Information Notice No. 83-72: Environmental Qualification Testing Experience

                                                            SSINS No.: 6835 
                                                            IN 83-72       

                                UNITED STATES
                        NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                    OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
                           WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
                                     
                              OCTOBER 28, 1983

Information Notice No. 83-72:  ENVIRONMENTAL QUALIFICATION TESTING EXPERIENCE

Addressees: 

All holders of a nuclear power reactor operating license (OL) or 
construction permit (CP). 

Purpose: 

This information notice is provided to inform the licensees of environmental
qualification test failures. These test failures are based on (1) 
Construction Deficiency Reports and 10 CFR Part 21 Reports submitted to the 
NRC, and (2) results from the NRC-sponsored environmental qualification 
methodology research program. This information notice also serves to inform 
the licensees of findings that resulted from inspections conducted by the 
licensee or its agent of equipment that has been environmentally qualified 
and is being delivered or installed at the sites. 

Because of the potential safety significance and related generic 
implications of these test failures and inspection findings, addressees are 
expected to review the information for applicability to their facilities. No 
specific response to this information notice is required. 

Description of Circumstances: 

The NRC has received a number of Construction Deficiency Reports and 10 CFR 
Part 21 Reports from licensees and vendors of safety-related equipment. 
These reports describe a number of test failures and the circumstances under 
which the equipment failed to function during environmental qualification 
testing. These reports also indicate that there are a number of instances in 
which delivered equipment and components contained material that did not 
conform to standards for safety, thus rendering the qualified equipment and 
components unqualified. In addition to the monitoring and assessing of 
environmental qualification information received from the industry, the NRC 
has also sponsored a number of qualification tests of certain safety-related
equipment under its environmental qualification methodology research 
program, which has resulted in a number of adverse test results. This 
information notice is published with the following objectives: 

1.   To disseminate the information on matters related to the environmental 
     qualification of equipment and on test results, as received from the 
     licensees and equipment vendors. 
.

                                                           IN 83-72        
                                                           October 28, 1983 
                                                           Page 2 of 2     

2.   To disseminate the results of NRC-sponsored environmental qualification
     tests which have been completed. 

The enclosed continuing series of Equipment Environmental Qualification 
Notices (Attachment 1) describes the circumstances of each failure, failure 
mode, and qualification concerns as described in various reports and sources
indicated. Please note that for items in Qualification Notices No. 14 
through 19 the vendors have issued service instructions to the affected 
users regarding corrective action to be taken. 

Questions regarding the details of tests described in Attachment 1 should be
directed either to the equipment manufacturer or the cognizant design/test 
agency. If you have other questions regarding this information notice, 
please contact the Regional Administrator of the appropriate NRC Regional 
Office, or this office. 


                                   Edward L. Jordan Director 
                                   Division of Emergency Preparedness 
                                     and Engineering Response 
                                   Office of Inspection and Enforcement 

Attachments:
1.   Series of Equipment Environmental Qualification Notices
2.   List of Recently Issued IE Information Notices

Technical Contact:  N. B. Le, IE
                    (301) 492-9673
.