CANDU 9: The CANDU Product to Meet Customer and Regulator Requirements Now and in the Future

Abstract

CANDU reactors developed under Canadian licensing regulations that placed the primary responsibility for safety on the licensee. The Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB),Canada's nuclear regulatory agency, state in their regulations what is expected in terms of safety performance so that designers are free to propose the best means of meeting this performance. This goal-oriented approach, besides encouraging innovation, allowed CANDU to be licensed in other jurisdictions. The latest design the large, single unit, CANDU 9 explicitly incorporates licensability in Canada through a formal AECB review of the design; lessons learned from licensing CANDU 6 in Asian countries, particularly with Wolsong 2, 3 and 4 in Korea, and more recently with Qinshan in China; utility requirements for modern evolutionary plants; and emerging international standards for safety, sponsored or issued by the IAEA. By combining the assurance of acceptability in Canada with compliance with foreign and international requirements, CANDU 9becomes an internationally licensable product.