ML24292A150
| ML24292A150 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/21/2024 |
| From: | Miriam Juckett, Clifford Munson, Payne R, Rodriguez-Marek A, Stamatakos J, Scott Stovall, Ulmer K, Thomas Weaver Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute, Virginia Tech |
| To: | |
| Thomas Weaver 301-415-2383 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24292A135 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML24292A150 (1) | |
Text
Natural Phenomena Hazards NRC/DOE October 2024 SSHAC Level 1 Demonstration Project J. Stamatakos1, C. Munson2, T. Weaver2, A. Rodriguez-Marek3, S. Stovall2, R. Payne2, K. Ulmer1, and M. Juckett4 1 Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 2 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 3 Virginia Tech 4 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Discussions between U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) staff and nuclear power plant (NPP) vendors reveal that advanced reactors are expected to have smaller amounts of radiological materials and enhanced safety features compared to large light water reactors (LWRs), and that for some of those advanced reactor designs, the structures, systems, and components (SSCs) can be designed to lower seismic design categories and still meet USNRC safety goals. The USNRC staff expects that a site-specific Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) Level 1 study (as defined in NUREG-2213) would be sufficient to develop an acceptable probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for some advanced NPP sites. A SSHAC Level 3 or Level 4 study is currently the conventional approach for traditional LWRs with a seismic design based on the highest seismic design category. Currently, there is little industry or regulatory experience with SSHAC Level 1 studies; thus, the NRC staff initiated a pilot Level 1 study to investigate and demonstrate what constitutes an acceptable approach to a site-specific PSHA for future licensing of advanced reactors.
For this project, the USNRC staff, working with technical experts at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and their consultants, are developing a demonstration PSHA following the SSHAC Level 1 process. The goal of this demonstration project is to determine what simplifications to a higher-level SSHAC study are possible (i.e., simplifying logic tree branches) to adequately capture the center, body, and range of technically defensible interpretations (CBR of TDI). For this demonstration project, we selected the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) site in Skull Valley Utah. The data collected, models assessed, and information available about this site from the 1999 PFS license application together with other publicly available geological and seismological information form a rich data set from which we can evaluate streamlining approaches to successfully and efficiently complete a SSHAC Level 1 study. Note that selection of this site for our demonstration study does not indicate any programmatic decisions related to the PFS licensing or indicate any future regulatory activity at this site. Outcomes from this study may serve as a template for future SSHAC Level 1 studies supporting advanced reactor siting.
This abstract is an independent product of the CNWRA and does not necessarily reflect the view or regulatory position of the USNRC. The USNRC staff views expressed herein are preliminary and do not constitute a final judgment or determination of the matters addressed or of the acceptability of any licensing action that may be under consideration at the USNRC.