SECOND DRAFT FOR GENERAL COMMENTS AUGUST 2003
American Nuclear Society
Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee
Guidance, Rules, Policies and Procedures
SECOND DRAFT
August 2003
FOR GENERAL COMMENT
American Nuclear Society
555 North Kensington Avenue
LaGrange Park, IL 60526-5592
Note to NFSC Reviewers
There are several decisions that need to be made by the NFSC:
· The Format Guide for System Criteria Standards appears to be more appropriately include as an appendix, than in the body of the Rules
· I don’t understand the need for invalid ballot in section5.5.1, if we keep the term we will have to add words describing how and who will judge a ballot to be invalid.
· I also don’t understand why the equations for consensus approval; permitted and consensus dictated are not the same with different numerical limits, also in section 5.5.1.
· I attempted to address all comments received, but I apologize in advance because I kow I probably left some requested changes out of this version.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
1.0 SCOPE
2.0 ORGANIZATION
3.0 MEMBERSHIP
3.1 – Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee
3.2 – NFSC Executive Committee
3.3 - Subcommittees
3.4 – Working Groups
4.0 NFSC OFFICERS
5.0 CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
5.1 Quorum and Meeting Requirements
5.2 Schedule for NFSC REviews
5.3 NFSC Balloting Process
5.4 Working Group Resolution of Comments
5.5 Evaluation of Consensus
5.6 Use of the Comments and Resolution Form
5.6.1 Review and Comment by NFSC
5.6.2 Working Group Response to NFSC Comments
5.7 Working Group Conduct
5.7.1 Identification of Need and Approval to Develop a New Standard
5.7.2 Instruction for Filling Out the PINS Form
5.8 Working Group Member Selection
5.9 Working Group Standards Development Activities
5.10 Standard Review and Comment Process
7.2.2 Format Guide for System Criteria Standards
7.2 Operating Documents
7.3 Policies
Referencing of NRC Regulatory Guides
Referencing of Industry Standards and Government Regulations
Types of Standards
Specifying Requirements in a Standard
Use of SI Units
Statement for Inclusion in the Foreword of New or Revised NFSC Standards
Statement for Inclusion in the Foreword of Reaffirmed NFSC Standards
8.0 FORMS
PINS: PROJECT INITIATION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FORM
NFSC BALLOT FORM
STANDARDS COMMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS FORM
FOREWORD
The American Nuclear Society (ANS) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI), for the purpose of developing standards useful to the nuclear community.
The ANS currently supports four (4) consensus committees as follows:
N16 Nuclear Criticality Safety Standards
N17 Research Reactors, Reactor Physics, Radiation Shielding and Computational Methods
NFSC Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee
RISC Risk Informed Standards Committee
The Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee (NFSC) was formed by combining two (2) previous ANS consensus committees; namely, the Nuclear Power Plant Standards Committee (NUPPSCO) and the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (N48). The current scope of the NFSC reflects the full range of topics previously covered by its predecessor consensus committees.
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to all members of the NFSC regarding how the Committee conducts its business in order to achieve a more uniform and consistent process and facilitate the timely identification, review, approval and maintenance of those standards within the purview of the NFSC.
1.0 SCOPE
The Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee (NFSC) is responsible for the preparation and maintenance of standards associated with nuclear facilities. The Committee’s standards address siting, design, operation, and waste management activities of nuclear facilities, as well as remediation and restoration of these sites.
The NFSC oversees seven groupings of topics, organized as follows:
· Nuclear Facility Design Criteria & Operations
· Nuclear Facility System Level Design
· Decommissioning & Site Remediation
· Analysis
· Siting
· Emergency Planning
· Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
2.0 ORGANIZATION
The Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee (NFSC), N16, N17, and the RISC Committee report to the Standards Steering Committee, which is responsible for ensuring the consensus process is utilized in standards activities. The Standards organizational structure is shown in Figure 1.
The NFSC consists of the main consensus committee (the “Committee”), approximately seven subcommittees and various working groups. An NFSC Executive Committee assists the NFSC Chairman in strategic decisions and in maintaining the status of standards under NFSC management. The Executive Committee membership includes the seven subcommittee chairman, the NFSC vice Chair, and the ANS Standards Administrator.
The Committee is responsible for establishing and managing the activities of the seven subcommittees and working groups needed to develop proposed standards within its scope of responsibility.
The subcommittees have been established to manage the activities of working groups and to perform detailed technical reviews of all proposed standards for technical need, relevance and acceptability. Each subcommittee has been assigned a unique and specific area of technical responsibility. These subcommittees have been organized according to the topics identified in the scope statement above; namely,
ANS 21 Nuclear Facility Design Criteria & Operations
ANS 22 Nuclear Facility System Level Design
ANS 23 Decommissioning & Site Remediation
ANS 24 Analysis
ANS 25 Siting
ANS 26 Emergency Planning
ANS 27 Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
The subcommittees have, in turn, established various working groups to develop specific proposed standards and maintain existing standards within their respective areas of responsibility.
Information regarding the NFSC and its subcommittee activities, including a calendar of upcoming events, can found at the ANS NFSC website at:
http://www.ans.org/standards/committees/nfsc/
FIGURE 1
3.0 MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Nuclear Facilities Standards Committee
3.1.1 Each member of the NFSC is appointed by the NFSC Chairman. Members are selected to provide a broad spectrum of experience and expertise to the Committee. Opportunity for membership is provided to individuals and organizational representatives willing to participate in supporting standards activities such as: vendors, DOE, NRC, NEI, INPO, utilities, contractors, architect engineering companies, and individual subject matter experts. To ensure proper balance, not more than one-third of the membership shall be drawn from any particular interest group. The ANS Standards Administrator serves on the Committee as its secretary and assists in administrative matters.
3.2 NFSC Executive Committee
3.2.1 The NFSC Chairman shall appoint an Executive Committee, which consists of the Committee chairman and vice-chairman, each subcommittee chairmen, and other designated individuals as the NFSC Chairman feels appropriate. The Executive Committee assists the NFSC Chairman in strategic decisions and in maintaining the status of standards under NFSC management.
3.3 Subcommittees
3.3.1 The Committee Chairman shall establish such Subcommittees as are needed to accomplish Committee objectives. He shall appoint a Chairman for each Subcommittee for a term of three years. These chairmen shall be members of the NFSC and the Executive Committee. His organization plan and appointments shall be with the concurrence of the Committee.
3.3.2 Each member of a subcommittee shall have competence in and concern with the scope of the subcommittee. To ensure a balance of interests, not more than 40% of the subcommittee membership should be from any one interest group.
3.4 Working Groups
3.4.1 Subcommittee Chairmen shall establish such working groups as are needed to accomplish Subcommittee responsibilities and shall appoint a chairman for each working group for a term of three years or less; these chairmen shall be members of the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee organization plan and appointments shall be with the concurrence of his Subcommittee.
3.4.2 Each member of a working group shall have demonstrated expertise in the technical field of the proposed standard. The size and diversity of the working group shall be flexible, consistent with the goals of efficiency, user interest, and useful technical content of the proposed standard.
4.0 NFSC OFFICERS
4.1 The NFSC shall have a chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary. The chairman and vice-chairman shall be elected by the Committee for a three-year period.
4.2 The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Committee and shall perform such duties as are customarily required by this office. The vice-chairman shall act for the chairman in his absence or as requested.
4.3 The Committee secretary is responsible for required notification of the consensus balloting process, including the distribution of drafts of proposed standards and ballot forms, and collection and documentation of balloting results. The secretary shall also be responsible for recording and distributing minutes of all NFSC meeting minutes to all members and shall maintain the records of the committee.
5.0 NUCLEAR FACILITIES STANDARDS COMMITTEE CONDUCT
5.1 Quorum and Meeting Requirements
5.1.1. The Committee typically meets semi-annually, coincident with ANS National Meetings. Members are expected to attend all meetings, but when it is not possible to attend a particular meeting, the member who cannot attend a committee meeting is expected to be represented by an alternate, who shall have all the privileges and obligations of a member during the period of service in this capacity.
5.1.2. A Quorum shall be present for the Committee to have a formal vote. A quorum shall consist of over 50% of the voting membership of the Committee.
5.1.3. The NFSC Chairman periodically reviews maintenance of assigned standards, voting records, and attendance at NFSC meetings, and adjusts committee membership to ensure the effectiveness of the NFSC.
5.2 Schedule for NFSC Reviews
5.2.1 The review time from the time of distribution to the Committee meeting, at which the review discussion is held, should be at least six weeks. The ballot review from the time of distribution to the consensus ballot closing date specified shall be at least six weeks. On rare occasions, the Committee Chairman may elect to shorten the period for the ballot review if the Committee had recently reviewed an earlier draft and there is a substantial demand for the standard.
5.2.2 Every effort shall be made by the working group, subcommittee chairman, and the Committee Chairman and Secretary to expedite the process so that review comments and ballot comments can be made available to the working group at least ten days prior to the Committee meeting at which the review discussion is to be held.
5.3 NFSC Balloting Process
5.3.1 Proposed revisions, reaffirmations, and new standards shall be submitted for letter ballot approval of the members of the Committee. Unless considered inappropriate by the Chairman, concurrent public review procedures, through the Board of Standards Review of the American National Standards Institute, shall be employed. All proposed revisions, reaffirmations, and new standards shall be announced in Nuclear News in conjunction with the announcement made for concurrent public review in the "Standards Action" section of the ANSI Reporter.
5.3.2 The NFSC Ballot Form is used to document the vote of each voting member. NFSC members shall use the following categorization for their vote:
Approved. The balloter marking this choice is declaring his satisfaction with the draft as written.
Approved with comments. The balloter marking this choice is requesting that the working group consider his written comments and proposed solutions, which shall be appended to his ballot, but is declaring acceptability of the draft, even though his individual comments may be found unacceptable for good basis.
Not Approved. The balloter marking this choice is declaring the unacceptability of the draft, as written, and that no standard at all is preferable to the current draft.
The not approved ballot may also be used in a broader context. If the balloter feels that his comments are of substantial technical content and require either acceptance or a detailed, competent technical reply, he may also elect to ballot not approved.* Frequently, a working group carefully addresses the comments forming the basis of a negative ballot, but ignores, or essentially ignores, other comments offered by the balloter. It is acceptable to give some priority to negative comments, but it is unacceptable to dismiss other comments as insignificant. The policy on making and responding to comments is set forth in Section 5.4.
The commenter shall append his written comments and proposed solutions. By indicator or other means, he shall identify those contingent comments the satisfactory resolution of which would elevate his ballot to "approved with comments"; or if not resolved to his satisfaction, would give him the right to fix, for the final record, the "not approved" status. Upon resolution of the contingent comments and dialogue with or notification to the balloter, and upon request of the working group the balloter shall notify the working group and the NUPPSCO Committee Secretary in writing of the final disposition of his ballot.
Not Voting. The balloter marking this choice is declaring that he has considered the standard and is unable to make one of the other ballot choices. He shall append a written reason or reasons for this choice (e.g., lack of necessary expertise). Lack of time to review the draft is not an acceptable reason. Ballots marked “Not Voting” are included in ballot total for determining if consensus has been achieved.
5.3.3 All comments made on formal ballots shall be specifically addressed by the subcommittee or its responsible working group. Non negative comments may be grouped and responded to collectively. Copies of ballots containing comments shall be sent to the subcommittee or working group for action and attempted resolution. The subcommittee or working group must attempt to resolve all negative ballots and adverse comments. For these types of comments, position of the balloter should be carefully considered by the subcommittee or working group.and the position of the subcommittee or working group should be reviewed with the balloter. A summary of these communications shall be retained as a part of the consensus-forming history of the proposed standard. If a substantive change is made to a document to resolve a negative vote, the proposed standard shall be resubmitted to the Committee for either formal (written) vote or letter-ballot. The Committee Chairman, in consultation with the Subcommittee Chairman, shall determine if the change is substantive. Final determination shall be made by NFSC Chairman.
5.3.4 The balloter shall review the resolutions provided by the subcommittee or working group and if acceptable, the balloter should change his negative ballot to an approved or approved with comments status. The balloter shall do so in writing to the secretary, with copy to the subcommittee and working group chairmen. If not acceptable he should notify the subcommittee or working group Chair in writing of the basis for this decision. The Commenter and the subcommittee or working group shall make a reasonable attempt to resolve any such issues. Should the issues in the opinion of the subcommittee or working group Chairman be un-resovlable, then they shall notify the Secretary in writing providing copies of all relevant materials. The Secretary shall inform all of the members of the Committee in writing including supporting materials for Reconsideration. The Committee members shall be given a reasonable opportunity to revise their ballots in light of the disagreement existing on the proposed standard.