1 / 17

Assessment of Spent Fuel Management Options in the UK Generic Design Assessment Process

Assessment of Spent Fuel Management Options in the UK Generic Design Assessment Process. Chris Fisher Health and Safety Executive. New nuclear power stations Our approach. Regulating a new nuclear build. Regulators must consider 3 key elements: reactor design site operating organisation.

Download Presentation

Assessment of Spent Fuel Management Options in the UK Generic Design Assessment Process

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Assessment of Spent Fuel Management Options in the UK Generic Design Assessment Process Chris Fisher Health and Safety Executive

  2. New nuclear power stations Our approach

  3. Regulating a new nuclear build Regulators must consider 3 key elements: reactor design site operating organisation

  4. Improving our approach Being more efficient and effective Getting involved early Adopting a staged approach Regulators working together Taking account of international ‘harmonised designs’ Drawing on the work of overseas regulators Improving our openness and transparency

  5. New two phase regulatory process PHASE 1 : Generic Design Assessment (GDA) Assess safety case for reactor design NII, EA & OCNS working in close cooperation generic site “characteristics” PHASE 2 : Site licensing and permitting site specific operator specific using already assessed designs Two phases may overlap

  6. GDA – progress Assessments started – August 2007 Initial assessments completed - March 2008 Detailed assessment of the remaining designs started - 12 June 2008 Step 3 reports published – November 2009 EA Public consultation – Summer 2010 Target for GDA reporting – June 2011

  7. Now Site specific Phase 1 GDA Timeline Detailed design assessment Clearance of GDA Caveats Step 3 Level of scrutiny Overall design safety review Step 4 Step 2 Phase 2 Licensing assessment Fundamental overview Step 1 Preparation June 2011 Dec 2012 Nov 2009 May 2007 Aug 2007 Mar 2008

  8. GDA Designs

  9. Spent Fuel Assessment

  10. UK policy • “once through fuel cycle”; • “higher activity wastes” will comprise of spent fuel and ILW; • “interim storage until a geological disposal facility can receive waste”. (Department of Energy and Climate Change, Draft National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation (EN-6), November 2009)

  11. Our aims Requesting Parties to identify: • types of facility; • when to construct facilities; • research to ensure spent fuel can be safely managed, transported and disposed of. (http://www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors/wasteplants.pdf)

  12. Timescales

  13. Timescales Period depends on the availability of a GDF

  14. The implementing organisation for the geological disposal facility for higher activity wastes NDA Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD)

  15. RWMD Assessment • The higher activity wastes from new build reactors are broadly similar to other wastes held by the UK • Spent fuel may require cooling for up to 100 years before disposal

  16. Research needs • Can RWMD bring forward the time when they would accept spent fuel? • Can fuel be safely stored for 100 years and then be recovered and transported? • Can facility lifetimes be substantiated?

  17. More information at: www.hse.gov.uk/newreactors

More Related