Press Release-93-098, NRC Withdraws Proposed Rule on Emergency Diesel Generator Testing
| ML003702872 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/19/1993 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-93-098 | |
| Download: ML003702872 (1) | |
Text
No.
93-98 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel. 301/504-2240 (Friday, July 16, 1993)
NRC WITHDRAWS PROPOSED RULE ON EMERGENCY DIESEL GENERATOR TESTING The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is withdrawing a rule proposed in April 1992 which would have required that the reliability of all emergency diesel generators at NRC-licensed nuclear power plants be monitored.
As proposed, the rule required reporting of emergency diesel generator performance and corrective action to the NRC based on the failure criteria contained in the proposed rule.
Twenty-nine sets of public comments were received and, on the basis of its evaluation of those comments, the NRC staff recommended that the Commission withdraw the proposed rule and, instead, include guidance for monitoring emergency diesel generator performance in a recently issued Regulatory Guide (l.160) "Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants".
Taking into account the staff's recommendation, the progress made in improving the reliability of emergency diesel generators since the station blackout rule was issued in 1988 (the current average reported by the industry is in excess of 98 percent) and the fact that the new maintenance rule becomes effective on July 10, 1996, the Commission has decided that a separate rule is not necessary and has withdrawn the proposed rule.
However, the Commission does not want this action to be misinterpreted as a signal that past efforts and vigilance may be relaxed or possibly abandoned and has directed its staff and the industry to continue an aggressive program of maintenance as well as root cause analysis that will continue to offer assurance that emergency diesel generator reliability will be maintained at a satisfactory level in the future.