User Requirement
User Requirement (UR) is the second level in the INPRO hierarchy
URs are the
conditions that should be met to achieve users’ acceptance of a given Innovative Nuclear
Energy System (INS). I.e., the user requirements define the means of achieving the goal set
out in the basic principle. All user requirements of a basic principle should be fulfilled to
achieve a sustainable INS. The wording of a user requirement utilizes the verb “should”.
In the context of the definition of user requirement, in INPRO, a user is an entity that has a
stake or interest in potential applications of nuclear technologies and who, therefore, has an
interest in applying the INPRO method of assessment or in reviewing the results of such an
assessment. Users, in this context, encompass a broad range of groups including:
- Representatives of investors, RD&D organizations, designers, power generators and utilities;
- Decision makers, such as national governments, legislative bodies, regulatory bodies, state local organizations and authorities, and their advisors and stakeholders including non-governmental organizations (NGO);
- The end users of energy (public, industry, etc.);
- Interested mass media; and
- Informed international organizations (e.g., IAEA, OECD-IEA, OECD-NEA, etc.).
A number of the stakeholders listed above, or their advisors, would be expected to carry out
INPRO assessments, i.e. become an assessor, or require that the results of such assessments
be made available to them, particularly those listed in the first and second bullets. These
groups comprise the parties involved in energy planning, supply, and the siting and licensing
of facilities. While performing an assessment requires the participation of individuals with
expertise in the INPRO areas and with an adequate knowledge of the nuclear facilities
comprising the INS, the results of such assessments should be available to all stakeholders,
not only to nuclear experts. But, the format and language in which the results are
communicated to non-nuclear experts has to meet the needs of the stakeholders and doing so
represents a significant challenge. This issue is discussed in more detail in Volume 3 of the
INPRO manual that deals with the area of infrastructure.
The INPRO URs set out measures to be taken by technology developers or designers, by
owners/operators of nuclear facilities, and by the State to ensure fulfilment of the basic
principle(s) to which they relate. User requirements are applicable to components
comprising a Nuclear Energy System. An example of a UR in the area of nuclear safety is
the functional requirement that a major release of radioactivity from an installation of an
INS should be prevented for all practical purposes so that INS installations would not need
relocation or evacuation measures outside the plant site, apart from those generic
emergency measures developed for any industrial facility used for similar purpose.
