Adherence to standards/regulations concerning the deployment of SMRs

The main regulatory issue that arises in the case of SMRs is the reduction in the size of the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the EPZ is the area where preparations are made to promptly implement urgent protective actions based on environmental monitoring data and the assessment of facility conditions, the goal being to avert doses of radioactive particles specified in international standards. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), two EPZs surround the plant site. The first zone, called a plume exposure pathway, is designed to avoid or reduce the dose from potential exposure of radioactive materials from the plant and is traditionally about 10 miles (16.1 km) in radius for any nuclear plant. The second zone, the ingestion exposure pathway, is designed to reduce or avoid the dose from potential ingestion of food contaminated by radioactive materials and is about 50 miles (80.5 km) in radius for any nuclear plant. Thus, the size and shape of each Emergency Planning Zone are based on various factors, such as the nuclear plant's operating characteristics, the geographical features of the plant site, and the population areas surrounding the plant.

According to IAEA, for reactors with thermal power levels between 100 and 1,000 MWth, an EPZ radius of 5–25 km is preferred to eliminate radiation exposure to the public in the event of an accident. SMR developers and potential operators argue that the improved safety of SMRs is sufficient to lower the size of an EPZ to a radius below 5 km, as SMRs are smaller and safer than conventional nuclear power plants.

The set of potential sites for the deployment of SMRs comes down as the EPZ radius increases. Furthermore, SMRs would have to be constructed closer to population centers to serve applications such as desalinated water or industrial heat sources. A smaller EPZ enlarges the market of potential customers for SMRs. Potential operators of SMRs such as electric utilities are also interested in smaller EPZs, as the size of the zone directly impacts the overall complexity of the emergency plan. Utilities must pay for the various activities associated with the emergency plan to be implemented within the EPZ. These include the installation and maintenance of sirens, coordination with various local and state government offices during drill exercises, and the size of the staff associated with multiple emergency preparedness activities. Because utilities expect the facility's profits to be lower for an SMR compared with a traditional size nuclear unit, they seek to lower the cost and complexity of managing the emergency plan by reducing the size of the EPZ. The size of the EPZ has long been a source of conflict between the nuclear industry and federal and local governments. Such regulatory environments may hamper the growth of the small modular reactor market.

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Challenges: Lack of standard licensing process

Licensing is a potential challenge associated with SMRs, as design certification, construction, and operation license costs are equivalent to that of large reactors. Current licensing regimes found within established nuclear markets are designed for large nuclear power plants and could challenge the potential deployment of SMRs, as they do not allow for the cost-efficient deployment of SMRs. The site-specific requirements, in particular, may be challenging for the repeat build of identical units based on a reference standard design.

The novel approaches in the conceptual design and deployment of small modular reactors can pose challenges to the existing licensing frameworks. The SMR designs and concepts that are currently being developed are simpler compared with existing large nuclear reactors. The safety of SMRs relies on passive safety systems and inherent safety characteristics of the reactor, such as low power and operating pressure. SMRs are less dependent on electrical safety systems, operational measures, and human intervention than large nuclear reactors. Therefore, the usual licensing approach, based on overlapping safety provisions to compensate for potential mechanical and human failures, may not be appropriate for SMRs, and regulatory bodies should consider new ideas for the licensing of SMRs.

Harmonizing different licensing approaches would likely be a fundamental determinant in the deployment of SMR technologies. The IAEA is establishing a technology-neutral framework for safety to help harmonize international approaches based on existing IAEA safety standards, as SMRs are technologically diverse. Such a technology-neutral framework consists of societal and health objectives, risk targets, and high-level safety principles and requirements, which then can be elaborated in national frameworks to address regulatory and technical elements depending on the specific technology used. According to the World Nuclear Association, there are two main approaches to licensing plants: prescriptive versus goal setting/performance-based. The prescriptive approach sets very detailed regulatory requirements that a nuclear facility and operator must meet to be licensed. The goal-setting approach sets out a safety target, usually in risk terms. In this approach, the licensee must show that the design and operation achieve the set target.

The licensing of SMRs is not likely to be straightforward. Licensing is time-consuming and costly, involving detailed analyses and reviews, especially in countries such as the US and Western Europe. In most countries, current licensing procedures would have to be adapted to fit SMRs. The unique characteristics of SMRs are not documented from a regulatory perspective, even in the case of SMR designs that use light water as the coolant and moderator. Light-water SMRs involve integrating primary system components into the reactor pressure vessel and the use of passive recirculation modes with low coolant flows under operational and accident situations. As regulatory provisions are not available to deal with some of these novel features, several of these design concepts would have to be justified by designers and accepted by regulators before generic licenses are issued and may cause

Source - Small Modular Reactor Market

Published Date: Aug 2022 | Report Code: EP 7975 

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/small-modular-reactor-market-5001546.html 

delays in licensing SMRs.