NRC Generic Letter 93-05, Line-Item Technical Specifications Improvements to Reduce Surveillance Requirements for Testing During Power Operation

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September 27, 1993

TO: ALL HOLDERS OF OPERATING LICENSES OR CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

SUBJECT: LINE-ITEM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS IMPROVEMENTS TO REDUCE SURVEILLANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING DURING POWER OPERATION (GENERIC LETTER 93-05)

The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed a com-

prehensive examination of surveillance requirements in technical specifications (TS) that require testing during power operation. This effort is a part of the NRC Technical Specifications Improvement Program (TSIP). The results of this work are reported in NUREG-1366, "Improvements to Technical Specifications Surveillance Requirements," December 1992. NUREG-1366 is available for examination in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW, Lower Level, Washington, D.C. and for purchase from the GPO Sales Program by writing to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082. In performing this study, the staff found that, while the majority of the testing at power is important, safety can be improved, equipment degradation decreased, and an unnecessary burden on personnel resources eliminated by reducing the amount of testing that the TS require during power operation. However, only a small fraction of the TS surveillance intervals warranted relaxation. The staff has prepared the enclosed guidance to assist licensees in preparing a license amendment request to implement these recommendations as line-item TS improvements. The NRC issued improved standard technical specifications in September 1992 that incorporated the recommendations of NUREG-1366.

The staff encourages licensees who plan to adopt these line-item TS improve-

ments to propose TS changes that are consistent with the enclosed guidance. Licensees may propose to implement any number of the TS changes that are applicable to their facilities. NRC project managers will perform the review to ensure that the amendment requests conform to this guidance. Please contact your project manager or the contact listed below if you have any questions on this matter.

Licensee action to propose TS changes under the guidance of this generic letter is voluntary. Therefore, such action is not a backfit under the provisions of Section 50.109 to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.109).

The following information, although not requested under the provisions of 10 CFR 50.54(f), would help the NRC evaluate costs and benefits for licensees who propose the TS changes described in this generic letter:

• licensee time and costs to prepare the amendment request
• estimate of the long-term costs or savings accruing from this TS change

Generic Letter 93-05September 27, 1993

Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number 3150-0011, which expires June 30, 1994, covers this request. The estimated average number of burden hours is 40 person-hours per licensee response, including those needed to assess the recommendations, search data sources, gather and analyze the data, and prepare the required letters. Send comments on this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch (MNBB 7714), Division of Information Support Services, Office of Information and Resource Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.,

20555, and to Ronald Minsk, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0011), NEOB-3019, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C.,

20503.

Sincerely,

/s/'d by JGPartlow

James G. Partlow Associate Director for Projects Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Enclosures:

1. Guidance for Implementing Line-Item Technical Specifications Improvements to Reduce Testing During Power Operation

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Generic Letters

Contact: T. G. Dunning, NRR (301) 504-1189