Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 3e914c02-41b3-4c0b-9c94-7e4a07215354
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors (Rev. 1)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1505/ML15054A370.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.219
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
weaknesses. (3) Identified weaknesses are corrected. c. Sections IV.F.1–2 of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50 provide supporting requirements. Informing criteria appear in Section II.N of NUREG-0654 and the licensee’s emergency plan. The following are examples of changes to the licensee’s emergency plan that could require prior NRC approval: (1) A change in drills and exercises could require prior NRC approval if it would reduce the challenge to ERO personnel to the extent that they are not provided adequate opportunities over the exercise planning cycle to practice key functional areas and major tasks, including the use of the plan, procedures, and equipment associated with those functions and tasks. Examples include the following: (a) use of the same general scenarios from exercise to exercise, (b) frequent reuse of a given scenario, (c) lack of sufficient detail in a scenario on an expected ERO response to the data and situations presented by the scenario, (d) scenarios and controller conduct that do not cause drill or exercise participants to “work for the information” as they would in an actual event, (e) an overreliance on player simulation when valid constraints to actual play do not exist (e.g., not obtaining the tools and parts for a simulated repair activity, not obtaining or reviewing the radiation work permit, not donning protective clothing and equipment, not going to the location of the repair, or returning to the OSC sooner than the actual repair would have taken), (f) scenarios that never allow ERO success to change the course of the exercise, and (g) scenario objectives that never exercise using backup capabilities (e.g., loss of the primary ring-down phone used for initial notifications). (2) A change in drill and exercise critiques could require prior NRC approval if it reduces the ability of the critique to adequately identify weaknesses in the ERO play and to carry out necessary corrective actions. An example would be a critique process