Note: The NRC Commissioners were briefed by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
- Edited by Stephen Heiser -
At our Commission meeting, we discussed the recent activities of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The ACRS has a significant role in the review and resolution of key technical issues. I always find the ACRS views and comments on NRC’s activities -- ranging from significant licensing actions to the development of regulatory guidance documents -- to be extremely helpful in my decision making and education on the many important matters before the Commission.
The ACRS shared with us its views on containment overpressure, Closure of Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC)/ Design Acceptance Criteria (DAC), AP1000 Design certification review and cyber security.
The Commission truly appreciates the important work the Committee performs for the agency and I would like to take a couple of minutes to particularly express the Commission’s appreciation for the work of two of is members.
Mario Bonaca, the current ACRS Chairman, has decided to step down as Chairman to provide the opportunity to other members to serve in this capacity. Mario had previously served as chairman in 2003 and 2004. The Commission appreciates his leadership in handling several complex technical issues, including State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses, the Containment Accident Pressure Issue, and the ITAAC closure process, as well as Design Certification and Combined License Application reviews.
Otto Maynard, who has been with the Committee for four years, will retire in January 2010 to spend more time with his family. During his tenure, he reviewed several significant issues, especially some high-visibility license renewal applications at Indian Point and Oyster Creek. He has also contributed significantly to the review of the US-APWR Design Certification application.
The ACRS continues to provide insightful recommendations to the Commission, which myself and the other Commissioners find very valuable.
A video and transcript of today’s Commission meeting will be available soon on the NRC
Web site at: http://video.nrc.gov/ and http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/tr/ , respectively.