NRC Generic Letter 80-104, Orders on Environmental Qualification of Safety Related Electrical Equipment

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GL80104

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555

November 26, 1980

ALL LICENSEES OF OPERATING PLANTS AND APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING LICENSES AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

SUBJECT: ORDERS ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALIFICATION OF SAFETY-RELATED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT (OCTOBER 24, 1980)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently issued Orders which required all safety-related electrical equipment to be environmentally qualified by no later than June 30, 1982, and which implemented certain requirements regarding documentation for the environmental qualification of safety-related electrical components. Many licensees have made telephone inquiries to obtain clarification on one of the issues in these Orders. This letter provides that clarification generically.

One of the provisions of the subject Order required that centrally located records be available not later than December 1, 1980 to document the current degree of compliance with environmental qualification requirements. This provision does not, of itself, require the creation of any particular records. Rather, it calls for a centrally located system which contains a complete set of documentation. The substance of this documentation is dictated by other NRC requirements, including those addressed in the Orders of September 1980. This system should contain, at the outset (December 1, 1980), the records supporting the Environmental Qualification submittal (required not later than November 1, 1980), the scope of which is discussed in Inspection and Enforcement Bulletin 79-01B with Supplements 1, 2, and 3.

The qualification documentation for equipment referenced in Supplement No. 3 or equipment subject to a non-harsh (mild) environment is not included in the December 1, 1980 deadline, but should become part of the central system as it becomes available. Thus, by June 30, 1982, the central system would contain a complete and auditible set of records demonstrating complete compliance regarding the environmental qualification for all safety-related electrical equipment in the plant.

If you have any further questions, please contact your Project Manager.

Sincerely,

Darrell G. Eisenhut, Director Division of Licensing