Document: NUREG-0800
Document ID: 2768345e-44b7-48d8-bfa7-69652aa4faa8
Document Type: srp
Title: CONCRETE CONTAINMENT
Source: NUREG-0800
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1319/ML13198A245.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 3
Section ID: 3.8.1
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
al attachments; metallic shell portions of containment (e.g., steel head); containment hatches and airlocks; seals, gaskets and moisture barriers; and pressure-retaining bolting. The regulations in 10 CFR 50.55a(b)(2) specify the acceptable edition of the ASME Code and additional requirements beyond those contained in these subsections of the ASME Code. 10 CFR 55a (b)(2)(viii)(E) requires that licensee shall evaluate the acceptability of inaccessible areas when conditions exist in accessible areas that could indicate the presence of, or result in, degradation to such inaccessible areas. 3.8.1-17 Revision 4 - September 2013 C. For concrete containments, it is important to accommodate inservice inspection of critical areas. The staff considers that monitoring and maintaining the condition of containments are essential for plant safety. The staff reviews on a case-by-case basis any special design provisions (e.g., providing sufficient physical access, providing alternative means for identification of conditions in inaccessible areas that can lead to degradation, remote visual monitoring of high radiation areas) to accommodate inservice inspection of containments. For plants with nonaggressive ground water/soil (i.e., pH > 5.5, chlorides < 500 ppm, sulfates <1500 ppm), an acceptable program for normally inaccessible, below-grade concrete walls and foundations is to (1) examine the exposed portions of below-grade concrete for signs of degradation, when excavated for any reason; and (2) conduct periodic site monitoring of ground water chemistry, to confirm that the ground water remains nonaggressive. For plants with aggressive ground water/soil (i.e., exceeding any of the limits noted above), an acceptable approach is to implement a periodic surveillance program to monitor the condition of normally inaccessible, below-grade concrete for signs of degradation. D. For prestressed concrete containments, inservice surveillance requirements for the tendons, as presented in the