Overview of the safety aspects of nuclear desalination coupling

In the frame of non-electric applications of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) Seawater Desalination appears to be the one with most rapidly increasing interest. The aspects related to the safety of a Nuclear Desalination Plant (NDP) design deserve special attention and they have been analysed with different scopes and viewpoints, in compliance with IAEA guidelines. It is widely accepted that the general safety approach for Nuclear Facilities is valid and this approach must be reflected in the Safety Analysis Report of the NDP. This paper reflects an overview of the work performed on this field within Nuclear Engineering Department, INVAP (Argentina) starting with the basis on which a safety analysis must be performed including recommendations on the way to report it following IAEA Standards, and reaches the comparison of engineered safety features considered in the coupling analysis and the rationale to select one for a specific project. The conceptual engineering developed for two Isolation Systems based on different engineered safety features, not only gives a better idea of the feasibility of detecting initiating events and the effectiveness of the protection action, but shows the complexity of the systems implied, costs and operation requirements, as well. This approach is intended to complement the design assessment of a NDP coupling in the early stages of the project and to give support to the Regulatory Bodies on the licensing process. (author)