WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it has approved the revised design of Westinghouse Electric Co.'s AP1000 nuclear reactor for use in the United States.
The NRC, which had required Westinghouse to revise its design earlier this year out of concerns about safety issues with its shield building, found the revised design "meets the commission's safety requirements," NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said in a statement.
"The design provides enhanced safety margins through use of simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative safety and security functions, and also has been assessed to ensure it could withstand damage from an aircraft impact without significant release of radioactive materials," Jaczko said.
Westinghouse said it intends to sell its AP1000 pressurized water reactor to utility company Southern Co. for installation at a plant in eastern Georgia and to South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. for its Virgil C. Summer site 20 miles northwest of Columbia, S.C., the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Thursday.
