David SmithD k EDuke EnergyIndustry/NEI/NRC MeetingOctober 22, 2009White Flint, MD

In 2007, EPRI held two meetings with its membership to discuss industry needs with respect to balance-of-plant pipingA strategic meeting was held in May 2007.  Attended by highly experienced utility piping personnel, consultants and EPRI staff to identify areas that may need additional attention◦ The #1 identified issue was integrity of buried pipe

A much larger follow-up meeting (utilities only) was held in October 2007 to exchange plant experiences and issues with buried pipe and to identify specific areas of future activity◦ There was unanimous agreement on the need to form a Buried 

Pipe Integrity Group   

BPIG was formed and funded by EPRI in early 2008◦ Membership is open to utilities only◦ Vendor participation in “Open Door” sessionsA kick-off meeting was held in Feb 2008◦ Well attended◦ Experience sharing◦ Technical presentations

f f f◦ Identification of future activitiesA second well-attended meeting was held in July 2008BPIG became a supplementally funded group in 2009◦ 2009 membership includes 25 US utilities and represents 

~125 nuclear plants in the US, Canada, and Europe◦ 2010 membership to include all US Nuclear Utilities 

Provide a forum for plant owners to discuss buried pipe issues and exchange experiencesProvide a forum to obtain a consensus on industry issuesSponsor related R&DSponsor related R&DInterface with Vendor SupportProvide technical support on buried pipe issues, as well as support for related productsProvide buried pipe related training

2 well-attended meetings to date in 2009◦ 2 1⁄2 days each◦ 1 day of an “Open Door” meeting with vendor technical 

presentations; typical topicsCathodic protectionDirect assessmentsPrestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP)Prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP)CoatingsWrap repairsRisk rankingGuided wave inspections

◦ 1 1⁄2 days of “Closed Door” utility only meetingsExperience sharing, R&D updates, administrative matters, etc 

Other services◦ Web site◦ Training◦ Technical support◦ Maintenance & updates of related products, including

Recommendations documentBPWORKS

◦ New projects of high-priority interest to members, including:

Lessons Learned from past utility experiencesDevelopment of Intermediate Diameter Examination Tooling

Training for Buried Pipe Program Owners◦ June 2-4, 2009 (20 attendees)◦ Sept 9-11, 2009, Chicago (21attendees)◦ November 10-12, 2009, Dallas  BPWORKS: Risk Ranking of Buried Pipe◦ February 9, 2009 (36 attendees)◦ June 1, 2009 (10 attendees)◦ Sept 8, 2009, Chicago (18 attendees)◦ November 9, 2009, DallasCathodic Protection◦ September 29-30, 2009, Rosebush, MI (6 attendees)Guided Wave◦ December 8-10, 2009, EPRI Charlotte, NC

Module Subject

1. Welcome & Objectives2. Introduction3. An Overview of Degradation in Buried Pipe4. An Overview of the EPRI/BPIGRecommended Program5. Responsibilities & Interfaces for the Program Owner6. Procedures, Performance Indicators & Documentation

Module Subject

16. Coating Surveys17. Selection of Inspection Locations18. Selection of Inspection Methods19. Cleaning20. In-Line Inspections21. An Overview of Guided Wave22. OD Inspections23. Inspection and Evaluation of Buried Pipe Coatings& Documentation

7. Pre-Outage, Outage and Post-Outage Tasks8. Identifying & Locating Buried Pipe9. Excluding Low Consequence Systems from the Program10. Risk Ranking of High Consequence Systems11. Soil Analysis12. Leak Detection13. Excavating & Shoring14. Corrosion Control through Coatings & Cathodic Protection 15. CP Monitoring & Surveys

Buried Pipe Coatings24. CP System Maintenance & Enhancements25. Fitness-for-Service26. Repairs27. Assessment & Repairs of PCCP28. Coating Selection & Application29. Use of Resistant Materials30. System Operation 31. Backfill

2010 Meetings◦ 2 planned meetings (February/July)

2010 Training◦ Buried Pipe Program Owners ◦ BPWORKS◦ Cathodic Protection◦ Guided Wave◦ Guided Wave 

Major Research or Projects◦ Revision of the program recommendations document◦ Development of a plant experiences database◦ Addition of Concrete Pipe information to the recommendation 

document, BPWORKS, and program manager training◦ BPWORKS Enhancements

Addition of APDM Open DatabaseDynamic Segmentation Feature