Key Issues
New Performance Index Provides Closer Look At Nuclear Plant Safety Systems
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Assigning Safety-Importance Weights
The NRC and the industry have extensive experience with probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), and the NRC is incorporating the insights from this tool into its regulations. Adding safety-importance weights to a reactor performance indicator is a natural next step in NRC oversight.
The industry and the NRC have developed guidance on safety-importance weighting for the MSPI. The industry has held workshops to provide training on applying the guidance, and plant PSA experts have used the guidance to determine the appropriate safety weights for the systems and components in their facilities.
Ensuring Safety-Importance Weights Are Appropriate
Plants routinely use their probabilistic safety assessments in operations and maintenance. They will use these same PSAs in assigning MSPI safety-importance weights. The quality of a PSA is important for all applications.
Industry peer teams have reviewed the PSAs for all U.S. commercial reactors. In addition, the NRC has found that, when it adds plant-specific information to its standardized PSA models, the combination provides consistent information. Following this review, the NRC has determined that current plant PSAs are acceptable for providing the safety-importance weights used in the MSPI.
Assigning Safety-Importance Weights
The NRC and the industry have extensive experience with probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), and the NRC is incorporating the insights from this tool into its regulations. Adding safety-importance weights to a reactor performance indicator is a natural next step in NRC oversight.
The industry and the NRC have developed guidance on safety-importance weighting for the MSPI. The industry has held workshops to provide training on applying the guidance, and plant PSA experts have used the guidance to determine the appropriate safety weights for the systems and components in their facilities.
Ensuring Safety-Importance Weights Are Appropriate
Plants routinely use their probabilistic safety assessments in operations and maintenance. They will use these same PSAs in assigning MSPI safety-importance weights. The quality of a PSA is important for all applications.
Industry peer teams have reviewed the PSAs for all U.S. commercial reactors. In addition, the NRC has found that, when it adds plant-specific information to its standardized PSA models, the combination provides consistent information. Following this review, the NRC has determined that current plant PSAs are acceptable for providing the safety-importance weights used in the MSPI.
