Maintenance rule implementation at Crystal River nuclear plant
- Florida Power Corporation, Crystal River, FL (United States)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC) determination that a maintenance rule was needed is based on the conclusion that proper maintenance is essential to plant safety. The NRC arrived at this conclusion based on the results of the Commission`s Maintenance Team Inspections (MTIs). Inspection results indicated Nuclear Power Plants have adequate maintenance programs and have shown an improving trend in program implementation. However, some common maintenance-related weaknesses were identified, such as inadequate root cause analysis leading to repetitive failures, lack of equipment performance trending, and the consideration of plant risk in prioritization, planning and scheduling of maintenance. The Commission indicated that it is important for the NRC to have a regulatory framework in place that would provide a mechanism for evaluating the overall continuing effectiveness of nuclear plant maintenance programs. On July 10, 1991, the Maintenance Rule, ``Requirements for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants``, was published by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the Federal Register as 10 CFR 50.65. The Maintenance Rule will become effective July 10, 1996, thereby requiring full implementation by that date. The NRC`s overall objective is that structures, systems, and components of nuclear power plants be maintained so that plant equipment will perform its intended function when required. The Maintenance Rule is characterized as a performance-based rule providing focus on results rather than programmatic adequacy. The rule also provides for continued emphasis on the defense-in-depth principle by including selected balance of plant SSCS, integrates risk consideration into the maintenance process, provides an enhanced regulatory basis for inspection and enforcement of balance of plant maintenance-related issues.
- OSTI ID:
- 234171
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9411168--; ISBN 0-87171-444-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
CRYSTAL RIVER-3 REACTOR
CRYSTAL RIVER-4 REACTOR
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
REACTOR MAINTENANCE
REACTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS
REACTOR SAFETY
REGULATIONS
RELIABILITY
RISK ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM FAILURE ANALYSIS
TRAINING
US NRC