Optimization of research reactor availability and reliability: recommended practices

For a select (and growing) population of research reactor organizations, an unplanned, forced, or otherwise inadvertent reactor shutdown or power reduction is a significant event — so significant that these organizations are willing to proactively invest resources to reduce these occurrences to a minimum. This report focuses on operation and maintenance programmes and best practices that have led to demonstrated performance improvements. The effort to develop the material relied on inputs from representatives of operating organizations with heavily utilized research reactors involved in activities that are highly sensitive to inadvertent automatic shutdowns, reductions in power, forced outages or unplanned outage extensions. The content of this report reflects efforts to achieve operational excellence. The relevance and importance of related safety and security programmes were repeatedly emphasized throughout the development of this report. The unanimous agreement from all involved is that fully developed and well implemented safety and security programmes, with all the relevant attributes including a well established safety culture and integral management system, among others, are an absolute prerequisite to optimize availability and reliability. Details about such programmes may be found in specifically referenced documents, as well as general references included in a bibliography. Other than these references, it is not the objective of this report to provide any recommendations, guidelines or practices aimed solely at improving facility safety. This report was developed over the course of two meetings in September 2006 and April 2007. Participants included operation and maintenance managers representing heavily utilized facilities with demonstrated operation and maintenance performance excellence. In these meetings a general outline was developed and then expanded to cover a range of programmes and activities that the participants identified as significant to availability and reliability. The IAEA wishes to thank all meeting participants and contributors. Furthermore, the IAEA wishes to express its gratitude to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited for hosting the second meeting on this topic. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was E. Bradley of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management. STI/PUB/1338 - 978-92-0-105208-7