Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants

Resumo

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its power reactor safety regulations to require that licensees assess the cumulative effect of out-of-service equipment on the plant's capability to perform safety functions before beginning any maintenance activity on structures, systems, or components within the scope of the maintenance rule. The amendments would also clarify that the proposed rule applies under all conditions of operation including normal shutdown, that the safety assessments include both the plant conditions before and those expected during planned maintenance activities, and that the safety assessments are to be used to ensure that the plant is not placed in a condition of significant risk or a condition that would degrade the performance of safety functions to an unacceptable level.