U 

' •'E) STATES 

S 

NUCLE.AR 

0SNRC

REGULATOR• CONSILSSION

% Protecti •g People and the Envirownnent

Briefing on RES Programs,

Performance, and Plans

April 17, 2007

Brian W. Sheron, Director

Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research
Agenda

Overview Brian Sheron

Programs &

Performance

Commission

Decisions &

Mark Cunningham

Farouk Eltawila

Mabel Lee

Brian Sheron

Summary

2
Key Messages

* Develop technical bases to support

regulatory decisions

-Develop technical tools, data, and

analytical models

-Conduct confirmatory research

and analyses

* Provide in-house technical

expertise to regulatory offices and

the Regions

3
Key Messages

* Anticipate NRC's. future needs

- Develop technical infrastructure

for advanced reactor licensing

reviews

-Support new reactor licensing

-Develop Regulatory Guides to

provide acceptable methods for

designing digital I&C systems

-Develop Long-Term Research

Plan

4,
DFERR Program Areas

" Materials science

" Digital I&C and electrical

engineering

" Nuclear fuel behavior under

accident conditions

" Health physics

" Environmental transport

* Structural engineering

• Seismology

5
Program Accomplishments

" Completed research on PWR sump

performance

* Developed technical basis for

revisions to 10 CFR 50.46a fuel

clad acceptance criteria for LOCA

" Developed technical foundation

for regulatory improvements in

digital I&C

6
Program Accomplishments

" Developed technical basis for

guidance on the implementation

of 10CFR20.1406, "Minimization of

Contamination"

" Developed technical basis for the

evaluation of materials fatiguerelated operability issues

* Completed technical review of

bio-remediation proposal at

Cimarron site

7
Issues and Path Forward

" Proactive materials degradation

assessment

" Integrated digital I&C and humanmachine interface

" Reactor license renewal -- life

beyond 60

8
DRASP Program Areas

" New and advanced reactors

infrastructure development

" Thermal-hydraulics, severe

accidents, reactor physics, and

safety analyses

" Probabilistic risk assessment

" Human factors and reliability

" Fire research

" Accident Sequence Precursor

analyses

* Generic Safety Issues

9
Program Accomplishments

" Supported NRO on ESBWR review

" Completed high-priority regulatory

guides

* Completed Technology Neutral

Framework

* Established an MOU with DOE to

address NGNP licensing strategy

* Obtained French data for burnup

credit

10
Program Accomplishments

* Endorsed PRA quality standards

* Supported safety culture

inspections

* Improved generic safety issue

program

* Streamlined accident sequence

precursor assessments

11
Program Accomplishments

" Issued industry trend report

" Completed major fire research

activities

12
Issues and Path Forward

" Improved RIRIP

" External events SPAR models

* Expanding workload regarding

new and advanced reactors

• Monitoring DOE progress on GNEP

" Non-LWR PRA data and methods

13
Program Accomplishments

Human Capital

* Strategic approach to critical

staffing needs

* Recruitment

-49 new employees in FY 2006

- Depth of experience

-Breadth of technical expertise

* Training

- Partnering with experienced staff

-Training in technical specialty

and contract management

14
Program Accomplishments

Human Capital

* Knowledge Management and

Transfer

- HTGR Community of Practice

- Document capture,

preservation, and sharing

- Research monthly technical

seminars

15
Challenges and Plans

* Continuing to fill critical and

specialized skill gaps

* Knowledge management

16
Commission Decisions

* NAS study

" Technology neutral framework I

Part 53 ANPR

" Integrated long-range research

plan

" Expanded program on state-ofthe-art reactor consequence

analyses (SOARCA)

17
Summary

•RES is helping position the

agency to address future

regulatory challenges through

forward-looking research.

* In-house expertise supports

NRC's licensing and regulatory

activities.

18
Acronyms

" ANPR

" ASME

" ASP

" CAROLFIRE

• DFERR

* DOE

* DRASP

* EPR

* ESBWR

" FY

* GNEP

* HTGR

" I&C

* IRSN

Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Accident Sequence Precursor

Cable Response to Live Fire

Division of Fuel, Engineering, and Radiological

Research

Department of Energy

Division of Risk Assessment and Special Projects

Evolutionary Pressurized Reactor

Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor

Fiscal Year

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

Instrumentation and Control

Institut de Radioprotection et de Siirete Nucleaire

19
Acronyms

* LOCA

* LWR

" MOU

" NDE

* NFPA

* NGNP

* PBMR

" PRA

" PWR

* RIRIP

" SOARCA

• SPAR

* TRACE

* V&V

Loss-of-Coolant Accident

Light-Water Reactor

Memorandum of Understanding

Non-Destructive Examination

National Fire Protection Association

Next Generation Nuclear Power

Pebble Bed Modular Reactor

Probabilistic risk assessment

Pressurized Water Reactor

Risk-Informed Regulation Implementation Plan

State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analysis

Standardized Plant Analysis Risk model

TRAC/RELAP5 Advanced Computing Engine

Verification and Validation

20