State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA) Report: Part 1 (NUREG-1935)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: June 2012
Date Published: November 2012

Prepared by:

Richard Chang, Jason Schaperow, Tina Ghosh,
Jonathan Barr, Charles Tinkler, and Martin Stutzke

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC  20555-0001

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Abstract

Accident phenomena and offsite consequences of severe reactor accidents have been the subjects of considerable research over the last several decades by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). As a consequence of this research focus, analyses of severe accidents at nuclear power reactors are more detailed, integrated, and realistic than at any time in the past. A desire to leverage this capability to address conservative aspects of previous reactor accident analyses was a major motivating factor in the genesis of the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA) project. By applying modern analysis tools and techniques, the SOARCA project developed a body of knowledge regarding the realistic outcomes of select severe nuclear reactor accidents. To accomplish this objective, the SOARCA project’s integrated modeling of accident progression and offsite consequences used both state-of-the-art computational analysis tools and best modeling practices drawn from the collective wisdom of the severe accident analysis community. This study has focused on providing a realistic evaluation of accident progression, source term, and offsite consequences for select scenarios for the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station and Surry Power Station. By using the most current emergency preparedness practices and plant capabilities, as well as the best available modeling, these analyses are more realistic than past analyses. These analyses also consider mitigative measures (e.g., emergency operating procedures, severe accident management guidelines, and Title 10 to the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50. 54(hh) measures), contributing to a more realistic evaluation.