NRC Regulatory History of Non-Light Water Reactors (1950-2019)
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BNL-211739-2019-INRE NRC Regulatory History of Non-Light Water Reactors (1950-2019) Manuscript Completed: June 10, 2019 Prepared by: Pranab Samanta, David Diamond, and William Horak Nuclear Science and Technology Department Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973-5000 Prepared for: Imtiaz Madni and George Tartal Office of New Reactors U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ABSTRACT This report describes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) history with the licensing of non-light water reactors (non-LWRs). The focus is on regulatory policy and licensing issues that have arisen in the past so that NRC staff will be in a better position to deal with these matters in the future. It is not an objective to discuss in any detail the technology of non-LWR designs. Documenting the historical policy issues and licensing approaches is particularly important to NRC staff unfamiliar with non- LWRs and is an important incentive for the report. Hence, the report is written as a tutorial rather than as an historical archive. The subject is approached chronologically going from the early days of the Atomic Energy Commission to the formation of the NRC, then into the era when the regulatory structure newly developed for LWRs provided guidance for other types of reactors, followed by the era when policy was made specifically for advanced reactors including non-LWRs. This background provides the transition to current planning for future non-LWR licensing and policy─also described herein. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................vi 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Objective ................................................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Outline of Report ....................................................................................... 1-2 1.4 References ................................................................................................ 1-2 2 EARLY NON-LWR HISTORY ............................................................................... 2-1 2.1 AEC Period (1946-1974) ........................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Early Non-LWR Licensing at NRC ............................................................ 2-5 2.3 References ................................................................................................ 2-6 3 NON-LWR REGULATORY AND LICENSING ISSUES ........................................ 3-1 3.1 Gas Cooled Reactors ................................................................................ 3-1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 3-1 Licensing of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors .............................. 3-2 Operating Experience and Lessons Learned ............................................ 3-7 Regulatory and Licensing Issues ............................................................... 11 3.2 Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors .................................................................... 14 Introduction ............................................................................................. 3-14 Licensing of Liquid Metal Reactors ......................................................... 3-14 Operating Experience and Lessons Learned .......................................... 3-19 Regulatory and Licensing Issues ............................................................ 3-22 3.3 Heavy Water Reactors ............................................................................ 3-23 Introduction ............................................................................................. 3-23 Regulatory and Licensing Issues ............................................................ 3-24 3.4 Liquid-Fuel Reactors ............................................................................... 3-27 Introduction ............................................................................................. 3-27 Licensing of Liquid-Fuel Reactors ........................................................... 3-27 Regulatory and Licensing Issues ............................................................ 3-29 3.5 References .............................................................................................. 3-29 4 TRANSITION TO THE PRESENT AND BEYOND ................................................ 4-1 4.1 Advanced Reactor Policy .......................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Principal Design Criteria ............................................................................ 4-5 Background ............................................................................................... 4-5 Design Criteria for Non-LWRs ................................................................... 4-5 Development of RG 1.232 ......................................................................... 4-6 Applicability, Intended Use, and Key Assumptions ................................... 4-7 4.3 Additional NRC Statements on Advanced Reactor Policy......................... 4-8 4.4 Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Interactions with NRC .............. 4-10 4.5 Planning for the Future............................................................................ 4-12 NRC’s Vision and Strategy for Regulating Non-Light Water Reactors .... 4-12 Regulatory Review Roadmap for Non-LWRs .......................................... 4-14 Licensing Modernization Project ............................................................. 4-16 International Activities ............................................................................. 4-22 4.6 References .............................................................................................. 4-23 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1 President Truman Signing the AEA ............................................................ 2-1 Figure 2-2 Artist Rendering of CRBR Plant .................................................................. 2-5 Figure 2-3 Timeline of Events in Nuclear Regulation and for Non-LWRs .................... 2-7 Figure 3-1 FSV Refueling Floor .................................................................................... 3-3 Figure 3-2 TRISO Fuel Particle .................................................................................... 3-8 Figure 3-3 EBR-II Control Room ................................................................................ 3-15 Figure 3-4 PRISM Plant ............................................................................................. 3-18 Figure 3-5 Darlington CANDU Plant ........................................................................... 3-26 Figure 3-6 SHINE Isotope Generator ......................................................................... 3-28 Figure 4-1 NGNP Reactor and Power Conversion Vessels ....................................... 4-11 Figure 4-2 NRC Non-LWR Readiness Roadmap [4-39] ............................................. 4-13 Figure 4-3 NRC Licensing-Related processes ........................................................... 4-15 Figure 4-4 NRC Approach to RIPB Decision-Making ................................................. 4-17 Figure 4-5 Proposed Traveling Wave Reactor ........................................................... 4-18 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Non-LWR Reactors Supported by the AEC ................................................. 2-3 Table 3.1 Gas Cooled Reactors Around the World ..................................................... 3-1 Table 3.2 Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors Around the World ....................................... 3-14 Table 4.1 Example Criteria Presented in RG 1.232 .................................................... 4-7 v ACRONYMS ACRS Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards AEA Atomic Energy Act AEC U.S. Atomic Energy Commission AECLT Atomic Energy Canada Limited Technologies, Inc. ANS American Nuclear Society ARDC Advanced Reactor Design Criteria ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers BDBE Beyond Design Basis Event CFR Code of Federal Regulations CRBR Clinch River Breeder Reactor DBA Design Basis Accident DC Design Criteria DG Draft Regulatory Guidance DOE U.S. Department of Energy EBR Experimental Breeder Reactor EC Event Categories ERA Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 ERDA Energy Research and Development Administration EP Emergency Planning EPZ Emergency Planning Zone F-C Frequency-Consequence FFTF Fast Flux Test Facility FSV Fort St. Vrain GDC General Design Criteria GEM Gas Expansion Module HTGR High Temperature Gas Reactor HTR High Temperature Reactor IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IAP Implementation Action Plan INL Idaho National Laboratory ISG Interim Staff Guidance LBE Licensing Basis Events LMP Licensing Modernization Project LMR Liquid Metal Reactor LOCA Loss-of-Coolant Accident LWR Light Water Reactor MHTGR Modular High-Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor ML ADAMS Accession No. MST Mechanistic Source Term NEA Nuclear Energy Agency NEI Nuclear Energy Institute NGNP Next Generation Nuclear Plant NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission vi NST Non-Safety-Related with No Special Treatment PBAPS Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station PDC Principle Design Criteria PRA Probabilistic Risk Assessment PRDC Power