BWRX-300 meets Polish safety requirements, says regulator

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology is compliant with Polish nuclear safety and radiological protection standards, the president of the National Atomic Energy Agency (Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki, PAA) said in a general opinion.

Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) - a joint venture between chemical producers Synthos Green Energy (SGE) and PKN Orlen - submitted an application to the PAA in July 2022 for an assessment of the BWRX-300.

According to the PAA, a general opinion, "as a pre-licence instrument, may apply to any solutions planned by the investor, including design, technological and organisational solutions, which will have a direct impact on the issues of nuclear safety and radiological protection". The opinion aims to determine whether the planned organisational and technical solutions comply with the requirements of nuclear safety and radiological protection resulting from the provisions of the country's Atomic Law Act, or whether the investor should make appropriate modifications.

As part of the works on the opinion, the PAA analysed such aspects of the BWRX-300 technology as hazard identification and reactor protection against internal and external hazards, requirements for the reactor control room, safety containment systems and classification of safety systems, reactor core design requirements and electrical systems. Solutions for control and measurement apparatus, waste and nuclear fuel management systems were also analysed. In total, OSGE submitted documentation covering 13 areas of the BWRX-300 technology.

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