scope:

Early in 1975, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) assigned overall responsibility for coordination among technical societies and development and maintenance of nuclear power quality assurance standards to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME Committee on Nuclear Quality Assurance was constituted on October 3, 1975, and began operating under the ASME Procedures for Nuclear Projects. The ASME Committee on Nuclear Quality Assurance currently operates under the ASME Operating Procedures and Practices for Nuclear Codes and Standards Development Committees. This Committee prepared ANSI/ASME NQA-1, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants, and ANSI/ASME NQA-2, Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants, which were first issued in 1979 and 1983, respectively, as American National Standards.

NQA-1-1979 was based upon the contents of ANSI/ASME N45.2-1977, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Nuclear Facilities; ANSI N46.2, Revision 1, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Post Reactor Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities; and the following seven daughter Standards of ANSI/ASME N45.2:

N45.2.6-1978 Qualifications of Inspection, Examination, and Testing Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants

N45.2.9-1979 Requirements for Collection, Storage, and Maintenance of Quality Assurance Records for Nuclear Power Plants

N45.2.10-1973 Quality Assurance Terms and Definitions

N45.2.11-1974 Quality Assurance Requirements for the Design of Nuclear Power Plants

N45.2.12-1977 Requirements for Auditing of Quality Assurance Programs for Nuclear Power Plants

N45.2.13-1976 Quality Assurance Requirements for Control of Procurement of Items and Services for Nuclear Power Plants

N45.2.23-1978 Qualification of Quality Assurance Program Audit Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants

Since the 1979 Edition was issued, NQA-1 was revised and published in 1983, 1986, 1989, and 1994.

The ASME NQA-2-1983 Standard incorporated the requirements of the following quality assurance Standards not included in ASME NQA-1:

Since the 1983 Edition was issued, Parts 2.4, 2.7, 2.16, and 2.18 have been added. NQA-2 was revised and published in 1986 and 1989.

In 1984, the NQA Subcommittee on Nuclear Waste Management was assigned responsibility for developing a quality assurance program Standard appropriate to site characterization of high-level nuclear waste repositories. This Subcommittee prepared ASME NQA-3, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for the Collection of Scientific and Technical Information for Site Characterization of High-Level Nuclear Waste Repositories, which was issued in 1989.

In the early 1990s, the NQA Committee recognized that the NQA-1, NQA-2, and NQA-3 Standards were not structured in a way to enable users and potential users to easily understand and apply them. The Committee decided to restructure the NQA Standards into a single multipart document that would allow more rapid response to varied applications of NQA provisions or measures.

This Standard sets forth requirements and nonmandatory guidance for the establishment and execution of quality assurance programs for nuclear facility applications. Quality assurance program requirements for the siting, design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities are contained in Part I. Quality assurance requirements for the planning and execution of identified tasks during the fabrication, construction, modification, repair, maintenance, and testing of systems, components, and structures for nuclear facilities are contained in Part II. Part III contains nonmandatory guidance and application appendices. Part IV is reserved for future NQA position papers and application matrices. Guidance regarding application of NQA-3-type quality assurance programs is expected to be included in future revisions of Part III or Part IV of NQA-1.

The arrangement of the requirements in Part I (from former NQA-1), requirements for work practices in Part II (from former NQA-2), and nonmandatory guidance and applications appendices in Part III (from former NQA-1 and NQA-2) permits judicious application of the entire Standard or portions of the Standard. The extent to which this Standard should be applied will depend upon the specific type of nuclear facility, items, or services involved and the nature and scope and the relative importance of the activities being performed. The extent of application is to be determined by the organization imposing the Standard. For example, the organization may invoke all requirements, selected requirements, or requirements with appropriate changes. Part III is intended to provide explanatory information and guidance for use by organizations in developing and implementing their programs. It also provides examples of methods for implementing the requirements of Part I and Part II. Other methods may be equally suitable. The guidance in Part III is not intended to be imposed as supplemental requirements. This Standard is written to allow application to any structure, system, component, or activity that is essential to the satisfactory performance of the facility.

NQA-1-1997 includes changes to Part I that delete or modify requirements contained in earlier Editions and Addenda. Changes have been made to minimize redundancy, modify unduly restrictive requirements, and delete, as requirements, some practices that may continue to provide useful guidance. The NQA Committee reviewed requirements deleted from Part I and included some of them in Part III. Users of this Edition are encouraged to evaluate the desirability of retaining practices within their quality assurance program that address the deleted requirements.

The NQA Committee is aware of and actively endorses the growing worldwide movement toward rational, cost-effective quality assurance practices - practices that focus on results. Therefore, changes considered necessary to improve the understanding and effective implementation have been made that are intended to address compliance aspects with a focus on results. To assure consistency with outside activities of a similar nature, the Committee is maintaining liaison with other national and international groups that have a similar interest.

Requests for interpretation or suggestions for improvement of this Standard should be addressed to the Secretary of the ASME Committee on Nuclear Quality Assurance, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990.