The economic pressures of electricity market competition have led nuclear power plant operators to seek ways to increase electricity production and to reduce operating costs at their plants. Corresponding pressures on the regulatory bodies include operator demande to reduce regulatory burdens perceived as unnecessary and general resistance to consider safety backfits sought by the regulator.
The purpose of this report is to describe potential situations giving rise to safety backfit questions and to discuss regulatory approaches for judging the backfits.
The intented audience for this report is primarily nuclear regulators, although the information and ideas may also be of interest to nuclear operating organisations, other industry organisations and the general public.