Information Notice No. 86-21, Supplement 2: Recognition of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Accreditation Program for N Stamp Holders

                                UNITED STATES
                        NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                    OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
                          WASHINGTON, DC  20555 

                               April 16, 1991


NRC INFORMATION NOTICE NO 86-21, SUPPLEMENT 2:   RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN 
                                                  SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL 
                                                  ENGINEERS ACCREDITATION 
                                                  PROGRAM FOR N STAMP 
                                                  HOLDERS 
                                                  

Addressees:

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power 
reactors and all recipients of NUREG-0040, "Licensee Contractor and Vendor 
Inspection Status Report" (White Book)

Purpose:

This information notice supplement is to alert addressees of a clarification 
of IN 86-21 and Supplement 1 concerning the recognition by the US Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 
(ASME) Accreditation Program  This supplement clarifies that a method, 
other than auditing, may be used by purchasers of certain ASME Section III 
Code items to verify that the ASME-accredited suppliers of the items are 
effectively implementing their quality assurance (QA) program  It is 
expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to 
their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar 
problems  However, suggestions contained in this supplement do not 
constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written 
response is required

Background:

In IN 86-21, the NRC informed holders of operating licenses and construction 
permits that the NRC recognizes the ASME Accreditation Program for N, NA, 
NPT, and NV stamps and associated certificates of authorization as evidence 
that the holder of the certificate of authorization has a documented QA 
program that meets the requirements of Appendix B to Part 50 of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50)  The information notice also 
stated that when assessing whether a company has an acceptable QA program to 
enable it to become a supplier, licensees and their subcontractors could 
rely on the fact that ASME had surveyed the supplier and issued a 
certificate of authorization of the appropriate scope and for the desired 
location, without performing any additional evaluation of the supplier's QA 
program

IN 86-21, Supplement 1, clarified the intent of IN 86-21, by noting that the 
NRC's recognition of the ASME Accreditation Program as providing evidence of 
an acceptable QA program also applied to holders of quality system 
certificates

9104100050 


                                                  IN 86-21, Supplement  2 
                                                  April 16, 1991 
                                                  Page 2 of 3 


Discussion:

IN 86-21 and Supplement 1 stated that the NRC's recognition of the ASME 
Accreditation Program applied only to the programmatic aspects of the QA 
programs and that holders of operating licenses or construction permits, and 
their subcontractors, are still responsible for ensuring that the suppliers 
are effectively implementing their approved QA programs  However, recent 
inquiries from licensees and vendors suggest the need to further clarify the 
earlier information notice and supplement regarding the purchaser's 
responsibilities for verifying effective implementation of a supplier's QA 
program

Several nuclear industry standards and NRC regulatory guides (RGs) provide 
guidance for scheduling and performing periodic audits to verify that 
licensees and their suppliers are effectively implementing QA programs 
(ie, ANSI N45212, NQA-1, RG 128, RG 1144)  Licensees may wish to 
review their plant-specific commitments to determine which standards and NRC 
regulatory guides apply in their case

The NRC issued RG 1144, Revision 1, "Auditing of Quality Assurance Programs 
for Nuclear Power Plants," to endorse (with modifications) ANSI 
N45212-1977  In that regulatory guide, the staff stated that the licensee 
should schedule and perform periodic audits when the supplier is performing 
a sufficient quantity of work to demonstrate that the supplier is adequately 
performing the functions defined in the QA program for the purchased item  
In RG 1144 and RG 128, Revision 3, "Quality Assurance Program Requirements 
(Design and Construction)," the staff also noted that, after awarding a 
contract, the licensee may evaluate the procurement requirements and 
determine that implementation audits are not necessary for procuring items 
that are (1) relatively simple and standard in design, manufacturing, and 
testing; and (2) adaptable to standard or automated inspections or tests of 
the end product to verify quality characteristics after delivery

It is important to note that the ASME Accreditation Program, as discussed in 
IN 86-21, Supplement 1, and this supplement, applies only to items manu-
factured in accordance with Section III of the ASME Code and does not apply 
to noncode items that may be supplied by ASME certificate holders  For 
example in IN 88-95, "Inadequate Procurement Requirements Imposed by 
Licensees on Vendors," the staff has provided additional information 
regarding the procurement of nonpressure-boundary parts used on ASME code 
components



                                                  IN 86-21, Supplement 2 
                                                  April 16, 1991 
                                                  Page 3 of 3 


This information notice supplement requires no specific action or written 
response  If you have any questions about the information in this 
supplement, please contact the technical contact listed below or the 
appropriate NRR project manager




                                   Charles E Rossi, Director
                                   Division of Operational Events Assessment
                                   Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation


Technical Contact:  Larry L Campbell, NRR
                    (301) 492-0976


Attachment:  List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices