Planning
Safety Assessment in the Planning Stage
In the planning stage of a nuclear facility, the focus of the TÜV NORD Nuclear services is on specific issues in safety assessment.
In the planning stage, no actions directly coupled to detail design, safety analysis or licensing processes are initiated. In-stead, preparatory investigations aiming at clarifying certain technical issues or removing basic concerns beforehand are performed. TÜV NORD Nuclear provides services in this area as described in more detail below.
Concept studies
The objective of concept studies is e.g. to analyse on conceptual level whether the design of a specific nuclear facility would comply with the applicable safety requirements. The level of the technical information in concept studies would usually be based on conceptual design. This reflects the purpose of such studies which would be to demonstrate basi-cally that the project under consideration would be licensable. Furthermore, concept studies could be used to identify technical issues requiring specific attention in the further course, either in preparation of the project or as a supporting measure during the ensuing design, safety analysis or licensing processes.
Feasibility studies
Feasibility studies serve to identify the potential of a specific nuclear facility to be realised or not. They are performed to justify a "go-or-no-go" decision with respect to a specific project. In compliance with the objective of feasibility studies, the level of technical information might even be below that of a conceptual study.
Key licensing issues
In the aforementioned concept and feasibility studies, issues of specific significance for the ensuing licensing process could be identified and subject to further detailed investigations. These so-called key licensing issues are typical for no-vel plant designs, e.g. for first-of-a-kind plants, and should be resolved before the actual licensing process is initiated. As a minimum, the way forward should be undisputable. Otherwise, licensing and the implementation of the licensed scope in the further scope of product realisation would become unnecessarily complex and complicated.
In compliance with the fact that a licence is not granted in the planning stage, the safety assessment services in this planning stage are not pre-licence activities. Accordingly, reviews and inspections to be understood as post-licence ac-tivities are not performed in the planning stage.
