Review of the regulatory periodic inspection system from the viewpoint of defense-in-depth in nuclear safety

Abstract

The regulatory periodic safety inspection system is one of the most important methods for confirming the safety of nuclear power plants and the defense in depth in nuclear safety is the most important basic means for accident prevention and mitigation. Recently, a new regulatory technology based on risk-informed and safety performance has been developed and used in advanced countries. However, since the domestic periodic inspection system is being used in the same way over 30 years, it is necessary to know how the inspection contributes to the safety confirmation of the nuclear power plants. In this study, the domestic periodic inspection system currently in use was analyzed from the perspective of defense in depth in nuclear safety. In addition, the analysis results were compared to the U.S. NRC's safety inspection system to obtain consistency and lessons in this study. As a result of analysis, the NRC's safety inspections were distributed almost evenly at the all levels of defense in depth, while in the case of domestic inspection, they were heavily focused on the level 1 of defense in depth. Therefore, it appeared urgent to improve the inspection system to strengthen the other levels of defense in depth in nuclear safety. Keywords: Periodic inspection, Regulatory inspection, Safety inspection, Defense in depth, Risk-informed regulation, Inspection items