Issued Design Certification - Advanced Passive 1000 (AP1000)
Project Overview
On March 28, 2002, the NRC staff initiated its formal review of the AP1000 pressurized-water reactor (PWR) design, when Westinghouse Electric Company submitted its application for final design approval (FDA) and standard design certification for the AP1000 design. The staff issued the FDA, along with the "Final Safety Evaluation Report [FSER] Related to Certification of the AP1000 Standard Design"(NUREG-1793), on September 13, 2004. The proposed design certification rule (DCR) was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2005 (70 FR 20062). Subsequently, Westinghouse submitted changes to the AP1000 design information in Revision 15 to the design control document (DCD). The NRC staff evaluated those changes in a supplement to the FSER (NUREG-1793, Supplement 1). The Executive Director for Operations (EDO) transmitted the final DCR to the Commission on December 14, 2005 (SECY-05-0227, "Final Rule - AP1000 Design Certification"). Then, on December 30, 2005, the Commission voted to approve the final DCR for the AP1000 standard plant design, and the Secretary of the Commission signed the final rule on January 23, 2006, after approval of the information collection requirements by the Office of Management and Budget. On January 27, 2006, the NRC issued the AP1000 final DCR in the Federal Register (71 FR 4464). On March 10, 2006, the NRC issued a revised FDA based on Revision 15 of the Westinghouse DCD.
By letter dated May 26, 2007, Westinghouse submitted an application to amend the AP1000 DCR and Revision 16 of the AP1000 DCD.
On September 22, 2008, Westinghouse updated its application to amend the AP1000 DCD. The update, Revision 17, contains changes from those submitted in Revision 16. The changes are summarized in the September 22nd letter. On October 14, 2008, Westinghouse provided a corrected set of the Revision 17 DCD electronic files, to update portions of the Revision change roadmap and include additional change bars in the margins that had inadvertently been omitted in the initial submittal. The linked public version of Revision 17 is to the corrected files.
On December 1, 2010, Westinghouse submitted Revision 18 to the AP1000 DCD.
On June 13, 2011, Westinghouse submitted Revision 19 to the AP1000 DCD.
NRC completed its review of the AP1000 DCD, Revision 19 on August 5, 2011. "NUREG-1793 Supplement 2 to the Final Safety Evaluation Report for Revision 19 to the AP1000 Standard Design Certification," was issued in September 2011. On December 30, 2011, the AP1000 DC Amendment final rule was published in the Federal Register.
By letter dated December 10, 2010, Westinghouse requested that the NRC "retire" the FDA, which was based on the Revision 15 of the Westinghouse DCD.
The AP1000 DC Amendment final rule was published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2011. Based on the certification of the amended AP1000 design, which has superseded the previous AP1000 DCR in 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, the NRC staff agreed that the AP1000 FDA can be "retired" (i.e., withdrawn by the NRC) as Westinghouse has voluntarily requested (see Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession Number ML12202A071).
By letter dated December 2, 2016, Westinghouse requested exemptions that would have extended the validity of the AP1000 DC for an additional 5 years beyond the current expiration date, from February 27, 2021, to February 27, 2026, and allow Westinghouse to submit a DC renewal application between February 27, 2023 and February 27, 2025. In a letter dated February 14, 2018, the NRC subsequently granted the request in part and denied it in part. Under the decision, the time period during which Westinghouse could submit and the staff could accept Westinghouse’s renewal application for the AP1000 DC was deferred by 5 years. The NRC staff denied the exemption requests from 10 CFR 52.55(a) and 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Part VII, "Duration of this Appendix," that would have generically extended the period during which the current AP1000 DC could be referenced by future combined license (COL) applicants. The 15-year duration of a DC established by 10 CFR 52.55(a) and 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Part VII, address when a COL applicant may reference the AP1000 design. These regulations pertain to future COL applicants’ ability to reference the AP1000 design certified by NRC rulemaking, and exemptions from them require consideration of the particular special circumstances of the "interested person" (i.e., the COL applicant), pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 50.12(a).
Applicants or licensees intending to construct and operate a plant based on the AP1000 design should do so by referencing its DCR in lieu of the FDA, as set forth in Appendix D to Title 10, Part 52, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D).
For additional detail, see the following topics on this page:
Safety Evaluation
The NRC issued its final Safety Evaluation Report on August 5, 2011. This report was subsequently published as Supplement 2 to NUREG-1793 in September 2011.
