Numark Associates Inc.

NUMARK leads a Technical Support Organization (TSO) that has assisted the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and other international regulatory authorities in safety licensing and oversight of nuclear industry activities since 2007. NUMARK has assembled international teams of multidisciplinary nuclear safety experts, combining the licensing perspectives of North American and European regulators, and encompassing a wide range of reactor technologies.

As a TSO, NUMARK offers the following to its valued clients:

WORLD-CLASS PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE – NUMARK provides extensive and in-depth professional expertise in the design engineering, utilization, and regulation of nuclear technology. The backgrounds of NUMARK personnel include experience from major architect-engineering firms, nuclear reactor vendors and fuel suppliers, nuclear plant operating companies, nuclear regulatory agencies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, construction companies, research firms, national laboratories, and universities.

UP-TO-DATE KNOWLEDGE OF INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SAFETY STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS – NUMARK personnel bring an extensive range of expertise relative to international regulatory requirements and regulatory agency functions and processes.  NUMARK has assisted its clients in the development of regulatory guidance documents, consensus standards, and staff procedures, and has performed technical and regulatory reviews for NRC and other international regulatory authorities in support of new reactor licensing efforts.

A PROVEN RECORD OF EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY REVIEWS – NUMARK has performed nuclear safety reviews against the latest versions of the NRC Standard Review Plan (NUREG-0800) and environmental reviews against the NRC Environmental Standard Review Plan (NUREG-1555). NUMARK’s staff is also experienced in conducting technical evaluations of new and existing facility designs against IAEA standards as well as DOE requirements.

TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY REVIEW SERVICES – NUMARK’s technical and regulatory review services include in-depth assessments and safety evaluations of reactor systems; nuclear fuel design and operational performance; seismic, geotechnical, and structural design; electrical, I&C, and mechanical systems for the nuclear island and balance-of-plant; plant safety analysis; primary and secondary system chemistry and materials performance; containment design and analysis; fuel storage design and criticality safety; radioactive waste systems and radiation protection; pre-operational and startup testing; plant Technical Specifications; and management systems.

CAPABILITIES TO SUPPORT NUCLEAR SAFETY RESEARCH AND ADVANCED REACTOR TOPICS – Examples include:

  • REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL INTEGRITY – NUMARK supports NRC development of improved RPV integrity analysis methods and computer codes and NRC maintenance of a database on irradiated RPV material samples. Read more

  • HIGH TEMPERATURE MATERIALS & GRAPHITE – NUMARK provided NRC the technical basis for the expected properties of nuclear grade graphite, their source dependency, and operating limits.  NUMARK also identified operating experience for Advanced Non-Light Water Reactor (ANLWR) designs under consideration for future deployment in the U.S., and identified gaps in Consensus Codes and Standards and  in computational capability.

  • ADVANCED REACTOR THERMAL HYDRAULICS – NUMARK supports reviews of new reactor thermal-hydraulic designs, such as the recent NRC review of the NuScale integrated RPV and high-pressure steel containment. NUMARK’s support included review of the NuScale NRELAP computer code topical report and confirmatory analyses of containment steam condensation and boron transport models developed for this unique new NuScale reactor and containment design.

INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATORY ANALYSIS – NUMARK performed design certification confirmatory analyses of post-accident containment pressures; criticality of fuel storage racks; leak-before-break; and seismic/structural interaction. NUMARK has also performed confirmatory analyses of seismic/structural interaction for site-specific applications.

SITE-SPECIFIC NUCLEAR PLANT REVIEWS – NUMARK’s Early Site Permit and Combined License application reviews for NRC include siting analyses (geology, seismology, hydrology, and meteorology) and environmental impact assessment (land use and socioeconomics). Combined License reviews have also included reviews of site-specific systems design (including electrical and balance-of-plant), radioactive waste management, radiation protection, in-service inspection and testing, and plant Technical Specifications.  

REGULATORY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT – NUMARK has assisted U.S. and international regulatory authorities in the revision of regulatory guides, the preparation of agency procedures, and the implementation of regulatory programs and processes. In addition, NUMARK has conducted various training courses for NRC personnel including Codes and Standards courses and various technical and regulatory courses for the UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, FANR (read more), utilizing the industry standard Systematic Approach to Training (SAT) to design, develop, and implement the training.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES – NUMARK has extensive experience integrating various technical review products into Safety Evaluation Reports (SERs) as well as providing effective oversight, resource management, and schedule performance.

Nuclear Safety Expertise