Final Safety Evaluation Report Related to Certification of the AP600 Standard Design (NUREG-1512, Volume 1)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: August 1998
Date Published: September 1998

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

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Abstract

This final safety evaluation report (FSER) documents the technical review of the AP600 standard nuclear reactor design by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The application for the AP600 design was submitted on June 26, 1992 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in accordance with Subpart B, "Standard Design Certifications," of Part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 52), and Appendix 0, "Standardization of Design: Staff Review of Standard Designs."

The AP600 nuclear reactor design is a pressurized water reactor with a power rating of 1933 MWt with an electrical output of at least 600 MWe. The AP600 design contains many features that are not found in current operating reactor designs. For example, a variety of engineering and operational improvements provide additional safety margins and address the Commission's severe accident, safety goal, and standardization policy statements. The most significant improvement to the design is the use of safety systems that use passive means (such as gravity, natural circulation, condensation and evaporation, and stored energy) for accident prevention and mitigation. These passive safety systems perform safety injection, residual heat removal, and containment cooling functions.

Unique features of the AP600 design include an enhanced reactor core design, larger reactor vessel, larger pressurizer, an in-containment refueling water storage tank, automatic depressurization system, revised main control room design with a digital microprocessor-based instrumentation and control system, hermetically-sealed canned reactor co6lant pump motors mounted to the steam generator, and increased battery capacity. In addition, the facility is designed for a 60-year life, and employs modular construction techniques in its design.

On the basis of its evaluation and independent analyses, the NRC staff concludes that Westinghouse's application for design certification meets the requirements of Subpart B of 10 CFR Part 52 that are applicable and technically relevant to the AP600 standard design. A copy of the report by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards required by 10 CFR 52.53 is provided in Appendix G.

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