Issue Date: 04/29/11 1 2515/184 

 NRC INSPECTION MANUAL IRIB 

TEMPORARY INSTRUCTION 2515/184

AVAILABILITY AND READINESS INSPECTION OF 

SEVERE ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES (SAMGs) 

CORNERSTONE: MITIGATING SYSTEMS 

APPLICABILITY: This Temporary Instruction (TI) applies to all holders of operating 

licenses for nuclear power reactors, except plants which have permanently ceased 

operations. 

2515/184-01 OBJECTIVES 

The objectives of this TI are to: 

a. Determine that the severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs) are 

available and how they are being maintained. 

b. Determine the nature and extent of licensee implementation of SAMG training 

and exercises. 

2515/184-02 BACKGROUND 

On March 30, 2011, the Executive Director for Operations chartered a task force to 

conduct a near-term evaluation of the need for agency actions following the events in 

Japan. During the task force’s deliberations, the importance of severe accident 

management guidelines (SAMGs) has been highlighted. The SAMGs were 

implemented as a voluntary industry initiative in the 1990s and are not part of the 

agency’s routine Reactor Oversight Program. In order to evaluate the current status of 

SAMGs onsite and determine the need for any further recommendations, the task force 

is requesting the enclosed information regarding SAMGs at operating power reactors be 

gathered, assessed, and summarized. 

2515/184-03 INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDANCE 

03.01 Assess the availability and readiness of the licensee’s ability to access and 

implement the SAMGs at their facility. Answer the following questions by filling out the 

attached datasheet. 

a. When were the SAMGs last updated? Are controlled copies of the SAMG 

located in the technical support center (TSC) (Y/N), emergency operations 

facility (EOF) (Y/N), control room (Y/N)? For licensees that use one common 

EOF for multiple reactor sites, one review of the EOF will serve for all applicable 

sites. 
Issue Date: 04/29/11 2 2515/184 

b. Are SAMGs covered by the licensee’s procedure control and document 

management system, including the requirements for periodic review and revision 

(Y/N)? 

c. Does the licensee’s configuration control and change management systems 

(e.g., 10CFR50.59 process) cause the licensee to update SAMGs to reflect 

design changes (Y/N/Partially – describe)? 

d. Perform a high-level comparison of the site’s SAMGs with available industry 

guidance (e.g., owner’s group guidance document and other industry standards 

as applicable). Are the SAMGs consistent with the owners group guidance 

(Y/N/comments)? 

1. A high-level comparison means that the inspector should determine 

whether the major sections of the guidance documents are covered. It is 

not meant to be a step-by-step review of the SAMGs. 

2. The owners group guidance documents were normally the basis for the 

development of the SAMGs, however, other industry standards may also 

have been used. 

3. Some variations from the guidance documents may have been made to 

accommodate site specific plant design differences. 

4. The inspectors should not access the adequacy of the SAMGs as it is 

beyond the scope of this TI. 

e. How is training conducted on the SAMGs? Who is trained on the SAMGs? 

What is the periodicity of training? 

1. There are various training methods that may be used by the licensee (e.g., 

table top exercise, classroom training, reading of training materials). 

2. Whichever training method is used the licensee should be able to provide 

documentation (e.g., training records) that the training was completed. 

f. Interview 4 licensed operators (2 reactor operators and 2 senior reactor 

operators (shift technical advisor may be substituted for one of the 4 operators), 

2 TSC staff, and 2 TSC managers designated to implement the SAMGs during 

an emergency to determine: (1) did they receive initial (Y/N) and periodic 

(Y/N/document periodicity) training on the SAMGs and how they relate to their 

assigned duties, and (2) can they articulate their responsibilities with respect to 

the use of SAMGs (Y/N/document who would actually implement the licensee’s 

SAMGs)? 
Issue Date: 04/29/11 3 2515/184 

g. Have there been periodic exercises on the use of SAMGs by individuals who 

would implement them during an emergency (Y/N/document periodicity)? 

2515/184-02 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 

The inspection results of this TI should be forwarded by each Region via memorandum 

to NRR/DIRS/IRIB, Attention: Tim Kobetz. The memorandum should be sent via email to timothy.kobetz@nrc.gov no later than May 27, 2011. Mr. Kobetz can also be 

reached at (301) 415-1932. The memorandum should be made available 

electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the 

Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC’s document system (ADAMS), 

accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the 

Public Electronic Reading Room). 

In addition, the next quarterly inspection report should document completion of the TI 

and reference the ADAMS accession number. The inspection results from this TI will 

be used to aid in determining whether additional NRC regulatory actions are 

warranted in this area. 

2515/184-03 COMPLETION SCHEDULE 

This TI is to be initiated upon issuance and completed by May 27, 2011. 

2515/184-04 EXPIRATION 

 The TI will expire on June 30, 2012. 

2515/184-05 CONTACT 

Any technical questions regarding this TI should be addressed to Tim Kobetz at 

301-415-1932 or timothy.kobetz@nrc.gov. 

2515/184-08 STATISTICAL DATA REPORTING 

All direct inspection effort expended on this TI is to be charged to 2515/184 with an 

IPE code of TI. All indirect inspection effort expended on this TI for preparation and 

documentation should be attributed to activity codes TIP and TID respectively. 

2515/184-09 RESOURCE ESTIMATE 

The estimated average time to complete the TI inspection requirements will be 16-20 

hours per site. 

END 

ATTACHMENTS: Exhibit 1: Template for Inspection Results for TI 2515/184 

Attachment 1: Revision History Page 
Issue Date: 04/29/11 E-1 2515/184 

EXHIBIT 1 

TABLE OF RESULTS 

Letter or 

Number 

Inspection Item Yes No Response/Comments 

a When were the SAMGs last updated? 

Are controlled copies of the SAMG 

located in the technical support center 

(TSC)? (Y/N) 

 

Are controlled copies of the SAMG 

located in the emergency operations 

facility (EOF)? (Y/N) 

 

Are controlled copies of the SAMG 

located in the control room? (Y/N) 

 

b Are SAMGs covered by the licensee’s 

procedure control and document 

management system, including the 

requirements for periodic review and 

revision? (Y/N) 

 

c Does the licensee’s configuration control 

and change management systems cause 

the licensee to update SAMGs to reflect 

design changes? (Y/N/Partially-describe) 

 

d Perform a high-level comparison of the 

site’s SAMGs with available industry 

guidance (e.g., owner’s group guidance 

document and other industry standards 

as applicable). Are the SAMGs 

consistent with the owners group 

guidance (if any) having been 

incorporated (Y/N/comments)? 

 

e How is training conducted on the 

SAMGs? 

Who is trained on the SAMGs? 

What is the periodicity of training? 

 

f Interview 4 licensed operators (2 reactor 

operators and 2 senior reactor 

operators), 2 TSC staff, and 2 TSC 

managers assigned to apply the SAMGs 

during an emergency to determine: 

 

(1) Did they receive initial training on 

the SAMGs? (Y/N) 

 

Did they receive periodic training 

(Y/N/document periodicity) on the 

SAMGs and how they relate to 

their assigned duties? 

 

(2) Can they articulate their 

responsibilities with respect to the 

use of SAMGs (Y/N/document 

who would actually implement the 

licensee’s SAMGs)? 

 

g Have there been periodic exercises on 

the use of SAMGs by individuals who 

would implement them during an 

emergency (Y/N/document periodicity)? 

 
Issue Date: 04/29/11 Att1-1 

ATTACHMENT 1 

Revision History for TI 2515/184

Availability and Readiness Inspection of Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAM

Commitment Tracking Number 

Issue Date Description of Change Training

Needed 

TrainingCompletion Date 

CoAc

N/A ML11115A053 

04/29/11 CN 11-008

Researched commitments for 4 years and found none. This is a new document issued for inspections related to the NRC’s followup to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Event. 

No N/A N/A