Using Modern Risk-Informed, Performance Based Approaches to Enhance the NRC's Materials Inspection Program

Full text: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducts materials inspections to verify that licensees authorized to possess, use, store, transfer, and dispose of radioactive material for various types of use properly conduct their activities to protect public health and safety and security of licensed material. The various types of use include industrial, academic, research and development, manufacturing, distribution, irradiators, well logging, industrial radiography, medical programs, and services (e.g., leak testing of sealed sources, calibration of instruments, servicing of devices, transportation). Although these inspections are currently being performed using a risk-informed, performance-based approach, the NRC is revising the materials inspection program to further risk-inform and modernize the program in a way that makes the program more efficient and effective but does not diminish public health and safety or security. This initiative involves updating each of the Inspection Procedures (IPs) for the various types of use of licensed material, reviewing and revising materials Incident Response inspection documents, evaluating potential changes to inspection frequencies and priorities, providing additional guidance on dispositioning low safety significant inspection items, and evaluating opportunities to provide inspectors with upgraded Information Technology to support field inspections. The presentation will highlight recent changes to the NRC's materials inspection program and provide details regarding on-going activities to address the proposed changes to the inspection program noted above. (author)