Publications

State-of-the-art reactor consequence analyses project: Uncertainty analysis of a potential unmitigated short-term station blackout of the surry nuclear power station

Ghosh, S.T.; Ross, Kyle R.; Bixler, Nathan E.; Weber, S.J.; Sallaberry, C.J.; Jones, J.A.

The evaluation of accident phenomena and the potential offsite consequences of severe nuclear reactor accidents has been the subject of considerable research by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over the last several decades. As a result, capability exists to conduct more detailed, integrated, and realistic analyses of potential severe accidents at nuclear power reactors. Through the application of modern analysis tools and techniques, the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA) project was completed in 2012. This project developed a body of knowledge regarding the realistic outcomes of postulated severe nuclear reactor accidents with best-estimate analyses of selected accident scenarios at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (Peach Bottom), a boiling-water reactor (BWR), and the Surry Power Station (Surry), a pressurized-water reactor (PWR). The SOARCA project continued with an integrated uncertainty analysis (UA) of a potential unmitigated long term station blackout (LTSBO) accident at Peach Bottom completed in 2013. This Peach Bottom UA provided important insights regarding how uncertainties in selected severe accident progression and consequence parameters affect the results of the BWR LTSBO analysis. A Surry integrated UA has just been completed to provide similar insights for a potential PWR short-term station blackout (STSBO).