Development and Implementation of a Severe Accident Management Program for NRU

Abstract

The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor has been operating at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) since 1957. An Integrated Safety Review was performed to support renewal of the site licence in 2011. The resultant improvement plan identified activities to develop and implement a Severe Accident Management Program (SAMP) for NRU.The three main objectives of the SAMP are:

1. Termination of a Beyond Design Basis Accident (BDBA) event.
2. Maintaining vented confinement during the BDBA event.
3. Minimizing radioactivity release to the environment.

A diverse team from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Candesco, Westinghouse, Fauske and Associates and individual specialist consultants completed the SAMP initiative by:

• Establishing the technical basis for severe accident progression for NRU;
• Identifying and installing instrumentation to monitor critical safety parameters;
• Identifying and installing equipment to mitigate a severe accident;
• Preparation of SAMP documents;
• Establishing roles and conducting training, and
• Validating the program.

This paper describes the unique aspects of this project and provides an overview of the implemented SAM Program.