Beyond Design Basis Event Pilot Evaluations: Results and Recommendations for Improvements to Enhance Nuclear Safety at DOE Nuclear Facilities (DOE, 2013. A Report to the Secretary of Energy)

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1368173· OSTI ID:1368173

In the six months after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took several actions to review the safety of its nuclear facilities and identify situations where near-term improvements could be made. These actions and recommendations were addressed in an August 2011 report to the Secretary of Energy, Review of Requirements and Capabilities for Analyzing and Responding to Beyond Design Basis Events. Based on recommendations in the August 2011 report, DOE embarked on a project to develop and refine guidance that supports improvements in DOE’s processes for analyzing and mitigating beyond design basis events (BDBEs), i.e., events such as earthquakes that are more severe than the events that formed the basis of the design for DOE’s nuclear facilities. The results of this BDBE project and recommendations for further DOE actions are provided in this follow-on report. The main activity of the BDBE project was the pilot application of guidance for evaluation of BDBE analysis and mitigation features at four DOE nuclear facilities representing a range of DOE sites, nuclear facility types/activities, and responsible program offices. The pilot evaluations focused on: (1) BDBE evaluations as documented in the facility Documented Safety Analysis (DSA); (2) potential BDBE vulnerabilities and margins to failure for facility safety features as obtained from general area and specific system walkdowns and design document reviews; and, (3) preparations made in facility and site emergency management programs to respond to severe accidents. The BDBE project also evaluated whether draft BDBE guidance on safety analysis and emergency management could be used to improve the analysis of, and preparations for, mitigating severe accidents and BDBEs. The pilot evaluation team paid close attention to related actions being pursued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. commercial nuclear industry, and the international nuclear safety community to help refine the guidance developed for the pilot evaluations.

• Research Organization: USDOE Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security (AU), Office of Nuclear Safety
• OSTI ID: 1368173
• Report Number(s): DOE-AAHBK--00002
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY