NEA discusses characterisation of local intense precipitation for the protection of nuclear installations

LIP event

Participants of the NEA Workshop on Local Intense Precipitation and its Impact on Nuclear Installations, held in Toronto, Canada on 18-20 September 2024.

The concept of local intense precipitation (LIP) has been widely used in flood risk assessment for nuclear installations, but it is not well defined in the literature. To characterise LIP for nuclear installations, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is seeking to bring together key information and the best available technical approaches and methods.

In collaboration with the Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the NEA organised an international workshop to discuss LIP and its impacts on nuclear installations. The workshop was held in Toronto, Canada from 18-20 September 2024 and brought together about 50 participants from 10 countries.

Dr John Perdikaris, Chair for the workshop and Senior Hydrotechnical Engineer of OPG, led a discussion among a diverse group of engineers, scientists and experts, from both within and outside the nuclear sector, on key issues and knowledge gaps in tackling the LIP impact on nuclear installations. Five interactive sessions and specially organised panel discussions provided participants with the opportunity to engage with the speakers.

Another session discussed historical trends in extreme precipitation and estimating methods. Design storms, probabilistic flood hazard assessment and potential LIP effects on nuclear power plants were explored. The following sessions focused on protection and mitigation procedures and strategies, as well as current regulatory approaches and insights for LIP at nuclear installations. The final session focused on climate change issues related to LIP phenomena and the use of climate change models. The panel discussions helped to identify potential improvements in the assessment and characterisation of LIP for flood hazard assessment for nuclear installations.

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On the last day of the workshop, Dr Perdikaris noted that many of the presentations covered topics related to the characterisation of LIP events and their impacts on nuclear installations. “What is required,” he said, “is a broader scope and understanding of LIP events beyond the nuclear power plant site and the community and river basin as a whole. The interconnectedness of the nuclear power plants to the river basins they reside on and the communities they serve is as equally important as the protection of the nuclear power plants themselves.”

The workshop was organised by the NEA Working Group on External Events (WGEV), which works to improve the understanding and treatment of external hazards to support the continued safety performance of nuclear installations and improve the effectiveness of regulatory practices in NEA member countries. The NEA will publish the workshop proceedings, including final conclusions and recommendations for follow-up activities.

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