Draft Details

The CSA N291 standard provides requirements for nuclear safety related structures. The scope of the standard has somewhat evolved as described below.

The first edition (2008) of the standard included within its scope the structures and components of CANDU NPPs that support, house or protect nuclear safety systems and are required for the safe operation and shutdown of the reactor. The scope has also included the facilities for the storage of irradiated fuel and other radioactive waste material. The intent of this was to be broad and all encompassing, and to allow for the operating organization to determine the applicability of the standard to their structure, as agreed by the AHJ. 

Clarification of the scope with regards to radioactive waste storage structures was provided in the second edition (2015) to ensure that the users understood that the standard applies to the storage of wet and dry irradiated fuel. The scope statement in the second edition clarified that the storage of other radioactive waste was to be included for facilities as agreed by the AHJ.

In the third edition (2019), the requirement of ‘dry irradiated fuel’ was refined from a generic inclusion, to include those that are required as agreed with the AHJ. Dry irradiated fuel was moved to item e) and included with other radioactive waste material. The use of “as agreed by with the AHJ” means that the AHJ and the operating organization can agree to use other standards besides CSA N291 for the structures listed in item e). Notes were added to clarify that not all elements of the structures described in item e) are considered safety-related, and to provide additional guidance on the storage of other radioactive waste with reference to CSA N292 with respect to “high-level” waste.

In the 2019 edition, the scope of the standard has been broadened to apply to any nuclear safety-related structures not only those within NPPs.