Nuclear power plant environment management

When building and running a nuclear power plant, you need to consider the environment that surrounds the facility. Your operations should not only protect the surrounding area but also ensure that local geography and potential natural disasters do not interfere with the running of the plant. TÜV SÜD experts can perform natural hazard risks and radiation impact assessments to ensure that your plant is safe and reliable.

All construction work on nuclear facilities must be based on stable, safe foundations. This means you need to carefully calculate load-bearing capacity, stability, and groundwater conditions. You need to ensure robust and secure surface buildings and structures, as well as underground tunnelling and services.

In addition, earthquakes and other seismic events pose particular challenges when planning and building a nuclear power plant. An estimated 20% of nuclear power plants worldwide are located in areas of significant seismic activity. To meet the highest safety and quality standards, nuclear power plants must be designed to withstand once-in-a-lifetime earthquake magnitudes in seismic active areas.

Furthermore, constructing a reactor on hard rock foundations may result in a shift in the frequency band for vibrations. This necessitates site-specific seismic hazard analysis to ensure that the plants are located on the most secure foundations.

TÜV SÜD is an expert partner in nuclear power plant environment management. You will benefit from a single source of knowledge and support with years of experience gained from successful projects worldwide.

TÜV SÜD experts are highly qualified in performing site-specific deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analyses and in soil dynamic calculations to assess site response and establish the plant design parameter envelope.

Through our international activities and participation in regulatory working groups and committees (e. g. IAEA, ISO, CEN) and research activities, we transfer state-of-the-art methods into practical application that support you meet national and international requirements.

We provide advisory services to navigate the regulatory landscape and support you to obtain the site license required to initiate construction of nuclear facilities. We assist in preparing and reviewing critical licensing documents, including Safety Assessment Reports and Environmental Impact Assessments, ensuring that they are comprehensive and aligned with regulatory expectations.

TÜV SÜD has deep knowledge and long-term experience in evaluating external hazards. When we evaluate sites, we adequately consider site-specific hazards and safety-related site characteristics. This includes assessing seismic activity and geological stability, flooding risks and extreme weather events, potential for external human-induced hazards, and radiological impact on the environment and the public.

This helps derive appropriate site-specific design parameters, which is the foundation for designing a nuclear power plant that can withstand potential external hazards and ensure long-term safety and operational reliability.

Here is more detailed information about our services.

• Seismic hazard analysis and design

As seismic risks remain a critical consideration for nuclear facilities worldwide, we provide state-of-the-art assessments to ensure plant safety and regulatory compliance. Our vast experience includes deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard assessments for nuclear power plants.

We perform detailed probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHA) using the latest data, models, and methodologies. Our experts participate in Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) processes that integrate diverse expert opinions.

Based on site-specific hazard assessments, we help develop seismic design criteria and ground motion response spectra for nuclear plant structures, systems, and components. We conduct soil-structure interaction analyses and evaluate potential amplification effects.

• Geo-hazard assessments

Geo-hazard assessments are a fundamental aspect of the siting process for a nuclear power plant. They include a range of natural events such as earthquakes, landslides, flooding, and volcanic activity, all of which can pose significant risks to the structural stability and operational safety of a nuclear power plant. Conducting thorough geo-hazard assessments helps identify potential risks and evaluate their impact on the proposed site. This is crucial for designing resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding these natural events.

TÜV SÜD geotechnical engineering services can also create 2D and 3D modelling to establish a complete picture of the stability, safety, deformation, and settlement of geotechnical structures. These include caverns, dams (earth, rockfill, concrete), embankments, excavation pits, foundations (deep and shallow), hydraulic fills, landfills, retaining walls, shafts, tailing dams and tunnels.

• Radiological impact analysis

We assess potential radiological impacts on the environment and public to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and environmental protection. We perform detailed analyses of radioactive effluents released from nuclear power plants. This includes modelling the dispersion of radionuclides in the environment and calculating radiation doses that reach members of the public. These assessments are crucial to demonstrate the minimal impact of nuclear facilities during normal operations and maintain public trust.

• Climate change impact assessment

We provide climate change impact assessment advisory services tailored specifically for the nuclear energy sector. We help nuclear facilities anticipate, adapt to, and mitigate the impacts of climate change, ensuring uninterrupted and safe operation.

• Thermal stress and cooling efficiency

We assess nuclear plant cooling systems to determine their effectiveness and resilience to higher ambient and water temperatures. This process includes evaluating cooling tower performance under elevated temperature scenarios, and the impacts of thermal discharge as water body temperatures increase. We analyse regulatory compliance for discharge temperature limits and advise on operational adjustments or infrastructure modifications.

• Sea level rise and flooding

As climate change causes increased flooding risks, nuclear facilities should adapt and ensure their resilience. We assess the risk to coastal and riverside plants from sea level rise, storm surges, and flooding events. We conduct multiple flood hazard assessments to determine potential inundation scenarios and evaluate the vulnerability of plant infrastructure. Our experts consider the cascade or compound effects that increase the risk of damages. We advise on how to implement flood defence measures that maintain operational integrity and safety.

• Extreme weather events

Our services help nuclear power plants prepare for extreme weather events such as tornadoes and hurricanes, which are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change. We assess the resilience of nuclear facilities to withstand high winds, heavy rainfall, and other extreme weather conditions. We conduct risk assessments and advise on how to implement measures to enhance resilience.

• Water availability

As climate change impacts rain patterns and water resources, nuclear facilities should adapt to potential water scarcity. Our advisory services assess the impact of changing water availability on nuclear power plants. We evaluate the availability and reliability of water sources used for cooling and other operational needs. We conduct hydrological assessments to understand long-term trends in water availability, identify potential risks to plant operations, and recommend alternative water sources and cooling systems.