The Role of NRRC and Collaboration
with Activities of Academic Societies

George Apostolakis
Head, Nuclear Risk Research Center
apostola@mit.edu
Presented at theAESJ Nuclear Safety Subcommittee
10th Anniversary CommemorativeConference
January 25, 201911

We share Goals•“This subcommittee also strives to … increasepractical atomic disaster prevention, formulate
long-term atomic energy safety research plans,raise the level of safety analysis methods, as well asutilize the results.”•NRRC Mission StatementTo assist nuclear operators and the nuclear industry intheir continuous effort to improve the safety of nuclear
facilities, that is, to manage the relevant risks, bydeveloping and employing modern methods ofProbabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), risk-informed
decision making and risk communication.

2Strategic Plan
“increase practical atomic disaster prevention”••

Corrective action program (CAP): Program by the licensees that identifies and resolves theproblems, which includes evaluating safety significance of the problems, prioritizing themeasures, and managing processes up to resolution.
Configuration management (CM): Program that maintains alignment of three elements; design
requirements, physical configuration, and facility configuration information (FCI)
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Important Note•

The Mission Statement says: “… continuous effort
to improve the safety of nuclear facilities, that is, tomanage the relevant risks…”•“Continuous safety improvement,” a commonlyused phrase, is impractical.

•We should say “continuous risk management.”4Basic Policy for the Introduction ofRIDM“formulate long-term atomic energy safety research plans”

5Challenges in Japan
 An increased understanding of the value and use ofrisk concepts and risk management language
 Development of quality infrastructure for RIDM andPRAs

 Development of a cadre of risk analysts, both in theindustry and the regulator
 Need to focus on effective means of risk
communication to the public Need to develop quantitative safety goals
 A long-term commitment from both the regulator
and industry would be required for implementation
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PRA Quality in the U.S.
• A plant-specific PRA is the essential element for
RIDM and the ROP.
• Such a PRA is a complex combination of logic
models, experimental and statistical evidence, andjudgment.
• U.S. scientific societies (ASME and ANS) haveissued standards (“what to do” not “how to do it”).
• The NRC has issued reports and regulatory guides
endorsing the standards (with exceptions, asappropriate).
• NEI has issued guidance on peer reviews.
• NRC has approved the NEI peer review process.
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Japanese Industry’s Efforts on PRA Quality• Improving the infrastructure (NRRC) Guides on HRA, Fire PRA, Data Collection
 Models for external events, including the SSHAC process Multi-unit PRA• NRRC’s Technical Advisory Committee (NRRC’sTAC) high-level review of Ikata 3 PRA
 Expanding the list of Initiating Events, e.g., adding loss ofinstrument air system
 Improving plant-specific data collection• International expert reviews following the ASME/ANSstandards and the NEI process Ikata 3: Torri, Lin, Fleming (U.S.), Boneham (U.K.)
 KK 7: Chapman, Wachowiak (U.S.), Nusbaumer (Switzerland)• NRA staff are welcome to observe these meetings,
the resulting actions, and relevant documents
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NRRC Training Courses“raise the level of safety analysis methods, as well as utilize
the results”
１．PRA and risk information utilization course

For beginners
Preparing for implementation in FY2018
２．Risk professional course (supported by EPRI)

Mainly L1 internal events PRA
For utility’s PRA practitioners and regulatory staff
Started in FY2018
３．Risk information utilization course

 For decision makers (NPP managers)
 Preparing for a trial offering in FY2019.

9Collaboration with the Nuclear Safety
Subcommittee•

No explicit collaboration; the NRRC has asupporting role•

NRRC Guides, Ikata 3 and KK 7 reviews, researchon HRA, earthquakes, tsunamis, et al, are valuable
source material for the NSC•The NRRC Guides (HRA, FPRA, Data collection andanalysis) could be referenced by NSC

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