ANS Summary of Safety Design Strategy for the Versatile Test Reactor

This paper describes the unique challenges with developing and documenting the Safety Design Strategy for the Versatile Test Reactor in the following key areas: 1. Identification of the key safety goals in the VTR facility design and operation that are to ensure adequate protection of the public, workers, and environment as required by 10 CFR 830, “Nuclear Safety Management.” These goals are fulfilled by an approach that applies defense-in-depth (DID) by applying various layers (or levels) of protection to prevent the release of radioactive and hazardous materials. 2. Early identification of the hazards that are normally associated with a large fast reactor facility can result from postulated failure conditions in one or more of the reactor systems or from operational errors. 3. Identification of the key decisions that must be made during the initial project life cycle that will affect the eventual design and construction of the VTR and enable clarity in safety expectations. 4. Identification of the applicable regulatory framework requirements for demonstrating compliance with safety basis requirements in 10 CFR 830 Subpart B for the VTR. 5. Application of the proposed Licensing Modernization Program (LMP) recommendations for advanced non-LWR reactors as outlined in Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)-18-04, “Risk-Informed Performance-Based Guidance for Non-Light Water Reactor Licensing Basis Development.”