Third Construction Experience Synthesis Report

NEA/CNRA/R(2021)1
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This report analyses 36 events that regulators have observed during the construction of new nuclear power reactors, from siting to licensing and oversight. The database is part of the Contruction Experience (ConEx) programme, which was established in 2007 by the Working Group on the Regulation of New Reactors (WGRNR) of NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). The aim is to find common themes among the events and to disseminate the identified lessons learnt. Based on the analysis, recommendations for regulatory oversight programmes and for the ConEx programme were formulated.

The events included all those submitted to the ConEx database but not included in any previous ConEx summary reports. The earliest described events occurred in 1996 and the latest in 2017.

There were events from nine participating countries. Most of the events were related to mechanical components. The most common causes of events were those related to human performance and direct causes. The lessons from the events that the regulators identified were varied and could have been more precise. However, the most common theme observed was inadqueate licensee oversight.