INVENTORY SAFEGUARDS REPRESENTATIVE AUDITS AND THEIR ROLE JN NRC LICENSEE SELF-ASSESSMENT

On November 3, 1995 the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Special Nuclear Material Operating License was renewed for a period of ten years by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Subsection 3.6.2 of this license contains a commitment to “FACILITY MANAGEMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT . . . to provide a means to assure that deficiencies in regulatory performance are identified and corrected to Westinghouse management standards”. As part of the preparation for developing the Columbia Plant Self-Assessment Program, “pilot” audits of the facility’s annual Special Nuclear Material Physical Inventory were conducted during inventories for 1991 through 1995. These ISR audits were an important part of ensuring not only that good physical inventory results were attained, but also that the inventory was conducted in meticulous compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements.