Infrastructure and Methodologies for Justificatiion of Nuclear Power Programmes addresses the fundamental issues and approaches to nuclear power justification in countries considering nuclear new build or redevelopment.

Part One covers the infrastructure requirements for any new nuclear power programme, with chapters detailing the role and responsibilities of government, regulatory bodies and nuclear operator and the need for human resources and technical capability at the national level.

Part Two focuses on issues relevant to the justification process, including nuclear safety, radiation protection and emergency planning. Current designs and advanced reactors and radioactive waste management are also considered, along with the economic, social and environmental impacts of nuclear power development.

Part Three reviews the development of nuclear power programme, from nuclear power plant site selection and licensing, through construction and operation, and on to decommissioning.

Valuable Appendices detail the UK experience of justification, nuclear safety culture and training, and the multinational design evaluation programme (MDEP).

Contents

1. Overview of infrastructure and methodologies for the justification of nuclear power programmes

• The past, current and future phases in the development of nuclear power
• The main factors shaping the deployment of nuclear power
• The bases for the development of nuclear power

Part 1: Infrastructure of Nuclear Power Programmes

2. The lifecycle of a nuclear power plant

• Overview of the complete nuclear fuel cycle
• Overview of the nuclear power plant life cycle
• Requirements for new nuclear power plants

3. The role of government in establishing the framework for nuclear power programmes

• Role of government in the justification process
• International requirements
• Knowledge management
• Regulatory requirements
• New entrants

4. Regulatory requirements and practices in nuclear power programmes

• Basic characteristics of regulatory organisations
• Creation, authority, responsibilities and competence of the regulatory body
• Development, functions and management system of the regulatory body
• Development of the regulatory framework and approaches
• The regulatory function: development of a regulatory pyramid
• Development of the licensing process and major regulatory activities during the licensing process
• The compliance function: verification and oversight during construction and operation
• The enforcement function
• Regulatory transparency and openness and the relationship with the perating organization and other stakeholders
• Regulatory support and research

5. Responsibilities of the nuclear operator in nuclear power programmes

• The responsibilities of the nuclear operator
• The means to enact responsibilities and enhance leadership effectiveness
• Responsibilities of the operator in the lifecycle of a nuclear power plant
• Importance of organisations for safe operation
• Building and maintaining an operations organisation
• Monitoring and evaluating organisational effectiveness
• Maintaining organisations
• Basis for safe operation
• Engineering support and design authority

6. The need for human resources in nuclear power programmes

• Human resource requirements of the nuclear stakeholders
• High-level nuclear education programmes
• Changing specialization requirements in the nuclear power plant lifecycle
• International experience
• Initial and sustained training programmes

7. National technical capability development in nuclear power programmes

• Establishing the foundation for national technical development
• Understanding the nuclear power plant (NPP) design
• National participation in siting
• National participation in design, equipment manufacture and construction
• Plant commissioning
• Plant operation
• Longer term operation and management
• Decommissioning

Part 2: Justification of Nuclear Power Programmes

8. Application of the justification principle to nuclear power development

• The ethics of the justification principle
• The justification process
• The terms of the justification equation
• The benefits of nuclear energy
• Risks and detriments of nuclear energy

9. Available and advanced nuclear technologies for nuclear power programmes

• Classification of advanced nuclear reactors
• Key advances in technology
• Advanced nuclear reactor designs
• Non-electrical applications

10. Nuclear safety in nuclear power programmes

• Basic safety principles
• Development and application of deterministic safety assessment
• Development and application of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA)
• Risk-informed decision-making processes
• Impact of past accidents on future safety improvement
• Evolution of major safety performance indices

11. Radiation protection in nuclear power programmes

• Radiation doses
• Biological effects of radiation
• Attributability of risks and potential health effects to nuclear power plants (NPPs)
• Radiation protection paradigm
• Potential exposures
• Radiation safety standards
• Occupational protection at nuclear power plants (NPPs)
• Public protection at nuclear power plants (NPPs): controlling discharges into the environment

12. Emergency planning in nuclear power programmes

• Need for emergency planning as the last barrier of defence and mitigation of the radiological consequences of potential accidents
• International conventions and standards on emergency planning
• Responsible organizations
• Emergency management
• Emergency drills and exercises
• Emergency coordination centres

13. Non-proliferation safeguards in nuclear power programmes

• Nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and international safeguards
• Non-proliferation responsibilities
• Transparency during a nuclear renaissance

14. Spent fuel and radioactive waste management in nuclear power programmes

• Policies and strategies for management of spent fuel and radioactive waste
• Radioactive waste from nuclear power production
• Management systems for spent nuclear fuel
• Management of low and intermediate level waste (LLW and ILW)

15. The economics of nuclear power: past, present and future aspects

• Economics today and tomorrow
• Levelized cost of electricity generation
• Risks and uncertainties

16. Social impacts and public perception of nuclear power

• Social impacts at both national and local levels
• Public perception of nuclear power

17. Environmental impacts and assessment in nuclear power programmes

• Environmental protection
• Environmental impact assessment (EIA)
• Land planning for new nuclear
• Key controls on environmental impacts
• Overlap with other regulatory controls

Part 3: Development of Nuclear Power Programmes

18. Site selection and evaluation for nuclear power plants

• Schematic approach to site selection
• Basic safety principles applicable to (NPP) siting
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements and safety guides on nuclear power plant siting
• Consideration of the feasibility of an emergency plan
• Demographic requirements and site parameters developed and applied by the United States Regulatory Commission

19. Bid invitation in nuclear power plant procurement

• Contracting approach and bid invitation specifications
• Basis for preparation of the bid invitation specifications
• Purpose, structure and contents
• Letter of invitation
• Instructions to bidders
• Scope of supply
• Technical requirements
• Project implementation
• Technical data sheets
• Draft contract
• Commercial conditions
• Financing requirements

20. Licensing for nuclear power plant siting, construction and operation

• The need for licensing
• Licensing application and supporting technical documents
• Safety review of licensing applications and license requirements
• Licensee activities during design, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning
• Regulatory compliance during design, construction, commissioning and operation
• Licensing of a country’s first nuclear power plant
• Examples of licensing systems

21. Quality assurance during design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants

• Definitions
• Quality assurance criteria
• Quality assurance during design
• Quality assurance during construction
• Quality assurance during commissioning
• Quality assurance during operation
• Assessment
• Human resources

22. Commissioning of nuclear power plants (NNPs)

• Codes, standards and other requirements for the commissioning of nuclear power plants (NNPs)
• Commissioning programme and stages of commissioning
• Pre-operational tests
• Nuclear commissioning
• Roles and responsibilities during commissioning
• Commissioning organization and management
• Commissioning procedures
• Test procedures
• Qualification requirements for commissioning personnel and other human factors
• Safety management and development of a safety culture
• Recording and analysis of tests
• Documentation
• International experience

23. Operational safety of nuclear power plants

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for nuclear power plant (NPP) operation
• Management, organization and administration of (NNPs)
• Training and qualification
• Operations
• Maintenance
• Technical support
• Operational experience feedback (OEF)
• Radiation protection
• Chemistry
• Emergency planning and preparedness
• Operational safety review team (OSART)

24. Decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs)

• Brief history of the development of decommissioning
• Development of decommissioning cost estimating methodologies
• Development of long-term planning for decommissioning
• Decommissioning technologies and research and development
• Overview of the decommissioning phase of a nuclear power plant (NPP) lifecycle
• Management of decommissioning waste and the recycling of materials
• International experience

Appendices

1. The justification test for new nuclear power development: United Kingdom experience
2. Nuclear safety culture: management, assessment and improvement of individual behaviour
3. Nuclear installation safety: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) training programmes, materials and resources
4. Simulator training for nuclear power plant control room personnel
5. Multinational design evaluation programme (MDEP): multilateral cooperation in nuclear regulation and new reactor design

Index

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