Rhode Island Nuclear Science CenterDr. Cameron Goodwin

RINSC Reactor• Owned by the State• 2 MW pool type nuclear reactor• Located on the Bay Campus of

URI• Used for research, education,

and industry services

RINSC Facilities• Six beam tubes for neutron

experiments• One tangential thru tube• A thermal column for thermal

neutron use• Gamma ray experiment

facilities• Two pneumatic tube systems for

activation analysis• A flux trap & adjacent core

locations for long irradiations

Past and Current Uses• High Level Gamma Irradiation

o Solar Radiation Experiments• Neutron Scattering

o Materials Studieso Protein Studies

• Neutron Activation Analysiso Atmospheric Chemistryo Cell Tracking / BioMed

• BioPalo Kidney Failure Diagnostics

• Educationalo URIo Providence Collegeo Three Rivers Community Collegeo High Schools

SMR Licensing Insights

What is a SMR?• Advanced Reactors

o Those reactors whose designs are not similar to the LLW designso SMR is a subset

• Small modular reactor• Less than 300 MW• SMRs are envisioned to require limited on-site preparation and

substantially reduce the lengthy construction times that are typical of the larger units.

• Additional modules can be added incrementally as demand for energy increases.

• Includes iPWR but is not limited too Other designs

• HTGR• SFR• LMR

Benefits of SMRs• SMRs offer the advantage of lower initial capital

investment, scalability, and siting flexibility at locations unable to accommodate more traditional larger reactors. o Lower Capital Investmento Scalabilityo Siting Flexibilityo Gain Efficiency

Benefits Cont’d• Nonproliferation: SMRs also provide safety and

potential nonproliferation benefits to the United States and the wider international community. o Most built below grade for safety and security enhancements,

addressing vulnerabilities to both sabotage and natural phenomena hazard scenarios.

o Some designed to operate for extended periods without refueling. • International Marketplace: There is both a

domestic and international market for SMRs.

iPWR SMR Designs• mPower• Westinghouse• NuScale• Holtec

mPower Design

mPower Review• DOE FOA Award

o Awarded to the mPower America team of Babcock & Wilcox, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Bechtel, includes efforts to complete design certifications, site characterization, licensing, first-of-a-kind engineering activities, and the associated NRC review processes.

o The goal of this program is to support commercial operations of an SMR by 2022; the mPower team has developed a plan that expects to achieve a commercial operation date of October 2021.

• Key Activities for the mPower America team include:o Submit Design Certification application to the NRC by mid-2014 for approval

by 2018o Perform site characterization at TVA’s Clinch River Siteo Submit a Construction Permit Application to the NRC by mid-2015 for

approval by 2018o Advance the balance of plant designo Grow the U.S. based supply chain by mitigating challenges to domestic

market entry and broad commercialization

mPower and the NRC• Pre-application interactions

o Public meetings monthly• NRC is working on a Design Specific Review

Standard (DSRS)o Draft is completedo Final will be completed by time of applicationo This process compared the mPower design with the current SRP and

allowed the NRC reviewers to note differenceso Chapter 7 completely revised and restructured;

• Intended to promote efficient, effective risk-informed reviews • Top-down approach where greater emphasis is placed on design

principles – redundancy, independence, diversity and defense-in-depth, predictability and repeatability

• Part 50 – Clinch River

Westinghouse Design

Westinghouse SMR Review

• Competing for 2nd FOAo No announcement as of yet

• Review expected to begin 2nd Qtr 2014• No DSRS

o Westinghouse will be relying on SRP• Design is smaller version of AP1000

o This could increase length of review• Pre-application interactions have ramped up since

Summer 2013

NuScale

NuScale Review• Competing for 2nd DOE FOA• Application expected 3rd Qtr 2015• NRC is currently working on developing Draft

DSRS• Many public meetings are being held for pre-

application• Biggest hurdle for design is Control Room Staffing

Holtec

Holtec Review• Applied for 2nd DOE FOA• Expected 4th Qtr CY16• Limited pre-application interactions at this time

NRC’s Advanced Reactor Program

• Focused on preparing the agency for reviews of applications related to the design, construction and operation of advanced reactorso Identify and resolve significant policy, technical and licensing

issueso Develop the regulatory framework to support efficient and

timely licensing reviewso Engage in research focused on key areas to support licensing

reviewso Engage reactor designers, potential applicants, industry and

DOE in meaningful pre-application interactionso Establish an advanced reactors training curriculum for NRC

staffo Remain cognizant of international developments and programs

Known SMR Licensing Issues

• Emergency Planningo Source termo Securityo EPZ

• Control Room Staffingo Control of multiple unitso Reactor Operator Requirementso Control Room Design/Layout

• Identification of shared systems o How to employ PRA o Implementation of control system architectures

• Licensing of construction and operation of subsequent modules with operating modules

• Annual Fees• Modularity

Pre-Application Licensing Challenges

• Level of design information available in pre-applicationo Ideal

• Design complete enough to inform all review sectionso Reality

• Varying levels of design completion for each review section• Potential efficiency gains in review process by working

activities in pre-application phase• Review process aided by improved documentation in

applications (e.g., fewer RAIs)• More knowledge about the design• Earlier engagement of public stakeholders in the

review process• Vendor participation required for success

Non-LWR Work• Aging workforce at NRC

o Little to no non-LWR experience• NGNP Review

o ADAMS Accession No. ML13002A157o Final NRC feedback addresses

• Licensing basis event selectiono Naming conventions for event categorieso Frequency cutoffs for DBE and BDBE regionso Proposed process and categorization

• Mechanistic Source termso DOE/INL’s proposed mechanistic approach is consistent with

NRC Commission approved positions

Non-LWRs Cont’d• Containment functional performance

o NRC staff stated that more fuel testing needed to be performed• Emergency preparedness

o The NRC staff is open to considering alternative treatment of EP for advanced reactors

• Review of GIF SFR Design Criteria• Generic GDCs

o Since GDCs in Appendix A are specific to light-water reactors (LWRs), this requirement is especially challenging for potential future licensing applicants pursuing advanced (non-LWR) technologies and designs.

o DOE-NE and NRC agree that consideration should be given to pursuing the following objective: • Develop generic GDCs (derived from Appendix A of 10 CFR 50) and

develop technology-specific GDCs for at least one reactor type (TBD) to supplement the generic GDCs for compliance with 10 CFR 50.34., 52.47 and 52.79.

Who to Contact at NRC?

• SMRs are handled by the Office of New Reactorso Division of Advanced Reactors and Regulations – Mike Mayfieldo Split into two branches

• Stu Magrudero Stewart.magruder@nrc.gov

• Anna Bradfordo Anna.bradford@nrc.gov

• Electronic Distribution of SMR Documentso http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html

Questions?