ML24047A232

Summary of the January 31, 2024, Public Meeting to Discuss the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff White Paper on Risk Insights and Severe Accident Vulnerability Information for Light-Water Reactor Construction Permit Applications

ML24047A232
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/26/2024
From:	James Shea NRC/NRR/DNRL/NLIB
To:	Hayes M NRC/NRR/DNRL/NLIB
Shea, J., NRR/DNRL, 301-415-1388
Shared Package
ML24047A231	List: ML24047A232
References
Download: ML24047A232 (7)

Text

February 26, 2024 MEMORANDUM TO:

Michelle W. Hayes, Chief Licensing and Regulatory Infrastructure Branch Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM:

James J. Shea, Project Manager /RA/

Licensing and Regulatory Infrastructure Branch Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

SUMMARY

OF JANUARY 31, 2024, PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS NRC STAFF WHITE PAPER ON RISK INSIGHTS AND SEVERE ACCIDENT VULNERABILITY INFORMATION FOR LIGHT-WATER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATIONS On January 31, 2024, an observation public meeting was held by the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The meeting addressed the level of detail on risk insights and severe accident information expected in an acceptable construction permit application for a light-water reactor (LWR) under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.34(a) and for approval of design features under 10 CFR 50.35. The meeting was a follow-up to previous public meetings held on July 27, 2023, and on March 30, 2023. The staff is seeking stakeholder input and feedback as it develops guidance on the level of detail on probabilistic risk assessment and severe accident evaluation information to be provided in the preliminary safety analysis report.

The following topics were discussed during this meeting:

Provide overview of completed, draft NRC staff white paper (WP), Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Severe Accident Information in a Light Water Reactor Construction Permit Application.

Provide an opportunity to external stake holders to ask questions or comment on the draft NRC staff WP.

Communicate the NRC staffs next steps.

CONTACT: James Shea, NRR/DNRL 301-415-1366

M. Hayes 2

The NRC issued the public meeting notice on January 3, 2024, and posted it on the NRC public website (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24030A040). Prior to the meeting, the NRC staff submitted presentation slides that provided the highlights from the NRC staff WP for the meeting (ML24019A084).

Enclosed are the meeting agenda (Enclosure 1), list of attendees of the meeting (Enclosure 2),

and the meeting summary (Enclosure 3).

Enclosures:

1. Meeting Agenda

2. List of Attendees

3. Meeting Summary

Pkg: ML24047A231 Memo: ML24047A232 Slides: ML24019A084

• via email NRR-106 OFFICE NRR/DNRL/NLIB:

PM NRR/DRA/PRA-C:

BC NRR/DNRL/NLIB:

LA NRR/DNRL/NLIB:

PM NAME JShea*

SVasavada*

SGreen*

JShea*

DATE 2/14/2024 2/22/2024 2/21/2024 2/26/2024

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

SUMMARY

OF THE JANUARY 31, 2024 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS NRC STAFF WHITE PAPER ON RISK INSIGHTS AND SEVERE ACCIDENT VULNERABILITY INFORMATION FOR LIGHT-WATER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATIONS Meeting Agenda Time Topic Speaker 10:00 am - 11:00 am Introduction and Presentation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 11:00 am - 11:30 pm Public Questions Public/NRC

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

SUMMARY

OF THE JANUARY 31, 2024 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS NRC STAFF WHITE PAPER ON RISK INSIGHTS AND SEVERE ACCIDENT VULNERABILITY INFORMATION FOR LIGHT-WATER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATIONS List of Attendees Name Organization Name Organization Jim Shea NRC Nathan DeKett GEH Anders Gilbertson NRC Louis Lanese GEH Allen Fetter NRC Dennis Henneke GEH Victoria Huckabay NRC Matthew Warden GEH Martin Stutzke NRC Raymond Schiele TVA Malcolm Patterson NRC Scott Owen TVA Stacey Rosenberg NRC James Thornton TVA Hanh Phan NRC Michele Moorrees TVA Keith Tetter NRC Stephen Kimura TVA Joseph Colaccino NRC Dennis Petrarca TVA Todd Hilsmeier NRC Brian McDermott TVA Greg Cranston NRC Andrew Brenner Holtec Shilp Vasavada NRC Chris Vera-Burgos Enercon Carolyn Lauron NRC Kris Cummings NEI Stephanie Garza NRC Victoria Anderson NEI Meena Khanna NRC Andrew Brennon External Steven Alferink NRC Jana Bergman External Alissa Neuhausen NRC Jesse Morson External Samuel Lee NRC Clark Shurtlef External Sunwoo Park NRC Adam Stein External John Philip NRC Marie Pohida NRC Sunil Weerakkody NRC Michelle Hayes NRC

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

SUMMARY

OF THE JANUARY 31, 2024 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS NRC STAFF WHITE PAPER ON RISK INSIGHTS AND SEVERE ACCIDENT VULNERABILITY INFORMATION FOR LIGHT-WATER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT APPLICATIONS Meeting Summary Over the next few years, the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) anticipates the submission of construction permit (CP) applications for light-water reactors (LWR) under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities. A CP is issued based on preliminary design information for a power reactor, documented in an applicants preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR). When the plant construction is essentially finished, more complete design information is documented in a final safety analysis report (FSAR). Based on the FSAR, the staff issues an operating license (OL).

The FSAR submitted with the OL application should describe the final design of the facility as constructed and must identify any changes from the criteria, design, and bases provided in the PSAR. Before issuing an OL, the NRC staff will review the applicants final design to determine whether all the Commissions safety requirements have been met. The most recent guidance on how to conduct the review of such applications is found in interim staff guidance:

DNRL-ISG-2022-01, Safety Review of Light-Water Power Reactor Construction Permit Applications, issued in October 2022 (Agencywide Documents Access Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML22189A099).

The NRC staffs initiative and subsequent public engagements to date have stemmed from the need for guidance identified by internal and external stakeholders on the level of detail of risk insights and severe accident information in an acceptable 10 CFR 50 CP application. The NRC staff has engaged public stakeholders as the guidance was being developed starting with the March 30, 2023, initial public meeting (ML23104A314) and then with the second public meeting held July 27, 2023 (ML23243A010). During the March 30, 2023, public meeting the NRC staff proposed and solicited comments on the anticipated scope and level of detail for the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) expected in a LWR CP application. During the second public meeting July 27, 2023, the NRC staff provided an update on the progress of the guidance development including the minimum level of detail and scope of the risk and severe accident information in the CP application.

Since that time, the NRC staff incorporated the stakeholder feedback from previous meetings and developed an NRC staff white paper (WP) with guidelines on the content of risk and severe accident information in a PSAR that was issued on November 30, 2023 (ML23326A185). The current public meeting, held on January 31, 2024, sought to get additional stakeholder feedback on the WP which provides the guidance for an acceptable minimum level of detail and scope of a PRA needed to support a LWR 10 CFR 50 CP application. The WP is specific to LWRs, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The staff emphasized that the guidance development includes collaboration with similar but distinct efforts for non-LWRs.

During the meeting, the staff summarized its WP development approach, the minimum scope of PRA and non-PRA evaluations recommended in the WP, the collaboration with the NRC advanced reactor staff, and feedback from the various industry stakeholders. Significant stakeholder feedback that was addressed by the staff in the WP included providing clarity on the PSAR content versus the information available for audit, approaches to address external

2 hazards, guidance on content related to data analysis, self-assessment compared to peer-review and configuration control program information needed in the PSAR.

Throughout the meeting, NRC staff and attendees engaged in dialogue where the NRC staff provided clarifications on the information in the WP. The staff emphasized during this meeting that a PRA at the CP-stage does not need to demonstrate technical acceptability against endorsed PRA Standards. The NRC staff further pointed to the WP as stating that a PRA self-assessment should be performed at the CP-stage for the PRAs supporting the application commensurate with design readiness and that while a formal peer review against PRA standards provides the staff with additional confidence in the results of the PRA, it is not needed at the CP-state.

The meeting concluded with a discussion of the staffs next steps which are to incorporate the information in the WP into an interim staff guidance (ISG) document that would provide additional guidance specific to the PRA scope and information expected at the CP stage supplementing the CP specific guidance from DNRL-ISG-2022-01. Therefore, any further comments and suggested changes to the NRC staff guidance as outlined in the WP will be addressed by the NRC staff during the future NRC Interim staff guidance publishing and review process. The staff also encouraged design-specific pre-application engagements on this topic.