Report a Safety Concern
Search

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the process of rescinding or revising guidance and policies posted on this webpage in accordance with Executive Order 14151 Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and Executive Order 14168 Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. In the interim, any previously issued diversity, equity, inclusion, or gender-related guidance on this webpage should be considered rescinded that is inconsistent with these Executive Orders.

Home NRC Library Document Collections NUREG-Series Publications Publications Prepared by NRC Staff NUREG-0016

Calculation of Release of Radioactive Materials in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents from Boiling-Water Reactors: GALE-BWR 3.2 Code (NUREG-0016, Revision 2)

On this page:

Download complete document

Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: February 2020
Date Published: July 2020

Prepared by:
J. J. Tomon
K. J. Geelhood1
D.V. Colameco1

1Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, WA 99352

John Tomon, NRC Project Manager

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

Availability Notice

Abstract

This report is documentation for the release of the GALE-BWR 3.2 (Gaseous and Liquid Effluents—Boiling-Water Reactor) code. The GALE-BWR 3.2 code is a computerized mathematical model for calculating the releases of radioactive material in gaseous and liquid effluents (i.e., the gaseous and liquid source terms) from nuclear power plants (NPPs). The code is a tool that can be used to determine conformance with the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities," Appendix I, "Numerical Guides for Design Objectives and Limiting Conditions for Operation To Meet the Criterion 'As Low As Is Reasonably Achievable' for Radioactive Material in Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactor Effluents."

For domestic and international applicants submitting a new reactor application for the review and approval of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the staff considers use of the following to be an acceptable method for demonstrating compliance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I:

  • GALE86 code

  • DC/COL-ISG-05, "Interim Staff Guidance on the Use of the GALE86 Code for Calculation of Routine Radioactive Releases in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents from Boiling-Water Reactors and Pressurized-Water Reactors To Support Design Certification and Combined License Applications," issued July 2008 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML081710299)

  • Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.112, Revision 1, "Calculations of Releases of Radioactive Materials in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents from Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactors," issued March 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070320241)

When the source term or reactor design parameters differ from those given in the GALE86 code, DC/COL-ISG-05, and RG 1.112, Revision 1, they should be described with sufficient detail, and the basis of the alternate method, model parameters, and assumptions should be provided, to allow the NRC to conduct an independent evaluation.

The purpose of the release of this version of the GALE-BWR code is to comprehensively verify applicability of the current methodology described in NUREG-0016, Revision 1, (ADAMS Accession No. ML091910213), "Calculation of Releases of Radioactive Materials in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents from Boiling Water Reactors (BWR-GALE Code)," issued January 1979, to both the current U.S. BWR facilities and proposed NPP designs. Additionally, the GALE-BWR 3.2 code includes a graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate easier use of the code.

This report documents the revised GALE-BWR 3.2 code, which is in a self-contained executable and includes installation instructions and a description of the various screen shots of the GALE-BWR 3.2 code GUI.

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, March 24, 2021