The Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative (NESCC) has announced the release of a report authored by its Concrete Repair Task Group (CRTG), titled "Codes and Standards for the Repair of Nuclear Power Plant Concrete Structures: Recommendations for Future Development." The report is intended to provide an overview of recommendations for improving the repair of nuclear power plant concrete and identifying gaps and conflicts in relevant existing codes and standards. A joint initiative of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NESCC seeks to identify the standards needed for the design, operation, development, licensing, and deployment of nuclear power plants and other nuclear technologies. The CRTG, which was formed in July 2011, has maintained an open membership and efforts have been made to include representatives of standards developing organizations (SDOs) and construction industry firms and groups involved in the repair of reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plant construction. Chiara Ferraris of NIST serves as the CRTG's chair, while Nathan Sauer of Maryland's SIMCO Technologies serves as its co-chair.
The report notes that no concrete repair code currently exists for nuclear power plants and calls for the creation of such a code, a process that would likely include an examination of the unique characteristics of concrete use in nuclear power plants and their related safety and design effects. The CRTG also recommends the development of models for the prediction of concrete service life and repairs, as well as standard test methods for the evaluation of concrete structures for repair and quality control and assurance, among other recommendations.
In addition, the report found that U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents sometimes refer to obsolete editions and versions of standards. In order to ensure that the most recent and robust safety standards are referenced, the report recommends that the NRC establish a new mechanism to review and, if relevant, adopt new versions of relevant SDO documents in a timely manner.
The new report is intended for use by researchers, SDOs, and other relevant stakeholders in future efforts to improve knowledge related to concrete repair in nuclear power plants. As part of its work, the CRTG carried out a limited review of international literature related to the repair of concrete used in nuclear power plants, noting that international perspectives could be an important resource for future work on related U.S. codes, guides, and other essential documents.
The full CRTG report is available online. For more information about the NESCC and its activities, visit www.ansi.org/nuclear.