New directions for NRC's reactor safety research program

Until recently, the bulk of the light water reactor safety research program was concentrated on confirming the adequacy of emergency core cooling systems to keep the fuel cooled during a large-break, loss-of-coolant accident. The Three Mile Island accident has focused attention on four major areas where more research is needed: better understanding of plant thermal-hydraulic behavior during anomalous transients and small-break LOCAs; more detailed studies of operator actions during accidents and more human engineering studies to improve the man/machine interface; better understanding of severely damaged fuel behavior; and better understanding of the integrity of plants during accidents that result in severely damaged or molten fuel. In response to these needs, a major part of the safety research program has been reoriented and new programs have been started. The thrust of these new directions is to elevate exploratory safety research to the same level as confirmatory safety research in NRC's program