IEC revises nuclear software standard

Geneva, Switzerland — The International Electrotechnical Commission has published a second edition of its standard for software-related requirements of computer-based Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems in nuclear power plants.

Developed by the organisation’s Subcommittee 45A (Instrumentation and control of nuclear facilities),  IEC 60880 Ed. 2.0: Nuclear Power Plants is intended for systems developers, purchasers and users as well as systems assessors and licensors.

The new edition describes each stage of software generation and documentation, including requirements specification, design, implementation, verification, validation and operation, said the Geneva-based organisation. 

“Although many of the requirements described in the first edition continued to be relevant, reasons for developing a new edition of IEC 60880 included the need to align with rapidly evolving software engineering techniques during the past 10 years, ” said Jean-Paul Bouard, SC45A secretary.

The original standard was first published in 1986 and was the first to give recommendations for the use of software in nuclear safety systems, according to the IEC.