IAEA-CN-142/2 Role and responsibilities of Technical Support Division (TSD) of National Nuclear Safety Department (NNSD) in licensing process

F. Yousefpour National Nuclear Safety Department ranian Nuclear Regulatory !uthority !tomic "nergy organi#ation of ran Tehran$ ran
!bstract. National Nuclear Safety Department is authorized by INRA (Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority) for issuing rules and regulation and conducting the licensing and supervisory process for nuclear facilities. he main responsibilities of the NNSD are conducted via five main division are! nuclear codes and standards! Nuclear Safety assessment! Authorization! Inspection " #nforcement and echnical Support. In this paper! the functions and responsibilities of SD in enhancing nuclear safety are described. #$amples of main tas%s to support the Nuclear Safety assessment division regarding to technical calculations and research of safety issues in licensing documents are provided.

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ntroduction

&tilization of Nuclear facilities such as Nuclear 'o(er 'lants (N''s)! research reactors and fuel cycle li%e other advanced technologies have potential hazard for public! operating personnel and the environment. )omparison of this hazard (ith other conventional facilities sho(s that nuclear facilities have caused comparatively less damage to the public. *ne of the reasons of lo( ris% of nuclear facilities is considering safety of these facility as a first priority. he nuclear facilities are designed and constructed (ith many provision in order to prevent the occurrences of accident in the first phase and the mitigation of probable conse+uences and damages in the second phase. Design and construction of nuclear facilities up to an international level in any member state of IA#A re+uire observation of specific number safety criteria! codes and standards and continuous supervision over all activities in all stages including sitting! design! construction! commissioning! operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Safety assurance of N''s and other nuclear facilities! minimizing their potential ris%s and also assurance of the e$istence of sufficient protections for personnel! public and the environment necessitate establishment of nuclear regulatory body based on international criteria and regulations. *n the basis of general policy of the Islamic republic of Iran! Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (INRA) is authorized for regulatory control of Nuclear ,acilities and radiation safety. &. Structure of National Nuclear Safety Department he regulatory functions of INRA for all Nuclear facilities including! N''s! research facilities! ,uel cycle ,acilities! (aste disposal and Nuclear material transportation are performed by NNSD (hich is structural part of the INRA. he organization chart of NNSD is sho(n in ,ig -! he main responsibilities of the NNSD are conducted via the follo(ing five divisions.

IAEA-CN-142/2 / / / / / Nuclear Safety Assessment #stablishment of Regulation! )odes " Standards Inspection " #nforcement Authorization echnical Support

Division of Nuclear Safety Assessment is responsible for the assessment and evaluation of various submitted technical and safety documents in a number of areas including! sitting! design of safety system and components! +uality assurance! technical specification and environment during design! construction! commissioning and operation of nuclear facilities. hese information must be submitted by designer! manufacture and operator of nuclear facilities upon (hich licenses and permits (ill be issued. Divisions of #stablishment of Regulation! )odes " Standards is responsible for development of codes and standards in the fields of sitting! #mergency planning " preparedness! Radiation protection " (aste management! +uality assurance and etc. Regulatory inspection and +uality assurance of e+uipment during manufacturing! erection! commissioning and performance of different tests (ill be accomplished by independent inspectors. Division of Inspection " #nforcement is responsible for fulfillment of its assignments in the follo(ing fields. / / / / / / Sitting Design )onstruction " manufacturing )ommissioning! operation " decommissioning ,uel transportation " handling 0ocal inspection (pro1ects site)

Division of Authorization is responsible for issuance the license for specified activities such as sitting! construction commissioning and operation after approval of the licensing committee. his division performs contractors +ualification registration stage of nuclear pro1ects issuing permits for subcontractors involved in different activities in construction and commissioning and also. echnical Support Division has the responsibility to provide technical support for regulatory activities of NNSD. he division has also the tas% of coordination of the on going research " development activities on nuclear safety being conducted inside and outside the department.

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IAEA-CN-142/2 '. Role and responsibilities of Technical Support Division As! it is sho(n in ,ig -! he echnical Support Division consist of t(o main 4roup (hich are raining and R"D 4roup. )ompetence of regulatory staff is one of the pre re+uisites for the safety of nuclear facilities. #very regulatory body shall ensure that the proper s%ills and ade+uate levels of competencies are e$ist and maintained in his organization. In order to implement the re+uirement! the regulatory body needs to implement a group to follo( the training needs for regulatory staff and implement the training program. In the NNSD the training group of SD has this responsibility. he main functions and responsibility of training groups of SD are as follo(s. / / / / Development of comprehensive training program for NNSD personnel Implementation the training program for ne(comers and NNSD staff 5aintaining the e$pert +ualification (ith development of on6going training program Supervision on applicants training program for operating personnel of Nuclear ,acilities such as N''s! Research Reactors and etc. / Supervision and surveillance on e$amination of operating personnel at raining )enters Regulatory research comprises of activities related to research and development and analysis! that are necessary to(ards obtaining deeper insights into safety issues and finally for helping to regulatory decisions. Regulatory research has a (ide area of application and is connected (ith at most every aspect of regulation of nuclear facilities since it provides the appreciate scientific basis for regulatory decisions! it removes or minimizes the element of sub1ectivity in the decision ma%ing process and there by improves the effectiveness of regulatory bodies. he decisions arrived at in this manner are reasonable and defendable. Research and development group as a main 4roup of SD conducts the follo(ing support activities. / / / / / Development of the computer code for safety analysis and technical calculation Analysis of nuclear accidents Re evaluation of analyses performed by applicant in submitted 1ustification documents )ooperation (ith research institute and universities Nuclear safety assessment (Assessment of 'AS documents submitted by applicants)

In the ne$t section! e$amples of tas%s performed by the groups are mentioned. (. ")amples of tas*s performed by Technical support division (.%. Reevaluation of !nalyses +erformed ,y !pplicant o support nuclear assessment division of NNSD! echnical support Division performs various analyses to evaluate correctness of information presented in safety analysis report of the facility. #$amples of analyses are as follo(s. Seismic Analysis of Major Components Seismic analysis of ma1or facility components (e.g. )lass - components) is performed according to accepted national and international codes and standards using validated computer soft(are. ,or this purpose! the head of division arranges t(o teams of different e$perts

IAEA-CN-142/2 containing thermohydrulic e$perts! mechanical e$perts! and civil e$perts. he first team revie(s the seismic characteristics of the site! the facility and the components and prepares input information for the ne$t team. he second team performs seismic analysis typically by using finite element method. Leak Before Break Evaluation of Major High Energy Pipelines 4eneral Design )riteria 7 (4D)67) of Appendi$ A to -8 ),R 'art 98 allo(s the use of analyses revie(ed and approved by the commission to eliminate from the design basis the dynamic effects of the pipe ruptures postulated in the standard revie( plan :ref to N&R#46 8;88<. =hen an applicant re+uests to eliminate dynamic effects of a pipe rupture from the design basis of a nuclear po(er plant! the division head arranges a team of fracture mechanic e$perts to perform individual evaluation of lea% before brea% applicability to the re+uested pipeline. he team performs lea% before brea% analysis on the pipeline by aid of SIA' (Structural Integrity Assessment 'rogram) code developed and verified by the NNSD e$perts. he division head reports results of evaluation to safety assessment division for appropriate actions. (.&. Development of "ngineering Soft-are Another duty of the research and development group of SD is to develop engineering soft(are re+uired to increase accuracy and simplify (for the staffs) the documents assessment. o accomplish the delegate duty! the research and development division has developed engineering soft(are for fracture analysis of fla(ed structures. he SIA' (Structural Integrity Assessment 'rogram) program is developed in cooperation (ith Amir%abir &niversity of echnology. he program uses AS5# >I! and R? *ption - to evaluate ma$imum allo(able fla( in a structure. In addition! t(o important modules for fatigue and stress corrosion crac%ing life estimations are available in the program. (.'. .ooperation -ith Research nstitutes and /niversities In order to use state6of6the6art %no(ledge in assessment of nuclear facilities! this division has different cooperation (ith research institutes and universities. Some the achieved results regarding this cooperation are as follo(s. (a) (b) (c) (d) Development of SIA' soft(are Survey on lea% before brea% analysis methods Survey on ris% based inspection methods in nuclear po(er plants )omparison bet(een (estern and Russian codes regarding fracture mechanics analysis of nuclear po(er plants

0. .onclusions echnical support division of NNSD as a part of the regulatory body performs his duties for improving safety and supporting the other division. It has a significant role in 0icensing@Regulatory process of nuclear facilities in Iran. his division helps to nuclear safety assessment division for proving the accuracy of submitted information by nuclear facilities applicant in licensing documents. It also helps to other divisions by development and implementation of training program for NNSD staff and as results preparing +ualified e$perts in all area of regulatory functions.