ML20205F097

Requests Addl Info & Analysis Re Intl Comparisons Made by Td Martin Associates,Contrasting Amount of NRC Resources Devoted to Nuclear Reactor Oversight with That of Various Other Countries

ML20205F097
Person / Time
Issue date:	11/24/1998
From:	Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Travers W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
Shared Package
ML20205F086	List: ML20205F083 ML20205F091 ML20205F097 ML20205F103
References
NUDOCS 9904060108
Download: ML20205F097 (15)

Text

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UNITED STATES y ), NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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cHARMAN November 24,1998 MEMORANDUM TO: William Travers, Executive Director for Operations FROM: Shirley Ann Jackson 4

SUBJECT:

RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS RAISED WITHIN THE SENATE AUTHORIZATION CONTEXT REGARDING INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS On July 30,1998, the Commission appeared before our Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air, '

Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety to discuss nuclear regulatory issues and NRC programs. Feedback in the form of statements and questions from the members of Congress

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during that hearing indicated the need for additional information, analyses, and improvements in l

various areas, most of which were covered in my memorandum to you dated August 7,1998.

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1 One additional area, not covered in 'that memorandum, requires further information and analysis.

This area relates to the international comparisons made by Tim D. Martin Associates,  ;

contrasting the amount of NRC resources devoted to nuclear reactor oversight with that of I various other countries. To enable the Commission to provide the Congress with a more informed response in this area, I request that you conduct additional study in this area, as follows: j I

1. Describe. the Program Elements of the NRC Regulatory Frarnework

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a. Provide a description of each program element in a manner that will facilitate

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comparison to other organizations with differing structures i

b. Using the information contained in the Fiscal Year 1999 Blue Book for the reactor I safety program, provide the number of FTEs associated with each program -

element

c. Include a description of NRC contractor resources allocated to each program element

d. Include a description of any NRC functions that are related to the reactor safety program but not included in the resource listing of progiam elements (e.g., high-

.l level waste, reactor decommissioning)

e. Include a description of functions performed by other U.S. Federal or State

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agencies that are related to the.NRC reactor safety program but not included in the resource listing of program elements (e.g., fuel fabrication, advanced reactor development, FEMA emergency response functions)

2. Develop ~a Comparison of this NRC Regulatory Framework to the Nuclear Regulatory ,

Frameworks of France, Japan, and the United Kingdom l 9904060100 990326 PDR COMMS NRCC CORRESPONDENCE FDR -

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Provide the U.Scdescription to your counterpart contacts in the appropriate' agencies in these countries. .

b. Request the assistance of these countries in providing a similar description of their respective nuclear regu'atory frameworks.

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In parallel, using publicly available resources (such as annual reports), develop preliminary descriptions of the nuclear regulatory frameworks in these three countries.

d. Using these inputs, develop a final comparative study that (1) provides one-for-one comparisons where possible and (2) qualifies the differences in areas where a on.e-for-one comparison cannot be made.

The final study should include an analysis of the overall usefulness of such studies, including the vulnerabilities present in making comparisons of organizations with differing infrastructures, legal bases, oversight responsibilities, and industry characteristics. In addition, as appropriate, I

you should include a comparison of this NRC study with the Tim D. Martin Associates report.  !

Please coordinate with the Office of international Programs, the Office of the General Counsel, and the Chief Financial Officerin the expeditious completion of this study. The results of the j completed study should be forwarded to the Commission by January 15,1999. In addition, '

please forward to the Commission an information copy of the U.S. description in parallel with sending it to your foreign counterparts. ,

I no; cc- Commissioner Diaz Commissioner Dieus Commissioner McGaffigan Commissioner Merrifield SECY OIP OGC OPA' OCA CFO CIO '

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I UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OVERVIEW

'Creenizenon and Mi==hn The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comrhission (NRC) is headed by five Comm!ssioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 5-year terms. The Executive Director for Operations carries outthe policies and decisions made by the Commission. The NRC has

'approximately2000 professionala d d i i t n a m n s rative staff and a budget of approximately $470 million. Staff are located at headquarters and four regionai offices, plus resident inspectors at nuclear power reactors (a minimum of Pvo per site).

• The NRC's mission is to regulate the U.S. civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security,-and to protect the environment. The NRC's scope of responsibility Includes regulation of commercial nuclear power reactors; research, test, and training reactors; fuel' cycle facilities; medical, academic, and industrial uses of nuclear materials;'and the transport, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and wastes.

Overview of What NRC Reculates: Operatina Nuclear Reactors l

A major part of RC's mission is to ensure that its reactor licensees safely design, construct, and operate chtilian nuclear reactor facilities. The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended, and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, prov. de the foundation for regulating th's U.S.'s civilian nuclear powerindustry. NRC conducts activitiec to ensure that civilian nuclear power reactor facilities, as well as non-power reactors, are operated in a manner that adequately protects public health and safety and the environment, and protects against radiological sabotageand theft or diversion of special nuclear materials. These efforts include .

reactor licensing; operator licensing; financial assurance;' inspection; performance assessment; identification and resolution of safety issues; reactor regulatory research; regulation development; operating experience evaluation; incident investigation; threat assessment; emergency response; investigation of alleged wrongdoing by licensees, applicants, contractors, or vendors; imposition of enforcement sanctions for violations of NRC requirements; and j reactor technical and regulatory training. ,

The NRC currently regulates 1038 nuclear power reactors licensed to operate by 45 licensees at 65 sites, and approximately 5,200 licensed reactor operators. .There are four reactor vendors i

and 80 different reactor designs, in addition, the NRC regulates 52 nonpower reactors and approximately 300 non-power reactor operators. To regulate these facilities, in Fiscal Year 1999 (FY 1999), the NRC estimates a total of 1487 NRC FTE and approximately 290 contractor employees (see Enclosure 2); .

• Excludes Browns Ferry Unit 1 which has no fuel loaded and requires Commission approvalto restart.

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i NRC'S OPERATING REACTOR PROGRAM -  !

The operating reactor program provides for oversight of those commercial nuclear power ;p and non-power reactors currently licensed to operate. It supports NRC in meeting its i

responsibilities establishedin the Atomic Energy Act for providing reasonable assurance of i

. functions:

adequate protodion of public health and safety. The program consists of the following ma ESTIMATED I CONTRACTOR NRC FUNCTION 4

NRC FTE' EMPLOYEES Reactor Licensing 449-i 26 I Reactor License Renewal i 50 5 Reactor inspection 622 12 Reactor Performance Assessment 62 0  !

Reactorincidedt Response 28 5 Reactor Operational Experience Evaluation 34 15 ReactorTechnicalTraining 26 13 Reactor Enforcement Actions 19 0 Reactorinvestigations 33 0 Reactor Legal Advice 19 0 Reactor Adjudication 7 .'

2 Reactor and Plant Performance Research 103 124 Reactor Materials and Corpponent Behavior 35 87 j Research TOTAL 1,487 289 Reactor Licensing: The reactor licensing program ensures that operating facilities maintain adequate levels of protection of public health and safety ~in the dally operation and throughout the life of the plant, until decommissioning. This safety oversight includes assurances that facilities are adequately designed, properly constructed and correctly maintained, and that trained and qualified operating and technical support personnel can prevent or cope with -

accidents or other threats to public health an.d safety.

4 includes managerial, secretarial and administrative, support staff directly related to the nperating reactor program.

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4 Each operating alte is assigned a project manager having as a primary responsibility  ;

maintaining the nuclear power reactor license and serving as the headquarters point of contact '

with licensees, other NRC staff, and the public on safety matters conceming specific plants.

This includes coordinating complex technical reviews, evaluating overall licen' see perform assisting the regions in developing and implementing inspection plans, consulting with State and local officials, and replying to public and congressionalinquiries.

Operating license re technical advances, quirements frequently need to be changed as a result.of routine or unexpected events at power plants. A detalled technical review of applications from licensees for amendments to their operating licenses, such as technical specification changes, modification of license conditions, and exemption and relief requests, i are necessary to ensure that the operational safety of the plant is not compromised. These i licensing actions. require NRC approva! before the licensee can implement the requested

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action. Without such approval, the licensee cannot make the changes requested and, in some i cases, may beTequired to shut down the plant if operation is not feasible under the current license conditions.

The NRC plans to improve the effectiveness ofits' licensing process by reviewing and approving topical or generic reports submitted by licensees, vendor / owner groups, and other parties. These reports deal with safety issues and cost-beneficial changes common to a set of plants. i NRC reviewis also required on issues that do not result in an amendment of the operating license. These reviews are considered other licensing tasks." These other licensing tasks include (1) re'sponding to petitions from interested parties requesting action pursuant to10 CFR t 2.206, or (2) evaluating information received from individual licensees in response to requests for information (e.g., generic letters and bulletins) or as required by regulation er license conditions as part1of the NRC's responsibility for reviewing the safety of the operating licensed facilities (e.g., finahsafety evaluation report updates,10 CFR 50.59 reports, and changes to

. quality assurance, safeguards, and emergency pr,eparedness plans).

i Tlie NRC provides the overall management, quality assurance, and plant to plant consistenc

.of improved Standard Technical Specifications (ISTS), generic effort and lessons leamed as a result of ISTS conversions, all gen'eric effort to improve technical specifications to make them a more operator oriented, and a focus on the more safety-significant requirements. '-

The NRC must license all ~ personnel authorized to operate power reactors. Initial examinations .

are administered by the NRC to encure that operating plants are staffed by qualified personnel. I NRC also examines candidates ~for new operator licenses on generic fundamentals to measure the candidates' knowledge of reactor theory, plant components, and thermodynamics. Th6 NRC continues to endorse the Trainirig Accreditation Program managed by the Im.titute of i Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). The NRC Intends to observe discussions of representatives from INPO accreditation teams and from the utilities before the National Nuclear Accrediting Board.

Policy and technical activities are conducted to assess the policy and safety significance of  !

~ potentially genericragulatory issues'as they emerge. Action plans are used,when appropriate, I forissues that aremoomplex, safety significant or have significant policy implications such as l

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issues like PR'A implementation,10 CFR 50.59, FSAR and commitment management, utilit deregulation and Maine Yankee lessons-leamed.

The standardization of nuclear power plant designs can increase the safety,' reliability, and availability of nuclear power plants to ensure that certified standard designs, when properly sited and constructed, will adequately protect the public health and safety. The NRC will complete its detailed technical review of the Westinghouse advanced passive pressurized water reactor design (AP600) and issue the final de' sign approval in late FY 1998. Follow-up activities concoming AP600 design certification rulemaking that will certify that the AP600 design as an appendix to 10 CFR Part 52 will start in early FY 1999 upon receipt of required information from '

the vendor.' '

' The NRC is responsible for the licensing and decommissioning of smaller non-power reactors '

that are designed and used for research and testing in such areas as physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials sciences and for the training of individuals for nuclear-related careers in the power industry, national defense, research, and education. The NRC will review licensing actions and other licensing tasks for approximately 52 licensed non-power reactors.

In addition to licensing and inspecting the non-power facilities, the NRC must license ell personnel authorized to operate the non-power reactors. The NRC will administer initial examinations for new reactor operators and. requalification examinations to ensure that the approximately 300 non-power reactor operators are qualified to perform their duties.

The NRC will continue the development of the Reactor Program System (RPS). The RPS is being developed to provide for'the effective and efficient integration and analysis of information associated With nuclear reactor regulation programs. The RPS will provide reactor inspection I and licensing information that can be used to improve NRC's ability to better monitor plant performance characteristics' e~ffectively compare plant performance, and better identify early causes for concem.-

The NRC develops regulations and regulatory guidance applicable to reactor licensees. The NRC will develop and complete a number of rulemakings that pertain to operating reactors, including new mismakings that may be needed as the agency. transitions to a more risk-informed regulatoryframework.

ReactorLicense Renewal: This program evaluates applications to renew current power -#

reactor licenses beyond their expiration dates and establishes the technical requirements and re'gulatory framework for these renewals.

Reactorinspection: Through the inspection function, NRC monitors power and non-power reactor licensee activities by onsite inspections conducted by qualified inspectors. The  :

Inspection program is designed to ensure, through selective examinations, that the licensee identifies, and resolves safety issues before they affect safe plant operations. The NRC-

. inspection program is audit oriented to verify that relevant activities are being property .

conducted and equipment properly maintained to ensure safe operations. Implementation of

the NRC inspection program does not supplant the licensee's implementation of its programs or attenuate the licensee's responsibilities to ensure its compliance with the licensing basis unless the licensing basisis properly changed or the' licensee is formally excused from compliance by NRC. Rather, the program provides for an independent vorification of the effectiveness of the 4

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i licensee's implementation of its programs and a mechanism to feed back the results to the licensee for corrective action, thereby ensuring that the plants are operated safely and in accordance with NRC requirements. i l

The inspection program.is comprised of three major prograrn elements: core inspections, plant-specific regional lnitiative inspections, and generic issue inspections (previously called area-of-emphasis inspections). The core inspection program element is to be performed at all operating reactors. It requires inspections of licer.see performance in the areas of plant operations, maintenance, engineering, plant support, and effectiveness of the licensee in identifying, resolving, and preventing problems. Plant-specific regional initiative inspections are performed as n;eueo ic follow up on operational events and safety issues and to further investigate ths root causes d corrective actions related to~inspetion findings. Generic issue inspections are, team inspections or one-time individual or group inspections that address areas of em3rging safety concem or areas requiring increased emphasis because of recurring problems. Previously conducted generic issue inspections include team inspections of maintenance, emergency operating procedures, electrical distribution systems, and service water. Like core inspections, generic istue inspections are required to be conducted at sites independent of performance!

During FY 1999,;the staff will work to develop and implement a more risk informed, efficient, and effective bas'eline core inspection program. By risk informed, it is meant that s the ' cope of the inspection program will be defined piimarily by those areas.that are significant from a risk perspective, and inspection methods used to assess these areas will take advantage of both generic and. plant specific risk insights. -

The NRC also conducts reactor operatorlicensing requalification program inspections each year to evaluate licensee examination and training programs and to improve operational safety through early identification.and correction of programmatic weaknesses. Vendor / contractor -

inspections are also conducted. These inspections are reactive in nature and determine whether suppliers of materials, components, and services used in nuclear power plants are complying with NRC requirements. These inspections improve reactor safety by (1) ensuring that root causes of reported vendor-related problems are identified and that suitable corrective actions are developed and implemented, (2) Informing the nuclear industry of substandard, suspected counterfeit, or fraudulently marketed vendor products, and (3) ensuring that  :

fraudulently-marketed products are traced to their source. ~

Inspection activities are conducted by resident inspectors located at each operating site and inspectors located in the four regional offices. In addition, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has an inspection staff that assists the regional offices and implements selected inspectioninitiatives.  :

The operating reactor inspection program provides the framework for the inspection of licensee activities during the 40 years the license authorizes the plant to operate. The AEA bestows the broad authority to inspect and to ensure compliance with the provisions of the act, and licensees must permit inspection by authorized NRC personnel.

ReactorPerformance Assessment: Through the performance assessment function, NRC continually monitors. and assesses the performance of nuclear power plant licensees to verify f

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- that plants are operated safely, and it continually analyzes operational dat's to identify safe issues and degradations in performance. in addition to integrating the results of inspections and other performance insights on an ongoing basis, NRC conducts periodic, short-term integration activities to identify performance trends and make necessary adjustments to the inspection program through the plant performance review process. In addition, NRC conducts periodic, long-term integration of licensee performance.and trends through the integrated performance assessment process and the systematic assessment of licensee performance program. The results of these long-term assessment activities are provided to licensees and made available to the public. The senior management meeting process, whose primary focus is on operational safety, overlays all performance assessment processes and provides the highest level of NRC management attention to those plants that have exhibited significant performance performance.

weaknesses and recognition to plants that have demonstrated sustained superior During FY 1999, the NRC will transition,from the current processes (Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance, Plant Performance Reviews, and Senior Management Meetings) into a single integrated process. The NRC. will collect and assess inspection and operational data on each power reactor site, and use the assessment process to (1) conduct an integrated aspessment of licensee's safety performance, (2) identify agency actions to ensure that licensees address performance weaknesses, (3) clearly communicate the results of the assessment and planned actions to licensees and the public, and (4) assist NRC management in allocating resources used to inspect and assess licensee performance.

-Reactorincident Response These activities are conducted to maintain incident and accident investigation programs to ensure that satsty-significant operational events involving nuclear power rectors are inves' tigated in a timely, systematic, and technically sound manner and that information is obtained on the causes of the events so that NRC can take timely and effe'ctive corrective action.

Activities are also conducted to be prepared to respond to incidents. The.NRC maintains an Operations Center (staffed 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> a day /7 days a week), and maintains:, coordinates, and tests plans and procedures to be used in the event of an i.ncident. As part of this preparation, the NRC maintains a system of backup telecommunications to all power reactor sites.

Reactor OperationalExperience Evaluation: NRC programs and. processes are designed ^ '

for identifying e'arly significant trends in performance and ensuring recognition and resolution of safety-significant events and conditions specific to indMdual plants or generic to the nuclear powerindustry. The staff documents, analyzes, resolves, and disseminates information on '

immediate and long-term safety concems that arise from the operating experience. The regional offices, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), and the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD) cenhually collect and evaluate operational safety data obtained from reports from licensees anc vcndors', inspections, and industry groups.

AEOD analyzes the datte bdustry trends and pattems, analyzes and evaluates generic problems, and communicates the lessoris leamed to the other NRC offices and industry. AEOD also screens operational events for further detailed analysis to identify precursors to potential severe core damage socident sequences (accident sequence precursors), in addition , AEOD conducts a plant 4pecific analysis of plant trends discussed in the performance indicator report.

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Reactor Technical Training: Reactor technical training is conducted to ensure that NRC staff possess the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities and competenc8 3 s to accomplish the mission of the agency. Technica! training is provided for formal NRC staff qualification, development, and training programs in support of the reactor program. Full-scope training simulators are maintained to support NRC initial qualification and refresher programs.

Reactor Enforcement Actions: In response to issues identified through or followed up by the inspection program, NRC may implement a range of enforcement sanctions available through the enforcement program._ The enforcement program is used as a deterrent to emphasize the importance of compliance with requirements and to encourage prompt identification and comprehensive correction of violations. The basic enforcement sanctions are notices of violation, civil penalties, and order of various types. Related administrative actions such as notices of nonconformance, notices of deviation, confirmatory action letters, letters of reprimand, and demands forinformation are used to suppleme' nt the enforcement program.

Reactorinvestigations: The NRC investigates allegallons of wrongdoing by NRC reactor licensee's and others within its regulatory jurisdiction. All findings and conclusions that~ result from' investigations are sent to the appropriate program office, the Office of Enforcement and the Office of the General Counsel for review of the issues involved and a determinations as to whether enforcement action is warranted. investigations that substantiate criminal violations conceming NRC> licensees and others within the NRC's regulatory jurisdiction are referred to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Reactor Legal Advice: NRC's Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice and assistance to the NRC staff and the Commission with respect to all matters related to nuclear reactor safety and research and the environmentalimpacts of nuclear reactor operations. This includes review of proposed licensing actions (such as those associated with initial licensing and subsequent license amendments, the adoption 'of improved technical specifications, license renewal, license transfer, and advanced reactor activities), enforcement actions, conduct of investigations, promulgation of NRC regulations and regulatory guides, responses to petitions for rulemaking and regulatory interpretations. I Reactor Adjudication: The Atorric Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), a statutory office of the NRC, conducts hearings as independent adjudicatory tribunals. ASLB Judges hear and decide hearing petitions by intervenors and licensees conceming public health, safety, and -

environmentalissues arising .out of the grant, suspension, revocation, amendment, or renewat i of licenses to operate and decommission nuclear power plants.

Reactor and Plant Performance Research and Reactor Materials and Component i

Behavior Research: For a description of these functions, refer to Enclosure 3. -

j In addition to the function's described above, the NRC conducts the following activities related to

.the oversight of nuclear reactors. Resources to support these activities are not reflected in the table on page 1. , <

High-Level Waste Regulation: NRC's high-level waste regulatory activities are associated with high-level waste disposal at a potential site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as mandated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, and the m.

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7 Energy Policy Act of 1992. This legislation specifies a detailed approach for the long-rang undertaking of HLW disposal as well as the respective roles of NRC, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),'and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the HLW program.

DOE has the responsibility for the actual disposal of HLW, developing the geologic repo and operating it. EPA has been charged with developing the necessary environmental standards that will be.used to evaluate the safety of the geologic repository developed by DOE l

The NRC has extensive pre-licensing responsibilities and is the regulatory agency that will determine whether DOE's safety case for a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, compiles with the applicable regulatory standards deve!oped by both NRC and EPA. With DOE and EPA, NRC is participating in the development of a Yucca Mountain Review Plan that will.

Implement the site-specific, risk-informed, and performance-based regulations for a propose repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

t Regulation of Decommissioning: NRC manages the national program for materlats and fuel cycle decommissioning including program oversight, guidance development, licensing and casework reviews of submittals including: decommissioning plans l environmental reports, final radiological survey reports, financial assurance certifications and funding plans, and related license amendments and license termination requests. This activity comprises NRC's integrated requirements for the decontamination and decommissioning of facilities and sites associated with.NRC-licensed activities, including the technical interface with the Environmental Protection Agaricy, and research and rulemaking efforts. In some cases, non-licensed facilities may also be required to reduce or stabilize contamination before sites are released. Some power reactor licensees have recently decided to shut down their facilities prematurely, before the expiration of the current operating licenses. These unexpected shutdowns have resulted in additional staff efforts in the areas of decommissioning inspections and in the licensing area to process license amendments;and exemptions reducing regulatory requirements to correspond to the reduced risk posed by the' permanently shut down plants.

Radionuclide Transport and Decommissioning: NRC's radionuclide transport and decommissioning program supports the development of a performance arisessment capabili to assess the movement of radionuclides in the environment and consequent dose to the public from NRC licensed facilities. Topics of concem within the context of p,erformance assessment include source term, engineered barriers, flow and transport processes, pathway analysis, andj calculation of doses. It also supports the development of rules and regulatory guidance to

..- i address decommissioning issues. NRC's radionuclide contamination research is concemed -

I with assuring that the NRC has the capability to make realistic assessments of the movement l of radionuclides in the environment, and with the exposure of the public to radionuclides after release from NRC licensed facilities and from sites for which the license has been 1

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NRC'S REGU!.ATORY RESEARCH PROGRAM The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) pursues a reactor safety research program that includes elements of both confirmatory and anticipatory research to meet current and projected regulatory needs. The research is focused on those areas in which operating experience

'sigt ifi indicates potential problems and areas with the highest safety and regulatory cance. Accordingly, one RES responsibility is the developn ent of tools necessary to use risk insights together with deterministic analysis to implement risk-informed regulatory approaches which will maintain adequate levels of safety and eliminate unnecessary burden.

This activity is needed to respond to industry initiatives intended to make nuclear power plant more cost effective and competitive. In its pursuit ofimproved nuclear power plant performance, the nuclear industry is adopting less conservative operating conditions, while still retalning an adequate margin of safety by using best-estimate methods to evaluate overall pl performance. This permits consideration of changes, such as increased power levels, without any degradation in actual margin of safety.

Another RES responsibility is to rp' ovide the information, independent analytical tools and J

j analyses, and some of the technical experiise for making regulatoryjudgements and '

anticipating problems of potential cafety significance. RES has an active research program to address plant aging and the potential for aging related degradation w impact safety. This

. program has been a significant contributor to the NRC's regulatory positions on plant license i

renewal and is continuing to contribute by bringing research results to bear en plant-specific and generic license renewal technical considerations. The aging research is also providira the technical bases for resolving Generic Safety issues on fatigue and environmental qualification of electric equipment, which are key issues in the context of license renewal as well as operation during the' current license period.JRES also is maintaining and modemizing the agency's infrastructure including the tools, such as computer codes for evaluating thermal-hydraulic conditions, fuel behavior, and severe accidents, and is adapting them to new technologies. In addition, as utilities continue to adopt new technologies, e.g., digital instrumentation and Control, RES develops review guidance and analytical tools to cover haroware qualifications, human-t:ystem interfaces, software quality, and digital system

. redability.

RES also develops'and maintains in-house analysis capability to: 1) perform analyses of 5 operating events, for code assessment, and plant transients; 2) directly support the regulatory organizations (NRR and NMSS) in evaluating licer,see submittals; 3) be wallab's to respond to is:Nes that may arise from regulatory actions or from other sourects. Exampi2s include:

requests from the nuclear industry to modify operating license (e.p.. power upgrades), improve operational performance (e.g., longer operating cycles, new fuel de::!.as), modify technical -

specifications, and procedures, and 4) support the implementation of risk-informed regulation by performing analyses, s,ensitivity and uncertainty studies of various sequences to determine their risk significanos.

In the following sect!on, a r,ummary is presented of the RES activities related to reactor and plant safety, and reactor materials and component behavior. Evm though some of the activities, and staff 7asponsible for carrying them uut, are related to modemizing the agency regulatory infrastructure to adapt to new technologies, as discussed above, no attempt is made

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2 to nuclear separate power those plant. from the activities that are directly related to regulatory personnel loading pe Reactor and Plant Safety Research: The NRC conducts reactor and plant safety research to provide in-depth examination and understand:ng of operating experience and plant transients experienced by the nuclear industry, including evaluations of overall plant risk; understand and provide a technical basic for acceptance of operator / control-system designs considering effects on human and total systems performance; gain an understanding of ways to mitigate the consequences of severe core damage or core-melt accidents in nuclear power reactors; and manage the development of revised reactor regulations, policy statements, and regulatory guides that incorporate research results and lessor. leamed from oprating experience. Also, RES develops solutions to complex technical issues that apply to large numbers of reactors and nuclear-related facilities, i.e., generic issues. '

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ReactorMaterials.and Component BehaviorResearch: in the areas of reactor materials and component behavior, the NRC performs research to evaluate the integrity of key passive l and active components in a nuclear reactor system so that control rods can be inserted to shutdown the chain reactions, that there is no blockage of the coolant flow needed to remove heat and assure no fuel damage, and to maintain adequate level of cooling water in the reactor.

- RES also performs research to identify the ,ause and related effects of aging mechanisms, '

e.g., exposure to' reactor operating temperatures, irradiation enviro".ments, water chemistry, fatigue, and general wear. Assessment of safety margins er . needed for, continuing operation

,of existing facilities and extending reactor operation beyond A originallicense period of 40 years. .

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FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY OTHER U.S. FEDERAL OR STATE AGENC!~.S in addition to the regulatory program activities described previously, a variety of nuclear reactor safety functions are performed by other U.S. Federal or State agencies. These are:

2 Department of Energy: DOE is charged with promotion of nuclear power; advanced reactor development research;. fuel fabrication; developmert and implementation of energy sector policy; and some intemational nuclear safety activities.

Occupational Safety and Health Agency: OSHA's mandate includes occupational safety for nuclear workers in areas other thar1 radiation.

Environmental Protection Agency: EPA develops overall standards for environmental protection of public health and safety of general application (while NRC is responsible for the implementing regulations).

Fedem! Emergency Management Agency: FEMA is responsible for off-site emergency preparedness and response activities.

Department of State: DOS coordinates internation'al nuclear safety assistance activities in support of the U.S. Government's nuclear safety policies.

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