The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nation's nuclear power regulator, said it had conducted the agency's first seismic safety review assessing a new nuclear power design in October, starting the initiative with a mid-sized pressurized water reactor ATMEA1 in Japan.
“A team of five experts of the Site External Events and Design review mission in Kobe assessed the technical methodologies that underpin the seismic design of the mid-sized pressurized water reactor ATMEA1 against IAEA Safety Standards,” the agency said. The review concluded that the ATMEA1 seismic design methodologies was in line with the international agency's Safety Standards.
The team reviewed and identified “the use of comprehensive experimental databases,” and identified what it referred to as “good practices.”
Greg Rzentkowski, director of the IAEA Nuclear Installations Safety Division, said the ATMEA1 “incorporates many proven technology approches and methodologies to establish a seismically robust reactor design.”
“This is the first peer review focusing specifically on seismic safety for a new reactor design,” he said. “This type of review may be beneficial for the IAEA Member States … in achieving high-level of seismic safety.”
Of note, the review was specifically requested by ATMEA with the review held on parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited premises in Kobe, Japan. ATMEA is a jointly held company also owned by French nuclear power concern AREVA.