What should countries, regulators and operators consider when planning and implementing emergency preparedness and response programs (EPR) for next-generation reactors (NGR)? What lessons can they learn from previous experience with existing reactors and what new challenges or concerns might arise? These included the questions recently discussed at a technical meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria on next generation reactors and contingency preparedness and response.
“The contingency preparedness and response considerations for these emerging technologies require a multi-hazard approach. We need to take into account aspects that are specific to the design, use and operation of these new technologies from both a nuclear safety and a nuclear safety perspective in order to better make decisions about necessary emergency precautions, ”said Frederic Stephani, Incident and Emergency Assessment Officer at the IAEA.
Over the past four years the IAEA has held a number of technical emergency preparedness and response meetings related to “Next Generation Reactors”: innovative nuclear reactor concepts in research and development, including those recently deployed or planned for short-term deployment . This meeting was the latest in the series to focus on the safety of NGR, specifically how safety enhancements can affect the contingency preparedness and response arrangements for these reactors and the applicability of specific IAEA safety standards for contingency preparedness and response for these reactors .
As the world searches for a low-carbon, sustainable replacement for aging fossil fuel-fired power plants, global interest in NGRs such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors as part of a hybrid energy system grows. SMRs are advanced reactors that produce up to 300 MW (e) of electricity per module, and microreactors comprise a subset of SMRs that are designed to produce electrical power of typically up to 10 MW (e). The predictable benefits of these reactors include greater affordability, shorter construction times, flexible application, and a smaller ecological footprint.
The lower costs and more flexible location characteristics of SMRs are beneficial both for countries with established nuclear power programs and for countries that are just starting their nuclear program. With these novel reactors, all aspects of safety, including emergency preparedness and response, are critical.
Emmanuel Mulehane Acholla, geologist with the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency in Kenya and participant in the most recent, said Emmanuel Mulehane Acholla, a geologist with the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency in Kenya and a participant in the most recent, said embarkation states’ interest in SMRs depends on their inherently simpler design, portability and improved margins of safety that enable bespoke EPR arrangements technical meeting. “However, in accordance with the existing national regulations based on large nuclear power plants, there is still a need to critically assess the SMR-specific hazards and to be well informed about the corresponding EPR precautions.”
Participants highlighted the importance of using a tiered approach to making informed decisions about required on-site and off-site EPR arrangements based on the hazard assessment results. This includes the zones or areas where protective measures must be taken. “Another point raised at the meeting was public communication: the results of the hazard assessment can be used to communicate with the public in embarkation countries about the protection strategy and related measures for public protection,” said Acholla.
There are currently over 70 small modular reactors in various stages of development, and several existing and new nuclear energy countries are considering these emerging nuclear technologies.
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