Severe Accident Management Guideline Development Toolkit (SAMG-D)

Nuclear power plant safety systems are designed to mitigate a range of abnormal operating conditions. In the unlikely case of a severe accident, plant operators use guidelines developed specifically for the purpose.

In connection with the implementation of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, the IAEA developed a training resource called the Severe Accident Management Guideline Development (SAMG-D) toolkit and offers training to its Member States.

The SAMG-D toolkit provides a description of basic elements of SAMG development in nuclear power plants. It includes a text, a set of links to IAEA Safety Standards and supporting documents as well as to references from the literature. It consists of four Modules:

• Module 1: Fundamentals of Reactor Safety;
• Module 2: Severe Accident Challenges and Mitigation Strategies;
• Module 3: Severe Accident Management Guidelines;
• Module 4: Implementation, Requirements and Infrastructure.

Module 1 presents the fundamentals of nuclear safety, introducing basic concepts such as the fundamental safety principles, defence in depth and safety functions. It also provides an overview of IAEA Safety Standards with a focus on Safety Standards for the design and operation of nuclear power plants, in particular the most recent standards revised after the Fukushima-Daiichi accident. It also presents the basic principles of accident management, introducing the role of procedures and guidelines to mitigate the consequences of incidents and accidents.

Module 2 describes the complex physical and radiological phenomena associated with severe accidents including phenomena which can also be expected in the case of a loss of coolant in the spent fuel pool. It identifies potentially available strategies to mitigate the consequences of threats that can challenge fission product barriers and lead to releases of radioactivity to the environment. It identifies the hardware desired or needed and describes the main principles of how strategies are to be developed into procedures and guidelines. Finally, the potential consequences of radioactive releases from unmitigated or partially mitigated severe accidents are described.

Module 3 describes the way the strategies are developed into plant specific guidelines, to most effectively manage an accidental scenario. The guidelines should be written in a user-friendly way and should be in line with other plant procedures and guidelines.

Module 4 provides information on the development of SAMG as well as organisational implementation. It includes a description of transition from prevention to mitigation, of support organisations, such as the technical support centre, plant specific verification and validation, drills and exercises, and updating of SAMG.

Download the SAMG-D toolkit.