NOTICE: This standard has either been superceded and replaced by a new version or discontinued.

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Designation: D 5163 – 91 (Reapproved 1996)

Standard Guide for

Establishing Procedures to Monitor the Performance of
Safety Related Coatings in an Operating Nuclear Power
Plant1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 5163; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope D 4541 Test Method for Pull-Off Strength of Coatings

1.1 This guide covers procedures for establishing a program Using Portable Adhesion Testers2
to monitor Service Level I coating systems in operating nuclear F 1130 Practice for Inspecting the Coating System of a
power plants. Monitoring is an on going process of evaluating Ship5
the condition of the in-service coating systems. F 1131 Practice for Inspecting the Coating System of a
1.2 It is the intent of this guide to provide a recommended Ship’s Tanks and Voids5
basis for establishing a coatings monitoring program, not to F 1132 Practice for Inspecting the Coating System of a
mandate a singular basis for all programs. Variations or Ship’s Decks and Deck Machinery5
simplifications of the program described in this guide may be F 1133 Practice for Inspecting the Coating System of a
appropriate for each operating nuclear power plant depending Ship’s Underwater Hull and Boottop During Drydocking5
on their licensing commitments. Similar guidelines may be 2.2 ANSI Standard:
applicable for Service Level II and other areas outside contain- N45.2.6—Qualification of Inspection, Examination, and
ment. Testing Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants6
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the 2.3 SSPC Standard:
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- SSPC-PA2—Measurement of Dry Paint Thickness With
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- Magnetic Gages7
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. 2.4 NACE Standard:
RP0188-88—Standard Practice Discontinuity (Holiday)
2. Referenced Documents Testing of Protective Coatings8
2.1 ASTM Standards:
3. Significance and Use
D 610 Test Methods for Evaluating Degree of Rusting on
Painted Steel Surfaces2 3.1 Establishment of an in-service coatings monitoring pro-
D 714 Test Method for Evaluating Degree of Blistering of gram permits planning and prioritization of coatings mainte-
Paints3 nance work as needed to maintain coat integrity and perfor-
D 1186 Test Methods for Nondestructive Measurement of mance in nuclear Service Level I coating systems. For
Dry Film Thickness of Nonmagnetic Coatings Applied to additional information on nuclear maintenance coating work,
a Ferrous Base3 refer to ASTM Manual on Maintenance Coatings for Nuclear
D 3359 Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Power Plants.9
Test3 3.2 A coatings monitoring program enables early identifica-
D 4121 Practice for Photographic Documentation of Coat- tion and detection of potential problems in coating systems.
ing and Lining Failures and Defects4 Some Service Level I coating systems may be known in
D 4537 Guide for Establishing Procedures to Qualify and advance to be suspect, deficient, or unqualified. Monitoring
Certify Inspection Personnel for Coating Work in Nuclear
Facilities2
5
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.07.
6
Available from American National Standards Institute, 11 W. 42nd Street, 13th
1
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D33 on Protective Floor, New York, NY 10036.
7
Coating and Lining Work for Power Generation Facilities and is the direct Available from Steel Structures Painting Council, 4400 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh,
responsibility of Subcommittee D33.04 on Quality Systems and Inspection. PA 15213.
8
Current edition approved Oct. 3, 1991. Published December 1991. Available from National Association of Corrosion Engineers, P. O. Box
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.02. 218340, Houston, TX 77218.
3 9
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.01. Available from ASTM Headquarters, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Consho-
4
Discontinued; see 1992 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.01. hocken, PA 19428-2959.

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

1
 NOTICE: This standard has either been superceded and replaced by a new version or discontinued.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information.

D 5163
coating performance will assist in developing follow-up pro- 6.2.3 Copies of previous inspection or monitoring reports.
cedures to resolve any significant deficiency relative to coating 6.2.4 Documentation pertaining to any maintenance work
work. performed on existing coating systems.
3.3 Degraded coatings may generate debris under design
basis accident conditions that could adversely affect the per- 7. Premonitoring Procedure
formance of the post-accident safety systems. A coatings
7.1 Prior to conducting an inspection of the coating systems,
monitoring program may be required to fulfill safety analysis
the responsible organization shall ensure that the necessary
report commitments for Service Level I coating work in a
services and equipment required for inspection are provided.
nuclear power plant facility.
Factors that must be considered while planning the inspection
activities include, but are not limited to, lighting, access to
4. Responsibility coated surfaces, cleaning surfaces of any deposit or build up,
4.1 The owner/operator shall identify the department or ventilation and, where necessary, special underwater inspection
group within the organization to be responsible for establishing requirements.
the applicable requirements for activities or procedures cov- 7.2 Station access procedures for Service Level I coating
ered by this guide and shall document the scope of their systems monitoring shall be followed. While access procedures
responsibility. Owner/operator delegation of this responsibility may vary from plant to plant, specific station access procedures
to other outside qualified organizations is permitted and shall may include:
be documented. 7.2.1 Security clearance for protected, radiation controlled,
4.2 It is the responsibility of the owner/operator or his and vital areas, and escorted or unescorted clearance as
designee performing these activities to specify the detailed required,
methods and procedures for meeting the applicable require- 7.2.2 Radiological history including prior radiation expo-
ments of this guide. sure for all personnel involved,
4.3 The owner/operator or his designee shall assign a
7.2.3 Health physics classroom training in the use of radia-
coordinator to be responsible for supervising coating inspec-
tion detection and monitoring devices and procedures for
tion activities, data collection and documentation, and for
wearing anticontamination clothing,
ensuring that inspection personnel are adequately trained and
7.2.4 A radiation work permit based on health physics
qualified.
radiological survey of the work location,
4.4 The owner/operator shall assign responsibility for evalu-
ating the results of inspection activities carried out under the 7.2.5 Compliance with radiation work permit requirements
coatings performance monitoring program. and other special radiation controls unique to each work
location, and
5. Frequency 7.2.6 Issuance of dosimetry.
7.3 The safety requirements of the facility owner/operator
5.1 Frequency of in-service coating inspection monitoring
must be met when performing all inspection operations.
shall be determined by the owner/operator. In operating nuclear
power plants certain monitoring activities may be restricted to
8. Personnel Requirements, Qualifications, and Training
major maintenance outages or refueling outages. It is a good
practice to perform inspections during each refueling outage or 8.1 The facility owner/operator shall specify the require-
during other major maintenance outages as needed. ments and guidelines for qualification and training of inspec-
tion personnel involved in the program. However, inspectors
6. Records and Past History and the coordinator shall be knowledgeable coatings personnel
meeting the requirements of ASTM Guide D 4537 or ANSI
6.1 Coating performance will depend on the operating
N45.2.6. The coordinator shall, as a minimum, be a Level II
conditions experienced by the coating systems. Records of
Coatings Inspector.
these conditions shall be obtained for each operating unit.
These may include, but not be limited to, ambient conditions, 8.2 The evaluator shall be a person knowledgeable and
temperatures, humidity, immersion, splash and spillage, chemi- experienced in nuclear coatings work.
cal exposures, radiation exposures, previous decontamination
procedures, abrasion and physical abuse, and start-up/ 9. Inspection Plan
shutdown frequency. Any change in service criteria or modi- 9.1 The owner/operator shall develop a plant specific in-
fications of the physical design must be identified and dated. spection plan to accomplish the objectives of the monitoring
6.2 The last two performance monitoring reports pertaining program. A general visual inspection shall be conducted on all
to the coating systems shall be reviewed prior to the monitoring readily accessible coated surfaces during a walk-through. After
process. Other past coatings history data to be reviewed may the walk-through, thorough visual inspections shall be carried
include: out on previously designated areas and on areas noted as
6.2.1 Copies of coating specifications, manufacturer’s prod- deficient during the walk-through. A thorough visual inspection
uct data sheets, and application procedures for in-place coat- shall also be carried out on all coatings near sumps or screens
ings. associated with the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS).
6.2.2 Quality control documentation for the existing in- The inspection plan shall address the following based on
place coating systems and their application. specific owner/operator requirements:

2
 NOTICE: This standard has either been superceded and replaced by a new version or discontinued.
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D 5163
9.1.1 A pre-inspection briefing to familiarize all inspection
personnel with objectives of the inspections, procedures to be
followed, and precautions to be taken,
9.1.2 Monitoring team(s) assignments to specific areas for
inspection(s), and
9.1.3 Location maps dividing the plant into identifiable
areas for inspection activities to be issued to inspection teams.
The maps shall also identify items/areas requiring special
testing, if any. The locations of all defects and of all tests
performed shall be recorded on the maps so that additional
testing, recoating, and further monitoring may be performed.
9.2 During walk-through, visually examine coated surfaces
for any visible defects, such as blistering, cracking, flaking/
peeling, rusting, and physical damage.
9.2.1 Blistering—Compare any blistering found to the blis-
tering pictorial standards of coatings defects (refer to Test
Method D 714) and record size and frequency. If the blisters
are larger than those on the comparison photographs, measure,
record size and extent, and photograph. Report if blistered
portions are intact.
9.2.2 Cracking—Cracking can be limited to the one layer of
coating or extend through to the substrate. Measure the length
of the crack or if extensive cracking has occurred, measure the
size of the area affected. Determine if the cracking is isolated
or is part of a pattern. Record measurements and describe crack
depth and pattern on the inspection report. Photograph the area
affected. FIG. 1 Inspection Data Sheet
9.2.3 Flaking/Peeling/Delamination—Measure the approxi-
mate size of the peels and note the pattern formed. Carefully
test to see if lifting can be easily achieved beyond the obvious
peeled area. Note all observations on the inspection report and
photograph the area affected.
9.2.4 Rusting—Compare with the pictorial standards of Test
Method D 610 to determine the degree of rusting. Try to
determine the source of rusting (that is, is it surface stain
caused by rusting elsewhere, or is it a failure of the coating
allowing the substrate to rust). Photograph the affected area
and record observations on the inspection report.
9.2.5 If no defects are found, mark “Coating Intact, No
Defects” on the inspection report.
9.2.6 If portions of the coating cannot be inspected, note the
specific areas on the location map-inspection report, along with
the reason why the inspection cannot be conducted.
9.3 Written or photographic documentation, or both of
coating inspection areas, failures, and defects shall be made
and the process of documentation standardized by the facility
owner/operator. Written documentation practice for inspection
of coating system as given in Practices F 1130, F 1131, F 1132,
and F 1133 may be adopted as a guideline. Practice D 4121
provides one method to obtain consistent, comparable close-up
photographs.
9.4 For coating surfaces determined to be suspect, defective
or deficient, one or more physical tests, such as dry film
thickness (Test Methods D 1186 and SSPC-PA-2), adhesion
(Test Methods D 3359 and D 4541), and continuity (NACE-
RP0188-88), may be performed when directed by the evalua-
FIG. 2 Photographic Documentation Location Map
tor. Samples may be gathered, and the size and extent of
defective patterns may be described.

3
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D 5163
9.5 Instruments and equipment needed for inspection may location and direction of all photographs shall be recorded on
include, but not be limited to, flashlights, spotlights, marker the maps for comparison with past and future photographs and
pen, mirror, measuring tape, magnifier, binoculars, 35-mm to record existing conditions. Numbers 3-1 through 3-13 in Fig.
camera with or without wide angle lens, and polyethylene zip 2 depict the location of the photographer and the directions of
lock sample bags. the view.
10. Reporting and Documentation 11. Evaluation
10.1 Inspection reports for submittal to responsible evalua- 11.1 The inspection report shall be evaluated by the respon-
tion personnel based on specific owner/operator requirements sible evaluation personnel. The evaluator shall prepare a report
should be prepared by a qualified Level II or Level III Coatings that includes a summary of findings and recommendations for
Inspector and should include at least the following information: future surveillance or repair; this would include an analysis of
10.1.1 A list and location of all areas evidencing deteriora- the reasons or suspected reasons for failure. The repair work
tion, should be prioritized into major and minor defective areas. A
10.1.2 Prioritize the repair areas into areas that must be recommended corrective plan of action must be provided for
repaired during the same outage and areas where repair can be the major defective areas so that the plant can repair these
postponed to future outages, keeping the coating under surveil- areas, if appropriate, during the same outage.
lance in the interim period,
10.1.3 Inspection Data Sheets—A typical data sheet is 12. Keywords
given in Fig. 1, and 12.1 coatings monitoring program; coating performance;
10.1.4 Photographic Documentation—A typical location inspection; maintenance; nuclear power plant; safety related
map for photographic identification is given in Fig. 2. The coatings; Service Level I; surveillance

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