BS EN 62340:2010 Nuclear power plants - Instrumentation and control systems important to safety - Requirements for coping with common cause failure (CCF)
I&C systems important to safety may be designed using conventional hard-wired equipment,
computer-based equipment or by using a combination of both types of equipment. This
International Standard provides requirements and recommendations1 for the overall
architecture of I&C systems, which may contain either or both technologies.
The scope of this standard is:
a) to give requirements related to the avoidance of CCF of I&C systems that perform
category A functions;
b) to additionally require the implementation of independent I&C systems to overcome CCF,
while the likelihood of CCF is reduced by strictly applying the overall safety principles of
IEC SC 45A (notably IEC 61226, IEC 61513, IEC 60880 and IEC 60709);
c) to give an overview of the complete scope of requirements relevant to CCF, but not to
overlap with fields already addressed in other standards. These are referenced.
This standard emphasises the need for the complete and precise specification of the safety
functions, based on the analysis of design basis accidents and consideration of the main plant
safety goals. This specification is the pre-requisite for generating a comprehensive set of
detailed requirements for the design of I&C systems to overcome CCF.
This standard provides principles and requirements to overcome CCF by means which ensure
independence2:
a) between I&C systems performing diverse safety functions within category A which
contribute to the same safety target;
b) between I&C systems performing different functions from different categories if e.g. a
category B function is claimed as back-up of a category A function and;
c) between redundant channels of the same I&C system.
The implementation of these requirements leads to various types of defence against initiating
CCF events.
BS EN 62340:2010 history
2008BS EN 62340:2010 Nuclear power plants - Instrumentation and control systems important to safety - Requirements for coping with common cause failure (CCF)
2008BS EN 62340:2008 Nuclear power plants. Instrumentation and control systems important to safety. Requirements for coping with common cause failure (CCF)