Regulator task force on safety critical software for nuclear reactors

Mission Statement

To co-ordinate and document regulators' and safety authority experts' technical viewpoints on the use of safety critical software for nuclear reactors, both existing and new build (membership is not restricted to regulators involved in new build).

25 years of history has resulted in extensive detailed guidance.

The task force originated from an EC project, which historically brought a European perspective. Since then membership has widened to include Canada, China and Republic of Korea, as well as input from the USA.

The main activities of the task force are to

• maintain and update a consensus document based on emerging experience, expertise and practice, providing a public record of agreed regulatory expectations
• progress consensus on emerging technologies, eg FPGAs, smart instruments
• liaise withe the NEA CNRA working group on digitial instrumentation and control (WGDIC) to ensure consistency of common and consensus positions
• exchange of information between group members on operating nuclear reactors, new build and other installations:
  • regulatory experiences,
  • feedback from licensees on operating experience and implementing modern digital technology,
  • legacy systems,
  • ageing and obsolescence issues,
  • implementation of existing standards, and
  • emerging issues
• facilitate technical exchange on topics of special interest between individual members
• share experience from research and state of the art standards
• disseminate common positions and any other result of the work of the task force.

Published Documents

Keywords: nuclear reactor, safety critical systems, nuclear power generation, safety assurance