- Author
- Ruger, C. | Boccio, J. L. | Azarm, M. A.
- Title
- Evaluation of Current Methodology Employed in Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of Fire Events at Nuclear Power Plants.
- Coporate
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY
- Sponsor
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
- Report
- NUREG/CR-4229, May 1985, 44 p.
- Contract
- NRC FIN A3710
- Keywords
- fire hazards | fire models | nuclear power plants | risk assessment
- Abstract
- This report presents a general evaluation of the current methodology used by industry for the probabilistic assessment of fire events in nuclear power plants. The basis for this evaluation, in which the strengths and weaknesses of the methods are identified, stem from reviews of several, industry-sponsored, full-scope Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs) and various deterministic/probabilistic approaches used by industry to judge their compliance with or used to seek exemptions from the fire-protection requirements enumerated in Appendix R to 10 CFR 50. In performing this evaluation of the current methodologies, state-of-the-art literature on the modeling of fire propagation/detection/suppression, input parameters, and modeling uncertainties are utilied. Areas are identified where recently-developed, more accurate and complete techniques can be implemented to reduce the state-of-knowledge uncertainties that presently exist. Recommendations also are made which could be the basis for a more suitable and complete fire-risk methodology.