Implementation of the final maintenance rule
On July 10, 1991, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission published in the Federal Register its final maintenance rule, `Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants.` In the supplementary information published with the notice, the agency said that it `believes that the effectiveness of maintenance must be assessed on an ongoing basis in a manner which ensures that the desired result, reasonable assurance that key structures, systems and components [SSCs] are capable of performing their intended function, is consistently achieved.` This is the first performance-based regulation promulgated by the NRC, and it is unique in requiring the establishment of goals only if performance is unacceptable. The rule focuses on SSCs performing their intended function, but not on the programs or plans required to ensure that the SSCs will work if called upon. It is also unique in that it involves selected balance-of-plant SSCs, maintaining a balance between the availability and reliability of key SSCs, and determination of the overall risk of taking systems out of service. Although the regulation is short in detail, it has broad ramifications for plant maintenance programs. The industry, through the Nuclear Management and Resources Council (Numarc), developed a guideline for implementing the maintenance rule. This article describes the guideline development, results of the verification and validation program to evaluate it, and activities that need to be completed before July 10, 1996, when the rule must be fully implemented.
- OSTI ID:
- 486222
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear News, Journal Name: Nuclear News Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 36; ISSN NUNWA8; ISSN 0029-5574
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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