to ACRs and its staff.
LIET OF Fof.fnW-tfP MATTERS FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS The C mittee plans to follow-up on the development of the e
Regu.W ory Effectiveness Program.
The Regulatory Effective-ness Task Force has agreed to brief the ACRS periodically on 7
the_ development of this Program and related activities.
e The committee has decided to review the proposed Human Performance Program Plan at the early staged of development of 4
this Plan.
The committee plans to continue _its discussion of Direction e
setting Issus-22, Research, during future meetings and develop comments and recommendations.
e The staff has agreed to provide the ACRS with a revised version of Regulatory Guide 1.164.
The ACR8 plans to review this revised version and provide comments and recommendations at a future meeting.
e The Committee, at this ' time, is satisfied with the EDo's response to the December 13, 1996 ACRS letter concerning the J
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ACRS review of Generic Letters, Bulletins, and Information Requests issued on an expedited basis.
If the Cor.mittee
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future, it wall bring then to the attention of the EDo for l
resolution.
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In its May 8, 1997 letter to the EDO regarding Proposed Final
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Policy statement on the Restructuring and Economic Deregula-tion of the Electric Utility Industry, the Committee requested J
to be kept informed on the resolution of its concerns associ-ated with the NRC Action Plan pertaining to the restructuring and deregulation of the electric utility industry.
i l-In its May 7, 1997 letter to the EDO, which transmitted a l
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letter from Dr. David C. Williams regarding the deficiency in i
the methodology used to calculate containment loads in the a
resolution of the-Direct containment Heatlng Issue, the Committee requested to be kept infor: sed on the Agency's resolution of Dr. Williams' concern.
PROPOBED SCHEDULE FOR THE 442ND ACRB MEETING I
The-Committee agreed to consider the following during the 442nd j
ACRS meeting, Jt,he 11-13, 19978 4
i Digital Instrumentation and control avatama - The Committee will 1-hear presentations by and hold discusshons with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the proposed final Standard P.aview Plan (SRP)
- sections, Branch Technical Positions (BTPs),
Regulatory 1
Guides (RGs) associated with digital instrumentation and control systems, the staff's safety evaluation report on the Electric Power i
Research Institute topical report on acceptance of commercial grade digital equipment for nuclear safety applications, and the staff's l
l incorporation of the insights from the National Academy of Sciences / National Research Council (NAS/NRC) Phase 2 study into the l
proposed fine.1_SRP_ sections, BTPs, and RGs.
conseguancan of Reactor Matar cleanup Evaten Line Break Outside the containment - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the results of the study performed by_the staff on the consequences of i
reactor water cleanup system line break outside the containment.
i The staff will also discuss the-problems asse iated with automatic isolation of reactor water cleanup system piping at the Monticello nuclear-power plant.
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PBA Innlamartation Plan - The-Committee will hear presentations by l
and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff i
regarding the-PRA Implementation - Plan - with-emphasis on risk-informed initiatives in the areas-of training and inspection, as
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i well as an overview of the proposed program for risk informed, j
performance-based inservice inspection.
i Pronomad Staff Poaltion on the Savara Accident mulamahna - The l
j Committee will hear presentations by and hold discuss:,ons with representuivos of the NRC staff regarding the proposed staff 4
position on generio rulemaking associated with severe accidents.
Pronomad mamulatory Acornach Ammoclated with Stamm Ganarator Tuba Intaarity - The Committee w;,11 hear presentations by and hold 4
discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and the Nuclear Energy Institute regarding the proposed regulatory approach for addressing steam generator tube :,ntegrity issues and related matters.
l Pronomad Final Canaric Imtter on aamurance of Nat Positive Euction
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Maad for Enarnancy cara cooline and containment Heat namaval Punen
- The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions
.with representatives of the NRC staff regarding the proposed final i
Generic Letter on Assurance of Het Positive suction Head for Emergency Core Cooling and Containment Heat Removal Pumps as well l
as the NRC staff's resolution of public comments on this matter.
Pronomad Canarie Latter on Potential for Daaradation of Emeraancy cara coolina and containment Borav Evatamm after a Loma-of-coolant Accident Because of construction and Protective continas Defician-
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l clan and Formian Material in the containment - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of 3
the NRC staff regarding this proposed Generic Letter and related i
matters.
2 Pollev Issua Partainina to the AP600 Deslan - The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and Westinghouse Electric Corporation regarding the staff position on the need for a containment spray system for the t
AP600 design for severe accident mitigation.
sincerely, R. L. seale i
Chairman
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