Status on Draft Report on Hydrogen and Combustible Gases (SOAR) to NEA-WGAMA

Abstract of the technical presentation presented at:
NEA-WGAMA Plenary Meeting
September 11-13, 2023

Prepared by:
Altan Muftuoglu, Samuel Gyepi-Garbrah and Hikaru Tanaka
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

A status update by the Combustible Gas Task Group on the final report of the hydrogen and combustible gases state-of-the-art report (SOAR) under the Working Group on Analysis and Management of Accidents (WGAMA) will be provided at the WGAMA plenary meeting in Paris, France. The SOAR provides valuable state of the art information and updated knowledge on varying topics concerning combustible gases phenomena as well as guidance for future research and developmental areas to address the remaining knowledge gaps in the accident management of hydrogen and combustible gases in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and Spent Fuel Bay (SFB) accidents. The final report considered all the various national or international collaborative projects and extensive research that have been performed since 2014.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is the chair of the SOAR task group. The SOAR task group was created under the auspices of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and was sponsored by the WGAMA. The SOAR task group started its work after the CSNI Activity Proposal Sheet (CAPs) was approved by WGAMA and CNSI in September 2018, with a kick–off meeting in April 2019 and hosted by Institut de protection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN, France). Since then, the SOAR task group has held an average of two meetings a year (all virtual until September 2022).

The status update will provide an overview of the report since January 2023 meeting (held at NEA headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt). The report includes background insights and outlines the remaining gaps that existed prior to its compilation. It discusses hydrogen and carbon monoxide generation during accidents and provides information on hydrogen and carbon monoxide distribution in an NPP containment and SFB, and their consequences. In addition, the report provides information on hydrogen and carbon monoxide recombination methods, and combustible gases behaviour in severe accidents for accident management applications where applicable. The report concludes with discussions on the remaining issues that have been addressed during the writing of this publication and further gaps and remaining issues that has not been addressed. This includes recommendations and guidance for future research and developmental areas to address accident management and mitigation of combustible gases risk.

The report is being peer reviewed by two independent internationally recognized subject matter experts. The final report is planned to be submitted after completing the review of external reviewers for an approval to CNSI in December 2023.

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.