Plant and Test Site Safety

As with laboratory operations, basic safety considerations in low-temperature plants and test sites are similar to those in many chemicalprocessing plants. For example, many of the items considered by Kintz and Hill in their study of safety at gas-processing plants are also applicable to cryogenic facilities. Many of these are also discussed by Armistead, Liston, and Cost." They are considered here under six categories—design concepts, maintenance, normal and emergency operations, personnel protection, and plant and test site protection. 

Since installation may be continuing in some areas of plant while others are being tested and commissioned, site safety is given detailed consideration for example, component suppliers and subcontractors are carefully controlled during this phase since areas can change classification during the course of construction and commissioning. 

Site-assemhled plant will he pressure tested for safety and leakage after erection (see Section 11.11). 

The SAR is divided into two parts (called tiers) Tier 1 document is derived from the more-detailed Tier 2 document— high-level information on the plant design, characteristics and safety functions, and significant site parameters. It includes inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria to provide reasonable assurance that the as-built plant will operate in conformance wifh the combined license, the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and applicable USNRC regulations. Tier 2 document gives detailed information on the plant design analysis. 

Transients which affect multiple units at a plant site create unusual challenges for both systems and operations personnel. In particular, when the units are lost as a result of electrical disturbances, many safety and non safety systems are adversely affected and create particularly challenging scenarios which are not always foreseen by analyses and tests. 

The Westinghouse APIOOO design employs construction methods and a plant layout that are conducive to safe operations during construction. Much ofthe design is modular which allows the build and test of sub assemblies to be undertaken in a factory environment. The size of the plant and the number of components is also significantly less than previous generations of PWRs. These approaches reduce site construction work and the risks from those activities. Modular constmction in a factory environment also has a positive effect on product quality, which improves safety and facilitates reduced maintenance requirements during the operation of the plant. 

The amount of geotechnical investigations to be performed should be based on the extent of potential problems, the available data and the type and size of the facility. For a more comprehensive treatment of the subject the reader is referred to NUSS Safety Series No. 50-SG-Sl "Earthquakes and Associated Topics in Relation to Nuclear Power Plant Siting" [5] Safety Series No. 50-SG-S2 "Seismic Analysis and Testing of Nuclear Power Plants [6] and Safety Series No. 50-SG-S8 "Safety Aspects of the Foundations of Nuclear Power Plants" (7J. 

Proper safety testing and classification of pyrotechnic energetic capacity will allow the selection of appropriate, remotely operated, cormerciaily available equipment. This equipment can be installed in less costly structures and plant sites for the manufacture of pyrotechnic materials in a safe and economical manner. 

Before any SLS equipment of substantial size is finally selected, it is essential to use the results of pilot plant tests for guidance. Although many vendors are in a position to do such work, pilot equipment should be used at the plant site where the slurry is made. Because slurries often are unstable, tests on shipments of slurry to the vendors pilot plant may give misleading results. It may be possible to condition a test slurry to have a maximum possible resistivity, but a plant design based on such data will have an unknown safety factor and may prove uneconomical. 

---