EVOLUTION OF CANADIAN RELIABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN A RISK-INFORMED ENVIRONMENT

摘要

This paper will discuss the evolution of design, safety and reliability requirements in Canada over the last fifty years. Specifically, we will discuss the recent advancement of reliability requirements in light of the progress in probabilistic safety analysis. The role of Safety Goals within the past and current regulatory framework will be discussed. The development of the Canadian nuclear power safety philosophy is traced from its early roots in the 1960s to the current development of more modern requirements in the risk and reliability area. The paper will link the traditional single and dual failure criteria for safety analysis which led to the reliability requirements for special safety systems, with the modern advances in probabilistic safety assessments that are contributing to the current reliability requirements. Within the last few years, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (the nuclear regulator) has developed a new reliability program regulatory guide whereby the program would not only encompass the four traditional special safety systems, but a more comprehensive list of systems that are deemed important due to their contribution to safety as determined by the probabilistic safety analysis. Some details of the implementation of this new regulatory guide will be discussed.