The effect of plant aging on equipment qualification and human performance issues related to license renewal

The aging of nuclear power plants is one of the most important issues facing the nuclear industry worldwide. Aging encompasses as forms of degradation to nuclear power plant components, systems, and structures that result from exposure to environmental conditions or from operational stresses. Both the degradation from aging and actions taken to address the aging, such as increased maintenance and testing, can significantly impact human performance in the plant. Research into the causes and effects of aging as obtained through the assessment of operating experience and testing have raised questions regarding the adequacy of existing industry standards for addressing the concerns raised by this research. This paper discusses these issues, with particular emphasis in the area of equipment qualification and human performance

Recommendations for managing equipment aging in nuclear power plants

Research conducted under the auspices of the US NRC's Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program has resulted in a large database of component and system operating, maintenance, and testing information. This database has been used to determine the susceptibility to aging of selected components, and the potential for equipment aging to impact plant safety and availability. it has also identified methods for detecting and mitigating component and system aging. This paper describes the research recommendations on electrical components which could be applied to maintenance, testing, and inspection activities to detect and mitigate the effects of aging prior to equipment failures