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Home > Nuclear Reactors > New Reactors > Design Certification Applications > AP1000 Amendment
Design Certification Application Review -
AP1000 Amendment
On January 27, 2006, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
issued the final design certification rule (DCR)
for the Advanced Passive 1000 (AP1000) design in the Federal Register (71 FR 4464). Applicants or licensees intending to construct and
operate a plant based on the AP1000 design may do so by referencing its DCR, as set forth in Appendix D to Title 10, Part 52, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D). On March 10, 2006, the NRC issued a revised FDA based on Revision 15 of the Westinghouse
design
control document (DCD).
In a joint letter dated March 8, 2006, NuStart Energy Development, LLC (NuStart) and Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (Westinghouse) stated that they would be submitting the AP1000 technical reports to the
NRC for review during the preapplication phase for the Bellefonte combined license (COL) application.
These reports will provide the following:
- information needed to close all or part of specific generically applicable COL items in the AP1000 certified standard design
- standard design changes that are a result of the AP1000 detailed design efforts
- specific standard design information in areas or for topics where the AP1000 DCD focused on design process/methodology and design acceptance criteria (DAC)
- deferral of COL information items to as-built requirements [e.g., inspection, test, analysis, and acceptance criteria (ITAAC)]
Most of the technical reports relate to the closing or partial closing of the
AP1000 DCD COL information items; however, the largest review effort will center on
the expected design changes. Those design changes include a redesign of the pressurizer,
a revision to the seismic analysis to allow an AP1000 reactor to be constructed on site with
rock and soil conditions other than the hard rock conditions certified in the AP1000
DCR, changes to the instrumentation and control (I&C) systems, a redesign of the fuel
racks, and a revision of the reactor fuel design. Another area requiring significant
resources will be the review of DAC-related items, such as the technical reports on
human factors engineering (HFE), the I&C design, and piping. Additionally,
Westinghouse submitted one report covering numerous COL information items, which can be
completed only after the plant is built. Westinghouse proposes to convert those items
to either ITAAC, license conditions, or license commitments.
By letter dated May 26, 2007, Westinghouse submitted an application to amend the AP1000
DCR and Revision 16 of the AP1000 DCD. Revision 16 contains
changes proposed in technical reports, some of which have not yet been reviewed by the NRC
staff.
For additional detail, see the following topics on this page:
Project Overview
In its application dated May 26, 2007, Westinghous noted that the submittal was being made in advance
of the effective date of the provisions of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, which establish the design
certification amendment process within the regulations. The letter also requested that the NRC establish a schedule for acceptance of the application.
In a letter dated January 18, 2008, the NRC documented the completion of its acceptance
review and stated that the application was being docketed. Subsequently, on February 15,
2008, the NRC issued a letter to Westinghouse establishing its review schedule. That schedule supports issuance of a final safety evaluation report FSER for the amendment in March 2010.
As of February 2008, Westinghouse had submitted 122 technical reports for staff review.
Although submitted as part of the Bellefonte COL preapplication phase, these technical
reports apply generically to the remaining COL applications that intend to reference the AP1000 design. The staff has held several meetings with Westinghouse and has performed
audits of documentation related to leak-before-break analyses, I&C, HFE, and seismic analyses.
Application Review Schedule*
Key Milestones |
Completion Date |
Application |
Received complete design certification amendment |
05/07 – 01/08 Complete |
|
Acceptance Review |
NRC issued Acceptance Letter with Schedule |
02/15/08 Complete |
|
Safety Review |
Phase 1 – Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report (SER) with Requests for Additional Information (RAIs) issued for all chapters except Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
06/08 Complete |
Phase 1 – Preliminary SER and RAIs for Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
09/08 Complete |
Phase 2 – SER with Open Items issued for all chapters except Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
01/09 |
Phase 2 – SER with Open Items issued for Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
04/09 |
Phase 3 – ACRS review of SER with Open Items for all chapters except Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
04/09 |
Phase 3 – ACRS review of SER with Open Items for Chapters 6, 15, & 16 |
07/09 |
Phase 4 – Advanced SER with no Open Items issued |
10/09 |
Phase 5 – ACRS review of SER with no Open Items |
01/10 |
Phase 6 – Final SER issued |
03/10 |
* The schedule for the Westinghouse design certification amendment is under review and details will be posted when this process is complete.
Contacts
Contacts for the AP1000 Amendment Design Certification |
Lead Project Manager |
David Jaffe |
Contact a Public Affairs Officer |
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