Research to address aging of the containment pressure boundary in light-water reactor plants is summarized. This research is aimed at understanding the significant factors relating occurrence of corrosion, efficacy of inspection, and structural capacity reduction of steel containments and liners of concrete containments. This understanding will lead to improvements in risk-informed regulatory decision making. Containment pressure boundary components are described and potential aging factors identified. Quantitative tools for condition assessments of aging structures to maintain an acceptable level of reliability over the service life of the plant are discussed. Finally, the impact of aging (i.e., loss of shell thickness due to corrosion) on steel containment fragility for a pressurized water reactor ice-condenser plant is presented.
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