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Title: Methodology guideline for risk-based application of quality assurance requirements

Journal Article · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society
OSTI ID:76020

Augmentation of traditional engineering and safety evaluation methods with probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) models can result in improved safety and more cost-effective operation of commercial nuclear power stations. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has recently published an assessment of the potential for use of PSA methods to assist in focusing utility and NRC staff resources on the areas most critical to overall plant safety. This NRC assessment outlines the current state of PSA technology and its application to regulatory decision making, including the potential for use of PSA for implementation of graded quality assurance. During 1993, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) began work on a project focused on the application of PSA to programmatic areas of nuclear power plant operations, maintenance, and regulation. The project is a broad-scope effort starting with identification of major cost drivers in the nuclear industry and culminating in the application of PSA to selected areas to reduce cost while maintaining or reducing the level of plant risk. This paper summarizes a portion of the EPRI project dealing with the risk ranking of nuclear plant systems, structures, and components (SSCs) and application of graded quality assurance (QA) based on risk significance. The graded QA task was jointly sponsored by EPRI and Entergy`s Grand Gulf nuclear power station.

OSTI ID:
76020
Report Number(s):
CONF-940602-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 95:003867-0197
Journal Information:
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 70; Conference: 35. annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society, New Orleans, LA (United States), 11-16 Jun 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English