Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: a5ee4c78-1135-4bb6-8d54-e974a3402f87
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: An Approach for Plant-Specific, Risk-Informed Decisionmaking: Graded Quality Assurance
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1221/ML12216A017.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.176
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
ificant SSCs. that are non-safety-related, licensee evaluation should be performed to identify proposed augmented quality controls. Some areas that may be appropriate for applying GQA program controls for safety-related SSCs of low safety significance are discussed below. The functional areas discussed below are not all-inclusive and licensees may propose graded controls in other areas, provided it can be shown that the objectives discussed in Regulatory Position 3.1.2 are met. The goal is to allow licensees flexibility to define acceptable QA controls that provide reasonable confidence that the SSCs will perform their intended functions. As discussed in Regulatory Position 3.3.2, the assignment of QA controls is dynamic in nature. As part of the GQA process, it is necessary to consider feedback information from the monitoring and corrective action elements that may lead to a need to reinstate controls that had been relaxed. Further details of specific GQA practices that the staff has found acceptable for low safety-significant items are described in SECY-97-229, "Graded Quality Assurance/Probabilistic Risk Assessment Implementation Plan for the South Texas Project Electric Generating Station" (Ref. 5), the associated licensee QA program change, and other documents referenced in the staff safety evaluation attached to SECY-97-229. When considering the application of GQA controls, the licensee should consider the essential elements of the process (such as the safety-significance determination, identification of GQA controls, associated corrective action methods, and performance monitoring) to be high safety-significant activities that are not subject to grading. 3.2.1 Procurement Licensees may establish less stringent QA requirements for the procurement of low safety- significant components than for high safety- significant components. In making these changes, licensees must consider requirements in 10 CFR Part 21 and Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50 and must consider