Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 74c49394-8dbf-46e7-b62a-b85de93b47d8
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Initial Test Programs for Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants + HISTORY - HISTORY 11/2012 – DG-1259 , Proposed Revision 4 11/2006 – DG-1166 , Proposed Revision 3 (Rev. 4)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1229/ML12298A071.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.68
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
47(c)(2), applicants for certification of a nuclear power plant design that differs significantly from a light-water reactor design licensed and in commercial operation before April 18, 1989, or using simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative means to accomplish its safety functions, must provide an essentially complete nuclear power reactor design, except for site-specific elements such as the service water intake structure and the ultimate heat sink, and must meet the requirements in 10 CFR 50.43(e). In addition, an application for certification of a modular nuclear power reactor design must describe and analyze the possible operating configurations of the reactor modules with common systems, interface requirements, and system interactions. The final safety analysis for a modular nuclear power reactor design must also account for differences among the configurations, including any restrictions that will be necessary during the construction and startup of a given module to ensure the safe operation of any module already operating. The requirements in 10 CFR 52.79(a)(28) state that the COL FSAR is required to contain the plans for preoperational testing and initial operations of the new reactor. The requirements in 10 CFR 50.43(e) may apply to preoperational and initial operation tests, including prototype plant or FOAK design features tests in the new reactor. These regulations do not require the use of a prototype plant for design qualification testing. Rather, they provide that, if a prototype plant is used to qualify an advanced reactor design, then additional conditions may be required for the licensed prototype plant to compensate for any uncertainties with unproven safety features. Also, the prototype plant can be used for commercial operation. After prototype plant or FOAK tests are complete, these tests may not be needed on subsequent plants. The holder of a SD, DC, COL, ML, or OL may use operating and testing experience to justify not performing