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Title: OSSA - An optimized approach to severe accident management: EPR application

Abstract

There is a recognized need to provide nuclear power plant technical staff with structured guidance for response to a potential severe accident condition involving core damage and potential release of fission products to the environment. Over the past ten years, many plants worldwide have implemented such guidance for their emergency technical support center teams either by following one of the generic approaches, or by developing fully independent approaches. There are many lessons to be learned from the experience of the past decade, in developing, implementing, and validating severe accident management guidance. Also, though numerous basic approaches exist which share common principles, there are differences in the methodology and application of the guidelines. AREVA/Framatome-ANP is developing an optimized approach to severe accident management guidance in a project called OSSA ('Operating Strategies for Severe Accidents'). There are still numerous operating power plants which have yet to implement severe accident management programs. For these, the option to use an updated approach which makes full use of lessons learned and experience, is seen as a major advantage. Very few of the current approaches covers all operating plant states, including shutdown states with the primary system closed and open. Although it is not necessary tomore » develop an entirely new approach in order to add this capability, the opportunity has been taken to develop revised full scope guidance covering all plant states in addition to the fuel in the fuel building. The EPR includes at the design phase systems and measures to minimize the risk of severe accident and to mitigate such potential scenarios. This presents a difference in comparison with existing plant, for which severe accidents where not considered in the design. Thought developed for all type of plants, OSSA will also be applied on the EPR, with adaptations designed to take into account its favourable situation in that field. This revised approach will incorporate a number of new features which will simplify and streamline the guidance material while ensuring comprehensive guidance for response to any severe accident. Examples of such features include : - Identification of severe accident challenges based on plant specific studies. - Revision of the split of responsibilities between operations and technical support center staff. - Fixed setpoint entry conditions, ensuring that the transition from emergency procedures takes place at a consistent core/fuel condition (regardless of scenario), and which fixes the time window available to attempt ultimate preventive measures. - A safety function concept for monitoring plant conditions (in the control room). - An integrated graphic-based diagnostic tool including entry condition, challenge prioritization, and exit condition monitoring to be used by the technical support team. This paper describes the basic features of OSSA, and project status. (authors)« less

Authors:
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. AREVA, FRAMATOME-ANP SAS, Paris, 92084 La Defense (France)
  2. AREVA, FRAMATOME-ANP Inc, Lynchburg, VA 24506-0935 (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
21021160
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 2006 International congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'06, Reno - Nevada (United States), 4-8 Jun 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 2 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2006 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'06, 2734 pages.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; ACCIDENTS; BUILDINGS; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; CONTROL ROOMS; COVERINGS; DAMAGE; DESIGN; ENVIRONMENT; FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE; MANAGEMENT; MONITORING; NUCLEAR FUELS; NUCLEAR INDUSTRY; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; RECOMMENDATIONS; SAFETY; SHUTDOWN

Citation Formats

Sauvage, E C, Prior, R, Coffey, K, and Mazurkiewicz, S M. OSSA - An optimized approach to severe accident management: EPR application. United States: N. p., 2006. Web.
Sauvage, E C, Prior, R, Coffey, K, & Mazurkiewicz, S M. OSSA - An optimized approach to severe accident management: EPR application. United States.
Sauvage, E C, Prior, R, Coffey, K, and Mazurkiewicz, S M. 2006. "OSSA - An optimized approach to severe accident management: EPR application". United States.
@article{osti_21021160,
title = {OSSA - An optimized approach to severe accident management: EPR application},
author = {Sauvage, E C and Prior, R and Coffey, K and Mazurkiewicz, S M},
abstractNote = {There is a recognized need to provide nuclear power plant technical staff with structured guidance for response to a potential severe accident condition involving core damage and potential release of fission products to the environment. Over the past ten years, many plants worldwide have implemented such guidance for their emergency technical support center teams either by following one of the generic approaches, or by developing fully independent approaches. There are many lessons to be learned from the experience of the past decade, in developing, implementing, and validating severe accident management guidance. Also, though numerous basic approaches exist which share common principles, there are differences in the methodology and application of the guidelines. AREVA/Framatome-ANP is developing an optimized approach to severe accident management guidance in a project called OSSA ('Operating Strategies for Severe Accidents'). There are still numerous operating power plants which have yet to implement severe accident management programs. For these, the option to use an updated approach which makes full use of lessons learned and experience, is seen as a major advantage. Very few of the current approaches covers all operating plant states, including shutdown states with the primary system closed and open. Although it is not necessary to develop an entirely new approach in order to add this capability, the opportunity has been taken to develop revised full scope guidance covering all plant states in addition to the fuel in the fuel building. The EPR includes at the design phase systems and measures to minimize the risk of severe accident and to mitigate such potential scenarios. This presents a difference in comparison with existing plant, for which severe accidents where not considered in the design. Thought developed for all type of plants, OSSA will also be applied on the EPR, with adaptations designed to take into account its favourable situation in that field. This revised approach will incorporate a number of new features which will simplify and streamline the guidance material while ensuring comprehensive guidance for response to any severe accident. Examples of such features include : - Identification of severe accident challenges based on plant specific studies. - Revision of the split of responsibilities between operations and technical support center staff. - Fixed setpoint entry conditions, ensuring that the transition from emergency procedures takes place at a consistent core/fuel condition (regardless of scenario), and which fixes the time window available to attempt ultimate preventive measures. - A safety function concept for monitoring plant conditions (in the control room). - An integrated graphic-based diagnostic tool including entry condition, challenge prioritization, and exit condition monitoring to be used by the technical support team. This paper describes the basic features of OSSA, and project status. (authors)},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21021160}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006},
month = {Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006}
}

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