November 2, 2009 

MEMORANDUM TO: Michele G. Evans, Director 

 Division of Component Integrity 

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

FROM: Robert O. Hardies, Senior Level Advisor /RA/ 

 Division of Component Integrity

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF CATEGORY 2 PUBLIC MEETING BETWEEN THE 

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION AND INDUSTRY

 REPRESENTATIVES TO DISCUSS BURIED PIPING ISSUES 

On October 22, 2009, a meeting was held between Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff 

and industry representatives at the Legacy Hotel Meeting Center in Rockville, MD. The meeting 

was held to have the industry present its plans, programs and schedule for addressing 

degradation of buried piping. At the beginning of the meeting, NRC staff presented an overview 

of plans to evaluate regulations, codes and standards, and industry activities related to 

management of buried piping. The NRC slides presented at the meeting (ML092950074) are 

enclosed. A list of attendees is also enclosed (ML093030331). 

After the presentation by the staff, the industry executive sponsor of the Electric Power 

Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) Equipment Reliability Action Plan Committee provided an overview 

of the industry presentations. The EPRI program manager for the EPRI Balance of Plant 

Corrosion Program described EPRI’s Buried Piping Initiative, focusing on its history and 

organization and highlighting existing and planned research products. The utility leader of 

EPRI’s Buried Pipe Integrity Group (BPIG) reviewed the function and performance of the BPIG, 

which he described as a forum for plants owners to share best practices and experiences, an 

interface with vendors, a research and development sponsorship body and a training 

organization. A representative from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) described 

INPO activities, including an operating experience review and a summary of utility review visit 

practices and observations. 

A representative of NACE International, a standards organization that writes standards for 

corrosion prevention, mitigation and management, discussed the establishment of a standards 

group to address buried piping at nuclear power plants. The program manager for the EPRI 

Buried Piping Initiative concluded the day’s presentations by introducing EPRI’s buried piping 

program document, which provides recommendations for creating and maintaining a buried 

piping management program. The industry presentations are enclosed (ML093010478, 

ML093010444, ML093010463, ML093010474, ML093010485). The industry also provided a list 

of buried piping reports that EPRI has produced, which is enclosed (ML093030321). 

CONTACT: Robert O. Hardies, NRR/DCI 

 (301-415-5802) or robert.hardies@nrc.gov
M. Evans - 2 - 

The staff intends to consider the information presented by the industry during its review of buried 

piping issues. Over the course of the meeting, the industry agreed to provide some additional 

discussion of the following questions. The additional discussion may be addressed in future 

meetings. 

 1) How are lessons learned from operating experience communicated to the designers of 

new reactors? 

 2) By what means might risk ranking software output be validated, and how important is 

validation of the output? 

 3) How will the guidance in the EPRI buried piping program guideline be extended to new 

materials that might be used in buried piping? 

NRC staff requested that industry formally provide their schedule and plans for implementation 

of the buried piping integrity program, including defined program goals, extent of industry 

participation, and near term actions. The industry participants indicated they would provide, by 

December 1, a description of their progress in developing this information. 

Enclosures: 

1. NRC Staff Slides 

2. List of Attendees 

3. Industry Slides 
M. Evans - 2 - 

The staff intends to consider the information presented by the industry during its review of buried 

piping issues. Over the course of the meeting, the industry agreed to provide some additional 

discussion of the following questions. The additional discussion may be addressed in future 

meetings. 

 1) How are lessons learned from operating experience communicated to the designers of 

new reactors? 

 2) By what means might risk ranking software output be validated, and how important is 

validation of the output? 

 3) How will the guidance in the EPRI buried piping program guideline be extended to new 

materials that might be used in buried piping? 

NRC staff requested that industry formally provide their schedule and plans for implementation 

of the buried piping integrity program, including defined program goals, extent of industry 

participation, and near term actions. The industry participants indicated they would provide, by 

December 1, a description of their progress in developing this information. 

Enclosures: 

1. NRC Staff Slides 

2. List of Attendees 

3. Industry Slides 

Distribution:

PUBLIC KHoffman RLaVera NRay ALewin 

DCI R/F RMcNally MMagyar SGarry EReichelt 

TChan DTerao GGeorgiev AShaikh JWhite 

MBaker MKing JDixon-Herrity EStriz AKlein 

RConatser EMiller DAlley JBowen JStrishna 

REnnis jhr@nei.org searsjt@inpo.org maria.korsnick@constellation.com 

 

 

ADAMS ACCESSION No. Pkg. ML093070162, Memo: ML093070150, Encl. 1 ML092950074, 

Encl. 2 ML093010478, Encl. 3 ML093010444, Encl. 4 ML093010463, Encl. 5 ML093010474, 

Encl. 6 ML093010485, Encl. 7 ML093030331, Encl. 8 ML093030321 

OFFICE NRR/ADES/DCI NRR/ADES/DCI 

NAME RHardies JLubinski 

DATE 10/30/09 11/02/09 

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY