NRC: News Release - 2003-036 - NRC Taking Action on Recommendations from Davis-Besse Lessons Learned Task Force


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No. 03-036

March 27, 2003

NRC TAKING ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
DAVIS-BESSE LESSONS LEARNED TASK FORCE
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has developed action plans to carry out the recommendations of its Lessons Learned Task Force on the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) head degradation event at the Davis-Besse pressurized water reactor (PWR) in Oak Harbor, Ohio. The plans are part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure public health and safety following the discovery of boric acid corrosion of the RPV head. The Davis-Besse Lessons Learned Task Force produced more than 50 recommendations, 21 of which are considered high-priority. The action plans divide the recommendations into four major areas:

Assessment of stress corrosion cracking, including collecting experience with cracking and boric acid corrosion as a basis for improving agency inspections;
Assessment of operating experience and incorporation into training, and review of program effectiveness;
Evaluation of inspection, assessment and project management guidance, and;
Assessment of barrier integrity requirements, including improvements to reactor coolant leakage detection.

In the stress corrosion area, near-term actions include continued evaluation of current crack prediction models, and summarizing the results of licensees' responses to Bulletin 2002-01 in a public document. Longer-term actions include collecting and summarizing worldwide data on cracking in nickel-based alloys and boric acid corrosion, which will provide a basis for revising regulatory requirements and for developing inspection guidance for assessing licensee component inspection and boric acid corrosion control programs.

The operating experience plan includes a comprehensive review of the agency's programs for collecting, evaluating and disseminating operating experience information, as well as an assessment of the scope and adequacy of its requirements for licensee review of operating experience. Inspection guidance and training relating to review of operating experience will be strengthened.

In the inspection, assessment and project management area, plans include revising guidelines for assessing licensee problem identification and resolution programs, and developing guidance to ensure proper documentation of decisions that deviate from agency guidelines.

The barrier integrity plan's actions include determining if pressure boundary leakage requirements for all plants need to be revised, reviewing requirements for leakage monitoring systems, re-evaluating the basis for coolant system leakage requirements and developing improved performance indicators for system leakage.

The status of high-priority recommendations will be updated quarterly, and progress on all recommendations will be reported semiannually. The first semiannual report is expected by the end of August. The reports will be available with other Davis-Besse documents on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/vessel-head-degradation/news.html.

The NRC plans to conduct a public meeting to discuss these activities within the next few months.

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