Review of Filtered Containment Venting System (FCVS) Eleven Years After Fukushima Accident

Abstract

Severe accidents in nuclear power plants can breach the integrity of containment due to pressure build up, resulting in the release of radioactive products. Special interest has been shown towards iodine out of 80 fission products due to its short half-life, i.e., 8.02 days, high activity, and possible health hazards, like irreversible accumulation in the thyroid gland and capability to trigger thyroid cancer locally. To mitigate such accidents, the filtered containment venting system (FCVS) has been proposed and has garnered attention post Fukushima. This review paper presents an introduction to severe accidents, post-accident release of iodine, safety measures taken, and lessons learned by different countries after accidents like Windscale pile, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, as well as the status of FCVSs in all countries possessing nuclear reactors up until now (11 years after Fukushima). FCVS is crucial for mitigation of severe accidents and to ensure the safety of people and the environment. A complete review of the history of FCVS, how its use started, its current status, and the status of patents and research on this system has not been done yet to the best of authors’ knowledge. This review covers FCVS in detail, including its history, design criteria and efficiency, as well as the different types and their merits and demerits. Completed and ongoing projects related to FCVS are discussed along with testing facilities of FCVS established by different countries. Many countries have made FCVS a part of their power plants, and some are in the process of installation. Many countries have not opted to install this system because of challenges, like its high cost, the technical difficulties of installing FCVS on old power plants, and the potential environmental impact of venting in FCVS. This review paper will be helpful in providing an in-depth understanding of this system, the merits of FCVS, the parts of FCVS that need improvement, its limitations, and the status of research on this subject, along with areas of research that require more attention.