Atomic Energy of Canada Limited National Research Universal Reactor Safety System Upgrades and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Licensing and Oversight Process

Operating Licence (OL)

J-OL-1

L1

CNSC and AECL should achieve approval of up-to-date FA and FSAR, and incorporate them into the OL as soon as practical.

J-OL-2

L1

AECL should update - and both AECL and CNSC should promptly approve, and incorporate into the OL - , an updated FA, including LCOs for any new required structure, system, or component that is added in a new OL or in a new OL amendment.

C-OL-1

S1

CNSC should clarify current OL requirements, particularly the requirements invoked by the Licensing Strategy document.

C-OL-2

L1

CNSC should use precise regulatory language, to ensure that future CRL OL and licence conditions for the NRU reactor, and other licensed facilities, are clear. The CNSC staff should ensure that, before a licence condition is approved and issued, both the licensee and the regulator can understand what actions will be needed to fully implement the requirements, and that it is clear enough that the CNSC staff can enforce specific details. Use specific (enforceable) regulatory terms and references, as opposed to "implement the seven upgrades."

C-OL-3

S1

CNSC management should require that all the regulatory documents that CNSC staff plan to use or rely on (when establishing requirements or providing authorizations) would be reviewed for enforceability by CNSC counsel before issuance.

C-OL-4

L1

CNSC should adopt a standard to test the clarity of regulatory language, so that both a nuclear plant control room operator and a regulatory inspector would be able to read a document and agree on "what" is required, the means or details of "how", and "by when".

C-OL-5

L2

CNSC should obtain authorization to hire its own in-house counsel. Legal support services should be more effectively used for review of key regulatory documents, to ensure clarity and enforceability.

C-OL-6

L2

CNSC should publish a definition of the term "licensing basis" which includes those commitments and statements that the CNSC Commission Members relied upon as a basis for the CNSC Commission decision to approve the OL. CNSC should also define commonly used terms - besides "licensing basis" - in a regulatory guidance document.

A-OL-1

S1

AECL should clearly define the licensing bases (e.g., licence applications must include the current FA, the FSAR and the applicable LCOs and their bases) OL for the NRU reactor, to ensure future licensing bases are clear.

Commitment Management (CM)

J-CM-1

S1

AECL and CNSC should identify all of the open regulatory commitments, and reach an agreement that these open items will adequately cover the licensing requirements.

J-CM-2

S1

AECL and CNSC should develop and implement a formal tracking system to clearly identify those licensee commitments and statements, as well as track any open inspection or audit findings. As new items are identified by AECL or CNSC, those new items should be entered into the AECL and CNSC commitment action tracking system.

C-CM-1

S1

CNSC should develop a formal CNSC tracking system, and use it to monitor outstanding licensing and inspection issues. CNSC should share this with the licensee, to help ensure that both CNSC management and the AECL management have a current understanding of the outstanding regulatory issues. The tracking system should include licensing issues, inspection findings, licensee commitments and action items. This should be used to provide continuity as regulator and licensee staff change over time. It should also be used to assist any new project managers - or inspectors - in knowing the current licence commitments and inspection follow-up status.

A-CM-1

L1

AECL should require by procedure that commitments only be made by authorized individuals, in writing, with a clear description of scope and schedule. Prior to making the commitment, a resource loaded plan and schedule must be developed, to ensure that the commitment can be met.

A-CM-2

S1

AECL should prioritize existing and future regulatory commitments and initiatives by safety significance, cost, schedule, and plant availability.

A-CM-3

L1

AECL should track all commitments in a central database, managed by the licensing group, and reference the licensing commitment number in the implementation plans and execution documents, in order to ensure that no scope or schedule changes are made without a licensing assessment.

A-CM-4

L1

AECL should include in the Commitment Management Procedure a step that once a committed action has been completed and verified, the commitment may be closed and CNSC informed in writing.

A-CM-5

L1

AECL should reflect reference to the commitment in implementation documents such as drawings and procedures, to ensure that the commitment is not inadvertently "undone" at a later date.

A-CM-6

L1

AECL should revise procedure CW-508760-PRO-246 to include a safety significance evaluation for any Non-REG entry into the system. For those that are considered to be significant from a health and safety perspective, a level of schedule control similar to the one used for regulatory [REG-C, REG-M and REG-I] actions should be adopted and used.

Communications (CC)

J-CC-1

L1

CNSC and AECL should strengthen the quality and timeliness of internal and external communications, including a process to elevate issues of differing views to higher levels of management for resolution when needed.

C-CC-1

S1

CNSC management should communicate an expectation of "no surprises" to the CNSC staff, and foster a culture that encourages the staff to feel free to bring safety issues or potential problems to the attention of management.

C-CC-2

L2

To ensure that the CNSC regulatory position is clear and understandable, CNSC should adopt a practice of issuing a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) that summarizes the basis for the CNSC review and acceptance of a design change or licence amendment. These CNSC SERs should be issued as timely as possible, and the CNSC managers should establish a planned review completion schedule for each major licensing document.

C-CC-3

S2

CNSC should not normally request reports and analyses that they do not intend to review. CNSC should document its approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval in written correspondence to the licensee.

A-CC-1

L1

AECL should improve its communications with CNSC at all levels, including site licensing interactions, site senior management meetings, and corporate visits to the CNSC senior executives. AECL should implement formal communication plans and procedures, conduct training on their use and conduct an effectiveness review, at least annually. AECL should include, as a matter of routine, expectations that their managers periodically meet with regulatory organizations, to make sure that communications are effective.

A-CC-2

S2

AECL should issue its own communication protocol, and reemphasize or implement a policy of "no surprises" and 3-way communication with CNSC staff on regulatory issues and the status of regulatory commitments.

Licence Renewal (LR)

J-LR-1

S2

AECL and CNSC should strengthen the licence renewal process to require more complete and accurate information to be provided to the CNSC Commission Members, especially if, in the view of the CNSC staff, the information involves a key safety issue or a potential licence violation. Both organizations need to be prepared to bring the most up-to-date and detailed information to the CNSC Commission Members.

C-LR-1

S1

CNSC should review the current statutory authority for licensing and, if the ability to delegate the authority for issuing licence amendments to the CNSC staff exists, authorize the Executive Vice-President or the Directors General for Licensing to approve licence amendments. If that authority does not exist, the CNSC should request it from Parliament.

C-LR-2

L1

CNSC should adopt a "Timely Renewal" licensing process. This would allow an existing licence to remain in effect until CNSC had completed its full licensing review. This would be based on the receipt of the application at least one year prior to the licence expiration date. The existing OL remains in effect until CNSC decides to issue or not the new licence. If there is a significant safety issue during the timely renewal period, CNSC can issue an order to the licensee to take the actions necessary to ensure protection of the public health and safety, the workers, or the environment. Under "Timely Renewal", CNSC retains the option for a periodic safety review, while at the same time having the flexibility for additional or more in depth licensing evaluations or to address unforeseen operational issues.

C-LR-3

L1

CNSC should consider requiring that licence applications be submitted under oath or affirmation. This would emphasize the importance of providing accurate information to the CNSC to make its licensing decisions.

C-LR-4

L1

CNSC should shift to a more process-based system, where regulatory requirements and expectations are specified in writing and in guidance documents.

C-LR-5

L1

CNSC should issue a Standard Format and Content guide for use by licensees in preparing licence applications.

C-LR-6

L1

CNSC should issue a Standard Review Plan for use by the CNSC staff in conducting their safety reviews.

C-LR-7

S1

CNSC should not, unless there is a safety justification, change the standards that were in effect when the reactor was licensed. Those standards should remain unchanged for the duration of the licence, to provide for regulatory predictability and stability. If CNSC desires to revise these standards during periodic safety upgrades, it should specify this and provide the basis for it, so that licensees become aware of the expectations to be met.

Assess Interim Operation (AIO)

C-AIO-1

L1

CNSC should implement a formal process for reviewing urgent requests for temporary licence amendments and for exercising enforcement discretion to allow continued operation in special situations. Special situations include severe weather, missed surveillance tests, lack of spare parts, degraded electrical grid situations etc. Operating reactors face these situations from time to time, and this would allow them to request approval for continued operation. Frequently, this approval is based on the temporary use of compensatory measures, or other appropriate means, to assure safety while not meeting certain specific conditions

C-AIO-2

L1

CNSC should issue guidance to the industry for making requests for continued operation under off-normal conditions, including what information is to be submitted to CNSC by the licensee.

A-AIO-1

S1

AECL, pending issuance of the CNSC guidance recommended above, should review, approve and implement a TOE process that is aligned with the nuclear industry's best practices in this area. The process can be similar to that used in November 2007, but should be specifically designed and issued for use at the RU reactor for the assessment of such off-normal conditions. It should include specific actions, assessments and acceptance criteria related to regulatory requirements, design basis, safety function, and safety analysis. AECL should share this procedure with CNSC.

A-AIO-2

L1

AECL should strengthen its risk management assessment (including use of probabilistic safety analysis tools) programs, to support their use in the safety assessment process.

Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA)

J-PSA-1

S1

AECL and CNSC should both develop their own methodology to assess risks of specific plant configurations of the NRU reactor.

J-PSA-2

S1

AECL and CNSC should establish safety goals for the NRU reactor.

Enforcement (E)

C-E-1

S1

CNSC senior management should clearly promulgate their expectations regarding procedural adherence by CNSC staff. This should include clearly documenting, in every audit or inspection report, whether any OL violations were identified or not, as well as their safety significance, as it is understood at that time.

C-E-2

L1

CNSC senior management should provide training for all CNSC staff that conducts inspections, to ensure that CNSC staff understands how to identify and document OL or regulation violations, and encourage the inspectors to get advice from CNSC counsel if there are any questions concerning a possible OL violation.

C-E-3

L2

CNSC senior management should adopt an Enforcement Policy which includes the ability to levy monetary fines. If necessary, the CNSC should request civil penalty authority. This should be an inherent authority of CNSC, not subject to support from other government agencies. This provides the regulator with a more efficient and effective way to identify those violations that warrant elevated enforcement action, and enables CNSC to be more effective in ensuring regulatory requirements are met.

C-E-4

L1

CNSC should develop and implement an Enforcement Policy that includes guidance for the CNSC staff to exercise enforcement discretion under certain conditions. This needs to be fully coordinated with CNSC in-house counsel in both the development of the policy and the oversight of its implementation to ensure consistency among inspectors. Should CNSC obtain the authority and ability to issue civil penalties as recommended above, this should also be covered in the new Enforcement Policy.

Regulatory Compliance

A-RC-1

L1

AECL should assess the effectiveness of NRU's regulatory compliance process.

Modification Management (MM)

A-MM-1

L1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires that, when only part of a modification is commissioned and placed in service, the actual configuration has been reflected in drawings and procedures, that operators have been trained, and the specific configuration being placed in service has been analyzed in a safety evaluation (safety case); it should also require a new stand-alone modification be issued, covering installation and commissioning of the remainder of the modification.

A-MM-2

L1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires that the as-installed configuration be consistent with the engineering change package.

A-MM-3

S1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires that any non-trivial change obtain prior Engineering approval.

A-MM-4

S1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires that an independent verification of the physical installation be performed prior to completion acceptance.

A-MM-5

L1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires that for plant modifications done to meet CNSC commitments, a reference to the commitment be included in the applicable documents (drawings, specifications, procedures, etc.)

A-MM-6

L1

AECL should ensure the Engineering Change Control procedure requires specific LCOs, with their detailed bases, to be in effect when modifications are approved and required to be functional by the CNSC.

A-MM-7

L2

AECL should continue its self-assessment of the NRU Configuration Control Processes, including Modification Management processes and procedures.

Project Management (PM)

A-PM-1

L2

AECL should ensure its project management guidance is based on the Project Management Institute guidance for project management.

A-PM-2

L2

AECL should ensure the responsibility for compliance with commitments is assigned to Project Managers.

A-PM-3

L2

AECL should require Project Managers, by procedure, to include licence commitment references in their project plans, schedules and implementing documents.

Work Management (WM)

A-WM-1

L1

AECL should strengthen the long-term planning process (including programs and processes for budgeting and resource allocation, work prioritization, and work planning and control) such that it is aligned with the nuclear industry's best practices. Long-term plans should include resource-loaded schedules for major projects, which reflect the amount of support required and availability of the plant staff. Ensure that all functional departments understand the scope, priority and schedule for regulatory projects. The commitment date and project schedule should be based on plant staff resource requirements and availability, plant operating and shutdown schedules, and safety significance.

A-WM-2

L1

AECL should include long-term project work in the recently implemented cyclic work planning process, so that is given appropriate priority and can be completed on schedule. Long-term project work can be planned and staged in advance with routine plant work, such that it can be smoothly executed during a "work week".

A-WM-3

L2

AECL should continue its self-assessment of the NRU Configuration Control Processes, including Work Control and Quality Control processes and procedures.

Corrective Action Program (CAP)

A-CAP-1

L2

AECL should assess the adequacy of the reportability evaluations performed as part of the CAP.

A-CAP-2

L1

AECL should assess the effectiveness of its CAP.

A-CAP-3

L2

AECL should continue to strengthen the root cause analysis capability of the NRU staff, and conduct training on root cause analysis techniques.

Self-Assessment (SA)

A-SA-1

L2

AECL should continue to increase and strengthen its self-assessment programs.

A-SA-2

L2

AECL should arrange and conduct a peer review of the CRL self-assessment program.

Oversight (O)

A-O-1

L2

AECL should include non-AECL safety experts as members of the SRC, to strengthen its independence and objectivity.

A-O-2

L2

AECL SRC reports to management should highlight important safety issues as the first part of their quarterly reports.

A-O-3

S2

AECL management should communicate an expectation that the SRC should be more assertive in requesting and obtaining responses from the line organizations.

A-O-4

L2

AECL should continue to increase and strengthen its QA Program and its implementation.

A-O-5

L2

AECL should assess the effectiveness of Quality Control and QA