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Title: Insights from an overview of four PRAs

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5687033

This paper summarizes the findings of an investigation of four probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), those for Millstone 3 Seabrook, Shoreham, and Oconee 3, performed by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for the Reliability and Risk Assessment branch of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This group of four PRAs was subjected to an overview process with the basic goal of ascertaining what insights might be gained (beyond those already documented within the individual PRAs) by an independent evaluation of the group with respect to nuclear plant safety and vulnerability. Specifically, the objectives of the study were 1) to identify and rank initiators, systems, components, and failure modes from dominant accident sequences according to their contribution to core melt probability and public risk; and 2) to derive from this process plant-specific and generic insights. The effort was not intended to verify the specific details and results of each PRA but rather - having accepted the results - to see what they might mean in a more global context. This paper also presents some comments and insights into the amenability of certain features of these PRAs to this type of overview process.

OSTI ID:
5687033
Report Number(s):
CONF-861211-
Resource Relation:
Conference: American Society of Mechanical Engineers winter meeting, Anaheim, CA, USA, 7 Dec 1986; Other Information: Technical Paper 86-WA/NE-13
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English