Assessment of NPP Operational Events Importance for Operational Experience Feedback by Means of PSA

Lessons learned from Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operational experience have been used for many years to improve the safety of nuclear facilities throughout the world. Recent reviews of the effectiveness of Operational Experience Feedback (OEF) systems have pointed to the need for further improvement, with importance placed on tailoring the information to the needs of the regulators. At a request of a number of nuclear safety regulatory authorities in Europe, the Institute for Energy of the European Commission¿s (EC) Joint Research Centre initiated in 2007 a project on NPP OEF which provides an integrated approach to the research needed to strengthen the Community capabilities for assessment of NPP operational events and promote the development of tools and mechanisms for the improved application of the lessons learnt. Consequently, a European Expert Network on NPP OEF was established including professionals from the JRC, a number of European nuclear safety regulatory authorities, and their Technical Support organizations (TSO). The paper discusses the methods and tools which may be applied for quantitative assessment of importance of NPP operational events reported internationally for an improved use of operational experience. Special emphasis is given on Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) considerations which can enable or facilitate such a task. It debates on the benefits and drawbacks of using PSA informed arguments in a systematic way for the establishing of an event significance ranking system which could be applied globally.

RANGUELOVA Vesselina;  BUCALOSSI Andrea;  HULSMANS Mark; 

2009-01-05

American Nuclear Society

JRC46849