ML18012A156

Management Directive 8.7, Reactor Operating Experience Program.

ML18012A156
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/01/2018
From:	Robles J Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
DT-18-05, MD 8.7
Download: ML18012A156 (10)

Text

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION MANAGEMENT DIRECTIVE (MD)

For updates or revisions to policies contained in this MD that were published after the MD was signed, please see the Yellow Announcement to Management Directive index (YA-to-MD index). MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM DT-18-05 Volume 8 License e Oversight Programs Approved By:

Brian E. Holian, Acting Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Date Approved:

February 1, 2018 Cert. Date: N/A, for the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. Issuing Office:

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Contact Name:

Jesse E. Robles EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY

Management Directive 8.7, "Reactor Operating Experience Program,"

is revised to provide updated agency

-level guidance for the Reactor Operating Experience (OpE) Program. This program is a result of recommendations from the Davis

-Besse Lessons Learned Task Force (DBLLTF). This revision reflects changes resulting from the transfer of the Construction Experience (ConE)

Program functions from the Office of New Reactors (NRO) into the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). This version also reflects formatting and editorial revisions to enhance clarity and accuracy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I.POLICY .............................................................................................................................. 2 II.OBJECTIVES

.................................................................................................................... 2 III.ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY

........... 3 A.Commission

.................................................................................................................. 3 B.Executive Director for Operations (EDO)

...................................................................... 3 C.Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

.................................................. 3 D.Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

................................................... 4 E.Director, Office of International Programs (OIP)

............................................................ 4 F.Director, Office of New Reactors (NRO)

....................................................................... 5 G.Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

................................................ 5 H.Director, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

.............................. 5 MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

2 I. Chief Information Officer (CIO)

................................

.....................................................

6 J. Regional Administrators (RAs)

................................

......................................................

6 K. Director, Office of Administration (ADM)

................................

....................................... 7 L. Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO)

...........................................................................

7 IV. APPLICABILI TY ................................

................................................................

................

7 V. DEFINITIONS

................................

................................................................

....................

7 VI. HANDBOOK ................................

................................................................

......................

8 VII. REFERENCES

................................

................................................................

...................

9 I. POLICY It is the policy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to have an effectively coordinated program to review in a timely and systematic manner domestic and applicable international operating experience (referred to throughout this management directive (MD) as OpE Information as defined in Section V) gained from the nuclear power industry, research and test reactors, and new reactor construction. The program provides the means for assessing the significance of OpE Information, providing timely and effective communication to stakeholders, and applying the lessons learned to regulatory decisions and programs affecting nuclear reactors.

II. OBJECTIVES

- Collect, evaluate, communicate, and apply OpE Information in a systematic, timely, and coordinated manner to support the agency's goal of ensuring public health and safety. Application includes sharing significant OpE Information with the nuclear industry in a timely manner so that the industry can ensure safety.

- Coordinate use of OpE Information to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and appropriateness of NRC decisions. Evaluations of OpE provide fundamental information necessary to improve safety assessments and help optimize NRC decisions. Lessons learned from OpE evaluations influence regulatory decisions to improve NRC regulatory programs, including licensing and inspection.

- Facilitate providing the public, Congress, and other external stakeholders with accurate, timely, and balanced OpE Information, including actual or potential hazards to health and safety, thereby enhancing understanding of the performance of both the nuclear industry and licensed plants.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

3 III. ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY A. Commission Acts on the most serious reactor events or conditions that are brought to its attention after an OpE review determines that the significance of the event or the condition impacting or potentially impacting public health and safety, common defense and security, and protection of the environment requires the immediate action of the Commission.

B. Executive Director for Operations (EDO)

1. Oversees the agency's interoffice Reactor OpE Program and directs appropriate office roles and responsibilities.

2. Directs actions, as necessary, to the appropriate office(s) in response to significant reactor events or conditions.

3. Manages and updates, as necessary, portions of the Memorandum of Agreement between the NRC and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) that are germane to the agency's Reactor OpE Program.

C. Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) 1. Leads the agency's Reactor OpE Program, which includes operating experience gathered from all phases of power and research and test reactor operations including design, construction (Construction Experience), pre

-operational testing, and decommissioning. 2. Provides resources to ensure the implementation and periodic updates of this MD and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Office Instruction LIC

-401, "NRR-NRO Reactor Operating Experience Program."

3. Assigns a senior manager as a single point

-of-contact to coordinate overall Reactor OpE Program activities and to measure effectiveness.

4. Directs prompt review and analysis of significant OpE Information.

5. Oversees the OpE Clearinghouse (see Section V of this directive) to facilitate the Reactor OpE Program. 6. Provides resources to ensure that OpE Information, including operating and construction experience, is appropriately evaluated and applied in support of core office programs, such as licensing, oversight, rulemaking, and incident response. This includes processes to support other offices, as needed.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

4 7. Directs changes, as appropriate, to the core office programs, such as licensing, oversight (inspection and assessment), rulemaking, and incident response

. 8. Serves as sponsor for the communication of OpE through the Web and other information technology in coordination with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), as necessary, and ensures review and approval of information technology applied in OpE in accordance with the agency management policy for Capital Planning and Investment Control.

9. Provides processes to coordinate the incorporation of significant lessons learned from the Reactor OpE Program into regulatory programs

for example, oversight, licensing, rulemaking, and incident response.

10. Provides resources to facilitate the exchange and collection of OpE Information with the agencies of foreign countries and international organizations.

11. Institutes program metrics aligned with the agency's strategic plan and the Reactor OpE Program attributes to measure the internal effectiveness of the Reactor OpE Program. 12. Conducts periodic assessment of the Reactor OpE Program.

13. Provides a program for assessing external effectiveness of the Reactor OpE Program. 14. Coordinates with other offices (e.g., Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR), Office of New Reactors (NRO), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), Office of International Programs (OIP), regional offices) to identify OpE Information that could impact regulatory programs under these offices' purview, including information that could impact nuclear security, new reactors, or a specific facility. D. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Reviews, as necessary, significant OpE Information and the staff's studies related to OpE, and advises the Commission regarding the impact on public health, safety, environment, and common defense and security at proposed or existing reactor facilities.

E. Director, Office of International Programs (OIP)

Serves as the principal contact for the establishment and administration of formal arrangements between the NRC and the agencies of foreign countries and international organizations for the exchange and collection of OpE Information.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

5 F. Director, Office of New Reactors (NRO)

1. Provides resources to ensure that OpE Information is appropriately evaluated and applied in support of core office programs such as licensing, inspections, rulemaking, and enforcement. This includes processes to support other offices, as needed.

2. Ensures that issues identified through new reactor licensing and inspection activities, including international reactor construction activities, are provided to the OpE Clearinghouse for their consideration.

3. Directs changes to the licensing and inspection programs that are appropriate as a result of the Reactor OpE Program recommendations.

G. Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)

1. Directs the reviews and evaluations of OpE Information

, including initiating event frequencies, system and component reliability, and common

-cause failures for the purpose of maintaining and updating models used in risk

-informed decisionmaking

. 2. Directs the review and evaluation of Licensee Event Reports to identify precursors to potential core damage sequences.

3. Performs long

-term reviews and requested near

-term reviews , conducts analyses, and develops products on the basis of significant OpE Information.

4. Provides summary evaluations of RES studies that could provide OpE insights. These evaluations contain distilled OpE findings and lessons learned, along with recommendations for application. The evaluations are input into the Reactor OpE Program. 5. Directs the Generic Issues Program (see MD 6.4, "Generic Issues Program," and NUREG-0933, "Resolution of Generic Safety Issues")

. 6. Coordinates with NRR to provide OpE Information. Provides a licensee event report (LER) search system. Provides resources for an Inspection Report search system.

7. Provides resources for coordinating and using the INPO Consolidated Events System (ICES).

8. Oversees development of risk analysis tools and models, and institutes a program to provide periodic feedback to agency and licensee risk models based on OpE lessons learned from the application of these tools and models.

H. Director, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)

1. Manages the agency's Incident Response Program, which provides resources to receive and disseminate OpE Information reported to the agency's Headquarters Operations Center.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

6 2. Coordinates with other NRC program offices, as necessary, to identify security-related issues that could impact reactor safety, reactor safety events that could impact security, and issues related to emergency preparedness.

3. Provides designated representatives to participate, as needed, in OpE Clearinghouse activities specific to physical security events, cybersecurity events, or emergency preparedness issues that could potentially impact licensing for or protection of operating reactors, test reactors, or new reactors. Provides support for the appropriate evaluation of these issues.

4. As appropriate, directs changes to licensing, inspection, rulemaking, and enforcement processes based on deficiencies identified from OpE Information that has generic implication

s. I. Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Supports, as necessary, NRO, NRR, NSIR, RES, and the regions in providing efficient information technology solutions to the agency's Reactor OpE Program.

J. Regional Administrators (RAs)

1. Direct prompt reviews of plant

-specific events and conditions, including onsite followup, and provide the information to the OpE Clearinghouse.

2. Coordinate regional efforts with other NRC offices that share OpE responsibilities to- (a) Evaluate significant OpE

, (b) Apply lessons learned from OpE evaluations to improve regulatory programs and activities

, and (c) Provide feedback on the effectiveness of the application of OpE Information to improve reactor operations and regulatory programs and activities.

3. Identify reactor safety issues that could require evaluation by the Reactor OpE Program. 4. Provide resources to support the Reactor OpE Program in obtaining additional information necessary to facilitate OpE screening or evaluation.

5. Provide feedback on the effectiveness of OpE communication tools and progra m integration.

6. Specify regional Reactor OpE Program needs.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

7 7. Provide designated representatives to support the Reactor OpE Program and to interact with the other Reactor OpE Program coordinators in order to integrate agencywide OpE processes.

K. Director, Office of Administration (ADM)

Provides translation services for foreign documents associated with operational safety data (see MD 3.12, "Handling and Disposition of Foreign Documents and Translations"

), and technical editing and publishing services to NRC offices as requested to support the Reactor OpE Program.

L. Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO)

1. Supports the Reactor OpE Program and program offices in providing knowledge transfer of OpE, as appropriate, through Human Resources Training and Development.

2. Assists in developing knowledge transfer tools to support the Reactor OpE Program.

IV. APPLICABILITY The policy and guidance in this directive apply to all NRC employees.

V. DEFINITIONS Long-term Review Comprehensive studies in which many years of OpE Information are typically aggregated and evaluated from a technical perspective. These reviews are generally provided by NRR or RES. The study results are then integrated into the regulatory process, as appropriate. There are many types of long

-term reviews, such as system and component studies, risk and reliability studies, studies of engineering issues, and long-term trending and analyses.

Near-term Review A review performed in one year or less, generally , with timeliness commensurate with safety significance. These nea r-term reviews generally are provided by NRR. Some trends and evaluation activities in NRR and RES balance near

-term and longer term reviews. Near

-term studies tend to deal with issues that are covered by regulatory requirements and their main focus is on determining safety significance and assessing generic implications for OpE applications.

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

8 OpE Clearinghouse The centralized team that performs the key functions and activities of the Reactor OpE Program. Core duties include

- 1. Collecting, storing, screening, prioritizing, and distributing OpE Information to appropriate users; 2. Conducting and facilitating OpE evaluation and application activities;

3. Facilitating the communication of OpE lessons learned; and

4. Coordinating NRC OpE activities among organizations performing OpE functions.

OpE Information Operating Experience Information, often abbreviated as OpE Information, includes information and deficiencies associated with power and research and test reactors obtained through all phases of operation including reactor design, construction, pre-operational testing, operation, and decommissioning. Various sources of OpE Information include Daily Event Notifications (pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50.72), LERs (pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50.73), regional daily events briefings, NRC Inspection Findings, INPO documents, 10 CFR Part 21 and Part 50.55(e) reports, other internal and external studies, information obtained through the licensing process, and information related to security and emergency preparedness issues. International OpE, including publications from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) (e.g., International Reporting System for Operating Experience (IRS) reports), is also considered OpE Information. Additionally, information from events or deficiencies in other industries that potentially has instructive value for the nuclear industry may be considered OpE Informatio

n. Reactor Operating Experience (OpE) Program As described in this MD, the Reactor OpE Program is a program established by agency policy to collect, communicate, and evaluate OpE Information and apply the lessons learned from that information in a timely and systematic manner. It is an interoffice program that encompasses lessons learned from operating nuclear reactor events, research and test reactor events, events or issues identified at nuclear reactors under construction, security

-related reactor events, and emergency preparedness issues.

VI. HANDBOOK In place of a handbook, office

-level guidance such as LIC

-401, "NRR-NRO Reactor Operating Experience Program" (NRR), and TEC

-001, "Coordination of RES Operating Experience Information with the NRC Operating Experience (OpE) Program" (RES)

, is MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

9 available for specific procedures. These guidance documents are listed in the reference section below.

VII. REFERENCES Code of Federal Regulations Title 10, "Energy

." Part 2, "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure

." Part 19, "Notices, Instructions and Reports to Workers: Inspection a nd Investigations

." Part 20, "Standards for Protection Against Radiation."

Part 21, "Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance."

Part 26, "Fitness for Duty Programs."

Part 50, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities

." Part 52, "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants

." Part 54, "Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants." Part 55, "Operators' Licenses."

Part 73, "Physical Protection of Plants and Materials

." Part 95, "Facility Security Clearance and Safeguarding of National Security Information and Restricted Data

." Part 100, "Reactor Site Criteria." Nuclear Regulatory Commission Documents Management Directives

- 3.12, "Handling and Disposition of Foreign Documents and Translations."

3.14, "U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Web Site."

5.2, "Cooperation with States at Commercial Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear Production or Utilization Facilities."

5.12, "International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) Participation."

6.3, "The Rulemaking Process."

6.4, "Generic Issues Program."

MD 8.7 REACTOR OPERATING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM Date Approved:

02/01/201 8 For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

10 8.1, "Abnormal Occurrence Reporting Procedure."

8.2, "NRC Incident Response Program."

8.3, "NRC Incident Investigation Program."

8.13, "Reactor Oversight Process."

8.18, "NRC Generic Communications Program

." 12.6, "NRC Sensitive Unclassified Information Security Program."

NUREG-Series Publications NUREG-0933, "Resolution of Generic Safety Issues."

NUREG-1022, "Event Reporting Guidelines

- 10 CFR 50.72 and 50.73," Revision 3. Guidance Documents LIC-401, R.3 (NRR) / RE G-112, R.2 (NRO), "NRR-NRO Reactor Operating Experience Program" (NRR) (ML12192A058). LIC-403, "Procedures for Handling Deficiency Reports" (10 CFR Part 21, 10 CFR Part 50.55(e)) (NRR) (ML101400026

). TEC-001, "Coordination of RES Operating Experience Information with the NRC Operating Experience (OpE) Program" (RES) (ML16068A313

). Other Documents Memorandum of Agreement between the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (ML13129A093

). Reactor Operating Experience Task Force Report, November 26, 2003 (ML033350063

). SECY-16-0009: Recommendations Resulting from the Integrated Prioritization and Re-Baselining of Agency Activities (ML16028A189

). Staff Requirements

- SECY-16-0009 - Recommendations Resulting from the Integrated Prioritization and Re

-Baselining of Agency Activities (ML16104A158

). United States Code Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, Section 208, Abnormal Occurrence Report s (42 U.S.C. 5848 et seq.).