NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

Transcription

1 NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR For the protection of persons, property and the environment against nuclear damage REGULATORY GUIDE INTERIM GUIDANCE FOR THE SITING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES RG-0011 Rev 0

2 APPROVAL RECORD Name Designation Signature Date P Bester Special Nuclear Projects Coordinator Prepared A Muller Special Nuclear Projects Coordinator S Nhleko Specialist Edited L Kleu U Coetzee Language and Technical Editor Principal Specialist: Operational Safety Note: The original, signed document is retained by the Record Management. A Duffy Specialist Reviewed S Masike Senior Specialist B Ntuane Chief Advisor: Nuclear Security EXCO Meeting of 4 March 2016 Recommended O Phillips Senior Manager: SARA Approved Dr MB Tyobeka Chief Executive Officer The following person/s contributed to the preparation of the document: Adriaan Joubert Boikanyo Ntuane Solofelang Masike Annie Duffy 2

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction Purpose Scope Terms, Definitions and Abbreviations Terms and Definitions Abbreviations Regulatory framework Legal Basis Regulatory Standards Other Legal Considerations Site Licensing Process General Concept of Site Licensing Siting on Existing Site Licensing Process and Schedule Activities on an Authorised Site Format and Content of the Safety Case (NSL and NL) Assessment of Hazards Associated with External Natural and Human-Induced Events General approach for External Events Natural Events External Human-induced Events Other Events Assessment of the Potential Radiological Impacts of the Nuclear Facility Potential Effects on the Region Land and Water Use in the Region Transport and Diffusion of Effluents Discharged into the Atmosphere Transport and Diffusion of Effluents Discharged into the Hydrosphere Population Distribution Radiological Effects Exposures to Flora and Fauna (Non-human Species) Non-radiological Effects Assessment of Regional Conditions for Zoning and Emergency Planning General Roads and Infrastructure Evacuation Time Estimates Coordination with Local Government Reference Accident

4 9.6 Requirements and Criteria for Population and Emergency Planning Zones Developments Around Nuclear Sites Nuclear Security Arrangements during siting General Site Location Site Evaluation Security Plan and Measures Access Control Monitoring of Site Conditions General Background Radiological Characteristics Groundwater and Surface Water Background Non-radiological Characteristics References Attachment A: Typical licensing schedule Attachment B: Typical content and structure of a site safety report Attachment C: Typical baseline water quality indicators to be determined during preoperational data collection

5 1 INTRODUCTION Regulations are mandatory and set down specific requirements to be upheld by the authorisation holder or an applicant for a nuclear authorisation. Guidance documents are developed by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) to assist authorisation holders and/or applicants for authorisations in meeting regulatory requirements. In general, guidance documents have to be adhered to by the holder/applicant. Any deviation from NNR guidance has to be justified. The mandate of the NNR is to, amongst others, exercise regulatory control over the siting of nuclear facilities to protect the public, property and environment against nuclear damage. As part of this mandate, the NNR has prepared this guideline to ensure that the country s nuclear facilities are sited in compliance with safety requirements, approved plans and procedures. However, the holder of the nuclear facility nuclear licence (the licensee) bears the primary responsibility for ensuring that the facility is sited in compliance with applicable safety and security requirements, approved plans and procedures. The licensee is also obliged to ensure that the facility s supplier and sub-suppliers, delivering services and products important to nuclear safety, comply with safety and security requirements. 2 PURPOSE This document provides guidance on the implementation of the regulatory requirements as contained in the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations, the draft Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities and the draft Nuclear Security Regulations as it pertains to the siting of nuclear facilities. The NNR strives to ensure that this Regulatory Guidance document is complete and accurate. However, in recognition of the fact that this document is being presented to authorisation holders prior to the promulgation of its associated Regulations, the NNR makes no warranty, express or implied, to the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, including warranties to the adequacy of its contents. This Regulatory Guidance document is provided as INTERIM guidance in good faith and its aim is to assist authorisation holders to achieve high levels of safety for facilities and activities that are part of the nuclear fuel cycle. The NNR assumes no legal liability or responsibility for any action taken by you due to information in this document and such actions are expressly carried out at your own risk. The information in this document is subject to change due to promulgation of its associated Regulations. Complying with applicable laws remains the responsibility of authorisation holder. 5

6 The guidance is applicable to all nuclear facilities regulated by the NNR in terms of the provisions of the NNR Act and associated regulations. 3 SCOPE The scope of the document is limited to the licensing of sites for land-based nuclear facilities. The guidance provided here can be applied to the licensing of new nuclear facilities within existing sites (brownfield sites) and/or new sites (greenfield sites). 4 TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS 4.1 Terms and Definitions In this Regulatory Guidance document (RG) any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the NNR Act, the Regulations promulgated in terms of the NNR Act, the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations, the draft Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities or the draft Nuclear Security Regulations, shall have the meaning so assigned. Only additional terms, definitions and abbreviations are provided. Atmospheric dispersion means the transport and dilution of radionuclides in the atmosphere. The radionuclides released may be blown downwind, mix with the surrounding air and become diluted. Depending on physical form and chemical characteristics of the release, it may be deposited onto surfaces, thereby contaminating them. Derived Consideration Reference Levels (DCRLs) mean a band of dose rate within which there is likely to be some chance of deleterious effects of ionising radiation occurring to individuals of that type of reference animal or plant (derived from a knowledge of defined expected biological effects for that type of organism). When this is considered, together with other relevant information, it can be used as a point of reference to optimise the level of effort expended on environmental protection, dependent upon the overall management objectives and the relevant exposure situation. Early site activities mean the preparation of the site for construction of the nuclear facility including: initial earthworks and site levelling (terrace); construction of offices and access control; preparation of construction roads, borrow pit areas, parking areas and railroad spurs; utilities such as potable water, electricity, sanitary sewage systems, data cables and transmission lines; erection of support buildings; dewatering; building of diaphragm wall; and excavation and clearance to bedrock. 6

7 Nuclear site licence (NSL) means a nuclear authorisation for a nuclear site that is earmarked for the siting, constructing and operation of one or multiple nuclear facilities. Individual nuclear licences are required for each nuclear facility being constructed on the nuclear site. Place-bound means any development directly supporting the functions associated with the siting, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of a nuclear facility on a site for which an authorisation has been granted in terms of the Act. Reference accident means a selected accident that envelopes the set of accidents that can reasonably be foreseen in the safety analysis. Reference animal or plant (RAP) means a hypothetical entity with the assumed basic biological characteristics of a particular type of animal or plant (as described to the generality of the taxonomic level of family) with defined anatomical, physiological and life history properties. A RAP can be used for the purposes of relating exposure to dose and dose to effects, for that type of living organism. Site establishment means the establishment on the site of security infrastructure, construction of temporary support buildings and site clearance. 4.2 Abbreviations EPZ Overall Emergency Planning Zone EZ Exclusion Zone IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency NNR National Nuclear Regulator NNRA National Nuclear Regulator Act, Act No. 47 of 1999 QA Quality Assurance RG Regulatory Guidance document SSC Structure, System and Component SSR Site Safety Report 7

8 5 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 5.1 Legal Basis 1) The legal basis for the NNR relating to the siting of nuclear facilities is derived from the NNR Act (henceforth referred to as the Act ), specifically sections 5(b), 20(1), 21(1) and 23. 2) Section 5(b) of the Act grants the NNR the power to, amongst others, exercise regulatory control related to safety over the siting, design, construction, operation, manufacture of component parts, decontamination, decommissioning and closure of nuclear installations, through the issuing of nuclear authorisations. 3) Section 20(1) of the Act states that: No person may site, construct, operate, decontaminate or decommission a nuclear installation, except under the authority of a nuclear installation licence. In terms of the provisions of this section, the siting, construction, operation, decontamination or decommissioning of any nuclear installation as defined in section 1(xviii) of the Act must be authorised by way of a nuclear licence granted by the NNR. 4) Furthermore, section 21(1) requires that any person wishing to site, construct, operate, decontaminate or decommission a nuclear installation may apply in the prescribed format to the Chief Executive Officer of the NNR for a nuclear installation licence and must furnish such information as required by the NNR board of directors. 5) In terms of Section 23 of the Act, the Chief Executive Officer may impose (and amend) conditions of authorisation which are necessary to ensure the protection of persons, property and the environment against nuclear damage, or to provide for rehabilitation of the site. 5.2 Regulatory Standards 1) The NNR has promulgated, in terms of section 36 of the Act, regulations on nuclear safety criteria pertaining to dose and risk relating to the safety of the public. These are given in Regulation R388 on Safety Standards and Regulatory Practices and must be complied with given the characteristics of the site and its environs, and preliminary information on the design and operation of the facility [these regulations are currently being revised and will be replaced by the draft General Nuclear Safety regulations]. 2) Regulation R927 on Licensing of Sites stipulates the regulations relating to the licensing of sites for new nuclear installations [these regulations have been incorporated in the draft General Nuclear Safety regulations]. 3) The following requirements, documents and position papers should be used as additional guidance and be complied with: a) RD-0014: Emergency Preparedness and Response Requirements for Nuclear Installations; 8

9 b) RD-0016: Requirements for Authorisation Submission Involving Computer Software and Evaluation Models for Safety Calculations; c) RD-0022: Radiation Dose Limitation at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station; d) RD-0024: Requirements on Risk Assessment and Compliance with Principal Safety Criteria for Nuclear Installations; e) RD-0034: Quality and Safety Management Requirements for Nuclear Installations; f) PP-0014: Consideration of External Events for Nuclear Installations; and g) PP-0015: Emergency Plan Technical Basis for new nuclear installations. 4) The following draft regulations, specifically addressing siting of nuclear facilities, will supersede the above regulatory standards once promulgated: a) Regulation 3 of Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations addressing authorisation requirements for sites; b) Regulation 4(4) of Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations addressing activities on an authorised site; and c) Regulations 4(4) and 4(5) of Part FIVE: Safety Assessment of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations addressing safety assessments. 5) In addition, the following regulations are generally applicable during the siting stage of a nuclear facility: a) Part THREE: Management of Safety of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations addressing management systems; b) Part SIX: Radiation Protection of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations; c) Part EIGHT: Emergency Planning of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations; and d) Regulation 5 of the Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities addressing external events. 5.3 Other Legal Considerations 1) Applications for nuclear licences relating to the siting of nuclear facilities should comply with the publication and public hearing processes as contemplated in Section 21 of the Act as well as the draft regulations on Public Participation. 2) Nuclear authorisations of any form obtained from the NNR do not relieve the applicant from provisions of other applicable legislations such as those of the Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Energy and Department of Water and Sanitation, etc. 3) The authorisation processes of the NNR and the Department of Environmental Affairs are independent processes. 4) The cooperative agreement between the NNR and the Department of Environmental Affairs should be used as a vehicle to exchange information common to the authorisation processes. 9

10 5) All radiological related issues, identified during the Department of Environmental Affairs Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes, should be addressed through the EIA process. 6) Project specific radiological safety issues should be addressed in terms of safety assessments within the framework of the NNR licensing process. 6 SITE LICENSING PROCESS 6.1 General 1) In the evaluation of the suitability of a site for a nuclear facility, the following aspects should be considered: a) Effects of external events occurring in the region of the particular site (natural or human induced); b) Characteristics of the site and its environment which could influence the transfer of released radioactive material to persons; and c) Population density and distribution, as well as other characteristics in relation to the possibility of implementing emergency measures and the need to evaluate the risk to individuals and the population. 2) If the site evaluation for these three aspects indicates that the site has serious deficiencies that cannot be compensated for by means of: a) design features, b) site protection measures, or c) administrative procedures, the site should be deemed unsuitable. 3) Design features (a), and site protection measures (b), are the preferred methods for compensating for the deficiencies. 4) Site characteristics that may affect the safety of the nuclear facility should be investigated and assessed. Characteristics of the natural environment in the region that may be affected by potential radiological impacts in operational states and accident conditions should be investigated. 5) A quality management programme should be established to control the effectiveness of the execution of the site investigations and assessments and engineering activities performed in the different stages of the site evaluation process, covering all activities that may influence safety or the derivation of parameters for the design basis. 10

11 6.2 Concept of Site Licensing 1) An applicant has the option to apply for a nuclear site licence (NSL) or a nuclear licence (NL) to site, construct and operate a nuclear facility. 2) Applications for an NSL and an NL initiate separate but similar licensing processes. An NSL considering multiple nuclear facilities once granted, cannot be varied into an NL. If an NSL considering multiple nuclear facilities has been granted, a separate application for an NL must still be granted for a specific facility to be sited on the site. 3) The safety case for an NSL typically considers enveloping characteristics of all the nuclear facilities contemplated to be constructed on the site, while an NL to site, construct and/or operate would be for a specific nuclear facility or reactor design at the specific site Licensing of sites for new nuclear facilities (NSL) 1) Nuclear site licences may be issued as part of the process of regulatory control over siting of nuclear facilities pursuant to section 5 of the Act and in accordance to regulation R927 on Licensing of Sites for new nuclear installations [to be superseded by regulation 3 of Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations]. 2) A nuclear site licence is effectively a statement that the relevant siting factors (including external hazards) have been appropriately characterised and the site parameter envelope quantified considering the impact and risk to the public from all nuclear facilities planned for the site and in the vicinity of the site. 3) The site would therefore be acceptable for future siting, construction and operation of nuclear facilities conforming to the range of technologies specified in the application and other conditions specified in the licence. 4) On this basis, an application for a nuclear licence to site, construct and operate a facility on the site would not be refused on the grounds of external hazard characterisation, unless: a) Site or environmental conditions changed for the worse in the interim; or b) New generic or technological issues come to light which invalidate the safety case. 5) For this purpose, conditions will be imposed on the nuclear site licence to ensure the ongoing validity of the safety case. The nuclear site licence should therefore serve to: a) Confirm the NNR s acceptance of the safety case including the Site Safety Report (SSR); b) Impose conditions on the holder to ensure its validity; and c) Give permission for specific, limited site work to proceed Nuclear licence to site a nuclear facility (NL) 1) A prospective applicant for a nuclear licence may apply for a nuclear site licence for the purpose of licensing a nuclear site prior to the siting, constructing and operation of a nuclear facility. Such 11

12 a site may be licensed to subsequently accommodate the construction and operation of more than one nuclear facility (as would be indicated in the application for a NSL). 2) Individual nuclear licenses are required in accordance with section 20(1) of the Act to site, construct, operate, etc. each nuclear facility, which should include the demarcation of each nuclear facility (within the overall licensed site) on which each facility is being constructed or situated. 6.3 Siting on Existing Site 1) In the case of a site on which nuclear facilities are already in operation, an application should be made for a licence to site, construct, operate and decommission a particular facility design on that site. 2) Each nuclear facility, including the existing facilities, within the overall licensed site should be demarcated. 6.4 Licensing Process and Schedule 1) The licensing process for nuclear sites can be broken down into three partially overlapping phases: a) The preparatory phase following notification of intent to apply for a site licence for a new nuclear installation or a nuclear licence to site, construct, operate and decommission a nuclear facility; b) The regulatory activities following an application for a site licence or nuclear licence including the public participation process; and c) The NNR board review and decision process Preparatory phase 1) The preparatory phase can be initiated by either a notification of intent or a licence application. 2) In case of a licence application appropriate allowance should nevertheless be made for the preparatory phase. 3) The notification letter of intent from the potential applicant should cover the following: a) Intention to apply for a site licence or nuclear licence that should be based on a firm investment decision; b) Technologies under consideration for design, construction and operation on the site; c) Proposed licensing schedule taking cognisance of the time constraints for the site licensing process (a typical schedule for a nuclear power plant is presented in Attachment A); and d) Commitment to licensing fees covering the preparatory phase. 12

13 4) National priorities and policies as well as the NNR s resource constraints will determine the prioritisation of the application and impact the proposed licensing schedule, notwithstanding the typical schedule provided in Attachment A. 5) The preparatory phase should focus on the following main activities: a) Identification of potential licensing issues, i.e. technical issues which could require considerable time and effort to resolve; b) Investigating and securing arrangements for technical support; c) Staff recruitment and training on proposed technologies and licensing; and d) Development of a Review Plan, including acceptance criteria as appropriate, and the NNR Inspection Plan Review of the application 1) The application should be made in accordance with the current regulations on the siting of new nuclear installations [to be superseded by Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations] and should include the following: a) Licensing schedule respecting the regulatory timescales and constraints; b) Scope of technologies proposed for the site; and c) Safety case, including a Site Safety Report. 2) Applications for which public participation is invoked by the NNR, pursuant to Section 21(4)(b) of the Act, should include a Public Information Document in accordance with regulation 5 of the draft Regulations on Public Participation. 3) The NNR s review should include, amongst others, the following: a) Assessment of the safety case; b) Closure of technical issues identified during the preparatory phase; c) Audit and inspection of the site as well as the applicant s organisation, management system and processes; d) Liaison with local, provincial and national authorities; e) Consideration of comments arising from the public participation process; and f) Compilation of a preliminary safety evaluation report (SER). 4) For a nuclear power plant it is typically estimated that the review of the application and safety case, including the public participation process and compilation of the final SER will take approximately 18 months. These timescales may be adjusted accordingly for other types of nuclear facilities and will need to be discussed and agreed to with the NNR. 13

14 6.5 Activities on an Authorised Site 1) Site establishment and early site activities which are not place-bound are forbidden within the Precautionary Action Zone (PAZ) of any old nuclear facility (i.e. one authorised prior to the siting regulations coming into effect) or within the exclusion zone of any new site (i.e. a site licensed after the siting regulation came into effect). 2) Site establishment, early site activities, early construction or construction activities (place-bound or otherwise) that have potential nuclear safety implications for an existing nuclear facility or proposed facility should be supported by a safety case submitted by the respective holder/applicant for the potentially affected installation or proposed facility. 3) The requirements as detailed in regulation 4(4)(b) of Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations should be complied with before site establishment and early site activities can be performed. 4) Applications for site establishment activities are subject to either an application for a nuclear site licence or a nuclear licence and any other form of authorisation issued by the NNR. 5) Early site activities should only be undertaken under the authority of a nuclear site licence or a nuclear licence. 6.6 Format and Content of the Safety Case (NSL and NL) Safety case for a nuclear site licence 1) The safety case for the NSL should amongst others: a) Provide assurance that the nuclear safety criteria (pertaining to dose and risk) given in Regulation R388 and relevant Regulatory Requirements Documents (RDs) [draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations], relating to the safety of the public, can be complied with given the characteristics of the site and its environs, and preliminary information on the design and operation of the facilities. b) Assess whether the site characteristics do not preclude the designs of the technologies proposed for construction on the site. c) Assess the feasibility of developing and implementing emergency and security plans, given the characteristics of the site and its environs. d) Assess the feasibility of arrangements for controlling developments in the vicinity. e) Address the factors as specified in Regulation R927 on the Licensing of Sites for new nuclear installations [regulation 3(1) of Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations]. 2) The safety case for the NSL must therefore include the following: 14

15 a) Assessment of the suitability of the site considering amongst others external events and civil engineering issues; b) Assurance of safety in including concept designs and engineered safety features that will ensure an acceptable low risk of public exposure, Probabilistic Safety Assessment and source term analyses; c) Public and Environmental Impact Analyses; d) Emergency Planning including the identification of Emergency Planning Zones, preliminary work on establishment of emergency plans and proposed arrangements for control of developments; e) Security measures including security policy, security clearance and vetting of personnel, information security, cyber security, physical protection systems, nuclear security culture programme and off-site security response; f) Organisation for site licensing including an overview of the management system, processes and associated procedures; and g) Site Safety Report. 3) Although the detailed design and operating rules may not be available when the site licence is applied for, there should be sufficient preliminary information available for the range of technologies considered for the site to be able to assess the scale of the nuclear and radiation hazard posed by the facilities and to motivate that compliance to the nuclear safety criteria would be achievable. 4) The Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) should be representative of the characteristics of the site and should consider the impact of all nuclear facilities, existing and proposed, on the site. 5) The PSA for a new nuclear facility should be based on site-specific data and suitably envelop plant-specific design and safety information for the range of technologies and plant designs being considered for the site. 6) Where plant-specific data are not available, conservative generic data (e.g. generic failure data, release source terms, etc.) may be used with appropriate justification Safety case for a nuclear licence to site a nuclear facility 1) The safety case for an NL to site must: a) Provide assurance that the nuclear safety criteria (pertaining to dose and risk) given in Regulation R388 and relevant Regulatory Requirements Documents [draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations], relating to the safety of the public, are complied with given the characteristics of the site and its environs, and the design and operation of the facility. b) Demonstrate that site characteristics do not preclude the siting and construction of the facility on the site. c) Provide the technical basis or bounding envelope of the facility design and site parameter values for the safety assessment that must be performed for the construction safety case. 15

16 d) Determine the emergency planning zones and demonstrate the feasibility of implementing emergency and security plans, given the characteristics of the site and its environs. e) Provide for the protection of non-human species. f) Provide for arrangements for controlling developments in the vicinity. 2) The safety case for a nuclear licence to site a nuclear facility must address the factors as specified in Regulation R927 on the Licensing of Sites for new nuclear installations and should specifically address other requirements relating and relevant to siting of nuclear facilities [as stipulated in Part FOUR: Authorisation of Activities, Part FIVE: Safety Assessment of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations as well as requirements contained in the draft Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities]. 3) The NNR must be provided with sufficient information, including siting and design information covering the full technical safety basis, to enable it to perform a detailed assessment to the practicable extent. The NNR can therefore determine whether the proposed facility design will meet the requirements and that all safety issues identified during the safety case review will be mitigated at the appropriate stage of the licensing process. 4) The PSA must be based on the site characteristics and plant-specific design information. The design information should be at a level of detail that will allow for the assessment of compliance with the risk limits as well as for the determination of the emergency planning zones around the facility. 5) Where detailed design information is not available, conservative assumptions should be made. It should be demonstrated that the analyses performed are enveloping with respect to the target parameter. 6) Compliance with the full scope of the nuclear safety requirements [as contained in the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations and draft Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities] would only need to be demonstrated with the application for construction and operation of the nuclear facility Site Safety Report 1) The Site Safety Report should contain all the information as required by the Regulations on the Licensing of Sites for new nuclear installations [regulation 4(5) of Part FIVE: Safety Assessments of the draft General Nuclear Safety Regulations]. The typical structure and content of a Site Safety Report is given in Attachment B as an example. 2) The Site Safety Report should characterise all the factors relevant to the site, including natural and human-induced external events. 3) The Site Safety Report should include the necessary external events data in support of the safety assessment for a given facility. 16

17 7 ASSESSMENT OF HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH EXTERNAL NATURAL AND HUMAN- INDUCED EVENTS 7.1 General approach for External Events 1) All the requirements specified in the NNR Regulations pertaining to siting, as listed in paragraph 5.2, must be taken into account during siting. Regulation 5(2) of the draft Specific Nuclear Safety Regulations: Nuclear Facilities, as specifically relating to external and internal events, must be complied with. 2) Proposed sites should be adequately investigated with respect to all the characteristics that could affect safety in relation to natural and human-induced events. 3) The hazards associated with external events, which are to be considered in the design of the nuclear facility, must be determined. For an external event (or a combination of events), the parameters and the values of those parameters used to characterise the hazards must be chosen so that they can be used readily in the design of the nuclear facility. 4) The foreseeable significant changes in land use, such as expansion of existing facilities and human activities or the construction of high-risk installations, should be considered and already approved regional plans must be taken into consideration. 5) Prehistorical, historical and instrumental information and records, as applicable, of the occurrences and severity of those important natural phenomena or human-induced situations/activities should be collected for the region and carefully analysed for reliability, accuracy and completeness. 6) Appropriate methodologies should be adopted for establishing the hazards from important external phenomena. 7) The methodologies used should be the current and state of the art, and should be justified as being compatible with the characteristics of the region. 8) Preferential consideration should be given to applicable probabilistic methodologies. 9) It should be noted that probabilistic hazard curves are generally required to conduct external event PSAs. 10) The size of the region, to which a method for establishing the hazards associated with major external phenomena is to be applied, should be large enough to include all the features and areas that could be of significance in the determination of the natural and human-induced phenomena under consideration and for the characteristics of the event. 11) All natural events that have a probability of occurrence of more than the minimum safety goal defined in PP-0014 [10] (i.e. about 10-7 per year) should be considered. Natural phenomena, which may exist or can occur in the region of a proposed site, should be identified and classified 17

18 as per their impact on plant safety. Design bases should be derived for each credible event and credible combination of events by adopting appropriate methodologies. 12) If data for a particular type of natural phenomenon are incomplete for the region, then data from other regions having sufficiently similar characteristics should be used, with proper justification, in evaluation of the design basis event. 13) The site and surrounding region should be examined for facilities and human activities that may affect the safety of the proposed nuclear facility. These facilities and activities should be identified and the conditions under which the safety of the plant is likely to be affected should be postulated in deriving the design basis for external human-induced events. 14) Information concerning the frequency and severity of important human-induced events should be collected and analysed for reliability, accuracy and completeness. 15) The evaluation of site characteristics to determine design basis parameters should include considerations for exceedance of design basis and/or design extension conditions. 16) The evaluation of site characteristics to determine design basis parameters should take into account changes of hazards (both natural and human induced) with regards to the design life of the facility. 7.2 Natural Events Seismic and geological considerations 1) Hazards associated with earthquakes should be assessed by means of seismotectonic evaluation of the region taking into consideration site-specific conditions. All features that can substantially affect the severity of ground motion due to earthquakes in the region should be studied. The geological and seismotectonic conditions in the region and geotechnical aspects of the site area should be evaluated. Information on all earthquakes including prehistorical, historical and instrumentally recorded earthquakes in the region should be collected, documented and considered. 2) All seismically active structures and active faults in the region should be identified. On the basis of geological, geophysical, geodetic or seismological data, a fault should be considered active if one of the following conditions, as defined in [3], applies: a) It shows evidence of past movement or movements (significant deformations and/or dislocations) of a recurring nature within such a period that it is reasonable to infer that further movements at or near the surface could occur. In highly active areas, where both earthquake data and geological data consistently reveal short earthquake recurrence intervals, periods in the order of tens of thousands of years may be appropriate for the assessment of capable faults. In less active areas, it is likely that much longer periods may be required. 18

19 b) A structural relationship with a known capable fault has been demonstrated such that movement of the one may cause movement of the other at or near the surface. c) The maximum potential earthquake associated with a seismogenic structure is sufficiently large and at such a depth that it is reasonable to infer that, in the geodynamic setting of the site, movement at or near the surface could occur. 3) Potential for permanent ground displacement such as surface faulting or folding, fault creep, subsidence or collapse should be evaluated. The proposed methods and investigations for assessing surface faulting should be sufficiently detailed. 4) The site should be deemed to be unacceptable if the existence of an active/capable fault can cause potential surface faulting affecting the safety. 5) The design basis ground motion (DBGM) should be expressed by response spectra for various damping factors and time histories of appropriate durations of shaking. Site-specific DBGM parameters should be established for engineering designs of the facility. 6) The site-specific DBGM parameters should be derived from considering the maximum earthquake potential that could be attributed to the seismotectonic provinces of the region within which the site is located. Due consideration should be given to reservoir-triggered seismicity on account of existing dams or dams sanctioned to be built in the region, as well as current and planned mining activities. 7) The selection of design basis vibratory ground motion(s) should be based on the satisfaction of the safety goals defined in [10]. 8) A lower level of earthquake ground motion during which the plant is capable of continued operation should also be defined. When this level of ground motion is exceeded during plant operation, the nuclear facility should be shut down and inspected. The approval of the NNR should be obtained to restart operations. 9) DBGM parameters should not be less conservative than the corresponding ground motion level specified in national standards for industrial facilities of the highest safety or hazard category. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) of design basis ground motion should not be less than 0.10g. 10) Design basis ground motion parameters should be derived following a risk-informed graded approach. 11) The selection of annual frequencies of exceedance of design basis ground motion(s) should be based on the satisfaction of the safety goals defined in [10] for each operational state. 12) Water control structures such as dams located upstream or downstream, whose failure could potentially compromise the safety of a nuclear facility, should be checked for structural integrity. 19

20 13) Suitable instrumentation should be provided so that the response of the site, structures, systems and components of the facility that are important to safety can be determined promptly to permit comparison to the response used as the design basis Meteorological events 1) The meteorological and climatological characteristics for the region around the site should be investigated and evaluated to ensure the safety of nuclear facility. Meteorological events/parameters to be considered for evaluation of design bases include: wind, precipitation, storm surge, tropical cyclone, air temperature (dry bulb and wet bulb), cooling water temperature and humidity. 2) In addition to the above meteorological phenomena, the following rare meteorological events should also be considered in the evaluation of site characteristics: lightning; tornado; snow; waterspouts; dust and sand storms; hail storm; freezing precipitation and frost related phenomena; cloud burst and any other phenomena specific to the site. 3) Hazards associated with all relevant meteorological phenomena should be identified and evaluated to arrive at the corresponding design basis parameter to ensure the safety of the facilities to be located at the site. 4) Historical data of the event at and around the site should be utilised for evaluation of the potential of occurrence, frequency and severity of the meteorological event. Uncertainties involved in the data, its adequacy and evaluation procedure should be taken into account in the evaluation of hazards while arriving at the design basis parameter for any event. Output of the hazard evaluation should be described in terms of suitable design parameters that can be used in ensuring the safety of the facilities. 5) Historical data on persistent high winds during cyclones, tornadoes and storms occurring at and around the region should be used for static loading and wind induced missile generation, while data on short duration bursts of wind should be utilised for studies of dynamic loading. Historical data on circulating wind during tornadoes, if any, occurring at or around the region should also be collected. 6) The collected data should be used to generate design basis wind speeds taking into account the safety goal defined in [10]. 7) Site-specific design basis wind speeds should be based on sufficient and reliable data. In the absence of sufficient and reliable site-specific data, design basis wind speeds derived from South African National Standards and international codes should be used provided these have been justified and accepted by the NNR. 20

21 7.2.3 Flooding 1) Inland sites should be assessed for: flooding hazards due to precipitation, storms, wind-induced waves, seiches, failure of water storage/carrying structures, melting of snow, etc. 2) Coastal sites should be assessed for: high tides, cyclones/storm surge, wind-induced waves, precipitation, tsunami-generated waves, etc. Appropriate combinations of these phenomena should also be considered. 3) The design basis should take into account the highest water level reached at the site during the above events. Other associated parameters like the duration of flood, flow conditions, warning time for flood and the height and period of waves, if relevant, should also be estimated. 4) Suitable meteorological, hydrological and topographical data, including data on relevant bodies of water, should be collected. Uncertainty and data inadequacy, if any, should be taken into consideration when deriving the design basis value of the flood water level. The design basis highest water level at the site should be arrived at by using appropriate flood routing models. 5) A probable maximum storm (PMS) and resulting probable maximum flood (PMF) should be identified. Appropriate models for routing this water along a channel/river should be used. If the origin of a flood is upstream of a reservoir, water should be routed downstream and the water level at the site should be generated using appropriate hydrological models. The assumed water level in the reservoir during a flood should be taken as the full reservoir level (FRL). 6) Outflow from a dam in the region of a site should be used as the input for the downstream channel and routed along the channel to arrive at the highest water level reached at the site. 7) Structural stability of the upstream/downstream dam against a water level rise or earthquakes should be evaluated. If stability is not established then failure of the dam should be assumed and the consequent hazard should be evaluated adopting appropriate methods. 8) The possibility of change in a river s course and consequent flood hazard should be assessed where applicable. 9) The potential for seiches in enclosed bodies of water should be examined for inland sites located close to such bodies of water. 10) Coastal sites should be examined for potential flooding caused by a surge due to cyclones, windinduced waves as well as tsunami waves. 11) Wave run-up should also be considered taking into account any amplification due to the coastal configuration adjacent to the site. 12) Bathymetry and topography data of the coastal region should be collected and utilised. 13) The region should be evaluated to determine the potential for tsunamis that could affect the safety of nuclear facilities on the site. The hazards associated with tsunamis should include potential drawdown and run-up as well as hydrodynamic forces, if applicable. 21

22 14) Design basis earthquake should be arrived at with data of earthquakes resulting from a tsunami wave landing at the site using appropriate hydrological and numerical models. 15) The frequency of occurrence, magnitude and height of regional tsunamis should be estimated. On the basis of the available data for the region, prehistorical and historical, and comparison with similar regions that have been well studied, all potential tsunamigenic sources and their maximum potential should be identified and used in determining the possible hazards associated with tsunamis. Appropriate models should be used in the evaluation and should take into account any amplification due to the coastal configuration adjacent to the site. 16) Flooding from local intense precipitation should be mitigated by the site drainage system. 17) The safety-related systems and components, waste storage/management areas and escape routes or entrance/exit roads to safety-related areas should not be rendered dysfunctional by the occurrence of a design basis or design basis extension precipitation event Geotechnical hazards 1) The site and its vicinity should be evaluated for slope instability (such as land and rock slides and land erosion) which could affect the safety of the facility. 2) If such a potential exists, the hazard should be evaluated using site-specific parameters such as design basis ground motion of earthquakes and/or slope instability due to heavy rain, etc. The site should be rejected if a suitable engineering solution is not feasible. 3) Geological and other appropriate information of the region should be examined for the existence of natural features like caverns, sink holes, karst formations, subsidence; and human-induced features/activities like mines, water extraction and gas/oil wells. If the potential for surface collapse, subsidence or uplift exists in the site vicinity, the corresponding hazard should be evaluated. The site should be deemed unsuitable if no engineering solution is possible for ensuring the safety of the nuclear facility. 4) The potential for soil liquefaction at the site should be evaluated using design basis ground motion parameters. If the potential for soil liquefaction exists, the site should be deemed unsuitable unless engineering solutions are demonstrated to be available. 5) The geotechnical characteristics of the subsurface materials should be investigated and a stratigraphic profile for the site, in a form suitable for design purposes, should be determined. 6) It should be ensured that the site has competent strata for bearing the design loads transferred through the foundation. The details of local geology, e.g. karstic phenomena, should also be examined. 7) Adequate geotechnical investigations should be carried out to examine the competence of the founding media. The stability of the founding strata under static and seismic loading should be assessed. 22

23 8) The groundwater regime and the chemical properties of the groundwater should be studied. 9) Unless engineering solutions exist, regions that have or are prone to migratory sand dunes should be avoided. 10) The site should be investigated for evidence of volcanic activity in the region. If such evidence exists, the impact of associated phenomena should be studied. Unless the impact of these phenomena could be mitigated by engineering measures, the site should be deemed unsuitable. 11) The possibility of occurrence of certain phenomena, viz. pyroclastic density currents; lava flows; debris avalanches; landslides and slope failures; opening of new vents; and ground deformation would deem the site unsuitable. 12) For coastal sites, the potential for shore instability due to erosion or sedimentation should be investigated. In case of inland sites or sites located on riverbanks, the potential of riverbank erosion or change in river course should be investigated. 13) If the potential for such instability exists and is unacceptable from the safety consideration of the nuclear facility, the site should be considered unsuitable unless a reliable and practical engineering solution is available. 14) The potential for the loss of ultimate heat sink of a nuclear facility should be analysed. If the potential exists, the site should be considered unsuitable unless a reliable and practical engineering solution is available. 7.3 External Human-induced Events Aircraft crash (accidental origin) 1) Screening values compatible with the safety goals in [10] should be established to inform the need for detailed evaluations. 2) If screening values are not satisfied the site should be further evaluated. 3) For this purpose, data such as the distance of the nearest airport along with the present flight frequency, expected growth, air traffic corridors in the region and the type of aircraft used should be collected. This data should be used to arrive at the projected annual frequency of aircraft crashes on the site. If this frequency is found to be greater than screening values, a detailed evaluation should be carried out to assess the impact hazard including secondary consequences such as fire and explosions due to burning fuel. If engineering solutions acceptable to the NNR do not exist, the site should be deemed unsuitable. 23