Objective
The objective of the
Technical Safety Review of Design Safety (TSR-DS) is to review the design safety
of nuclear power plants (NPPs)[1] against
the IAEA Safety Standards and assist the Requesting Party to review the safety
documentation for NPPs during any of the major stages of the licensing process,
i.e. during the design, construction and commissioning phases as well as during
operation phase.
The IAEA Safety Standards
reflect international good practice on design and design enhancements of NPPs. The
designs of many existing NPPs, as well as the designs for new nuclear power
plants, have been enhanced to include additional measures to mitigate the
consequences of complex accident sequences involving multiple failures and of
severe accidents. Complementary systems and equipment with new capabilities
have been back fitted to many existing nuclear power plants to aid in the
prevention of severe accidents and the mitigation of their consequences.
Guidance on the mitigation of the consequences of severe accidents has been
provided at most existing nuclear power plants. The design of new nuclear power
plants now explicitly includes the consideration of severe accident scenarios
and strategies for their management. Requirements related to the Member State
system of accounting for, and control of, nuclear material and security related
requirements are also taken into account in the design of nuclear power plants.
Integration of safety measures and security measures will help to ensure that
neither compromise the other.
Scope of the review
The scope of the review is
defined by the Requesting Party in consultation with the IAEA and should
typically take into consideration aspects such as:
-
Areas
of the design subject to the review;
-
The
available documentation (can range from a PSAR to a FSAR);
-
The
specific focus of the review, eg. overall design, upgrade of the design of
certain systems, significant design modifications, etc;
-
Site
specific information.
The framework of TSR-DS review is based on the latest design Safety Standards and good practices as
documented in the IAEA Safety Standards, including:
-
Fundamental
Safety Principles (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1);
-
Safety
Requirements on Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design (IAEA Safety Standards
Series No. SSR-2/1 (Rev. 1))
-
Safety
Requirements on Leadership and Management for Safety (IAEA Safety Standards
Series No. GSR Part 2);
-
Safety
Requirements on Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities (IAEA Safety
Standards Series No. GSR Part 4 (Rev. 1);
-
Safety
of Nuclear Power Plants: Design (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR-2/1 (Rev.
1).
Set of IAEA Design Safety
Guides is considered as supporting information for purposes of clarification of
the requirements used as the basis for the review.
Benefits
The TSR-DS offers
interested Member States a number of benefits including:
-
Experts
invited to carry out the service are internationally respected and independent
with no conflict of interest with the Requesting Party, which ensures respect
for the findings and provides assurance that recommendations will be addressed
by the Requesting Party. Thus, respected and independent review increases
confidence of all stakeholders (including public), both local and international,
that the design meets strict international requirements and ensures the highest
Safety Standards that can reasonably be achieved. In addition to these
benefits, undertaking the TSR-DS Service ensures that any gaps in the coverage
of safety requirements in the design were identified and adequate attention was
paid to known safety issues.
-
Results
of comprehensive design assessment provided by IAEA TSR-DS Service provide
reliable and valuable information for use in justification of the design safety
to regulators by providing a high-level comparison of the interpretation of
IAEA requirements with the particular Member State regulations.
-
Discussions
and results of the TSR-DS Service can be useful to Requesting Party to
understand the latest interpretation of requirements and current best practices
in meeting them and help entities responsible for design to avoid false
interpretation of concepts and requirements relevant for design.
-
Follow
up missions can be requested to explore identified issues in more depth and
provide assurance that actions taken to address the TSR-DS results are timely
and adequate.
-
Provides
an independent check that modifications implemented to the design do not have
an adverse impact on the safety of the nuclear installation.
-
Enhances
the understanding of how operational experience is changing the understanding
of the safety of a nuclear installation and reinforces adaptation of design
changes to address lessons and issues that arise during operation.
-
Provides
independent review of the strategy to address major concessions arising during
construction and provides input to the strategic decisions on power station
designs to implement at a particular location.
