Reduction of environmental qualification burden for mechanical equipment

The focus of this paper is the removal of active mechanical equipment from environmental qualification (EQ) programs. This is supported by evaluating existing component/part failure data taking credit for existing plant programs, which assures equipment operability and quality controls during procurement/refurbishment of safety related components and parts. The elimination of mechanical equipment from the EQ program, and at the same time maintaining plant reliability and safety, results in considerable cost savings during the life of the plant.