Environmental qualification safety

Environmental qualification safety involves ensuring that the correct environmental qualification tests related to safety are performed and successfully passed for system HW items. For example, electrical equipment that must operate in an explosive fuel environment must undergo explosive atmosphere testing to ensure it cannot cause accidental ignition of a fuel-rich compartment. System safety is responsible for ensuring the appropriate environmental tests are properly performed, passed, and documented for safety coverage. Environmental qualification testing safety concerns and hazards include ... 

The high level of safety and reliability required of nuclear power stations has meant that systematic estimates of polymer lifetime have been performed more widely here than in any other industry. The approach is described in Section 5.3. Many applications of polymers are in locations that cannot be monitored by regular inspection. The practice has been to subject polymers in these regions to independent assessment or environmental qualification , a process in which their potential degradation mechanisms are identified within a worst case environment of 40 °C and high humidity. If the predicted lifetime of a component is less than the design life of 40 years a schedule is laid down for its replacement. 

The final task of the pre-installation process should be a preinstallation qualification. This is a site-readiness evaluation indicating whether the location into which the HPLC system is to be installed is actually ready to accommodate this system. This should include the following utility/spatial/environmental and safety considerations ... 

Design qualification—a formalized review of designs at a preliminary point in the project. Its goal is to independently confirm that the design conforms to both user requirements and regulatory, environmental, and safety regulations. 

AR369 1.89 Environmental qualification of certain electric equipment important to safety for nuclear... 

Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-24 in NUREG-0933 (Reference 1) addresses the adequacy of environmental qualification methods and acceptance criteria for Class IE electrical equipment. 

NUREG-0588, "Interim Staff Position on Environmental Qualification of Safety-Related Electrical Equipment," U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, July 1981. 

CFR 50.49, "Environmental Qualification of Electric Equipment Important to Safety for Nuclear Power Plant," Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. 

Environmental qualification of safety related equipment is addressed in CESSAR-DC Section 3.11. Determination of radiation environment during a design basis accident considers the requirements of Parts 1 and 4 of Item II.B.2. 

The worst case water spray does not prevent safety-significant SSCs from achieving their safety functions. This argument includes the use of spray shields and environmental qualification of electrical equipment and containment valves. 

Environmental qualification of the safety significant SSCs within the Containment/Shield Building ensure that key safety function delivery will not be affected by extreme ambient temperature. 

The safety I C systems located inside the containment were environmentally qualified (see also SP (182)) for large break, loss of coolant accident conditions according to the original design. However, formal documentation from this quahfication was not available. The parts of the system located inside the I C rooms but outside the containment were not environmentally qualified. The valves of the safety systems located inside the containment were also not fully qualified. The plant launched a wide environmental qualification programme. In the first step the items to be environmentally qualified were identified. Environmental criteria were set up... 

Arrangements should also be made in order for services and facilities to maintain an appropriate and adequate inventory of stores and consumables, particularly items important to safety. Storage facilities should comply with requirements for quality assurance and environmental qualification (see Ref. [8], Safety Guide Q13). 

DOE Order 5480.4, "Environmental Protection, Safety, and Health Protection Standards" (Reference 1), requires compliance with IEEE 308-1980, "Criteria for Class IE Power Systems for Nuclear Power Generating Stations" (Reference 2) and IEEE 603-1980, "Standard Criteria for Safety Systems for Nuclear Generating Stations" (Reference 3). Both standards require equipment qualification to be in accordance with the requirements of IEEE 323-1974,... 

Any proposal to incorporate an unconventional material, and particularly a waste or byproduct material, into a functional product, requires the rendered product to provide reliable, safe, and cost-effective service during its useful life. Such requirements necessitate qualification evaluations to be performed on wastes before their acceptance as alternative materials. At least three evaluation aspects shall be included in an evaluation framework, that is, technical implementability, environmental safety, and economic benefits. 

Design Qualification, DQ, is about specifying what the instrument or instrument system has to do. This would include documenting technical requirements, environmental conditions, sample and sample presentation requirements, data acquisition and presentation needs, operability factors and any Health Safety issues. In addition a cost-benefit analysis would normally be performed. 

Other features require that the operator enable employee participation in mitigating or eliminating hazards, a feature missing from API s RP 75, and ensure that all employees have the right to report safety or environmental violations or unsafe work conditions to BSEE and request BSEE inspection. SEMS II also requires that operators specify one person on each facility who has Ultimate Work Authority for operational safety. Finally it requires enhanced training programs and audits of SEMS programs conducted by independent third parties who meet specified qualification criteria. 

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