During U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews of Design Certifications (DC) and Combined License (COL) applications, the NRC staff identified several technical issues related to seismic analysis and structural design of the containment and other seismic Category I structures and foundations. These technical issues resulted in a need of improved technical guidance to facilitate reviews of future DC and COL applications.
NUREG-0800, “Standard Review Plan (SRP)”, Sections 3.7 and 3.8 provide guidance related to the review of seismic analysis and structural design. NUREG-0800 SRP Sections 3.7 and 3.8 have been revised recently in an effort to enhance NRC staff guidance for the review of future DC and COL applications. SRP Sections 3.7 and 3.8 have not been revised since 2007. Recent revisions of these Sections have been completed in 2013, except for SRP 3.7.1, only a “DRAFT” revision was completed in 2013.
The objective of this paper is to briefly describe the important technical issues that presented technical challenges to the applicants during the NRC staff review process of DC and COL applications, and the proposed enhancements to the specific Sections of SRP 3.7 and 3.8. The paper presents complete details of the recent revisions of NUREG-0800 SRP Sections 3.7.1, 3.7.2, 3.7.3, 3.8.1, 3.8.3, 3.8.4, and 3.8.5.