U.S.NUCLEARREGULATORYCOMMISSIONREGULATORYMarch1997GUIDE÷o*OFFICEOFNUCLEARREGULATORYRESEARCHREGULATORYGUIDE1.166(DraftwasDG-1034)PRE-EARTHQUAKEPLANNINGANDIMMEDIATENUCLEARPOWERPLANTOPERATORPOSTEARTHQUAKEACTIONSA.INTRODUCTIONParagraphIV(a)(4)ofAppendixS,EarthquakeEngineeringCriteriaforNuclearPowerPlants,to10CFRPart50,DomesticLicensingofProductionandUtilizationFacilities,requiresthatsuitableinstrumentation1beprovidedsothattheseismicresponseofnuclearpowerplantfeaturesimportanttosafetycanbeevaluatedpromptly.ParagraphIV(a)(3)ofAppendixSto10CFRPart50requiresshutdownofthenuclearpowerplantifvibratorygroundmotionexceedingthatoftheoperatingbasisearthquakegroundmotion(OBE)orsignificantplantdamageoccurs.Ifsystems,,structures,orcomponentsnecessaryforthesafeshutdownofthenuclearpowerplantarenotavailableafteroccurrenceoftheOBE,thelicenseemustconsultwiththeNRCandmustproposeaplanforthetimely,safeshutdownofthenuclearpowerplant.LicenseesofnuclearpowerplantsthataresubjecttotheearthquakeengineeringcriteriainAppendixSto10CFRPart50arerequiredby10CFR50.54(ff)toshutdowntheplantifthecriteriainParagraphIV(a)(3)ofAppendixSareexceeded.1RegulatoryGuide1.12,Revision2,NuclearPowerPlantInstrumentationforEarthquakes,describesseismicinstrumentationthatisacceptabletotheNRCstaff.USNRCREGULATORYGUIDESRegulatoryGuidesweIssuedto'describenmakeavailabletothepublicsuchInformatlonasmethodsacceptabletoVieNRCstaffforImplementingspecificpatsoftheCommission'sregulations,techniquesusedbythestaffinevaluatingspecificproblemsorpostulatedaccidents,anddataneededbytheNRCstaffinitsreviewofapplicationsforpermitsandicensee.Reguloryguldesarenotsubstitutesforregulations,andcompllancewiththemIsnotrequired.MethodsaidsolutionsdifferentfromthosesetoutIntheguideswillbeacceptableIftheyprovideabasisforthefindingsrequisitetotheIssuanceorcontinuenceofapermitorlcensebyteCommission.ThisguidewasissuedalterconsiderationofcommentsreceivedfromthepublicCommertsandsuggestionsforimprovementsIntheseguidesweencouragedatallimes,andguideswillberevised,asappropriate,toaccommodatecommentstoreflectnewInformationoraspedence.WrittencommentsmaybesubmittedtotheRulesRevewandDirectivesBranch,DFIPS,ADM,U.S.NulearRegulatoryCommission,Washington,DC20555-0001.ThisguideprovidesguidanceacceptabletotheNRCstaffforatimelyevaluationafteranearthquakeoftherecordedinstrumentationdataandfordeterminingwhetherplantshutdownisrequiredby10CFRPart50.Theinformationcollectionscontainedinthisregulatoryguidearecoveredbytherequirementsof10CFRPart50,whichwereapprovedbytheOfficeofManagementandBudget,approvalnumber3150-0011.TheNRCmaynotconductorsponsor,andapersonisnotrequiredtorespondto,acollectionofinformationunlessitdisplaysacurrentlyvalidOMBcontrolnumber.B.DISCUSSIONWhenanearthquakeoccurs,groundmotiondataarerecordedbytheseismicinstrumentation.1Thesedataareusedtomakearapiddeterminationofthedegreeofseverityoftheseismicevent.Thedatafromthenuclearpowerplant'sfree-fieldseismicinstrumentation,coupledwithinformationobtainedfromaplantwalkdown,areusedtomaketheinitialdeterminationofwhethertheplantmustbeshutdown,ifithasnotalreadybeenshutdownbyoperationalperturbationsresultingfromtheseismicevent.Ifonthebasisoftheseinitialevaluations(instrumentationdataandwalkdown)itisconcludedthattheplantshutdowncriteriahavenotbeenexceeded,itispresumedthattheTheguideswaissuedInthefollowingtenbroaddivisions:1.PowerReactors2.ResearchandTestReactors3FuelserdMaterialsFacilities4.EnvironmentalardSitingsMaterialsandPlantProtection&Products7.TransportationS.OccupaionalHealth9.AntitrustandFinancalReview10..GeneralSinglecopiesoaregulatoryguidesmaybeobtainedfreeofchargebywritingtheOfficeofAdministration,Attention:DistributionandMailServicesSection.US.NudearRegulatoryCommission,Washington.DC20555-0001;orbyfaxat(301)415-2280.IssuedguidesmayalsobepurchasedfromtheNationalTechnilcalInformationServiceonastandingorderbasis.DetailsonthisservicemaybeobtainedbywritingNTIS,6285PortRoyalRoad,Springfield,VA22161.plantwillnotbeshutdown(orcouldrestartfollowingapost-tripreview,ifittrippedoff-linebecauseoftheearthquake).GuidanceonpostshutdowninspectionsandplantrestartiscontainedinRegulatoryGuide1.167,RestartofaNuclearPowerPlantShutDownbyaSeismicEvent.TheElectricPowerResearchInstitutehasdevelopedguidelinesthatwillenablelicenseestoquicklyidentifyandassessearthquakeeffectsonnuclearpowerplants.TheseguidelinesareinEPRINP-5930,ACriterionforDeterminingExceedanceoftheOperatingBasisEarthquake,July19882;EPRINP-6695,GuidelinesforNuclearPlantResponsetoanEarthquake,December19892;andEPRITR-100082,StandardizationoftheCumulativeAbsoluteVelocity,December1991.2Thisregulatoryguideisbasedontheassumptionthatthenuclearpowerplanthasoperableseismicinstrumentation,includingthecomputerequipmentandsoftwarerequiredtoprocessthedatawithin4hoursafteranearthquake.Thisisnecessarybecausethedecisiontoshutdowntheplantwillbemade,inpart,bycomparingtherecordeddataagainstOBEexceedancecriteria.Thedecisiontoshutdowntheplantisalsobasedontheresultsoftheplantwalkdowninspectionsthattakeplacewithin8hoursoftheevent.Iftheseism