- Tsunami Safety Criteria and Current Site Reviews in the United States
- G. Bagchi ; H. Ahn ; H Jones ; A. Kammerer ; R. Raione ; N. Chokshi
- Book Title / Journal: IAEA International Workshop on External Flooding Hazards at Nuclear Power Plant Sites in Commemoration of the 5 Years of Indian Ocean Tsunami
- Year: 2012
- Other Geotechnical
- Description
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has promulgated an alternate licensing framework for early site permits (ESPs), certified reactor designs, and combined construction permits and operating licenses (COLs) as described in 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 52. New applicants have been using the Part 52 framework in submittals since 2003. The reactor site criteria are addressed in 10 CFR Part 100. Guidance for the public on approaches that meet NRC requirements is outlined in NRC regulatory guides. Factors to be considered when selecting the site include physical characteristics of the site including seismology, meteorology, geology, and hydrology. The NRC staff review guidance and acceptance criteria are provided in a document, “Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants, NUREG 0800, Revised March 2007.” Section 2.4 of the staff guidance in NUREG 0800 relates to hydrology and flooding design basis for a nuclear power plant. The objective of this paper is to describe several initiatives undertaken in the U.S. to capture the lessons learned from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; to describe revision of the staff guidance documented in NUREG 0800 Section 2.4.6, “Probable Maximum Tsunami Hazards” and some essential elements from Section 2.4.5, “Probable Maximum Surge and Seiche Flooding;” and to describe efforts related to the revision of the regulatory guide 1.59, “Design Basis Floods for Nuclear Power Plants.” This document also describes the efforts to use the lessons and insights learned from the current site reviews.
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