Canada's Experience in Safeguards-by-Design

Abstract of the technical presentation presented at:

Prepared by:

Hai V. Nguyen

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Henry Gao

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract

Safeguards-by-Design (SBD) is known to the international safeguards community as a concept whereby nuclear safeguards considerations are integrated into the early design phase of new nuclear facilities and throughout their lifecycle. The benefit of adopting such an approach is the optimization of resources not only for the licensees or vendors, but also for both the State Regional Authority (SRA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Through the early engagement and collaboration of these parties, design obstacles can be identified and corrected to enhance efficiency in the implementation of safeguards.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) encourages vendors and licensees to apply SBD in the design of new nuclear facilities, and the concept of SBD has been a part of the Canadian nuclear industry for decades. Most recently, SBD has been applied by Small Modular Reactor (SMR) vendors in their designs through a pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR) process at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The CNSC has also engaged with vendors and the IAEA in the development of their designs to ensure that safeguards requirements are integrated in the design early through a task under the Member State Support Program on SBD for SMRs. The paper will provide details on Canada’s experience in SBD over the years.

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.