Abstract
The thousands of miles of polymer-insulated cables used for power, control and communications in nuclear power plants were originally qualified for forty years of plant operation. Continued use of cable in existing plants for periods much beyond their original qualified life will require a detailed understanding of cable degradation under plant operating conditions to assess and mitigate risk of continued use. The effect and relative importance of individual and combined environmental stresses including radiation, heat and moisture on reliable cable performance is essential to inform condition monitoring, lifetime prediction and required cable replacement planning. We present an overview and update of the nuclear cable aging program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability program
