Quality Assurance

10 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart G
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

10 C.F.R. § 72.140 Quality assurance requirements.

(a) Purpose. This subpart describes quality assurance requirements that apply to design, purchase, fabrication, handling, shipping, storing, cleaning, assembly, inspection, testing, operation, maintenance, repair, modification of structures, systems, and components, and decommissioning that are important to safety. As used in this subpart, “quality assurance” comprises all those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a structure, system, or component will perform satisfactorily in service. Quality assurance includes quality control, which comprises those quality assurance actions related to control of the physical characteristics and quality of the material or component to predetermined requirements. The certificate holder and applicant for a CoC are responsible for the quality assurance requirements as they apply to the design, fabrication, and testing of a spent fuel storage cask until possession of the spent fuel storage cask is transferred to the licensee. The licensee and the certificate holder are also simultaneously responsible for these quality assurance requirements through the oversight of contractors and subcontractors. (b) Establishment of program. Each licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, applicant for a CoC shall establish, maintain, and execute a quality assurance program satisfying each of the applicable criteria of this subpart, and satisfying any specific provisions which are applicable to the licensee's, applicant's for a license, certificate holder's, and applicant's for a CoC activities. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall execute the applicable criteria in a graded approach to an extent that is commensurate with the quality assurance requirements' importance to safety. The quality assurance program must cover the activities identified in this subpart throughout the life of the activity. For licensees, this includes activities from the site selection through decommissioning prior to termination of the license. For certificate holders, this includes activities from development of the spent fuel storage cask design through termination of the CoC. (c) Approval of program. (1) Each licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, or applicant for a CoC shall file a description of its quality assurance program, including a discussion of which requirements of this subpart are applicable and how they will be satisfied, in accordance with § 72.4. (2) Each licensee shall obtain Commission approval of its quality assurance program prior to receipt of spent fuel and/or reactor-related GTCC waste at the ISFSI or spent fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and/or reactor-related GTCC waste at the MRS. Each licensee or applicant for a specific license shall obtain Commission approval of its quality assurance program before commencing fabrication or testing of a spent fuel storage cask. (3) Each certificate holder or applicant for a CoC shall obtain Commission approval of its quality assurance program before commencing fabrication or testing of a spent fuel storage cask. (d) Previously-approved programs. A quality assurance program previously approved by the Commission as satisfying the requirements of Appendix B to part 50 of this chapter, subpart H to part 71 of this chapter, or subpart G to this part will be accepted as satisfying the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, except that a licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC who is using an Appendix B or subpart H quality assurance program shall also meet the recordkeeping requirements of § 72.174. In filing the description of the quality assurance program required by paragraph (c) of this section, each licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall notify the NRC, in accordance with § 72.4, of its intent to apply its previously-approved quality assurance program to ISFSI activities or spent fuel storage cask activities. The notification shall identify the previously-approved quality assurance program by date of submittal to the Commission, docket number, and date of Commission approval.

10 C.F.R. § 72.142 Quality assurance organization.

(a) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall be responsible for the establishment and execution of the quality assurance program. The licensee and certificate holder may delegate to others, such as contractors, agents, or consultants, the work of establishing and executing the quality assurance program, but the licensee and the certificate holder shall retain responsibility for the program. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall clearly establish and delineate in writing the authority and duties of persons and organizations performing activities affecting the functions of structures, systems, and components which are important to safety. These activities include performing the functions associated with attaining quality objectives and the quality assurance functions. (b) The quality assurance functions are— (1) Assuring that an appropriate quality assurance program is established and effectively executed; and (2) Verifying, by procedures such as checking, auditing, and inspection, that activities affecting the functions that are important to safety have been correctly performed. The persons and organizations performing quality assurance functions shall have sufficient authority and organizational freedom to identify quality problems; to initiate, recommend, or provide solutions; and to verify implementation of solutions. (c) The persons and organizations performing quality assurance functions shall report to a management level that ensures that the required authority and organizational freedom, including sufficient independence from cost and schedule considerations when these considerations are opposed to safety considerations, are provided. Because of the many variables involved, such as the number of personnel, the type of activity being performed, and the location or locations where activities are performed, the organizational structure for executing the quality assurance program may take various forms, provided that the persons and organizations assigned the quality assurance functions have the required authority and organizational freedom. Irrespective of the organizational structure, the individual(s) assigned the responsibility for assuring effective execution of any portion of the quality assurance program, at any location where activities subject to this section are being performed, must have direct access to the levels of management necessary to perform this function.

10 C.F.R. § 72.144 Quality assurance program.

(a) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish, at the earliest practicable time consistent with the schedule for accomplishing the activities, a quality assurance program which complies with the requirements of this subpart. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall document the quality assurance program by written procedures or instructions and shall carry out the program in accordance with these procedures throughout the period during which the ISFSI or MRS is licensed or the spent fuel storage cask is certified. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall identify the structures, systems, and components to be covered by the quality assurance program, the major organizations participating in the program, and the designated functions of these organizations. (b) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC, through their quality assurance program(s), shall provide control over activities affecting the quality of the identified structures, systems, and components to an extent commensurate with the importance to safety and, as necessary, to ensure conformance with the approved design of each ISFSI, MRS, or spent fuel storage cask. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall ensure that activities affecting quality are accomplished under suitably controlled conditions. Controlled conditions include the use of appropriate equipment; suitable environmental conditions for accomplishing the activity, such as adequate cleanliness; and assurance that all prerequisites for the given activity have been satisfied. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall take into account the need for special controls, processes, test equipment, tools and skills to attain the required quality and the need for verification of quality by inspection and test. (c) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall base the requirements and procedures of their quality assurance program(s) on the following considerations concerning the complexity and proposed use of the structures, systems, or components: (1) The impact of malfunction or failure of the item on safety; (2) The design and fabrication complexity or uniqueness of the item; (3) The need for special controls and surveillance over processes and equipment; (4) The degree to which functional compliance can be demonstrated by inspection or test; and (5) The quality history and degree of standardization of the item. (d) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall provide for indoctrination and training of personnel performing activities affecting quality as necessary to ensure that suitable proficiency is achieved and maintained. (e) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall review the status and adequacy of the quality assurance program at established intervals. Management of other organizations participating in the quality assurance program must regularly review the status and adequacy of that part of the quality assurance program which they are executing.

10 C.F.R. § 72.146 Design control.

(a) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to ensure that applicable regulatory requirements and the design basis, as specified in the license or CoC application for those structures, systems, and components to which this section applies, are correctly translated into specifications, drawings, procedures, and instructions. These measures must include provisions to ensure that appropriate quality standards are specified and included in design documents and that deviations from standards are controlled. Measures must be established for the selection and review for suitability of application of materials, parts, equipment, and processes that are essential to the functions of the structures, systems, and components which are important to safety. (b) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures for the identification and control of design interfaces and for coordination among participating design organizations. These measures must include the establishment of written procedures among participating design organizations for the review, approval, release, distribution, and revision of documents involving design interfaces. The design control measures must provide for verifying or checking the adequacy of design by methods such as design reviews, alternate or simplified calculational methods, or by a suitable testing program. For the verifying or checking process, the licensee and certificate holder shall designate individuals or groups other than those who were responsible for the original design, but who may be from the same organization. Where a test program is used to verify the adequacy of a specific design feature in lieu of other verifying or checking processes, the licensee and certificate holder shall include suitable qualification testing of a prototype or sample unit under the most adverse design conditions. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall apply design control measures to items such as the following: criticality physics, radiation, shielding, stress, thermal, hydraulic, and accident analyses; compatibility of materials; accessibility for inservice inspection, maintenance, and repair; features to facilitate decontamination; and delineation of acceptance criteria for inspections and tests. (c) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall subject design changes, including field changes, to design control measures commensurate with those applied to the original design. Changes in the conditions specified in the license or CoC require prior NRC approval.

10 C.F.R. § 72.148 Procurement document control.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to assure that applicable regulatory requirements, design bases, and other requirements which are necessary to assure adequate quality are included or referenced in the documents for procurement of material, equipment, and services, whether purchased by the licensee, certificate holder, or by their contractors and subcontractors. To the extent necessary, the licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC, shall require contractors or subcontractors to provide a quality assurance program consistent with the applicable provisions of this subpart.

10 C.F.R. § 72.150 Instructions, procedures, and drawings.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall prescribe activities affecting quality by documented instructions, procedures, or drawings of a type appropriate to the circumstances and shall require that these instructions, procedures, and drawings be followed. The instructions, procedures, and drawings must include appropriate quantitative or qualitative acceptance criteria for determining that important activities have been satisfactorily accomplished.

10 C.F.R. § 72.152 Document control.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to control the issuance of documents such as instructions, procedures, and drawings, including changes, which prescribe all activities affecting quality. These measures must assure that documents, including changes, are reviewed for adequacy, approved for release by authorized personnel, and distributed and used at the location where the prescribed activity is performed. These measures must ensure that changes to documents are reviewed and approved.

10 C.F.R. § 72.154 Control of purchased material, equipment, and services.

(a) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to ensure that purchased material, equipment, and services, whether purchased directly or through contractors and subcontractors, conform to the procurement documents. These measures must include provisions, as appropriate, for source evaluation and selection, objective evidence of quality furnished by the contractor or subcontractor, inspection at the contractor or subcontractor source, and examination of products upon delivery. (b) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall have available documentary evidence that material and equipment conform to the procurement specifications prior to installation or use of the material and equipment. The licensee and certificate holder shall retain or have available this documentary evidence for the life of the ISFSI, MRS, or spent fuel storage cask. The licensee and certificate holder shall ensure that the evidence is sufficient to identify the specific requirements met by the purchased material and equipment. (c) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC, or a designee of either, shall assess the effectiveness of the control of quality by contractors and subcontractors at intervals consistent with the importance, complexity, and quantity of the product or services.

10 C.F.R. § 72.156 Identification and control of materials, parts, and components.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures for the identification and control of materials, parts, and components. These measures must ensure that identification of the item is maintained by heat number, part number, serial number, or other appropriate means, either on the item or on records traceable to the item as required, throughout fabrication, installation, and use of the item. These identification and control measures must be designed to prevent the use of incorrect or defective materials, parts, and components.

10 C.F.R. § 72.158 Control of special processes.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to ensure that special processes, including welding, heat treating, and nondestructive testing, are controlled and accomplished by qualified personnel using qualified procedures in accordance with applicable codes, standards, specifications, criteria, and other special requirements.

10 C.F.R. § 72.160 Licensee and certificate holder inspection.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish and execute a program for inspection of activities affecting quality by or for the organization performing the activity to verify conformance with the documented instructions, procedures, and drawings for accomplishing the activity. The inspection must be performed by individuals other than those who performed the activity being inspected. Examinations, measurements, or tests of material or products processed must be performed for each work operation where necessary to assure quality. If direct inspection of processed material or products cannot be carried out, indirect control by monitoring processing methods, equipment, and personnel must be provided. Both inspection and process monitoring must be provided when quality control is inadequate without both. If mandatory inspection hold points that require witnessing or inspecting by the licensee's or certificate holder's designated representative, and beyond which work should not proceed without the consent of its designated representative, are required, the specific hold points must be indicated in appropriate documents.

10 C.F.R. § 72.162 Test control.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish a test program to ensure that all testing, required to demonstrate that the structures, systems, and components will perform satisfactorily in service, is identified and performed in accordance with written test procedures that incorporate the requirements of this part and the requirements and acceptance limits contained in the ISFSI, MRS, or spent fuel storage cask license or CoC. The test procedures must include provisions to ensure that all prerequisites for the given test are met, that adequate test instrumentation is available and used, and that the test is performed under suitable environmental conditions. The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall document and evaluate the test results to ensure that test requirements have been satisfied.

10 C.F.R. § 72.164 Control of measuring and test equipment.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to ensure that tools, gauges, instruments, and other measuring and testing devices used in activities affecting quality are properly controlled, calibrated, and adjusted at specified periods to maintain accuracy within necessary limits.

10 C.F.R. § 72.166 Handling, storage, and shipping control.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to control, in accordance with work and inspection instructions, the handling, storage, shipping, cleaning, and preservation of materials and equipment to prevent damage or deterioration. When necessary for particular products, special protective environments, such as inert gas atmosphere, and specific moisture content and temperature levels must be specified and provided.

10 C.F.R. § 72.168 Inspection, test, and operating status.

(a) The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to indicate, by the use of markings such as stamps, tags, labels, routing cards, or other suitable means, the status of inspections and tests performed upon individual items of the ISFSI, MRS, or spent fuel storage cask. These measures must provide for the identification of items which have satisfactorily passed required inspections and tests where necessary to preclude inadvertent bypassing of the inspections and tests. (b) The licensee shall establish measures to identify the operating status of structures, systems, and components of the ISFSI or MRS, such as tagging valves and switches, to prevent inadvertent operation.

10 C.F.R. § 72.170 Nonconforming materials, parts, or components.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to control materials, parts, or components that do not conform to their requirements in order to prevent their inadvertent use or installation. These measures must include, as appropriate, procedures for identification, documentation, segregation, disposition, and notification to affected organizations. Nonconforming items must be reviewed and accepted, rejected, repaired, or reworked in accordance with documented procedures.

10 C.F.R. § 72.172 Corrective action.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall establish measures to ensure that conditions adverse to quality, such as failures, malfunctions, deficiencies, deviations, defective material and equipment, and nonconformances, are promptly identified and corrected. In the case of a significant condition identified as adverse to quality, the measures must ensure that the cause of the condition is determined and corrective action is taken to preclude repetition. The identification of the significant condition adverse to quality, the cause of the condition, and the corrective action taken must be documented and reported to appropriate levels of management.

10 C.F.R. § 72.174 Quality assurance records.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall maintain sufficient records to furnish evidence of activities affecting quality. The records must include the following: design records, records of use, and the results of reviews, inspections, tests, audits, monitoring of work performance, and materials analyses. The records must include closely related data such as qualifications of personnel, procedures, and equipment. Inspection and test records must, at a minimum, identify the inspector or data recorder, the type of observation, the results, the acceptability, and the action taken in connection with any noted deficiencies. Records must be identifiable and retrievable. Records pertaining to the design, fabrication, erection, testing, maintenance, and use of structures, systems, and components important to safety must be maintained by or under the control of the licensee or certificate holder until the NRC terminates the license or CoC.

10 C.F.R. § 72.176 Audits.

The licensee, applicant for a license, certificate holder, and applicant for a CoC shall carry out a comprehensive system of planned and periodic audits to verify compliance with all aspects of the quality assurance program and to determine the effectiveness of the program. The audits must be performed in accordance with written procedures or checklists by appropriately trained personnel not having direct responsibilities in the areas being audited. Audited results must be documented and reviewed by management having responsibility in the area audited. Follow-up action, including reaudit of deficient areas, must be taken where indicated.

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