AIEA

Information for Member States on the status and operating experience of nuclear power plants is provided by the Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) database. A new version, called PRIS-PC, was made available on-line for direct access through the public telephone network. Internet access will be possible by the end of 1996. A subset of the PRIS database for PC users, MicroPRIS, is now being accessed by 225 users in 54 Member States and 8 international organizations.

An extensive revision was carried out during the year of the complete set of NUSS safety standards and guides on quality assurance. Through the revision of the Code and the associated 14 related Safety Guides, the Agency is seeking to emphasize that managers and workers both contribute to ensuring quality and achieving safety. The Code is thus organized into three functional categories – management, performance and assessment – to underline that quality assurance is everyone’s responsibility. This performance based approach to quality assurance serves to correct a common misunderstanding that quality assurance consists only of formalistic requirements of limited practical value.

Computerized support systems for nuclear power plants are already in operation or under development in several Member States. These systems, based on intelligent data processing, are increasingly used for achieving better productivity and improved reliability in nuclear power plants, along with enhanced operational safety. Recognizing the significant progress made by the nuclear industry in developing this technology over the last 25 years, the Agency initiated a CRP in 1992 on operator support systems in nuclear power plants, which was completed in 1995. On the basis of the results obtained, the Agency completed the development of a database that provides consistent and updated reference information on existing operator support systems and related activities in Member States. In the same area, a technical report on the verification and validation of software related to nuclear power plant control and instrumentation was completed. This document contains comprehensive information on computer based systems that play a significant role in the safe operation of nuclear power plants.

An already established database on nuclear power plant life management, which included results from a CRP on the optimization of reactor pressure vessel surveillance programmes and their analysis (Phase III), was expanded and given the title International Reactor Pressure Vessel Database.