Four companies in the U.S. provide nuclear fuel fabrication services: Framatome Cogema Fuels in Lynchburg, Va.; Global Nuclear Fuel in Wilmington, N.C.; Siemens Power Corp. in Richland, Wash.; and Westinghouse Electric in Columbia, S.C., and Hematite, Mo.
New Nuclear Reactor Design Approved: AP600 The Westinghouse AP600 has received final design approval from the United States Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) following over six years of review, which included over 380 technical meetings and over 7400 requests for additional information. The AP600 has received the most thorough review ever performed by the NRC. In March 2002, Westinghouse submitted an application to the NRC for design certification of the AP1000, a 1,000 megawatt reactor based on the design of the smaller AP600. The AP600 design objective, of providing a greatly simplified plant that meets the NRC regulatory requirements using technology that is sufficiently proven that neither a plant prototype nor a demonstration plant was required, has been achieved. We need to start building and testing new nuclear facilities, such as the AP1000, Pebble Bed Modular Reactors and Integral Fast Reactors. The AP600 reactor vessel has incorporated improvements over its predecessors, including ring forgings to eliminate vertical weld seams, location of circumferential welds outside high neutron flux beltline region, and control of chemical composition of vessel material to reduce irradiation damage. The AP600 fuel design is based on standard 17 x 17 optimized fuel technology currently being used in approximately 120 operating plants worldwide. Criticism: The AP600 is designed with a single containment. Conventional reactors are constructed with double containments, a steal and a concrete one. The AP600 has only one containment to provide maximum heat transport to outside air. Besides, above the building a watertank with 1,300 cubic meters is located to spray the iron containment to cool it down. This water would be enough to cool the containment for three days. A 1991 study on new generations for the Dutch government concluded that the AP600 would not meet Dutch safety regulations. The construction with a single containment would not provide protection to possible accidents from outside like an airplane crash, an explosion, etc.
System 80+: New NRC-Approved Reactor Design In the late 1990s, the NRC provided design certifications for three reactor designs that can be referenced in an application for a nuclear power plant application. These are: - Advanced Boiling Water Reactor design by GE Nuclear Energy (May 1997);
- System 80+ design by Westinghouse (formerly ABB-Combustion Engineering) (May 1997); and
- AP600 design by Westinghouse (December 1999).
The System 80+ is a 1300 Mwe advanced pressurized water reactor. Like previous ABB-CE reactors, the System 80+ reactor coolant system has a two loop configuration, a major feature that has distinguished CE designed units. Like other ALWRs, improved safety performance and operability are achieved, owing to sophisticated design features. Another interesting feature of System 80+ is that it can run with Plutonium fuel, which could be a very useful mean to dispose the Weapon Graded Plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads The System 80+ standard Safety Analysis Report, SAR, called CES-SAR-DC, is complete and includes 18 volumes. In late 1991, the NRC completed its initial reviews, formally issuring over 1500 questions, all of which have been answered. The System 80+ is expected to receive a Final Design Certification by 1995. According to ABB-CE, the proven viability of System 80+ is significantly enhanced by the fact that four advanced System 80 nuclear steam supply systems are now under construction at Yonggwang and Ulchin in the Republic of Korea. Some of the System 80+ design features are included in these plants, scheduled to start commercial operation between March 1995 and June 1999. With over $50 million and 1 milliton engineering hours already invested in developement and design certification of System 80+, ABB-CE is preparing to embark on the next phase, first of a-kind engineering. 
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