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{{#Wiki_filter:1                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  Proceedings of the 2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering ICONE26 July 22-26, 2018, London, England ICONE26-82275 ACRS' ENDURING LEGACY CONTRIBUTING TO REACTOR SAFETY Hossein Nourbakhsh Senior Technical Advisor for Reactor Safety Office of Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555
{{#Wiki_filter:Proceedings of the 2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering ICONE26 July 22-26, 2018, London, England ICONE26-82275 ACRS' ENDURING LEGACY CONTRIBUTING TO REACTOR SAFETY Hossein Nourbakhsh Senior Technical Advisor for Reactor Safety Office of Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)
-0001 Hossein.Nourbakhsh@nrc.gov ABSTRACT 1 For over 60 years the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has had a continuing statutory responsibility for providing independent reviews of, and advising on, the safety of proposed or existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of proposed reactor safety standards in the United States. This paper discusses the role of the Committee as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to reactor safety.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Hossein.Nourbakhsh@nrc.gov ABSTRACT 1                                                                 In 1950, the AEC established a second advisory committee, Industrial Committee on Reactor Location For over 60 years the Advisory Committee on                     Problems, charged with the responsibility of advising Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has had a continuing                       on what we would today consider siting issues, statutory responsibility for providing independent                   including seismic and hydrological characteristics of reviews of, and advising on, the safety of proposed or               proposed sites. In 1953, the Reactor Safeguards existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of                       Committee and the Industrial Committee on Reactor proposed reactor safety standards in the United                       Location Problems were combined by the AEC and States. This paper discusses the role of the Committee               the ACRS was formally born.
: 1. INTRODUCTION The history of ACRS goes back to 1947 when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recognized the need for an independent technical group to review and provide advice on reactor safety matters and thus a Reactor Safeguard s Committee, chaired by Dr. Edward Teller was established. Dr. Teller has been quoted to recall that Reactor Safeguard s Committee "was about as popular  
as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to                   The 1957 amendment to the Atomic Energy Act reactor safety.                                                       of 1954 established the ACRS as a statutory committee advising the AEC. According to Section 29
- and as necessary  
: 1. INTRODUCTION                                                       of the Act the Committee shall review safety studies and facility license applications referred to it and The history of ACRS goes back to 1947 when the                  shall make reports thereon, shall advise the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recognized                       Commission with regard to the hazards of proposed the need for an independent technical group to review                 or existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of and provide advice on reactor safety matters and thus                 proposed reactor safety standards and shall perform a Reactor Safeguards Committee, chaired by Dr.                       other such duties as the Commission may request.
- as a traffic cop" [1]. As stated by former NR C Chairman, Richard Meserve, the Reactor Safeguard s Committee "clearly established an enduring characteristic of the ACRS - a willingness to provide candid views on reactor safety issues, even at the risk of taking unpopular positions" [2].                                        
Edward Teller was established. Dr. Teller has been quoted to recall that Reactor Safeguards Committee                         With the enactment of the Energy Reorganization was about as popular - and as necessary - as a                       Act of 1974, the AEC was reorganized into two traffic cop [1]. As stated by former NRC Chairman,                   separate entities, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Richard Meserve, the Reactor Safeguards Committee                     (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development clearly established an enduring characteristic of the               Administration (now the Department of Energy). The ACRS - a willingness to provide candid views on                       ACRS was assigned to the newly established NRC reactor safety issues, even at the risk of taking                     with its statutory requirements intact.
unpopular positions [2].
This paper discusses the role of ACRS as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to reactor 1
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author    safety.
and do not necessarily represent those of either the ACRS or NRC.
1                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME
: 2. ROLE OF ACRS OVER ITS HISTORY                                risk-informed and performance-based regulatory system and has taken a leading role in considering The role of ACRS has evolved over its 60 years              some of the challenging issues that have arisen in this of history. Figure 1 depicts the number of                      effort.
reports/letters issued by the Committee on various topics over its history. The passage of the 1954                Throughout its history, an essential activity of the Atomic Energy Act made it possible for private                  ACRS has also been reviewing the research companies to build and operate nuclear reactors under            sponsored by the agency. This includes evaluation of license. This Act also assigned to the AEC the                  technical and programmatic aspects of the overall responsibility of protecting the health and safety of            reactor safety research program as well as episodic the public through licensing process. Most of todays            review of particularly important ongoing research.
U.S. nuclear power plants were licensed during the 1960s and 1970s, when both the technology and its                    In 1988, the Commission established the governing regulations were in the formative stages.              Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) to The ACRS review has always been an important                    advise the Commission on high-level waste and low-element of the reactor licensing process.                        level waste issues. Previously, the ACRS and its Waste Management Subcommittee performed this After 1975, not only the orders for new                function. In 2007, ACNW was renamed to Advisory reactors plummeted, but there were also many                    Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials cancellations of existing orders. Following the March            (ACNW&M). In 2008 the ACNW&M merged into 28, 1979 accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-              the ACRS. The decision to merge ACNW&M into 2), power reactor licensing was suspended for a year.            ACRS was based on the changing workload and As the ACRS moved into the 1980s, the Committee                  technical challenges facing the agency and the shifted much of its attention from plant design and              anticipated increased need for expertise in health construction to improvements in both the operation              physics, waste management, and earth sciences in the and regulation of nuclear power plants. The ACRS                agency's licensing reviews.
has been very supportive of the evolution toward a Figure 1. The number of reports/letters issued by the ACRS on various topics (1957-2017) 2                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME
: 3. LICENSING REVIEWS The proposed Malibu reactor was never built. An The ACRS has played an important role in                  intervener group successfully contested the licensing reviews of reactors [3]. The ACRS early              construction of the proposed Malibu plant. The reviews also led to evolution of many new safety              adequacy of seismic design was one of the main requirements dealing with a wide range of technical            points of contention [5].
issues. Following are some examples of the issues raised by the ACRS during its early licensing reviews.
* Effectiveness of ECCS Design: By the mid-1960s, as proposed plants increased significantly
* Control Rod Ejection Accidents: The ACRS                  in power level, the ACRS became concerned that report on licensing review of the Connecticut            a core meltdown accident, particularly one in Yankee plant [4] was the first to call out the            which the plants emergency core cooling system requirements for study of the control rod ejection        (ECCS) might fail to operate as designed, could accident. This led to design changes in large            lead to a breach of containment. The ACRS LWRs, either to limit the reactivity worth of            emphasized the need for improved emergency control rods or to add an additional mechanical          core-cooling systems (ECCS). By August 1966, restraint to control rod ejection (an approach            General Electric responded in support of the taken in BWRs) [5].                                      Dresden 3 plant by proposing a redundant core-flooding      system      and    an      automatic
* Design Considerations for a Tsunami Following a          depressurization system, which would reduce the Major Earthquake: The ACRS report on the                  primary system pressure sufficiently to maximize proposed 1473 MWt Malibu Nuclear Plant Unit              the effectiveness of the low-pressure core spray 1 for construction at Corral Canyon (twenty-nine          or core-flooding system. Later that year miles west of Los Angles) was the first to raise          Westinghouse introduced accumulators.
the issue of the adequate protection against a tsunami following a major seismic event. The
* Anticipated Transients without Scram (ATWS):
following paragraph from the July 15, 1964                The issue of ATWS was first raised by E. P.
ACRS report on the proposed Malibu Plant is              Epler, an ACRS consultant, in a January 21, 1969 particularly noteworthy.                                  letter to the ACRS executive secretary [5]. Few months later, the ACRS decided to identify the The ability of the plant to withstand the          issue in its letter reports on Hatch unit 1 [6] and effects of a tsunami following a major                    on the application for the construction earthquake has been discussed with the                    authorization for the Brunswick Units 1 and 2 applicant. There has not been agreement among            [7]. In each report the Committee recommended consultants about the height of water to be              a study be made by the applicant of further expected should a tsunami occur in this area.            means of preventing common failure modes from The Committee is not prepared to resolve the              negating scram action and of design features to conflicting opinions, and suggests that intensive        make tolerable the consequences of failure to efforts be made to establish rational and                scram during anticipated transients.
consistent parameters for this phenomenon. The applicant has stated that the containment                In the early 1980s, the U.S. nuclear utility structure will not be impaired by inundation to a    industry in cooperation with DOE, and with support height of fifty feet above mean sea level. The      from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),
integrity of emergency in-house power supplies      initiated the Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) should also be assured by location at a suitable    program to ensure a viable nuclear power generation height and by using water-proof techniques for      option for the 1990s and beyond. The ACRS followed the vital power system. The emergency power          the development of the ALWR program from its system should be sized to allow simultaneous        inception and offered suggestions regarding safety operation of the containment building spray          improvements on several occasions [9].
system and the recirculation and cooling system.
Ability to remove shutdown core heat under                In 1989, the NRC established alternative conditions of total loss of normal electrical        licensing processes to improve regulatory efficiency supply should be assured. If these provisions are    and add greater predictability to the licensing process.
made, the Committee believes that the plant will    The ACRS has played an important role in new be adequately protected [6].                        reactor licensing reviews including the design 3                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME


1 The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of either the ACRS or NRC
certification process. According to NRC regulation          emergency planning. In 1966, the Committee (10 CFR 52.53), the design certification application is    noted that many applicants and licensees would referred to the ACRS for a review and report. The           rely heavily on local authorities to carry out ACRS has identified many technical issues during its        evacuation, if it should become necessary. There design certification reviews which were resolved            were also no guidelines for judging when an before the Committee provided its final                    evacuation would be advisable.          The ACRS recommendations for approvals [10-11].                      decided that it should alert the AEC to a problem area where little efforts being exerted The License Renewal Rule (10 CFR Part 54),            [13]. Pressed by the ACRS, the AEC undertook a first issued in 1991, establishes the technical and         study of emergency plans and procedures that procedural requirements for renewing power reactor          eventually led to adding a new Appendix E to 10 operating licenses. According to 10 CFR 54.25 each          CFR Part 50, Emergency Planning and license renewal application shall be referred to the        Preparedness for Production and Utilization ACRS for a review and report. To date, the ACRS has         Facilities.
. In 1950, the AEC established a second advisory committee, Industrial Committee on Reactor Location Problems, charged with the responsibility of advising on what we would today consider siting issues, including seismic and hydrological characteristics of proposed sites. In 1953, the Reactor Safeguard s Committee and the Industrial Committee on Reactor Location Problems were combined by the AEC and the ACRS was formally born.
completed the review of 56 license renewal applications and the associated NRC staff safety
The 1957 amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 established the ACRS as a statutory committee advising the AEC. According to Section 29 of the Act the "Committee shall review safety studies and facility license applications referred to it and shall make reports thereon, shall advise the Commission with regard to the hazards of proposed or existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of proposed reactor safety standards and shall perform other such duties as the Commission may request."  With the enactment of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the AEC was reorganized into two separate entities, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development Administration (now the Department of Energy). The ACRS was assigned to the newly established NRC with its statutory requirements intact.
* Quantitative Safety Goals: In 1979, The ACRS evaluation reports involving 90 nuclear power units.       recommended that consideration be given to the The ACRS has contributed significantly to the               establishment of quantitative safety goals for success of the license renewal program by                  nuclear power reactors. In its May 16, 1979 establishing expectations on the quality of the             letter on quantitative safety goals [14], the ACRS submittals and of the license renewal programs              recognized the difficulties and uncertainties in committed to by licensees.                                 the quantification of risk and acknowledged that in many situations engineering judgment would Utilities have been using power uprates since the      be the only or the primary basis for a decision.
This paper discusses the role of ACRS as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to reactor safety.
1970s as a way to increase the power output of their        Nevertheless, the Committee believed that the nuclear plants. Power uprates are submitted to NRC          existence of quantitative safety goals and criteria as license amendment requests. ACRS reviews the             could provide important yardsticks for such power uprates that are amounting to power increase          judgment [14].
2                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  2. ROLE OF ACRS OVER ITS HISTORY The role of ACRS has evolved over its 60 years of history.
greater than 5 percent above originally licensed value.
Figure 1 depicts the number of reports/letters issue d by the Committee on various topics over its history.
Since 1998, The Committee has reviewed 26                  The ACRS was at the forefront of the applications for power uprates.           ACRS has        development of quantitative safety goals. The contributed significantly to the success of the power      first set of trial goals (NUREG-0739) [15] was uprate program by establishing expectations on the         developed by the ACRS in 1980. These safety quality of the power uprate license amendment              goals were the basis for the later NRC work on requests and supporting documentations. The                the development of an NRC Safety Goal Policy Committee was instrumental in the staff development        in 1983 [16].
The passage of the 1954 Atomic Energy A ct made it possible for private companies to build and operate nuclear reactors under license. This Act also assigned to the AEC the responsibility of protecting the health and safety of the public through licensing process. Most of today's U.S. nuclear power plants were licensed during the 1960s and 1970s, when both the technology and its governing regulations were in the formative stages. The ACRS review has always been an important element of the reactor licensing process.
of a review standard for extended power uprates [12].
After 1975, not only the orders for new reactor s plummeted, but there were also many cancellations of existing orders. Following the March 28, 1979 accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI
* PRA Policy Statement: In the early 1990s, the
-2), power reactor licensing was suspended for a year. As the ACRS moved into the 1980s, the Committee shifted much of its attention from plant design and construction to improvements in both the operation and regulation of nuclear power plants. The ACRS has been very supportive of the evolution toward a risk-informed and performance
: 4. REGULATORY POLICIES AND                                  ACRS became concerned about the inconsistent PRACTICES                                                  use of PRA in NRC. In a July 19, 1991 letter on the consistent use of PRA [17], the ACRS The ACRS has played a significant role in the         acknowledged, PRA can be a valuable tool for review and resolution of key technical issues              judging the quality of regulation, and for helping associated with regulation of nuclear power plants.        to ensure the optimal use of regulatory and The Committee has a history of recommending                industry resources. The Committee also stated innovative approaches to regulatory problems.               that it would have liked to see a deeper and Following are some examples of the roles ACRS has          more deliberate integration of the methodology played in shaping the regulatory policies and              into the NRC activities. The ACRS also pointed practices of the agency:                                    to issues such as the inconsistent use of conservatism and the lack of the treatment of
-based regulatory system and has taken a leading role in considering some of the challenging issues that have arisen in this effort. Throughout its history, an essential activity of the ACRS has also been reviewing the research sponsored by the agency. This include s evaluation of technical and programmatic aspects of the overall reactor safety research program as well as episodic review of particularly important ongoing research
* Emergency Planning: As the size of proposed            uncertainties. In response to the ACRS, NRC nuclear power plants increased and containment        chartered a PRA Working Group and a could no longer be regarded as an                      Regulatory Review Group to review processes, unchallengeable barrier to the escape of              programs, and practices to identify the feasibility radioactivity, ACRS paid more attention to             of substituting performance-based requirements 4                        Copyright © 2018 by ASME
. In 1988, the Commission established the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) to advise the Commission on high-level waste and low
 
-level waste issues. Previously, the ACRS and its Waste Management Subcommittee performed this function. In 2007, ACNW was renamed to Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials (ACNW&M). In 2008 the ACNW&M merged into the ACRS. The decision to merge ACNW&M into ACRS was based on the changing workload and technical challenges facing the agency and the anticipated increased need for expertise in health physics, waste management, and earth sciences in the agency's licensing reviews.
and guidance founded on risk insights in place of     fabrication, installation testing, and operating prescriptive requirements [18]. These efforts led    history of important plant components and this the Commission to issue a policy statement on        information should be adequate for the the use of PRA so that the many potential            comprehensive reviews by the regulatory staff. [22].
Figure 1. The number of reports/letters issued by the ACRS on various topics (1957-2017) 3                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  3. LICENSING REVIEWS  The ACRS has played an important role in licensing reviews of reactors
applications of PRA can be implemented in a consistent and predictable manner that would          ACRS has made valuable contributions over a wide promote regulatory stability and efficiency [19]. range of issues at operating plants including the following:
[3]. The ACRS early reviews also led to evolution of many new safety requirements dealing with a wide range of technical issues. Following are some examples of the issues raised by the ACRS during its early licensing reviews. Control Rod Ejection Accidents:
* Risk-Informed Regulations and Practices: ACRS has been very supportive of the evolution toward
The ACRS report on licensing review of the Connecticut Yankee plant [4] was the first to call out the requirements for study of the control rod ejection accident. This led to design changes in large LWRs, either t o limit the reactivity worth of control rods or to add an additional mechanical restraint to control rod ejection (an approach taken in BWRs)
* Generic Safety Issues (GSIs): Starting in 1972, a    risk-informed    and    performance-based          the ACRS developed a list of generic items regulatory system [20] and had technical                  related to construction or operation of light-water oversight of this transformation. The Committee            reactors [23]. This grew into a list which was last has followed closely the development of                   reported in an ACRS letter dated March 21, 1979 regulatory guidance for the implementation of              [24]. The work of the NRC staff to resolve these risk-informed programs and processes, and of              items, as well as the generic items identified by PRAs standards that have been used to support              them, became steadily more formal, stemming these programs and processes. The ACRS has                from the requirement of Section 210 of the also taken a leading role in considering some of          Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which the challenging issues that have arisen in this            required the NRC to develop a plan providing effort, such as the application of defense-in-depth        for the specification and analysis of unresolved in a risk-informed context. In its May 19, 1999            safety issues relating to nuclear reactors and letter on the Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk-          take such action as may be necessary to Informed Regulatory System [21], ACRS                     implement corrective measures with respect to forwarded a paper, prepared by several of its             such issues.
[5]. Design Considerations for a Tsunami Following a Major Earthquake
members and an ACRS Senior Fellow, in which two (Structuralist and Rationalist) views of          The ACRS has made significant contribution defense-in-depth were discussed along with a              toward resolution of many generic safety issues preliminary proposal regarding its role in a risk-        (GSIs). One recent example is the Committees informed regulatory system. The ACRS                       role in the resolution of GSI-191, Assessment of motivation for this had arisen because of                  Debris Accumulation          on    PWR      Sump instances in which seemingly arbitrary appeals to          Performance. ACRS was first to express defense in depth had been used to avoid making            concerns about the effects of chemical reaction changes in regulations or regulatory practices            products and particle/fiber mats that could form that seemed appropriate in the light of results of        on screens. The Committee was also the first to quantitative risk analyses.                               alarm that increasing screen area, though it could reduce head loss, might result in more
: The ACRS report on the proposed 1473 MW t Malibu Nuclear Plant Unit 1 for construction at Corral Canyon (twenty
: 5. OPERATING REACTORS SAFETY                                  fiber debris passing through the screens and OVERSIGHT                                                  increase downstream effects [25].
-nine miles west of Los Angles) was the first to raise the issue of the adequate protection against a tsunami following a major seismic event. The following paragraph from the July 15, 19 64 ACRS report on the proposed Malibu Plant is particularly noteworthy.
The ACRS has always been attentive to safety
  "The ability of the plant to withstand the effects of a tsunami following a major earthquake has been discussed with the applicant. There has not been agreement among consultants about the height of water to be expected should a tsunami occur in this area. The Committee is not prepared to resolve the conflicting opinions, and suggests that intensive efforts be made to establish rational and consistent parameters for this phenomenon. The applicant has stated that the containment structure will not be impaired by inundation to a height of fifty feet above mean sea level. The integrity of emergency in
* Safety Culture: The concept of safety culture improvements in operation of nuclear power plants.             received much attention in the aftermath of the In fact, ACRS was the first to recommend periodic              1979 accident at TMI-2 which underscored the comprehensive (ten year) review of operating power            importance of management and organizational reactors. In a June 14, 1966 letter on the subject, the       factors to the safe operation of nuclear power Committee recommended that the AEC institute a                plants. The 2002 incident at the Davis-Besse program of periodic comprehensive review of                    nuclear power plant renewed the interest in safety operating licensed power reactors [22]. The                   culture and provided an impetus to the Committee also recommended that the reports, to be            deliberations of the ACRS regarding the role and submitted by reactor operators for these                      effectiveness of the NRC Reactor Oversight comprehensive reviews, contain summaries of                  Process (ROP) in monitoring organizational operating history with special emphasis on                    performance. ACRS organized a workshop on significant problems [22]. The ACRS believed that            safety culture on June 12, 2003 [26] and issued a each reactor operator should be responsible for the           report to the Commission on July 16, 2003 [27].
-house power supplies should also be assured by location at a suitable height and by using water-proof techniques for the vital power system. The emergency power system should be sized to allow simultaneous operation of the containment building spray system and the recirculation and cooling system. Ability to remove shutdown core heat under conditions of total loss of normal electrical supply should be assured. If these provisions are made, the Committee believes that the plant will be adequately protected
maintenance of appropriate records of the design, 5                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME
" [6]. The proposed Malibu reactor was never built. An intervener group successfully contested the construction of the proposed Malibu plant. The adequacy of seismic design was one o f the main points of contention [5].
: 6. SAFETY RESEARCH REVIEWS                                      improvement of means for evaluating the factors that may affect the nil ductility transition Throughout its history, ACRS has made                      temperature and the propagation of flaws during significant contribution to safety research conducted          the vessel life [30].
Effectiveness of ECCS Design
by the agency. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Committee recognized the need for
: By the mid
* Early Concerns about Core Meltdown Accidents:
-1960s, as proposed plants increased significantly in power level, the ACRS became concerned that a core meltdown accident, particularly one in which the plant's emergency core cooling system (ECCS) might fail to operate as designed, could lead to a breach of containment.
a safety research program. In a November 16, 1959              In 1966, at the prodding of ACRS, the AEC letter on proposed study of the reactor hazard and              established a special task force to look into the criteria problem, the Committee acknowledged the                problem of core meltdown [31]. The task force, increasing difficulties which it foresaw in the                 chaired by William K. Ergen, a former ACRS adequate evaluation of the hazards of reactor facilities        member, issued its report in October 1967 [32].
The ACRS emphasized the need for improved emergency core-cooling systems (ECCS). By August 1966, General Electric responded in support of the Dresden 3 plant by proposing a redundant core
due to the absence of a critical evaluation of the            The report offered assurances about the existing data relating to reactor safety and the             reliability of ECCS designs and improbability of absence of written and agreed upon criteria for                 a core meltdown, but it also acknowledged that a judging the adequacy of the proposed design,                    loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) could cause a construction and operation of the various parts of a            breach of containment if the ECCS failed to reactor [28]. The ACRS believed that the problem              perform. In an ACRS letter on the task force required a study of the available information on              report, dated February 26, 1968, the Committee reactor safety, arranging it so it is readily available        strongly recommended that a positive approach and deriving from it logical conclusions pertinent to          be adopted toward studying the workability of answering the questions:                                        protective measures to cope with core meltdown A) Is the available knowledge sufficient to set            [33]. The Committee also recommended, as it did criteria?                                                  in its 1966 report on safety research, that a B) Is more research needed and of what kind?              vigorous program be aimed at gaining better C) Is this the sort of problem that is not                understanding of the phenomena and susceptible to solution by planned research and            mechanisms important to the course of large-therefore, must primary reliance be placed upon            scale core meltdown. The task force report and judgment and experience?[28].                            ACRS recommendations formed the basis of some of the most important research initiatives During its early licensing reviews, the ACRS               and regulatory decisions by the AEC and the identified many technical safety issues for further            NRC, including the AECs decision to undertake research. Following are some examples of technical              a study to estimate the probability of a severe issues raised by ACRS for further study:                        accident which resulted in the publication of the landmark Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400)
-flooding system and an automatic depressurization system, which would reduce the primary system pressure sufficiently to maximize the effectiveness of the low
* Radiation Damage to Reactor Pressure Vessel: In            [34] and the beginning of the science of a May 20, 1961 letter on the subject of radiation          probabilistic risk assessment as applied to damage to reactor pressure vessel, ACRS raised            nuclear power plant safety [2].
-pressure core spray or core-flooding system. Later that year Westinghouse introduced accumulators.
its concern about the potential damage to reactor pressure vessel by virtue of the neutron            In 1977, Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act flux to which they are subjected during their          was amended to add the following two sentences: In life. [29]. However at that time the vessel failure  addition to its other duties under this section, the was not considered credible. In the mid-1960s,      Committee, making use of all available sources, shall as the size of proposed reactors increased            undertake a study of reactor safety research and substantially, the ACRS discussed this matter          prepare and submit annually to the Congress a report extensively and in its November 24, 1965 letter        containing the results of such study. The first such on the subject of reactor pressure vessels stated      report shall be submitted to the Congress no later the following:                                        than December 31, 1977."            ACRS had been submitting an annual report on NRC Safety Research To reduce further the already small probability      Program to Congress from 1977 until 1997. In 1998, of pressure vessel failure, the Committee              Public Law 105-362 struck those two sentences in suggests that the industry and the AEC give still      Section 29.
Anticipated Transients without Scram (ATWS): The issue of ATWS was first raised by E. P. Epler , an ACRS consultant , in a January 21, 1969 letter to the ACRS executive secretary [5]. Few months later, the ACRS decided to identify the issue in its letter reports on Hatch unit 1
further attention to methods and details of stress analysis, to the development and implementation            In 1997, the Commission transferred the research of improved methods of inspection during              advisory function of the Nuclear Safety Research fabrication and vessel service life, and to the       Review Committee (NSRRC) to the ACRS. In this 6                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME
[6] and on the application for the construction authorization for the Brunswick Units 1 and 2
[7]. In each report the Committee recommended "a study be made by the applicant of further means of preventing common failure modes from negating scram action and of design features to make tolerable the consequences of failure to scram during anticipated transients.
In the early 1980s, the U.S. nuclear utility industry in cooperation with DOE, and with support from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), initiated the Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) program to ensure a viable nuclear power generation option for the 1990s and beyond. The ACRS followed the development of the ALWR program from its inception and offered suggestions regarding safety improvements on several occasions
[9]. In 1989, the NRC established alternative licensing processes to improve regulatory efficiency and add greater predictability to the licensing process.
The ACRS has played an important role in new reactor licensing reviews including the design 4                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  certification process. According to NRC regulation (10 CFR 52.53), the design certification application is referred to the ACRS for a review and report.
The ACRS has identified many technical issues during its design certification reviews which were resolved before the Committee provided its final recommendations for approvals
[10-11]. The License Renewal Rule (10 CFR Part 54), first issued in 1991, establishes the technical and procedural requirements for renewing power reactor operating licenses.
According to 10 CFR 54.25 each license renewal application shall be referred to the ACRS for a review and report. To date, the ACRS has completed the review of 56 license renewal applications and the associated NRC staff safety evaluation reports involving 90 nuclear power units. The ACRS has contributed significantly to the success of the license renewal program by establishing expectations on the quality of the submittals and of the license renewal programs committed to by licensees.
Utilities have been using power uprates since the 1970s as a way to increase the power output of their nuclear plants. Power uprates are submitted to NRC as license amendment requests. ACRS reviews the power uprates that are amounting to power increase greater than 5 percent above originally licensed value. Since 1998, The Committee has reviewed 26 applications for power uprates.
ACRS has contributed significantly to the success of the power uprate program by establishing expectations on the quality of the power uprate license amendment requests and supporting documentations. The Committee was instrumental in the staff development of a review standard for extended power uprates [12]. 4. REGULATORY POLICIES AND PRACTICES  The ACRS has played a significant role in the review and resolution of key technical issues associated with regulation of nuclear power plants.
Th e Committee has a history of recommending innovative approaches to regulatory problems. Following are some examples of the roles ACRS has played in shaping the regulatory policies and practices of the agency:
Emergency Planning
: As the size of proposed nuclear power plants increased and containment could no longer be regarded as an unchallengeable barrier to the escape of radioactivity, ACRS paid more attention to emergency planning. In 1966, the Committee noted that many applicants and licensees would rely heavily on local authorities to carry out evacuation, if it should become necessary. There were also no guidelines for judging when an evacuation would be advisable.
The ACRS decided that it should alert the AEC "to a problem area where little efforts being exerted
" [13]. Pressed by the ACRS, the AEC undertook a study of emergency plans and procedures that eventually led to adding a new Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50
, "Emergency Planning and Preparedness for Production and Utilization Facilities
."  Quantitative Safety Goals
: In 1979, The ACRS recommended that consideration be given to the establishment of quantitative safety goals for nuclear power reactors. In its May 16, 1979 letter on quantitative safety goals
[14], the ACRS recognized the difficulties and uncertainties in the quantification of risk and acknowledged that in many situations engineering judgment would be the only or the primary basis for a decision. Nevertheless, the Committee believed that the existence of quantitative safety goals and criteria could provide important yardsticks for such judgment [14]. The ACRS was at the forefront of the development of quantitative safety goals. The first set of trial goals (NUREG
-0739) [15] was developed by the ACRS in 1980. These safety goals were the basis for the later NRC work on the development of an NRC Safety Goal Policy in 1983 [16]. PRA Policy Statement
: In the early 1990s, the ACRS became concerned about the inconsisten t use of PRA in NRC. In a July 19, 1991 lett er on the consistent use of PRA [17], the ACRS acknowledged
, "PRA can be a valuable tool for judging the quality of regulation, and for helping to ensure the optimal use of regulatory and industry resources." The Committee also stated that it "would have liked to see a deeper and more deliberate integration of the methodology into the NRC activities." The ACRS also pointed to issues such as the inconsistent use of conservatism and the lack of the treatment of uncertainties.
In response to the ACRS, NRC chartered a PRA Working Group an d a Regulatory Review Group to review processes, programs, and practices to identify the feasibility of substituting performance
-based requirements 5                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  and guidance founded on risk insights in place of prescriptive requirements [
18]. These efforts led the Commission to issue a policy statement on the use of PRA so that the many potential applications of PRA can be implemented in a consistent and predictable manner that would promote regulatory stability and efficiency
[19]. Risk-Informed Regulations and Practices: ACRS has been very supportive of the evolution toward a risk-informed and performance
-based regulatory system
[20] and had technical oversight of this transformation
. The Committee has followed closely the development of regulatory guidance for the implementation of risk-informed programs and processes, and of PRAs standards that have been used to support these programs and processes.
The ACRS has also taken a leading role in considering some of the challenging issues that have arisen in this effort , such as the application of defense
-in-depth in a risk-informed context.
In its May 19, 1999 letter on the Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk-Informed Regulatory System
[21], ACRS forwarded a paper, prepared by several of its members and an ACRS Senior Fellow, in which two ("Structuralist" and "Rationalist") views of defense-in-depth were discussed along with a preliminary proposal regarding its role in a risk
-informed regulatory system. The ACRS motivation for this had arisen because of instances in which seemingly arbitrary appeals to defense in depth had been used to avoid making changes in regulations or regulatory practices that seemed appropriate in the light of results of quantitative risk analyses.
: 5. OPERATING REACTORS SAFETY OVERSIGHT  The ACRS has always been attentive to safety improvements in operation of nuclear power plants.
In fact , ACRS was the first to recommend periodic comprehensive (ten year) review of operating power reactors. In a June 14, 1966 letter on the subject, the Committee recommended that the AEC "institute a program of periodic comprehensive review of operating licensed power reactors
" [22]. The Committee also recommended that the reports, to be submitted by reactor operators for these comprehensive reviews, "contain summaries of operating history with special emphasis on significant problems" [22]. The ACRS believed that "each reactor operator should be responsible for the maintenance of appropriate records of the design, fabrication, installation testing, and operating history of important plant components
" and this information should be adequate for the comprehensive reviews by the regulatory staff. [22].
ACRS has made valuable contributions over a wide range of issues at operating plants including the following:
Generic Safety Issues (GSIs)
: Starting in 1972, the ACRS developed a list of generic items related to construction or operation of light
-water reactors [23]. This grew into a list which was last reported in an ACRS letter dated March 21, 1979
[24]. The work of the NRC staff to resolve these items, as well as the generic items identified by them, became steadily more formal, stemming from the requirement of Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which required the NRC to "develop a plan providing for the specification and analysis of unresolved safety issues relating to nuclear reactors
" and "take such action as may be necessary to implement corrective measures with respect to such issues
."  The ACRS has made significant contribution toward resolution of many generic safety issues (GSIs). One recent example is the Committee's role in the resolution of GSI
-191 , "Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump Performanc e." ACRS was first to express concerns about the effects of chemical reaction  products and particle/fiber mats that could form on screens. The Committee was also the first to alarm that increasing screen area, though it could reduce head loss, might result in more fiber debris passing through the screens and increase downstream effects
[25]. Safety Culture:
The concept of safety culture received much attention in the aftermath of the 1979 accident at TMI
-2 which underscored the importance of management and organizational factors to the safe operation of nuclear power plants. The 2002 incident at the Davis
-Besse nuclear power plant renewed the interest in safety culture and provided a n impetus to the deliberations of the ACRS regarding the role and effectiveness of the NRC Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in monitoring organizational performance.
ACRS organized a workshop on safety culture on June 12, 2003
[26] and issued a report to the Commission on July 16, 2003
[27].
6                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  6. SAFETY RESEARCH REVIEWS Throughout its history
, ACRS has made significant contribution to safety research conducted by the agency. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Committee recognized the need for a safety research program. In a November 16, 1959 letter on proposed study of the reactor hazard and criteria problem, the Committee acknowledged the increasing difficulties which it foresaw in the adequate evaluation of the hazards of reactor facilities due to the absence of a "critical evaluation of the existing data relating to reactor safety" and "the absence of written and agreed upon criteria for judging the adequacy of the proposed design, construction and operation of the various parts of a reactor" [28]. The ACRS believed that the problem required "a study of the available information on reactor safety, arranging it so it is readily available and deriving from it logical conclusions pertinent to answering the questions
: A) Is the available knowledge sufficient to set        criteria?  B)  Is more research needed and of what kind?
C) Is this the sort of problem that is not susceptible to solution by planned research and therefore, must primary reliance be placed upon judgment and experience
?"[28]. During its early licensing reviews, the ACRS identified ma n y technical safety issues for further research. Following are some examples of technical issues raised by ACRS for further study:
Radiation Damage to Reactor Pressure Vessel:
In a May 20, 1961 letter on the subject of radiation damage to reactor pressure vessel, ACRS raised its concern about "the potential damage to reactor pressure vessel by virtue of the neutron flux to which they are subjected during their life." [29]. However at that time the vessel failure was not considered "credible". In the mid-1960s, as the size of proposed reactors increased substantially, the ACRS discussed this matter extensively and in its November 24, 1965 letter  on the subject of reactor pressure vessels stated the following:
  "To reduce further the already small probability of pressure vessel failure, the Committee suggests that the industry and the AEC give still further attention to methods and details of stress analysis, to the development and implementation of improved methods of inspection during fabrication and vessel service life, and to the improvement of means for evaluating the factors that may affect the nil ductility transition temperature and the propagation of flaws during the vessel life
" [30]. Early Concerns about Core Meltdown Accidents:
In 1966, at the "prodding" of ACRS, the AEC established a special task force to look in to the problem of core meltdown [31
]. The task force, chaired by William K. Ergen, a former ACRS member, issued its report in October 1967 [
32]. The report offered assurances about the reliability of ECCS designs and improbability of a core meltdown, but it also acknowledged that a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) could cause a breach of containment if the ECCS failed to perform. In an ACRS letter on the task force report, dated February 26, 1968, the Committee strongly recommended that a "positive approach be adopted toward studying the workability of protective measures to cope with core meltdown
" [33]. The Committee also recommended
, as it did in its 1966 report on safety research
, that a "vigorous program be aimed at gaining better understanding of the phenomena and mechanisms important to the course of large
-scale core meltdown
." The task force report and ACRS recommendations formed the basis of some of the most important research initiatives and regulatory decisions by the AEC and the NRC , including the AEC's decision to undertake a study to estimate the probability of a severe accident which resulted in the publication of the landmark Reactor Safety Study (WASH
-1400) [34] and the beginning of the science of probabilistic risk assessment as applied to nuclear power plant safety [2].
In 1977, Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act was amended to add the following two sentences: "In addition to its other duties under this section, the Committee, making use of all available sources, shall undertake a study of reactor safety research and prepare and submit annually to the Congress a report containing the results of such study. The first such report shall be submitted to the Congress no later than December 31, 1977."  ACRS had been submitting an annual report on NRC Safety Research Program to Congress from 1977 until 1997. In 1998, Public Law 105
-362 struck those two sentences in Section 29. In 1997, the Commission transferred the research advisory function of the Nuclear Safety Research Review Committee (NSRRC) to the ACRS. In this 7                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME  role, the ACRS was directed to "examine the need, scope, and balance of the reactor safety research program" [35]. The Committee was also directed to "consider how well the Office of Research anticipates research needs and how it is positioned for the changing environment
" [35]. Since 1998, ACRS has been submitting reports to the Commission on review and evaluation of the NRC Safety Research Program, initially annually and after 2004 biennially.
Since 2004, the ACRS has also been assisting the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research in an independent evaluation of the quality of its research programs. An analytical/deliberative decision
-making framework has been adopted for evaluating the quality of NRC research projects. The definition of quality research adopted by the Committee includes general attributes such as soundness of technical approach and results, justification of major assumptions, and treatment of uncertainties/ sensitivities. 
: 7. NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND WASTE Before the establishment of ACNW in 1988 , ACRS reviewed matters related to the long
-term management of radioactive wastes produced within the nuclear industry. Since the merging of ACNW&M into the ACRS in 2008, the Committee has been reviewing many aspects of nuclear waste management such as handling, processing, transportation, and storage of nuclear wastes including spent fuel and nuclear wastes mixed with other hazardous substances.
: 8.


==SUMMARY==
role, the ACRS was directed to examine the need,       2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, The Role scope, and balance of the reactor safety research          of the ACRS in Nuclear Regulation and Safety:
AND CONCLUSION Through more than 60 years of its history, the ACRS has made significant contributions to nuclear safety. . The Committee's early licensing reviews led to evolution of many new safety requirements dealing with a wide range of technical issues.
program [35]. The Committee was also directed to          Looking Back, Looking Forward, Remarks by consider how well the Office of Research anticipates      Chairman Richard A. Meserve before the ACRS research needs and how it is positioned for the            Symposium on Role of Advisory Committees in changing environment [35]. Since 1998, ACRS has            March 4, 2003.
As the ACRS moved into the 1980s, the Committee shifted much of its attention from plant design and construction to improvements in both the operation and regulation of nuclear power plants. Throughout its history, an essential activity of the ACRS has also been reviewing the research sponsored by the agency.
been submitting reports to the Commission on review    3. Nourbakhsh, H. P. 60 Years of Contributing to and evaluation of the NRC Safety Research Program,          Reactor Safety: Insights on ACRS Power Reactor initially annually and after 2004 biennially.              Licensing Reviews, To be presented at the 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Since 2004, the ACRS has also been assisting the      Power Plants (ICAPP 18), Charlotte, NC, April NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research in an            8-11, 2018.
REFERENCES  1. Mazuzan, G. T. and J. S. Walker, Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation,  1946-1962, University of California Press, 1985.
independent evaluation of the quality of its research  4. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, programs. An analytical/deliberative decision-making        Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, framework has been adopted for evaluating the              to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, quality of NRC research projects. The definition of        U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  
: 2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "The Role of the ACRS in Nuclear Regulation and Safety:
Looking Back, Looking Forward," Remarks by Chairman Richard A. Meserve before the ACRS Symposium on Role of Advisory Committees in March 4, 2003.
: 3. Nourbakhsh, H. P. "60 Years of Contributing to Reactor Safety: Insights on ACRS Power Reactor Licensing Reviews," To be presented at the 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 18), Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018. 4. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==


Report on Connecticut
quality research adopted by the Committee includes          Report on Connecticut-Yankee Atomic Power general attributes such as soundness of technical          Company, February 19, 1964.
-Yankee Atomic Power Company, February 19, 1964.
approach and results, justification of major            5. Okrent, D., Nuclear Reactor Safety, On the assumptions, and treatment of uncertainties/                History of the Regulatory Process, the University sensitivities.                                              of Wisconsin Press, (1981).
: 5. Okrent , D., Nuclear Reactor Safety, On the History of the Regulatory Process, the University of Wisconsin Press, (1981). 6. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  
: 6. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,
: 7. NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND WASTE                              Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, Before the establishment of ACNW in 1988,              U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==


Report on the City of Los Angeles
ACRS reviewed matters related to the long-term              Report on the City of Los Angeles- Malibu management of radioactive wastes produced within            Nuclear Plant-Unit No. 1, July 15 1964.
- Malibu Nuclear Plant
the nuclear industry. Since the merging of ACNW&M      7. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, into the ACRS in 2008, the Committee has been              Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of reviewing many aspects of nuclear waste management          ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, such as handling, processing, transportation, and          Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, storage of nuclear wastes including spent fuel and         
-Unit No. 1, July 15 1964.  
: 7. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Report on Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, May 15, 1969.
Report on Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, nuclear wastes mixed with other hazardous                  May 15, 1969.
: 8. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,
substances.                                            8. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of
: 8.
 
==SUMMARY==
AND CONCLUSION                                  ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Through more than 60 years of its history, the       


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Report on Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Units 1 and 2, May 15, 1969.
Report on Brunswick Steam Electric ACRS has made significant contributions to nuclear          Plant Units 1 and 2, May 15, 1969.
: 9. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from David A. Ward, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Ivan Selin, Chairman, U.S.
safety. . The Committees early licensing reviews led  9. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, to evolution of many new safety requirements dealing        Report from David A. Ward, Chairman of ACRS, with a wide range of technical issues. As the ACRS          to the Honorable Ivan Selin, Chairman, U.S.
NRC,  
moved into the 1980s, the Committee shifted much of        NRC,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Electric Power Research Institute Advanced Light Water Reactor Utility Requirements Document  
Electric Power Research Institute its attention from plant design and construction to        Advanced Light Water Reactor Utility improvements in both the operation and regulation of        Requirements Document -- Volume II, nuclear power plants. Throughout its history, an            Evolutionary Plants, August 18, 1992.
-- Volume II, Evolutionary Plants, August 18, 1992.
essential activity of the ACRS has also been            10. Nourbakhsh,       H.P.,     et.al,   Historical reviewing the research sponsored by the agency.            Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of AP1000 Design Certification, Proceeding of REFERENCES                                                  21st International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 21), July 29 - August 2,
: 10. Nourbakhsh , H.P., et.al, "Historical Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of AP1000 Design Certification," Proceeding of 21st International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 21), July 29  
: 1. Mazuzan, G. T. and J. S. Walker, Controlling the      2013, Chengdu, China.
- August 2 , 2013, Chengdu, China.
Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation,        11. Nourbakhsh     H.P. and     M. Banerjee, 1946-1962, University of California Press, 1985.      Historical Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of GE ABWR Design Certification, 7                          Copyright © 2018 by ASME
: 11. Nourbakhsh H.P. and M. Banerjee, "Historical Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of GE ABWR Design Certification,"
 
8                                            Copyright © 2018 by ASME   Proceeding of 23rd International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 23), May 17
Proceeding of 23rd International Conference on         Status of Generic Items Relating to Light-Water Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 23), May 17-21,             Reactors, December 18, 1972.
-21, 015, Chiba, Japan. 12. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Review Standard for Extended Power Uprates," NRR,  RS-001, December 2003.
015, Chiba, Japan.                                 24. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,
: 13. Walker, J. Samuel , Containing the Atom, Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963
: 12. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Review           Letter from Max Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to Standard for Extended Power Uprates, NRR,            Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman.
- 1971, University of California Press, 1992. 14. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,  Letter from Max W. Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman,


==Subject:==
==Subject:==


Report on Quantitative Safety Goals, May 16, 1979. 15. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, "An Approach to Quantitative Safety Goals for Nuclear Power Plants," U.S. NRC, NUREG
RS-001, December 2003.                                Status of Generic Items Relating to Light-Water
- 0739 (1980).
: 13. Walker, J. Samuel, Containing the Atom, Nuclear       Reactors, Report No. 7, March 21, 1979.
: 16. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Policy Statement on Safety Goals for the Operation of Nuclear Power Plants," Federal Register, 51 FR 28044; August 4, 1986 as corrected and republished at 51 FR 30028; August 21, 1986.
Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963-       25. Nourbakhsh, H.P. and S. Banerjee, Historical 1971, University of California Press, 1992.            Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of
: 17. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from David A. Ward, ACRS Chairman, to Ivan Selin, NRC Chairman,  
: 14. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,             PWR Sump Performance, ANS, Annual Letter from Max W. Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to           Meeting Transaction, Hollywood, Florida, 2011.
Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
The Consistent Use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment,  July 19, 19
: 26. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report on Quantitative Safety Goals, May 16,           Proceedings of the Advisory Committee on 1979.                                                 Reactor Safeguards Safety Culture Workshop,
: 91. 18. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,  "Perspective on NRC's PRA Policy Statement,"
: 15. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, An          NUREG-CP-0183, June 2003.
Audit Report, Office of Inspector General, OIG A-25, September 29, 2006.
Approach to Quantitative Safety Goals for          27. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Nuclear Power Plants, U.S. NRC, NUREG-                Letter from Mario V. Bonaca, ACRS Chairman, 0739 (1980).                                          to Nils J. Diaz, NRC Chairman,  
: 19. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment Methods i n  Nuclear Regulatory Activities; Final Policy Statement," Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 158,  August 16, 1995.
: 20. Nourbakhsh, H.P. G. Apostolakis, and D.A.
Powers, "The Evolution of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Process, "Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 102 , pp. 79
-89, (2018).
: 21. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from Dana A. Powers, ACRS Chairman, to Shirley Ann Jackson, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
 
Safety
The Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk
: 16. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Policy            Culture, July 16, 2003.
-Informed  Regulatory System, May 19, 1999.
Statement on Safety Goals for the Operation of    28. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Nuclear Power Plants, Federal Register, 51 FR        Letter from C. Rogers McCulloogh, ACRS 28044; August 4, 1986 as corrected and                Chairman, to John A. McCone, NRC Chairman, republished at 51 FR 30028; August 21, 1986.         
: 22. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from David Okrent, ACRS Chairman, to Glenn T. Seaborg, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
 
Proposed Study of the Reactor Hazard
Periodic Comprehensive (Ten Year) Review of Operating Power reactors., June 14, 1966.
: 17. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,             and Criteria Problem, December 16, 1959.
: 23. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from C. P. Siess, ACRS Chairman, to James Schlesinger, NRC Chairman,  
Letter from David A. Ward, ACRS Chairman, to       29. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Ivan Selin, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
 
The                Letter from T. J. Thompson, Chairman of ACRS, Consistent Use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment,       to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic July 19, 1991.                                         Energy Commission,
Status of Generic Items Relating to Light
-Water  Reactors, December 18, 1972.
: 24. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from Max Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to  Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman.  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
 
Radiation Damage
Status of Generic Items Relating to Light
: 18. U.S. Nuclear    Regulatory      Commission,       to Reactor Pressure Vessels, May 20, 1961.
-Water  Reactors, Report No. 7, March 21, 1979.
Perspective on NRCs PRA Policy Statement,      30. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Audit Report, Office of Inspector General, OIG-       Letter from W.D. Manly, Chairman of ACRS, to 06-A-25, September 29, 2006.                           Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic
: 25. Nourbakhsh, H.P. and S. Banerjee, "Historical Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of PWR Sump Performance,"
: 19. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Use of            Energy Commission,  
ANS, Annual Meeting Transaction, Hollywood, Florida, 2011.  
: 26. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, "Proceedings of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Safety Culture Workshop,"
NUREG-CP-0183, June 2003.
: 27. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,  Letter from Mario V. Bonaca, ACRS Chairman, to Nils J. Diaz, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Safety Culture, July 16, 2003.
Reactor Pressure Probabilistic Risk Assessment Methods in              Vessels, November 24, 1965.
: 28. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from C. Rogers McCulloogh, ACRS Chairman, to John A. McCone, NRC Chairman,
Nuclear Regulatory Activities; Final Policy        31. Walker J. S. and T. R. Wellock, A Short History Statement, Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 158,        of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-2009, NRC, August 16, 1995.                                      NUREG/BR-0175, 2010.
: 20. Nourbakhsh, H.P. G. Apostolakis, and D.A.          32. Ergen, W. K. Emergency Core Cooling: Report Powers, The Evolution of the U.S. Nuclear            of Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor Regulatory Process, Progress in Nuclear              Emergency Cooling, U.S. Atomic Energy Energy, Vol. 102 , pp. 79-89, (2018).                  Commission (1967).
: 21. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,          33. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from Dana A. Powers, ACRS Chairman, to         Report from Carrolle W. Zabel, Chairman of Shirley Ann Jackson, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Proposed Study of the Reactor Hazard and Criteria Problem, December 16, 1959.
ACRS, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S.
: 29. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,  Letter from T. J. Thompson, Chairman of ACRS, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  
The Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk-Informed        Atomic Energy Commission,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Radiation Damage to Reactor Pressure Vessels, May 20, 1961.
Report on Regulatory System, May 19, 1999.                       Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor
: 30. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from W.D. Manly, Chairman of ACRS, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,  
: 22. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,             Emergency Cooling, February 26, 1968.
Letter from David Okrent, ACRS Chairman, to       34. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Reactor Glenn T. Seaborg, NRC Chairman,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Reactor Pressure Vessels, November 24, 1965.
Safety Study-An Assessment of Accident Risks in Periodic Comprehensive (Ten Year) Review of            U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants, Operating Power reactors., June 14, 1966.              WASH-1400 (NUREG-75/014), 1975.
: 31. Walker J. S. and T. R. Wellock, "A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946
: 23. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,         35. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Staff Letter from C. P. Siess, ACRS Chairman, to             Requirements Memorandum (SRM), SECY    James Schlesinger, NRC Chairman,  
-2009," NRC ,  NUREG/BR-0175, 2010. 32. Ergen, W. K. "Emergency Core Cooling: Report of Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor Emergency Cooling," U.S. Atomic Energy  Commission (1967).
: 33. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Carrolle W. Zabel, Chairman of ACRS, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Report on Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor Emergency Cooling, February 26, 1968.
149,  
: 34. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Reactor Safety Study
-An Assessment of Accident Risks in U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants,"
WASH-1400 (NUREG
-75/014), 1975.
: 35. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM), SECY 149,  


==Subject:==
==Subject:==
Nuclear Safety Research Review Committee (NSRRC), September 9, 1997.}}
Nuclear Safety Research Review Committee (NSRRC), September 9, 1997.
8                          Copyright © 2018 by ASME}}

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Acrs' Enduring Legacy Contributing to Reactor Safety - Proceedings of the 2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
ML18214A292
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Issue date: 07/22/2018
From: Hossein Nourbakhsh
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Proceedings of the 2018 26th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering ICONE26 July 22-26, 2018, London, England ICONE26-82275 ACRS' ENDURING LEGACY CONTRIBUTING TO REACTOR SAFETY Hossein Nourbakhsh Senior Technical Advisor for Reactor Safety Office of Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Hossein.Nourbakhsh@nrc.gov ABSTRACT 1 In 1950, the AEC established a second advisory committee, Industrial Committee on Reactor Location For over 60 years the Advisory Committee on Problems, charged with the responsibility of advising Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has had a continuing on what we would today consider siting issues, statutory responsibility for providing independent including seismic and hydrological characteristics of reviews of, and advising on, the safety of proposed or proposed sites. In 1953, the Reactor Safeguards existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of Committee and the Industrial Committee on Reactor proposed reactor safety standards in the United Location Problems were combined by the AEC and States. This paper discusses the role of the Committee the ACRS was formally born.

as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to The 1957 amendment to the Atomic Energy Act reactor safety. of 1954 established the ACRS as a statutory committee advising the AEC. According to Section 29

1. INTRODUCTION of the Act the Committee shall review safety studies and facility license applications referred to it and The history of ACRS goes back to 1947 when the shall make reports thereon, shall advise the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recognized Commission with regard to the hazards of proposed the need for an independent technical group to review or existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of and provide advice on reactor safety matters and thus proposed reactor safety standards and shall perform a Reactor Safeguards Committee, chaired by Dr. other such duties as the Commission may request.

Edward Teller was established. Dr. Teller has been quoted to recall that Reactor Safeguards Committee With the enactment of the Energy Reorganization was about as popular - and as necessary - as a Act of 1974, the AEC was reorganized into two traffic cop [1]. As stated by former NRC Chairman, separate entities, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Richard Meserve, the Reactor Safeguards Committee (NRC) and the Energy Research and Development clearly established an enduring characteristic of the Administration (now the Department of Energy). The ACRS - a willingness to provide candid views on ACRS was assigned to the newly established NRC reactor safety issues, even at the risk of taking with its statutory requirements intact.

unpopular positions [2].

This paper discusses the role of ACRS as it has evolved during its more than 60 years of history, noting some of its significant contributions to reactor 1

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author safety.

and do not necessarily represent those of either the ACRS or NRC.

1 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

2. ROLE OF ACRS OVER ITS HISTORY risk-informed and performance-based regulatory system and has taken a leading role in considering The role of ACRS has evolved over its 60 years some of the challenging issues that have arisen in this of history. Figure 1 depicts the number of effort.

reports/letters issued by the Committee on various topics over its history. The passage of the 1954 Throughout its history, an essential activity of the Atomic Energy Act made it possible for private ACRS has also been reviewing the research companies to build and operate nuclear reactors under sponsored by the agency. This includes evaluation of license. This Act also assigned to the AEC the technical and programmatic aspects of the overall responsibility of protecting the health and safety of reactor safety research program as well as episodic the public through licensing process. Most of todays review of particularly important ongoing research.

U.S. nuclear power plants were licensed during the 1960s and 1970s, when both the technology and its In 1988, the Commission established the governing regulations were in the formative stages. Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) to The ACRS review has always been an important advise the Commission on high-level waste and low-element of the reactor licensing process. level waste issues. Previously, the ACRS and its Waste Management Subcommittee performed this After 1975, not only the orders for new function. In 2007, ACNW was renamed to Advisory reactors plummeted, but there were also many Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials cancellations of existing orders. Following the March (ACNW&M). In 2008 the ACNW&M merged into 28, 1979 accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI- the ACRS. The decision to merge ACNW&M into 2), power reactor licensing was suspended for a year. ACRS was based on the changing workload and As the ACRS moved into the 1980s, the Committee technical challenges facing the agency and the shifted much of its attention from plant design and anticipated increased need for expertise in health construction to improvements in both the operation physics, waste management, and earth sciences in the and regulation of nuclear power plants. The ACRS agency's licensing reviews.

has been very supportive of the evolution toward a Figure 1. The number of reports/letters issued by the ACRS on various topics (1957-2017) 2 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

3. LICENSING REVIEWS The proposed Malibu reactor was never built. An The ACRS has played an important role in intervener group successfully contested the licensing reviews of reactors [3]. The ACRS early construction of the proposed Malibu plant. The reviews also led to evolution of many new safety adequacy of seismic design was one of the main requirements dealing with a wide range of technical points of contention [5].

issues. Following are some examples of the issues raised by the ACRS during its early licensing reviews.

  • Effectiveness of ECCS Design: By the mid-1960s, as proposed plants increased significantly
  • Control Rod Ejection Accidents: The ACRS in power level, the ACRS became concerned that report on licensing review of the Connecticut a core meltdown accident, particularly one in Yankee plant [4] was the first to call out the which the plants emergency core cooling system requirements for study of the control rod ejection (ECCS) might fail to operate as designed, could accident. This led to design changes in large lead to a breach of containment. The ACRS LWRs, either to limit the reactivity worth of emphasized the need for improved emergency control rods or to add an additional mechanical core-cooling systems (ECCS). By August 1966, restraint to control rod ejection (an approach General Electric responded in support of the taken in BWRs) [5]. Dresden 3 plant by proposing a redundant core-flooding system and an automatic
  • Design Considerations for a Tsunami Following a depressurization system, which would reduce the Major Earthquake: The ACRS report on the primary system pressure sufficiently to maximize proposed 1473 MWt Malibu Nuclear Plant Unit the effectiveness of the low-pressure core spray 1 for construction at Corral Canyon (twenty-nine or core-flooding system. Later that year miles west of Los Angles) was the first to raise Westinghouse introduced accumulators.

the issue of the adequate protection against a tsunami following a major seismic event. The

following paragraph from the July 15, 1964 The issue of ATWS was first raised by E. P.

ACRS report on the proposed Malibu Plant is Epler, an ACRS consultant, in a January 21, 1969 particularly noteworthy. letter to the ACRS executive secretary [5]. Few months later, the ACRS decided to identify the The ability of the plant to withstand the issue in its letter reports on Hatch unit 1 [6] and effects of a tsunami following a major on the application for the construction earthquake has been discussed with the authorization for the Brunswick Units 1 and 2 applicant. There has not been agreement among [7]. In each report the Committee recommended consultants about the height of water to be a study be made by the applicant of further expected should a tsunami occur in this area. means of preventing common failure modes from The Committee is not prepared to resolve the negating scram action and of design features to conflicting opinions, and suggests that intensive make tolerable the consequences of failure to efforts be made to establish rational and scram during anticipated transients.

consistent parameters for this phenomenon. The applicant has stated that the containment In the early 1980s, the U.S. nuclear utility structure will not be impaired by inundation to a industry in cooperation with DOE, and with support height of fifty feet above mean sea level. The from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),

integrity of emergency in-house power supplies initiated the Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) should also be assured by location at a suitable program to ensure a viable nuclear power generation height and by using water-proof techniques for option for the 1990s and beyond. The ACRS followed the vital power system. The emergency power the development of the ALWR program from its system should be sized to allow simultaneous inception and offered suggestions regarding safety operation of the containment building spray improvements on several occasions [9].

system and the recirculation and cooling system.

Ability to remove shutdown core heat under In 1989, the NRC established alternative conditions of total loss of normal electrical licensing processes to improve regulatory efficiency supply should be assured. If these provisions are and add greater predictability to the licensing process.

made, the Committee believes that the plant will The ACRS has played an important role in new be adequately protected [6]. reactor licensing reviews including the design 3 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

certification process. According to NRC regulation emergency planning. In 1966, the Committee (10 CFR 52.53), the design certification application is noted that many applicants and licensees would referred to the ACRS for a review and report. The rely heavily on local authorities to carry out ACRS has identified many technical issues during its evacuation, if it should become necessary. There design certification reviews which were resolved were also no guidelines for judging when an before the Committee provided its final evacuation would be advisable. The ACRS recommendations for approvals [10-11]. decided that it should alert the AEC to a problem area where little efforts being exerted The License Renewal Rule (10 CFR Part 54), [13]. Pressed by the ACRS, the AEC undertook a first issued in 1991, establishes the technical and study of emergency plans and procedures that procedural requirements for renewing power reactor eventually led to adding a new Appendix E to 10 operating licenses. According to 10 CFR 54.25 each CFR Part 50, Emergency Planning and license renewal application shall be referred to the Preparedness for Production and Utilization ACRS for a review and report. To date, the ACRS has Facilities.

completed the review of 56 license renewal applications and the associated NRC staff safety

  • Quantitative Safety Goals: In 1979, The ACRS evaluation reports involving 90 nuclear power units. recommended that consideration be given to the The ACRS has contributed significantly to the establishment of quantitative safety goals for success of the license renewal program by nuclear power reactors. In its May 16, 1979 establishing expectations on the quality of the letter on quantitative safety goals [14], the ACRS submittals and of the license renewal programs recognized the difficulties and uncertainties in committed to by licensees. the quantification of risk and acknowledged that in many situations engineering judgment would Utilities have been using power uprates since the be the only or the primary basis for a decision.

1970s as a way to increase the power output of their Nevertheless, the Committee believed that the nuclear plants. Power uprates are submitted to NRC existence of quantitative safety goals and criteria as license amendment requests. ACRS reviews the could provide important yardsticks for such power uprates that are amounting to power increase judgment [14].

greater than 5 percent above originally licensed value.

Since 1998, The Committee has reviewed 26 The ACRS was at the forefront of the applications for power uprates. ACRS has development of quantitative safety goals. The contributed significantly to the success of the power first set of trial goals (NUREG-0739) [15] was uprate program by establishing expectations on the developed by the ACRS in 1980. These safety quality of the power uprate license amendment goals were the basis for the later NRC work on requests and supporting documentations. The the development of an NRC Safety Goal Policy Committee was instrumental in the staff development in 1983 [16].

of a review standard for extended power uprates [12].

  • PRA Policy Statement: In the early 1990s, the
4. REGULATORY POLICIES AND ACRS became concerned about the inconsistent PRACTICES use of PRA in NRC. In a July 19, 1991 letter on the consistent use of PRA [17], the ACRS The ACRS has played a significant role in the acknowledged, PRA can be a valuable tool for review and resolution of key technical issues judging the quality of regulation, and for helping associated with regulation of nuclear power plants. to ensure the optimal use of regulatory and The Committee has a history of recommending industry resources. The Committee also stated innovative approaches to regulatory problems. that it would have liked to see a deeper and Following are some examples of the roles ACRS has more deliberate integration of the methodology played in shaping the regulatory policies and into the NRC activities. The ACRS also pointed practices of the agency: to issues such as the inconsistent use of conservatism and the lack of the treatment of
  • Emergency Planning: As the size of proposed uncertainties. In response to the ACRS, NRC nuclear power plants increased and containment chartered a PRA Working Group and a could no longer be regarded as an Regulatory Review Group to review processes, unchallengeable barrier to the escape of programs, and practices to identify the feasibility radioactivity, ACRS paid more attention to of substituting performance-based requirements 4 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

and guidance founded on risk insights in place of fabrication, installation testing, and operating prescriptive requirements [18]. These efforts led history of important plant components and this the Commission to issue a policy statement on information should be adequate for the the use of PRA so that the many potential comprehensive reviews by the regulatory staff. [22].

applications of PRA can be implemented in a consistent and predictable manner that would ACRS has made valuable contributions over a wide promote regulatory stability and efficiency [19]. range of issues at operating plants including the following:

  • Risk-Informed Regulations and Practices: ACRS has been very supportive of the evolution toward
  • Generic Safety Issues (GSIs): Starting in 1972, a risk-informed and performance-based the ACRS developed a list of generic items regulatory system [20] and had technical related to construction or operation of light-water oversight of this transformation. The Committee reactors [23]. This grew into a list which was last has followed closely the development of reported in an ACRS letter dated March 21, 1979 regulatory guidance for the implementation of [24]. The work of the NRC staff to resolve these risk-informed programs and processes, and of items, as well as the generic items identified by PRAs standards that have been used to support them, became steadily more formal, stemming these programs and processes. The ACRS has from the requirement of Section 210 of the also taken a leading role in considering some of Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which the challenging issues that have arisen in this required the NRC to develop a plan providing effort, such as the application of defense-in-depth for the specification and analysis of unresolved in a risk-informed context. In its May 19, 1999 safety issues relating to nuclear reactors and letter on the Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk- take such action as may be necessary to Informed Regulatory System [21], ACRS implement corrective measures with respect to forwarded a paper, prepared by several of its such issues.

members and an ACRS Senior Fellow, in which two (Structuralist and Rationalist) views of The ACRS has made significant contribution defense-in-depth were discussed along with a toward resolution of many generic safety issues preliminary proposal regarding its role in a risk- (GSIs). One recent example is the Committees informed regulatory system. The ACRS role in the resolution of GSI-191, Assessment of motivation for this had arisen because of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump instances in which seemingly arbitrary appeals to Performance. ACRS was first to express defense in depth had been used to avoid making concerns about the effects of chemical reaction changes in regulations or regulatory practices products and particle/fiber mats that could form that seemed appropriate in the light of results of on screens. The Committee was also the first to quantitative risk analyses. alarm that increasing screen area, though it could reduce head loss, might result in more

5. OPERATING REACTORS SAFETY fiber debris passing through the screens and OVERSIGHT increase downstream effects [25].

The ACRS has always been attentive to safety

  • Safety Culture: The concept of safety culture improvements in operation of nuclear power plants. received much attention in the aftermath of the In fact, ACRS was the first to recommend periodic 1979 accident at TMI-2 which underscored the comprehensive (ten year) review of operating power importance of management and organizational reactors. In a June 14, 1966 letter on the subject, the factors to the safe operation of nuclear power Committee recommended that the AEC institute a plants. The 2002 incident at the Davis-Besse program of periodic comprehensive review of nuclear power plant renewed the interest in safety operating licensed power reactors [22]. The culture and provided an impetus to the Committee also recommended that the reports, to be deliberations of the ACRS regarding the role and submitted by reactor operators for these effectiveness of the NRC Reactor Oversight comprehensive reviews, contain summaries of Process (ROP) in monitoring organizational operating history with special emphasis on performance. ACRS organized a workshop on significant problems [22]. The ACRS believed that safety culture on June 12, 2003 [26] and issued a each reactor operator should be responsible for the report to the Commission on July 16, 2003 [27].

maintenance of appropriate records of the design, 5 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

6. SAFETY RESEARCH REVIEWS improvement of means for evaluating the factors that may affect the nil ductility transition Throughout its history, ACRS has made temperature and the propagation of flaws during significant contribution to safety research conducted the vessel life [30].

by the agency. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Committee recognized the need for

  • Early Concerns about Core Meltdown Accidents:

a safety research program. In a November 16, 1959 In 1966, at the prodding of ACRS, the AEC letter on proposed study of the reactor hazard and established a special task force to look into the criteria problem, the Committee acknowledged the problem of core meltdown [31]. The task force, increasing difficulties which it foresaw in the chaired by William K. Ergen, a former ACRS adequate evaluation of the hazards of reactor facilities member, issued its report in October 1967 [32].

due to the absence of a critical evaluation of the The report offered assurances about the existing data relating to reactor safety and the reliability of ECCS designs and improbability of absence of written and agreed upon criteria for a core meltdown, but it also acknowledged that a judging the adequacy of the proposed design, loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) could cause a construction and operation of the various parts of a breach of containment if the ECCS failed to reactor [28]. The ACRS believed that the problem perform. In an ACRS letter on the task force required a study of the available information on report, dated February 26, 1968, the Committee reactor safety, arranging it so it is readily available strongly recommended that a positive approach and deriving from it logical conclusions pertinent to be adopted toward studying the workability of answering the questions: protective measures to cope with core meltdown A) Is the available knowledge sufficient to set [33]. The Committee also recommended, as it did criteria? in its 1966 report on safety research, that a B) Is more research needed and of what kind? vigorous program be aimed at gaining better C) Is this the sort of problem that is not understanding of the phenomena and susceptible to solution by planned research and mechanisms important to the course of large-therefore, must primary reliance be placed upon scale core meltdown. The task force report and judgment and experience?[28]. ACRS recommendations formed the basis of some of the most important research initiatives During its early licensing reviews, the ACRS and regulatory decisions by the AEC and the identified many technical safety issues for further NRC, including the AECs decision to undertake research. Following are some examples of technical a study to estimate the probability of a severe issues raised by ACRS for further study: accident which resulted in the publication of the landmark Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400)

its concern about the potential damage to reactor pressure vessel by virtue of the neutron In 1977, Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act flux to which they are subjected during their was amended to add the following two sentences: In life. [29]. However at that time the vessel failure addition to its other duties under this section, the was not considered credible. In the mid-1960s, Committee, making use of all available sources, shall as the size of proposed reactors increased undertake a study of reactor safety research and substantially, the ACRS discussed this matter prepare and submit annually to the Congress a report extensively and in its November 24, 1965 letter containing the results of such study. The first such on the subject of reactor pressure vessels stated report shall be submitted to the Congress no later the following: than December 31, 1977." ACRS had been submitting an annual report on NRC Safety Research To reduce further the already small probability Program to Congress from 1977 until 1997. In 1998, of pressure vessel failure, the Committee Public Law 105-362 struck those two sentences in suggests that the industry and the AEC give still Section 29.

further attention to methods and details of stress analysis, to the development and implementation In 1997, the Commission transferred the research of improved methods of inspection during advisory function of the Nuclear Safety Research fabrication and vessel service life, and to the Review Committee (NSRRC) to the ACRS. In this 6 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

role, the ACRS was directed to examine the need, 2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, The Role scope, and balance of the reactor safety research of the ACRS in Nuclear Regulation and Safety:

program [35]. The Committee was also directed to Looking Back, Looking Forward, Remarks by consider how well the Office of Research anticipates Chairman Richard A. Meserve before the ACRS research needs and how it is positioned for the Symposium on Role of Advisory Committees in changing environment [35]. Since 1998, ACRS has March 4, 2003.

been submitting reports to the Commission on review 3. Nourbakhsh, H. P. 60 Years of Contributing to and evaluation of the NRC Safety Research Program, Reactor Safety: Insights on ACRS Power Reactor initially annually and after 2004 biennially. Licensing Reviews, To be presented at the 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Since 2004, the ACRS has also been assisting the Power Plants (ICAPP 18), Charlotte, NC, April NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research in an 8-11, 2018.

independent evaluation of the quality of its research 4. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, programs. An analytical/deliberative decision-making Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, framework has been adopted for evaluating the to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, quality of NRC research projects. The definition of U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,

Subject:

quality research adopted by the Committee includes Report on Connecticut-Yankee Atomic Power general attributes such as soundness of technical Company, February 19, 1964.

approach and results, justification of major 5. Okrent, D., Nuclear Reactor Safety, On the assumptions, and treatment of uncertainties/ History of the Regulatory Process, the University sensitivities. of Wisconsin Press, (1981).

6. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,
7. NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND WASTE Report from Herbert Kouts, Chairman of ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, Before the establishment of ACNW in 1988, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,

Subject:

ACRS reviewed matters related to the long-term Report on the City of Los Angeles- Malibu management of radioactive wastes produced within Nuclear Plant-Unit No. 1, July 15 1964.

the nuclear industry. Since the merging of ACNW&M 7. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, into the ACRS in 2008, the Committee has been Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of reviewing many aspects of nuclear waste management ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, such as handling, processing, transportation, and Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, storage of nuclear wastes including spent fuel and

Subject:

Report on Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, nuclear wastes mixed with other hazardous May 15, 1969.

substances. 8. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report from Stephen H. Hanauer, Chairman of

8.

SUMMARY

AND CONCLUSION ACRS, to the Honorable Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Through more than 60 years of its history, the

Subject:

Report on Brunswick Steam Electric ACRS has made significant contributions to nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2, May 15, 1969.

safety. . The Committees early licensing reviews led 9. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, to evolution of many new safety requirements dealing Report from David A. Ward, Chairman of ACRS, with a wide range of technical issues. As the ACRS to the Honorable Ivan Selin, Chairman, U.S.

moved into the 1980s, the Committee shifted much of NRC,

Subject:

Electric Power Research Institute its attention from plant design and construction to Advanced Light Water Reactor Utility improvements in both the operation and regulation of Requirements Document -- Volume II, nuclear power plants. Throughout its history, an Evolutionary Plants, August 18, 1992.

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Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation, 11. Nourbakhsh H.P. and M. Banerjee, 1946-1962, University of California Press, 1985. Historical Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of GE ABWR Design Certification, 7 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

Proceeding of 23rd International Conference on Status of Generic Items Relating to Light-Water Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 23), May 17-21, Reactors, December 18, 1972.

015, Chiba, Japan. 24. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards,

12. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Review Letter from Max Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to Standard for Extended Power Uprates, NRR, Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman.

Subject:

RS-001, December 2003. Status of Generic Items Relating to Light-Water

13. Walker, J. Samuel, Containing the Atom, Nuclear Reactors, Report No. 7, March 21, 1979.

Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963- 25. Nourbakhsh, H.P. and S. Banerjee, Historical 1971, University of California Press, 1992. Perspectives and Insights on ACRS Review of

14. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, PWR Sump Performance, ANS, Annual Letter from Max W. Carbon, ACRS Chairman, to Meeting Transaction, Hollywood, Florida, 2011.

Joseph M. Hendrie, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

26. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Report on Quantitative Safety Goals, May 16, Proceedings of the Advisory Committee on 1979. Reactor Safeguards Safety Culture Workshop,
15. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, An NUREG-CP-0183, June 2003.

Approach to Quantitative Safety Goals for 27. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Nuclear Power Plants, U.S. NRC, NUREG- Letter from Mario V. Bonaca, ACRS Chairman, 0739 (1980). to Nils J. Diaz, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

Safety

16. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Policy Culture, July 16, 2003.

Statement on Safety Goals for the Operation of 28. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Nuclear Power Plants, Federal Register, 51 FR Letter from C. Rogers McCulloogh, ACRS 28044; August 4, 1986 as corrected and Chairman, to John A. McCone, NRC Chairman, republished at 51 FR 30028; August 21, 1986.

Subject:

Proposed Study of the Reactor Hazard

17. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and Criteria Problem, December 16, 1959.

Letter from David A. Ward, ACRS Chairman, to 29. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Ivan Selin, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

The Letter from T. J. Thompson, Chairman of ACRS, Consistent Use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic July 19, 1991. Energy Commission,

Subject:

Radiation Damage

18. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to Reactor Pressure Vessels, May 20, 1961.

Perspective on NRCs PRA Policy Statement, 30. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Audit Report, Office of Inspector General, OIG- Letter from W.D. Manly, Chairman of ACRS, to 06-A-25, September 29, 2006. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S. Atomic

19. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Use of Energy Commission,

Subject:

Reactor Pressure Probabilistic Risk Assessment Methods in Vessels, November 24, 1965.

Nuclear Regulatory Activities; Final Policy 31. Walker J. S. and T. R. Wellock, A Short History Statement, Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 158, of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-2009, NRC, August 16, 1995. NUREG/BR-0175, 2010.

20. Nourbakhsh, H.P. G. Apostolakis, and D.A. 32. Ergen, W. K. Emergency Core Cooling: Report Powers, The Evolution of the U.S. Nuclear of Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor Regulatory Process, Progress in Nuclear Emergency Cooling, U.S. Atomic Energy Energy, Vol. 102 , pp. 79-89, (2018). Commission (1967).
21. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, 33. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Letter from Dana A. Powers, ACRS Chairman, to Report from Carrolle W. Zabel, Chairman of Shirley Ann Jackson, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

ACRS, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, U.S.

The Role of Defense in Depth in a Risk-Informed Atomic Energy Commission,

Subject:

Report on Regulatory System, May 19, 1999. Advisory Task Force on Power Reactor

22. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Emergency Cooling, February 26, 1968.

Letter from David Okrent, ACRS Chairman, to 34. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Reactor Glenn T. Seaborg, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

Safety Study-An Assessment of Accident Risks in Periodic Comprehensive (Ten Year) Review of U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants, Operating Power reactors., June 14, 1966. WASH-1400 (NUREG-75/014), 1975.

23. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, 35. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Staff Letter from C. P. Siess, ACRS Chairman, to Requirements Memorandum (SRM), SECY James Schlesinger, NRC Chairman,

Subject:

149,

Subject:

Nuclear Safety Research Review Committee (NSRRC), September 9, 1997.

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