Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 49ce24c8-1a15-48b2-9e26-8c6c2f9064f7
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Dedication of Commercial-Grade Digital I&C Items for Use in Nuclear power Plants
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2200/ML22003A180.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-05
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.250
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
ld not rely on dedication by, e.g., another NRC licensee. c. Section 7.3 of NEI 17-06 states, “[t]he U.S. nuclear industry observations will be performed initially on a three (3) year frequency with the possibility of re-evaluating the frequency based on the results of the observations.” To be consistent with NRC staff-accepted practices, the certifying bodies’ IEC 61508 SIL certification process should be observed every 3 years. d. Section 1.4 of NEI 17-06 states, “[a] commercial grade item is an item that is not a basic component.” This would not be a correct definition for compliance with NRC requirements. To clarify, 10 CFR 21.3 defines a basic component to include a commercial grade item that has completed the dedication process. Thus, when the NRC uses the term “basic component,” that term includes dedicated commercial grade items. As stated in 10 CFR 21.3, “[w]hen applied to nuclear power plants licensed pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50, commercial grade item means a structure, system, or component, or part thereof that affects its safety function, that was not designed and manufactured as a basic component.” e. Section 6.3 of NEI 17-06 provides guidance to verify certificates with the issuing certifying body to ensure the certificate is not expired or otherwise invalidated. Dedicating entities should implement that guidance for all certificates to avoid acceptance of counterfeit or fraudulent certificates. 2. The NRC staff endorses, with the following clarifications, the use of IEC 61508, Edition 2.0 as described in NEI 17-06. a. The NRC staff is aware that unaccredited certifying bodies exist that claim to provide SIL certification under IEC 61508. However, IEC 61508 stipulates that certifying bodies be accredited by signatories to the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Recognition Arrangement. The NRC staff has not reviewed and is not endorsing the use of SIL certification by certifying bodies that have not been accredited in