CANDU 9 safety enhancements and licensability

The CANDU 9 design has followed the evolutionary product development approach that has characterized the CANDU family of nuclear power plants. In addition to utilizing proven equipment and systems from operating stations, the CANDU 9 design has looked ahead to incorporate design and safety enhancements necessary to meet evolving utility and licensing requirements. This paper examines the ways in which these design and safety enhancements meet the challenge of evolving safety and licensing requirements. Recognizing that the CANDU 9 design must be licensable in the international market, an extensive two-year formal review by the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB)-- the Canadian nuclear regulatory agency-- was conducted as part of the pre-project Basic Engineering Program. Documentation submitted for this review included the licensing basis, safety requirements, and safety analyses necessary to demonstrate compliance with Canadian regulations and to assess systems design and safety performance. The licensing review was successfully completed in 1997 January. In addition, to facilitate licensing of CANDU 9 in Korea, feedback from the application of Korean licensing requirements to the CANDU 6 reactors at Wolsong site was an integral part of the design process. Preliminary responses to reviews of CANDU 6 by the Chinese National Nuclear Safety Authority (NNSA) prior to construction approval of the two-unit Qinshan project also were considered in the CANDU 9 design