I&C consultancy, USA (Deadline: 14 January 2011)

20 December 2010


The NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) is responsible for providing technical advice, technical tools and information for identifying and resolving safety issues, making regulatory decisions, and promulgating regulations and guidance. RES conducts independent experiments and analyses, develops technical bases for supporting realistic safety decisions by the agency, and prepares the agency for the future by evaluating safety issues involving current and new designs and technologies.

Chapter 7 of the SRP, NUREG-0800 provides guidance for review of the instrumentation and control (I&C) portions of applications for nuclear reactor licenses or permits, and amendments to existing licenses. This guidance has also been applied in the review of topical reports submitted to NRC for safety evaluation, especially reports requesting generic acceptance of systems or components that may be used in nuclear power plant I&C safety systems. The current structure of Chapter 7 of the SRP consists of an overview of the I&C review process, followed by subsections addressing systems that include references to I&C guidance, appendices that provide specific guidance for meeting regulatory requirements, and branch technical positions (BTPs) that address specific issues. Additionally, Chapter 7 of the SRP provides links to several Regulatory Guides (RGs) and NUREGs that provide additional information on meeting regulatory requirements for I&C safety systems. More recently, the staff developed Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) to resolve technical and regulatory challenges associated with digital technology. While the current version of Chapter 7 of the SRP for I&C continues to be adequate for reviewing applications or amendments to existing licenses in the I&C area, there are areas where it can be improved.

NRC seeks assistance in assessing the existing framework of regulations and guidance relevant to I&C and developing a dynamic electronic support system to assist in the review of licensing applications. This electronic support system will: (1) provide correlation of requirements and guidance; (2) implement a computer-based set of tools for evaluation and templates to document safety assessments; (3) provide long-term knowledge management and organizational experience sharing; (4) improve consistency in the regulatory decision-making process across the licensing offices; and (5) help new technical reviewers achieve the required level of knowledge and performance in the fastest possible time with minimum support from other staff members.

Contact:

Jeffrey Mitchell,

fax 301-492-3437, email (Jeffrey.Mitchell@nrc.gov)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Jeffrey R. Mitchell, Division of Contracts, Mail Stop TWB-01-B10M Washington, DC 20555.




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