ISCO Industries, a US pipe supplier and manufacturer of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping products, has received authority to produce products and perform services under American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s (ASME) nuclear stamps and certifications.

ISCO Industries, based in a Louisville, Kentucky, is the first and only HDPE piping system company awarded N-Type stamps by ASME as part of this nuclear program.

ISCO applied for and received the following N-Type stamps: NPT for plastic pipe fabrication (without design responsibility) and as a material organization supplying ferrous material, and an NA stamp for shop assembly. The ASME survey team’s goal was to review content and implementation of ISCO’s quality system program.

Based on the survey, ISCO also received ASME’s quality system certificate (QSC), which ensures that any product supplied by ISCO Industries will have been manufactured in strict accordance with the provisions of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.

ISCO Industries now has the capability to supply materials for projects with specification requirements of 10CFR50 Appendix B, NQA-1, or those that are nuclear safety-related. Obtained through ASME, the nuclear stamps and certifications are a means of complying with US laws and regulations.

"These stamps and certifications are applicable for nuclear applications that involve essential service water pipe," said Lee Mizell, ISCO Industries vice president of corporate quality and technical design. "Basically, in a worst case scenario when a nuclear plant has to shut down, this pipe has to work – it is critical to the system."

"ASME’s nuclear certification program provides users with a high degree of confidence that the stamped items conform to established safety standards," added Shane Schuessler, ISCO Industries power industry market director.

ISCO Industries has been involved with HDPE pipe usage in nuclear applications from the beginning, and for the past five years, has worked towards obtaining the ASME nuclear stamps and certificate and expanding its nuclear market offerings.

ISCO Industries provided nuclear safety-related HDPE products for the first two nuclear projects to use HDPE pipe and fittings. These projects occurred at Callaway Generating Station near Fulton, Missouri, and at Catawba Nuclear Station in York County, South Carolina. Both of these projects required approved relief requests by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).