Nuclear Plant Inspection and Testing Code Updates

Summary

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to incorporate by reference revisions of three regulatory guides to approve new, revised, and reaffirmed code cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This action allows nuclear power plant licensees and applicants for construction permits, operating licenses, combined licenses, standard design certifications, standard design approvals, and manufacturing licenses to use the code cases listed in these regulatory guides as voluntary alternatives to engineering standards for the construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components. These engineering standards are set forth in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and American Society of Mechanical Engineers Operation and Maintenance Code, which are currently incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations. Further, this final rule announces the availability of a related regulatory guide, not incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations, that lists code cases that the NRC has not approved for use. Finally, this rulemaking provides more flexibility to licensees by expanding the code of record interval from ten years to two consecutive inservice testing and inservice inspection intervals.

Compliance Requirements

1. #1

   Nuclear power plant licensees and applicants for construction permits, operating licenses, combined licenses, standard design certifications, standard design approvals, and manufacturing licenses must use the code cases listed in RG 1.84, Revision 40; RG 1.147, Revision 21; and RG 1.192, Revision 5 as voluntary alternatives to engineering standards for the construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components; Licensees must update the code of record for their inservice examination and testing (IST) and inservice inspection (ISI) programs after completion of an ISI and IST interval, with a maximum of two consecutive ISI and IST intervals before licensees are required to update the code of record; Licensees implementing the 2017 Edition or later editions of ASME BPV Code, Section XI and ASME OM Code must immediately utilize the extended code of record interval; Licensees seeking to use a later edition in the middle of an IST or ISI interval must submit an exemption request for NRC review and approval; Licensees implementing ASME OM Code Case OMN-31 or ASME Code Case N-921 must do so at the start of a new IST or ISI interval; When an applicant or licensee initially implements a code case, they must implement the most recent version of that code case as listed in the regulatory guides incorporated by reference; Licensees that were using a code case prior to the effective date of its revision may continue to use the previous version until the next update to the code of record for the ISI or IST program; If a code case is incorporated by reference and later revised because experience shows inadequacy, applicants and licensees should not begin to implement such superseded code cases in advance of rulemaking

   Deadline: 2024-08-16(30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register (07/17/2024))

Market Impacts

• Expanded market access for nuclear power plant licensees and applicants to use ASME code cases as voluntary alternatives to engineering standards for construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components; Increased demand for specialized engineering services to implement and maintain compliance with the newly approved ASME code cases listed in RG 1.84 Rev 40, RG 1.147 Rev 21, and RG 1.192 Rev 5; Approval of new material specifications and manufacturing processes through code cases (e.g., N-901 for ASME SA-494 Grade M35-1, N-910 for 25Cr-7Ni-4Mo-N alloys) creates market opportunities for manufacturers meeting these specifications; Code cases N-780-1 and N-913 impose specific equipment qualification and examination requirements that may restrict market access for equipment not meeting these enhanced standards; Extended code of record interval from 10 years to two consecutive ISI/IST intervals (up to 25 years maximum) reduces frequency of major compliance updates, lowering operational costs; Specific ASME code case requirements and NRC conditions create technical barriers for foreign manufacturers and suppliers not familiar with U.S. nuclear regulatory framework

Validated Company Impacts