Reports of the Technical Assessment Task Force on quality assurance; condensate polishing system; closed emergency feedwater valves; pilot-operated relief valve design and performance; containment: transport of radioactivity from the TMI-2 core to the environs; iodine filter performance; recovery: TMI-2 cleanup and decontamination

A review of the independent assessment program for nuclear power plants as defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Quality Assurance, Reliability, and System Safety requirements and regulations was conducted by a team of commission staff and consultants. This team reviewed, examined, and assessed the regulations, organizations, procedures and practices involved in those NRC and utility overview activities meant to assure the safe operation of a nuclear power plant. The staff found that the regulations and overall review process applies only to a portion of the plant defined as safety-related and do not fully utilize the rigorous safety analysis and reliability engineering techniques currently applied to other safety critical programs or industries. The review also indicates that the management structures that have evolved as a result of this narrow definition of NRC responsibility do not provide for an independent assessment of many critical functions and operations.