International Conference on Small Modular Reactors and their Applications

A Study on the Physical Protection Regulatory Approach to SMR differentiated from Commercial NPP

Not scheduled

20m

Vienna

Poster Track 11: Security of SMR: Physical Protection and Computer Security

Speakers

Mr DongHyuk Lim (KINAC) Sundo Choi (KINAC)

Description

SMR research and development are actively underway around the world, and domestic research and development such as i-SMR, SMART and BANDI-60 are also underway in ROK.
SMR can be built on various environmental sites such as urban suburbs, seas, and extreme environmental areas depending on the purpose of use, and uses less land than commercial nuclear power plants and is likely to be distributed and constructed in several places where it is needed. Therefore, it may be exposed to a new threat environment that was not considered in commercial nuclear power plants depending on the environment around the site, and responding personnel such as soldiers and guards are also distributed by site as much as the distributed site, and the ability to respond in the event of a threat situation may be weakened.
SMR design concepts such as remote construction, EPZ reduction, operator reduction, remote monitoring, and remote operating, which are being considered for the flexible operation of SMR, can provide new opportunities for malicious terrorists. Therefore, it is necessary to apply new protection measures suitable for SMR design characteristics by supplementing the physical protection measures applied to existing commercial nuclear power plants.
The NSSC, nuclear security regulatory authority in ROK, issued the Design Guidelines for SMR in 2023, which include "Necessary factors should be considered to ensure nuclear security, nuclear proliferation resistance and improve safety through the design of an integrated method between safety, security and safeguards." In addition, KINAC, a regulatory technical support organization, has been conducting research on the development since 2022 to establish new nuclear security regulatory requirements for SMR.
Therefore, this study analyzes the difference in design characteristics between commercial nuclear power plants and SMR, evaluates problems when applying existing protection requirements to SMR, and presents specialized physical protection requirements for SMR.