EPRI CORE PROTECTION NANTEL FINAL
SCRIPT PAPER 2026 VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
FULL CONTENT
◉ How is the primary safety concern for nuclear power plant
operations achieved?
Answer: Employing fission product barriers and engineered safety
features.
◉ Identify ways a core can fail
Answer: Any loss of core geometry, particularly into a configuration
where cooling becomes impractical, is considered a core failure
◉ List three ways that the core has an inability to fully remove the
heat created by the fuel
Answer: 1. A failure of the heat removal systems
2. An increase of heat created beyond the ability of the heat removal
systems
3. The inability to transfer heat from the fuel
◉ What are the three fission product barriers?
,Answer: 1. fuel pellet and cladding
2. Reactor Coolant System (RCS) pressure boundary
3. Containment
◉ Prevents the escape of fission products from cladding
Answer: Fuel pellet and cladding (first fission product barrier)
◉ Contains the radionuclides that escaped the cladding or were
produced outside the cladding
Answer: RCS pressure boundary (second fission product barrier)
◉ Holds radionuclides that have escaped from the RCS
Answer: Containment (third fission product barrier)
◉ The defense-in-depth policy states that a utility should:
Answer: 1. Design to prevent the occurrence of nuclear accidents
2. Assume that accidents will occur
3. Provide proven capability to meet the range of worst-case
accidents
◉ Defined as hypothesized events that affect one or more of the
radioactive material barriers and that are not expected during plant
operations
, Answer: Accidents
◉ What are two accident types that are considered?
Answer: 1. Mechanical failure of a single component leading to the
release of radioactive material from one or more barriers
2. Arbitrary rupture of any single pipe up to and including complete
severance of the largest pipe in the nuclear system process barrier
◉ By definition, what is typically a worst-case accident of interest
Answer: Design Basis Accident (DBA)
◉ When designing a plant, the philosophy documented in the FSAR
contains several layers. Which of the following assumptions are used
to ensure core protection?
Answer: a. The plant is operating in a given band via proper control
b. The plant is assumed to be in steady state prior to the transient
c. The plant is being operated within Technical Specifications
◉ A design basis accident is typically a worst-case accident of
interest.... T/F
Answer: True
- It is the specification to which a plant is designed
SCRIPT PAPER 2026 VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
FULL CONTENT
◉ How is the primary safety concern for nuclear power plant
operations achieved?
Answer: Employing fission product barriers and engineered safety
features.
◉ Identify ways a core can fail
Answer: Any loss of core geometry, particularly into a configuration
where cooling becomes impractical, is considered a core failure
◉ List three ways that the core has an inability to fully remove the
heat created by the fuel
Answer: 1. A failure of the heat removal systems
2. An increase of heat created beyond the ability of the heat removal
systems
3. The inability to transfer heat from the fuel
◉ What are the three fission product barriers?
,Answer: 1. fuel pellet and cladding
2. Reactor Coolant System (RCS) pressure boundary
3. Containment
◉ Prevents the escape of fission products from cladding
Answer: Fuel pellet and cladding (first fission product barrier)
◉ Contains the radionuclides that escaped the cladding or were
produced outside the cladding
Answer: RCS pressure boundary (second fission product barrier)
◉ Holds radionuclides that have escaped from the RCS
Answer: Containment (third fission product barrier)
◉ The defense-in-depth policy states that a utility should:
Answer: 1. Design to prevent the occurrence of nuclear accidents
2. Assume that accidents will occur
3. Provide proven capability to meet the range of worst-case
accidents
◉ Defined as hypothesized events that affect one or more of the
radioactive material barriers and that are not expected during plant
operations
, Answer: Accidents
◉ What are two accident types that are considered?
Answer: 1. Mechanical failure of a single component leading to the
release of radioactive material from one or more barriers
2. Arbitrary rupture of any single pipe up to and including complete
severance of the largest pipe in the nuclear system process barrier
◉ By definition, what is typically a worst-case accident of interest
Answer: Design Basis Accident (DBA)
◉ When designing a plant, the philosophy documented in the FSAR
contains several layers. Which of the following assumptions are used
to ensure core protection?
Answer: a. The plant is operating in a given band via proper control
b. The plant is assumed to be in steady state prior to the transient
c. The plant is being operated within Technical Specifications
◉ A design basis accident is typically a worst-case accident of
interest.... T/F
Answer: True
- It is the specification to which a plant is designed
