Underground Pipe and Tank Initiative
On December 9, 2009, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) announced the industry's unanimous approval of a voluntary policy to better manage issues related to the integrity of underground piping at nuclear power plants. The implementation schedule is aggressive and will require sites to begin work during the 1st Quarter of 2010 in order to meet the deadline.
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) has been supporting nuclear power plants with buried piping issues since 2002. As part of an EPRI Balance of Plant Corrosion project, SI has also been developing the new industry database and interface software for managing all nuclear buried piping data - including design, maintenance and inspection information. This database will become part of the new BPWorks Version 2 risk assessment solution to be released to EPRI's Buried Piping Issues Group (BPIG) member companies later in 2010.
Meeting the requirements of the new NEI initiative by December 2010 will require a complete understanding of the activities necessary to support a meaningful risk ranking, which must be capable of differentiating the unique levels of risk of individual buried piping sections around the plant. Risk ranking identifies the magnitude, timing, locations, and tools required to characterize the condition of the buried piping - the second phase of the initiative (to be completed in 2011). To this end, SI is planning a short webinar specifically targeting the issues necessary for the planning and execution of activities necessary to insure that utilities meet their end of 2010 objectives.
The webinar will be a brief (20 minute) management level overview of the issues to consider for 2010 and the project timelines involved with gathering and populating data to support the new BPWorks Version 2 risk algorithms. The webinar may be repeated or supplemented with additional webinars addressing subjects such as developing written programs that address roles and activities, risk acceptance criteria, inspection options, understanding risk threats, etc.
Presented on: January 19, 2010
Instructor: Steve Biagiotti
About the Instructor
Steve Biagiotti, PE has a MS in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and has 20 years of experience in corrosion control at pipeline, production, and refinery operations in the oil and gas industry. Biagiotti is a pioneer in the implementation of Integrity Management written procedures, data integration, HCA identification, code interpretation, and risk minimization practices and algorithms. Other areas of expertise: in-line inspection, direct assessment (ECDA, ICDA, SCCDA), failure and root-cause analysis, and material selection.