Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance BK McDowell D Goodman NRIC-21-ENG-0001; PNNL-30992 | 2.18.2021 Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance Summary Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is supporting the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) by developing advanced nuclear reactor plant parameter envelopes (PPEs) to facilitate environmental reviews of potential future advanced reactor demonstration projects at INL and elsewhere in the United States. Two PPEs are developed in this report for two size ranges: (1) microreactors, which are defined for this PPE as single units with outputs of 60 MWt or less, and (2) small- to medium-sized advanced reactors with outputs above 60 MWt up to 1,000 MWt. This report describes the methodology for developing the PPEs, including reactor vendor responses to NRIC questionnaires, input from INL staff, independent assessments by subject matter experts, and a review of regulatory requirements a vendor would have to meet during construction and operation. This report presents the compiled PPEs for surrogate plants derived from these inputs, lists documentation supporting the PPE, and provides recommendations for its use when developing an environmental impact assessment. McDowell, Goodman NRIC-21-ENG-0001; PNNL-30992 2/18/2021 iii Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance Acronyms and Abbreviations AC alternating current ALARA as low as reasonably achievable ANR advanced nuclear reactor BWR boiling-water reactor BWXT BWX Technologies CFR Code of Federal Regulations CITRC Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex CT combustion turbine dBA A-weighted decibel DOE U.S. Department of Energy DoD U.S. Department of Defense EBR-II Experimental Breeder Reactor II EIS environmental impact statement ER Environmental Report ESP early site permit ESRP Environmental Standard Review Plan FLIBE fluorine-lithium-beryllium FHR fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor FPR Fuel Processing Restoration FSAR Final Safety Analysis Report FTE full-time equivalent employee GAIN Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear GDC General Design Criteria GE General Electric GEIS generic environmental impact statement GHG greenhouse gas HALEU high-assay low-enriched uranium HTGR high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTTR high-temperature engineering test reactor INL Idaho National Laboratory LFR lead-cooled fast reactor LFTR liquid fluoride thorium reactor LMR liquid metal-cooled reactor LRWS liquid radioactive waste management system LWR light-water reactor MFC Materials and Fuels Complex MSR molten salt reactor MSRE Molten Salt Reactor Experiment MWe megawatt(s) electric MWt megawatt(s) thermal NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards McDowell, Goodman NRIC-21-ENG-0001; PNNL-30992 2/18/2021 v Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance NEI Nuclear Energy Institute NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NGCC natural gas combined cycle NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRIC National Reactor Innovation Center ORIGEN Oak Ridge Isotope Generation code PBF Power Burst Facility PBR pebble bed reactor PCS power conversion system PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory PPE plant parameter envelope PRISM Power Reactor Innovative Small Module PSEG Public Service Enterprise Group PWR pressurized water reactor RCCWS reactor component cooling-water system RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RD&D research, design, and development RIC Regulatory Information Conference ROW right-of-way RWDS radwaste drain system SCALE Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation SC-HTGR steam cycle high-temperature gas-cooled reactor SFR sodium fast reactor SME subject matter expert SMR small modular reactor SPE site parameter envelope TRISO tri-structural isotropic TRITON Transport Rigor Implemented with Time-dependent Operation for Neutronic depletion (software) TVA Tennessee Valley Authority UWS utility water system VTR Versatile Test Reactor ZPPR Zero Power Physics Reactor McDowell, Goodman NRIC-21-ENG-0001; PNNL-30992 2/18/2021 vi Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance Contents Summary............................................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ v 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 NRIC Background ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Advanced Reactor Types and Descriptions ..................................................................... 2 1.3 Report Content and Organization .................................................................................... 3 2.0 PPE/SPE Background and Adaptation ....................................................................................... 4 2.1 PPE Approach and NEPA Compliance ........................................................................... 4 2.2 Use of PPEs in Early Site Permit Applications ................................................................. 4 2.3 Adaptation of the PPE/SPE Approach to NRIC at INL ..................................................... 5 2.3.1 PPE Approach .................................................................................................... 5 2.3.2 SPE Approach .................................................................................................... 7 3.0 NRIC PPE Development ............................................................................................................ 9 3.1 Advanced Reactor Vendor Questionnaire Responses .................................................... 9 3.2 INL Input .......................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Subject Matter Expert Input ........................................................................................... 10 3.4 NRC Advanced Reactor GEIS ....................................................................................... 10 3.5 Versatile Test Reactor Draft EIS .................................................................................... 11 3.6 Regulatory Limits ........................................................................................................... 11 4.0 Summary PPEs ........................................................................................................................ 12 4.1 Microreactor PPE .......................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Small- to Medium-Sized Advanced Reactor PPE .......................................................... 16 5.0 Guidance for Use of the PPE ................................................................................................... 20 5.1 Use of the PPE in the NEPA Process ............................................................................ 20 5.2 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 20 6.0 References ............................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix A – Vendor Questionnaire .................................................................................................. A.1 Appendix B – INL Supporting Information .......................................................................................... B.1 Appendix C – SME Reactor Plant Parameter Value Assessments ................................................... C.1 Appendix D – NRC Advanced Reactor GEIS Values ........................................................................ D.1 Appendix E – PPE Data Sources and Methodology .......................................................................... E.1 McDowell, Goodman NRIC-21-ENG-0001; PNNL-30992 2/18/2021 vii Advanced Nuclear Reactor Plant Parameter Envelope and Guidance Figures Figure C.1. Utility Water System Diagram ...................................................................................... C.8 Tables Table 4.1. Microreactor PPE .......................................................................................................... 12 Table 4.2. Small- to Medium-Sized Advanced Reactor PPE ......................................................... 16 Table C.1. Clinch River ESP Projected Blowdown Constituents and Concentrations ................... C.9 Table C.2. Nuclear Power Plant Lifetime Greenhouse Gas Footprints(a) .................................... C.14 Table C.3. Minimum, Maximum, and Average Radionuclide Activity for Radionuclides with Potential Mobility at Time 0 (End of Operation) for Microreactors ............................. C.17 Table C.4. Minimum, Maximum, and Average Radionuclide Activity for Radionuclides with Potential Mobility at Time 1 ....................................................................................... C.19 Table C.5. Minimum, Maximum, and Average Radionuclide Activity at Time 0 .......................... C.20 Table C.6. Minimum, Maximum and Average Radionuclide Activity for Radionuclides with Potential Mobility at Time 0 (End of Operation) for Small- to Medium-Sized Advanced Reactors