Canadian regulatory framework for severe accidents

Abstract of the technical presentation presented at:
International Severe Accident Management Conference (ISAMC 2018)
October 15–18, 2018

Prepared by:
Jana Ene
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

This presentation summarizes the Canadian regulatory framework for severe accidents. Relevant severe accident requirements and guidance in Canadian licences and regulatory documents are presented.

After the Fukushima accident, one of the Canadian regulatory emphases has been enhancing the regulatory framework for a better implementation of the defence-in-depth principle and strengthening accident prevention and mitigation. The CNSC had established an action plan to ensure that the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident are applied in Canada to enhance the safety of nuclear facilities. This plan contains the following category of action items: strengthening reactor defence-in-depth, enhancing emergency response, improving the regulatory framework and enhancing international collaboration.

Amendments were made to licences and regulatory documents on a wide range of topics to reflect severe accident issues. This presentation focuses only on REGDOC-2.4.1, Deterministic Safety Analysis (2014), REGDOC-2.4.2, Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for Nuclear Power Plants (2014), REGDOC‑2.3.2, Accident Management, Version 2 (2015), REGDOC‑2.10.1, Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response, Version 2 (2017) and REGDOC-1.1.3, Licence Application Guide: Licence to Operate a Nuclear Power Plant (2017).

Severe accident requirements and guidance are specified under some safety and control areas (SCAs) in the licences and licence conditions handbooks of Canadian utilities. Also, the licence conditions handbook lists the compliance and verification criteria, such as relevant regulatory documents and Canadian standards.

To obtain a copy of the abstract’s document, please contact us at cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca or call 613-995-5894 or 1-800-668-5284 (in Canada). When contacting us, please provide the title and date of the abstract.