ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)168
Vol.1977/0070

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\
COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES
COM(77)168final
, /Brussels ,XlMay1977
f
, X
Technological problemsofnuclearsafety
\
Progressreport
t1'i• ..
C A?'%& i •v.\
COr(77)1j3final

TechnclogicaT .problemsofnuclearsafety
Propressreport
Thisreportwasdrawnuppursuanttoitem8ofthe
CouncilResolutionof22July1975onthetechno-
logicalproblemsofnuclearsafety,'

1•SAFETYOFREACTOR?HAVIM?REACHEDAHIGHDEGREEOFINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
1,1.Activitiesaimingataharmonizationofsafetytechniquesandofa
standardizationofequipment.
1.1.1.WorkinggroupF°1onlight-waterreactorsafety"Methodology ,cri^-
teria,codesandstandards".
TheobjectivesoftheworkinggroupN°1aretoconfrontpractices
methodologies ,criteria,standardsandcodesasappliedinmember
statesinordertoenabletheCommissioninthefollowingtodraw
uprecommendations andtosubmittotheCouncilwelladaptedpro­
posalsonCommunitylevel.Thisworkinggroupwasformedatthe
endof1972;itiscomposedofthememberstatesrepresentatives
from:
-theauthoritiesand/orassociatedbodiesresponsiblefornuclear
safety,licensingcontrolandinspection
-theelectricityutilitiesthroughTPTIPEDE(l)
-thevendorsthroughUUICE(2)andCEEP(3),
Theconditionalparticipation ofSx*edishexpertsstartedatthe
latestmeeting(December2-3>1976).
TheworkinggroupJT°1hasheld9plenarysessionssinceits
formation.
Inordertorealizetheobjectivesasmentionedthe"followingplan
wasset-upandimplementedorisintheprocessofbeingimple­
mented:
1)Unioninternationale desproducteursetdistributeurs d'énergie
électrique
2)UniondesindustriesdelaCommunautéeuropéenne.
3)Centreeuropéenpourl'entreprisepublique.

-3-
a)"thefollowingwereconsideredprerequisites inordertopos­
sessthebaseforfurtherwork:
-thesetting-upofanupdatedandsystematically organized
collationofthevarioustypesoftechnicalrequirements
andstandardsinexistenceorunderdevelopmentinmember
countriesandinthirdcountriesoronaninternational
basis.Thiscollationhas"beer-publishedSeptember1975
(EUR5362),Anupdatedversionwillbepublishedsummer
1977.
-Thesettingupofasurveyoftheautorization procedures
fortheconstruction aridoperationofnuclearinstallations
withinE.C.memberstates(seepoint1.1.3,b)
b)Anumberofareaswerechosenforinventorizing andcorrela­
tingwithoneanotherthenon-standardized practices,requi­
rementsandstandardsappliedforanumberofgenerallypostu­
latedaccidentconditionsofexternalandofinternalorigin.
Thoseconsidered sofarare:
-externalaccidents(takingintoaccountLWRandFTR).
Seismiceffects-adraftsynthesisreporthasbeenworked
outandwillbefinalizedundercontractwithexternal
consultants .
Thereportinvestigates themeasurestakeninthecountries
oftheEuropeanCommunitiestoprotectnuclearpowerplants
againstseismiceffectsincomparisontoUSpractice.
Itwilldiscussconvergercies a^ddivergencies andtheir
influenceondesignapplication.
Airplanecrash:adraftsynthesisreporthasbeenworkedout;
acomparative studyofcalculation methodsfortheprotection
ofstructuresagainstpenetration aswellasacomparisonof
probabilistic calculations areunderconsideration .

-Explosions :acombinedadhocsubgroupoftheworkinggroups
F°1and2willinventorizestudiesongascloudbehaviour
(driftingdeflagration ;detonation)andmodelsandcodes
forthecalculationoftheirimpact.
-Internalaccidents(mainlyconsideredonlyforLVFR;insome
casesalsoforPTI?).Loss-of-coolantaccidents(LOCA)
.Mechanicalandthermo-hydraulic effects:theapplied
practiceintheassessmentoftheLOCAconsequences will
becomparedwithassistanceofexternalconsultants on
thebasisofinformation madeavailablewithinthework­
inggroup.
•Radiological consequences :thedifferenthypothesesfor­
mingthebasisoftheevaluationoftheradiological
consequences arebeinginventorized andcompared.
Fuelhandlingaccidents ,turbineexplosionandsteamline
breakoutsidecontainment areatpresentunderconside­
rationbytheworkinggroup.Lossofpowersupply:
asynthesisreporthasbeenestablished byanadhocsub­
group.
Anumberofpriorityareaswerechosenforfindingcorrela­
tionsamongstgeneralanddetaileddesignandconstruction
requirements and/orstandardsforLWR's.Thoseconsidered
sofarare: . >
primaryreactorboundary
emergencycoolingsystems
reactorprotectionsystemf?nd..
electricalsystems.

-5- •.f>*
J'■
d)Aninventoryoftheexistinggeneraldesigncriteria,ori­
ginatingfromtheUSA,FRGercanyandScandinavian countries
hasbeenmade.ThepreliminarysafetyprinciplesforLWR
powerplantsfromtheDutchReactorSafetyCommitteehas
beencommentedbytheworkinggroupIT01«Contributions
havebeenfurnishedbythegroupinthedevelopmentofthe
IAEACodeofPractice"Design".
e)MemberstatesnotifiedtheCommission,inagreementwiththe
"ResolutionoftheCounciloftheEuropeanCommunitiesof
22Julyonthetechnological problemsofnuclearsafety"
draftlawsregulationsorprovisionsofasimilarscopecon­
cerningthesafetyofnuclearinstallations inordertoen­
abletheappropriateconsultations atCommunitylevelatthe
initiativeoftheCommission.Alreadyprevioustothe&-
doptionoftheResolution somecountriessubmitteddraft
rulesorregulationsforcommentsfromtheworkinggroup
17°1beforefinalizingthecontentsontheirownnational
basis.
Thefollowingdocumentshavebeencommunicated in1976s
-fourthlawtoamendtheGermanAtomicEnergyLaw(Atom-
gesetz)sentinbyGermanAuthoritiesinMarch1976
translatedinEnglishandFrenchandtransmittedforcon­
sultationtothePermanentRepresentatives .Hocomments
havebeenreceivedbeforeneitheraftertheapprovalof
thislawinJune1976.
-ProjectofDanishAtomicInstallations Lawtransmitted
totheCommissioninMay1976.Beforetheavailability
ofthetranslationinEnglishFrenchandGerman,thelaw
,hasbeenacceptedalreadybytheDanishParliarent.The
Documenthasbeentransmitted'forinformation tothe
PermanentRepresentatives .-

-6-
-Drafts of"Order governing procedures inconnection with
nuclear law"and "Order governing theprovision ofinsu­
rance cover "submitted byGerman Authorities inAugust
1976 .Thedeadline forcomments r-September 1976 -did
notallow consultation ofthePermanent Representatives ,
whoreceived forinformation thetranslation inEnglish
andFrench ofboth documents .Comments onthe "Order go­
verning theprovision ofinsurance cover "originatin3
from the services ofthe Commission have been transmitted
toGerman authorities .
Ingeneral ithas tobenoted that appropriate consulta­
tions ofthe different member countries canonly beunder­
taken ifthe services ofthe Commission are informed of
any bill orequivalent rule andregulations sufficiently
.•„x .. :
intime before commencing approval procedure inthepro­
posing country .
f)Member states transmitted tothe Commission forconsultation
documents not falling under theCouncil Resolution of22
July ,inparticular rules from "Kerntechnische Ausschuss "
(Nuclear Engineering Committee )and "Bundesministerium des
Innern "(Federal Ministry oftheInterior )andtechnical
guides from CNEN ,Italy .Aconsultation ofworking group
N°1onthese documents took place orisunderway and re­
sulted inanumber ofmodifications .
(
g)Thedivision ofNuclear Plant Safety follows closely theef­
forts made byIAEA inthefield ofnuclear standards :its
v representatives participate inthework ofthe "Technical
Review Committees "where they endeavour toreach acommon
point ofview amongst participants ofthedifferent countries
oftheCommunity andtoavoid overlapping ofwork with acti­
vities undertaken bytheworking groups oftheCommunity .
Likewise contacts aremaintained with theon-going activities
intheframe ofISO/TC85^morespecifically itsSC3and
its relevant working groups .
1)International Organization forStandardization .

-7--i-y–y -■»/–>lj-_/IjO' /o–.
1.1.2 .Safety analyses onspecific projec ts.
The Commission has been prompted tocarry out several safety
analyses onspecific projects .
-Asafety assessment connected with theintroduction atthe
Ardennes nuclear power plant oftwoplutonium-enriched fuel
assemblies has been carried out .Areport was forwarded to
theSENA company on12November 1976 .
-Astudy onthe siting ofthe future Carnsore nuclear power
plant was carried out attherequest oftheNuclear Energy
Board ofIreland .Anevaluative report was sent tothis
body on17June 1976 .
Lastly ,theBelgian public health authorities have requested
theCommission oftheEuropean Communities toexamine ,from
thepoint ofview ofsafety and ofprotecting thehealth of
theworkers andlocal population ,theinstallations atthe
MolNuclear Studies Centre ,and inpartibular theBR-2 mate-
rials-testing reactor .Preparations are inhand foranexa­
mination ofthesafety oftheBR-2 reactor .
All these safety assessments areperformed byoutside experts
chosen ongrounds oftheir competence from organizations in
various Member States ,together with Commission staff .
Their studies notonly represent apragmatic approach tothe
problems ofharmonising safety criteria and rules but also
effectively complement thesystematic measures taken bythe
Commission within theframework ofWorking Party N°1.

1.1.3Envirorimentalandotherimplications.
•a)Thedebateontheproblemofchoosingbetweenconventional
andnuclearpowerplantshaslongbeenbasedoneconomicand
supplyconsiderations .Foranumberofyearsnowtheproblem
oftheenvironmental effectsresulting,amongotherthings ,,
fromreleasesofradioactiveeffluentshasalsofiguredin
thisdebate.Withaviewtocataloguingthesereleasesand
certaineffectsattributable tothe.varioustypesofnuclear
powerplantandinordertomakeacontribution tothedeba­
teontheenvironmental repercussions tstudiesonthispoint
havebee-ftu^der+aVre".
b)Alisthasbeendrawnupofthelicensingproceduresforthe
construction andoperationofnuclearplantsinthevarious
Communitycountries.
ThislistwaspublishedinApril1974(ReportEUR5284)and
anupdatedversionisduetoappearinApril1977;this
willcontaininadditionachapteronlicensingprocedures
foroff-shorenuclearpowerplants.'
Anidenticalsurveydealingwiththesituationincertain
non-membercountrieshasbeencompiledandpublished(Report
'EUR5225).
c)Theprogressiveuseofprobabilityanalysismethodsinmaking .
safetyassessmentsimpliesaccess.toreliabilitydataonthe
nucPSarplantcomponentsasawholeaswellasthedevelop­
mentandimprovementoftheanalyticalmethodsused.Inthe
lightoftheseconsiderations theCommission(JRCandtheDirec-
torate-General Research,ScienceandEducation)hasenbarked
onastudyofreliability databanksandthevalidationof
codesandprobability analysismethods.

m»QM 1 f
Inorder tocompare therisks caused bynuclear installa­
tions with thoses ofconventional power plants ,work has
begun onastudy onthe one hand ,toexamine the factors
that determine existing risk levels inthenon-nuclear
sector and the extent towhich efforts are made tofind
ways ofreducing such risks ;ontheother hand ,thestudy
seeks todevise methods making itpossible todeduce nu­
clear hazards which are acceptable and compatible with
established practice asregards non-nuclear hazards .
d)Linked tothegrowing number ofnuclear power plants are
thegrowing quantities ofnuclear materials that pass
through thevarious stages ofthe fuel cycle .The safety
aspects ofthe fuel cycle are assuming anever increasing
importance inthe context ofsafety considerations inthe
nuclear sector asawhole .The fuel cycle can take various
possible forms each ofwhich has its ownparticular safety
aspects .The choice offlow-schemes will have totake
account ofthe safety aspects and itistherefore neces­
sary tospell out indetail therisks involved .For each
flow-scheme ofthose envisaged astudy isnow inhand on
the specific nature and level oftherisks involved inthe
storage andreprocessing ofspent fuel and the storage of
radioactive reprocessing waste .
1.2 .Activities aiming atthe co-ordination ofapplied research program­
mes .
1.2.1 .Working group N°2onlight water reactor Safety research pro­
jects .
Theobjectives oftheworking group N°2aresystematic exchan­
geofinformations and consultations onnational and community
(JRC)nuclear safety research programmes .This working group

-10-
wasformedattheendof1972.Itiscomposedofthemember
statesrepresentatives from:
~theauthoritiesand/orassociatedtodiesresponsiblefornu­
clearsafety,
-theadministrations responsibleforthemanagementofre­
searchprogrammespaidforoutofpublicmoney;
--theelectricityutilitiesthroughUNIFEDE;
-thevendorsthroughUETCEandCEEP.
TheworkinggroupK°2hasheldsixplenarysessionssinoe
itsformation.Inabroadoutlinetheworkofthegrouphas
consistedof:
a)continualupdatingandassessmentofresearchprogrammes
relevanttoNaterreactorsandotherassociatedfields.
Thisispartoftheprocessofdeterminingexactlywhatis
beingdoneinordertothenbeabletoidentifyandgive
prioritytonecessaryworkinareaswhichitisconsidered
arenotsufficiently covered.
b)Followingonfrom(a)theworkinggrouphasidentifiedareas
wherefurtherworkisconsiderednecessaryandofhighpri­
ority:
-problemsinvolvedinthelossofcoolantaccidentandre­
liableoperationoftheemergencycorecoolingsystem
(ECCS)
–reliability/riskanalysisandtheassemblingofrelevant
failureratedatainformation .
-Mechanicalandmaterialproblemsinreactorsafety,such
aspressurevesselintegrity.Thisparticularareaislar­
gelycoveredbyajointCSNr^/CCEworkinggroup(seeitem
1.2.2.)
1)CommitteeontheSafetyofNuclearInstallations

-11-
-Coredebrisproblerasandmoltenfuel/coolantinteractions.
Consequently a.numberofprojects ~arecurrentlybeingstu­
diedforcooperativeeffortsinthefollowingareas:
-Thermohydraulic phenomenaafteralossofcoolantaccident
-Refillardrefloodphenomenafollowingalossofcoolant
accident
-Developmentofprobability techniquesrelevanttonuclear
safetyfaultanalysis.
Careistahentoavoidduplicationwithotheractivities
inthesamegeneralfield(suchastheworkperformed
underthedirectactionoftheJRCsafetyprogramme).
c)Thecommissioning anddevelopmentofaninformationexchan­
gesystemtobeusedfortheregularandrapidpoolingof
information onnuclearsafetyresearchprogrammeseitherin
handorinpreparationintheEuropeanCommunityandonthe
progressandresultsofsuchresearch.Thesystemisbased
onanagreedmethodofclassification ofsuchprojectsand
onastandard ,"format"tobeusedwhenrecordingthein­
formation.
Asystemor"index"ofthistypehasausefulroleinthe
systematicexchangeofsuchinformation ,viaappropriate
channels,withadvancednon-membercountriesbothdirectly
andalsothroughinternational organizations suchasthe
International EnergyAgency(LEA)andtheOECD/NEA.

-12-
ItisconvenientthattheIEAhaveadoptedtheCECformat
andclassification systemforitsownindexofwaterreactor
safetyprojects.
SofartheCommission hasmadethreedistributions ofthe
completeCECindexinadditiontoanumberofupdatesand
modifications .
Althoughthepresentsystemisamanualone,thepossible
automationofthesystemusingmoderncomputerinformation
processingtechniquesisfurtherexamined.Acontracthas
beenplacedwithaconsultanttostudythisarea,,particu­
larlytoproduceacost/benefitanalys'sofsuchanautomated
system.
1.2.2.Workinggrouponmechanical andmaterialproblemsrelatingto
thesafetyaspectsofsteelcomponentsinnuclearplnntsor¬
ganisedjointlybytheCECandOECP/lTEA(CSFI)
Theworkinggrouplimiteditsactivitiesin1976tothefollo­
wingselectedareas:
-Fracturemechanics ;withemphasisonprobabilistic methods
andelasto-plasticfracturemechanics
-Weldingandheattreatment
-Non-destructive testing ,withemphasisonthecooperative
PlateInspectionprogrammePISC
-Safetyofstructuresoperatinginthecreeprange
Theworkinggroupfollowedcloselyin1976thegeneralscope
ofthegroup:
-todefinecriticalitemsrelatingtothesafetyofnuclear
powerplants
-tofurnishrepliestosafetyassessorsonproblemsforwhich
repliescanbegiven
-todefineremainingunknownsaspreciselyaspossibleandto
suggesttrendsinordersofpriorityforfurtherdevelopmentof
researchinthisgeneralarea.

-13
Inordertoavoidasmuchaspossibleoverlapping ineffortsmade
withintheframeworkofotherorganizations ,especiallytheIAEA-
international workinggrouponthereliabilityofreactorpres­
surecomponents (IWGRRPC);itwasagreedthattheworkinggroup
takesupitsactivitiesinorderofpriority:
1.Continuation oftheworkperformedintheareaofsafetyof
structuresoperatinginthecreepraxige
2.Inthefieldofnon-destructive testing ,,includingin-service
inspection ,limitationofactivitiesforthetime"beingto
theplateinspectionprogramme(PISC)
3.We]dingandheattreatmentwasconsideredofgreatinterest.
TheIAEAgroupwhichdoesnotplan?nyactivitiesinthisfield,
welcomesstronglytheprogrammeasproposedbytheworkinggroup.
4.Forthemomenttheworkinggroupwilllimititsprimeactivities
tothespecificareaofprobabilistic fracturemechanics.
Accordingtotheabovedefinedaimsthefollowingconclusions
weredrawnatthe7"thannualmeetingofthegrouponSeptember
16thand17th1976atBrusselswhichserveasabasisforre­
consideringthescopeandthefutureprogrammeoftheworking
group.
Intheareaofprobabilistic fracturemechanicsfirststeps
foranactivecooperation a/nongsttheexpertsconcernedwere
undertaken.Thegroupforeseesforthefutureanexchangeof
viewsonoveralldevelopments inthefieldsoflinearelastio
fracturemechanics(LEFM)andelastoplasticfracturemecha­
nics(EFFM).

-14-
Inthespecificareaofweldingandheattreatmentthemain
problemsrelatedtobaseandfillermetals,toweldingprocesses,
heataffectedzonesandpostweldheattreatmentweredefinedin
astate-of-theartreport.Theproblemofrepairweldswas
consideredofprimeimportanceforthenextyears'activities
withinthegroup.
Asfarastheactivitiesonnon-destructive testingareconcer­
nedtheUSPressureVesselResearchCommitteeofferedthree
nationaltestblockswithartificially introducedflawsavailar-
bleintheUSHeavySectionStoelTechnologyProgramme(HSST).
ThesetestsblocksarecirculatinginthoseEuropeancountries
interestedinthecooperationinordertogivethenon-destruc­
tivetestinginstitutesthepossibilitytotesttheirequipment
(primarilyultrasonicmethods).
Intheareaofstructuresoperatinginthecreeprange,that
meansathightemperature ,theworkinggroupnotesthealmost
con.pleteabsenceof'experiments onmodelcomponentswhichare
take"tofailure.Someworkhasbeendoneinthecreepdomain
fornon-nuclearapplications ,butinthecombinedcreep-fatigue
regimenothingseemstoexist.Sotheworkinggroupdefined
theremainingunknownsandsuggestedtrendsforfurtherdeve­
lopmentinanalyticalandexperimental analyses.
Theworkinggroupactivitiesinthedifferentareasaresupport­
edbystudiesofeternalconsultants onthefollowingsubjects:
-statusonreheatcrackinginnuclearvesselsteels
-acousticémissionsurveillance methods
-theactualsituationoffracturemechanicsanditsapplicar-
tioninlicensingproceduresofprimarysystemcomponents.

2.EAm^OFSODIUM-COOLEDFASTREACTORS.
WithintheframeworkoftheFastReactorCoordinating Committeethere
aretwoworkinggroupswhoseactivitiesaredescribedbelow.These
workinggroupsaremadeupofMemberStaterepresentatives fromthe
varioussectorsinvolvedinthedevelopment andconstruction offast
reactors,namely:
-governmentbodiesresponsibleforresearchanddevelopment pro­
grammes;
-representatives fromresearchcentres;
-thelicensingauthoritiesorassociatedbodiesr
~theconstructors ;
-theutilities
2.1Safety_Working GroupwithintheFastReactorCoordinatingCommittee^
ThesafetyWorkingGroupwassetupin1971andsinceitsformation
I3meetingshavebeenheld.Thetaskoftheworkinggroupmaybe
summedupasfollows:toexchangeinformation oncurrentresearch
anddevelopment programmes ;todiscussproblems .ofspecialconcern
asregardsfastreactorsafetyandtosuggestpossiblewaysofsol­
vingthem:todraw.upcommonsafetycriteria.Themeasurestaken
arelistedbelow,
2.1.1.Thethirdupdatingoftheinder.ofRxDactivitiesinthe
safetysectorhasbeencompleted.Thenextupdatingissche­
duledforthemiddleof1977-
2.1.2.ThecurrentPADprogrammes ;andinparticularanumberof
salientpointsarisingoutoftheseprogrammes ,were,dis­
cussedbytheSafetyWorkingGroupwithaviewtoimproving
theexchangeofinformation ,pinpointing anygapsinitand
anyinstancesofoverlapping ,,andoutliningsubjectsforcommon
action.
2.1,3...Thesemoves,aimedatpromotingcommonactionsirereflee+-
edinthetermsofreferenceoftheSubgrouponWhole-Core
AccidentCodes(WAC)andtheSubgroupor/ContainmentLoading
andResponse(COM1).

-16-
2.1.4.TheECSubgrouphasconcentrateditseffortsontwomainareas:
a)comparativecalculationswiththeaidofcodesdevelopedby
theMemberStates:
b)developmentofacommonEuropeancodefordealingwithwhole-
coreaccidents,
2.1.5.Thecomparativecalculations applytoastandard1000-13*reactor.
Theloss–of–flow(LOF)accidentcalculations havebeensuccess­
fullycompletedandwillbethesubjectofadetailedreport.
Workiscurrentlyinprogressonthetransientoverpo"rr
(TOP)accidentcalculations.
Alltheparticipants roundthiscomparativeexercisetobevery
usefulandexpertsfromnon-membercountries(USA)recentlyex­
pressedinterestinbeingassociatedwithit.
2.1.6.ThedeveloranentoftheEuropeancodeconstitutes averyimpor­
tantstep.Thestructureofthecodewillbemodularsoas
topermittheeasyexchangeofdifferentmodulesusedtodeal
withcertainphysicalphenomenarelatingtowhole-coreaccidents.
AlltheMemberStateswordinginthisfieldhavedeclaredtheir
readinesstomakethesemodulesavailablewithaviewtotheir
inclusioninthecommoncode.
UptonowtheWAGSubgrouphasconcentrated mainlyonprogram­
mingproblemsoffundamental importanceforthedevelopmentof
theEuropeancode-i.e.,definitionofoff-linecallssequen­
tialcallsanddataorganization problems.
2.1.7.TheCOFTSubgrouphasgivenprioritytoexaminingthecomputer
codevalidation(COVA)programmeexecutedattheJRC(ispra).
Otheractivitywasrecentlyembarkeduponasregardsthebe­
■haviourofsubassemblies under *severeaccidentconditions.

-17-
ApartfromtheproposedJEC(Ist>ra)programme,whichcomple­
mentsthenationalprogrammesthesubgroupenvisagesanexchan­
geofinformation onallactivitiesinthisfieldcurrently "be­
ingpursuedintheMemberStates.
2.1.8.Concurrently withtheactivitiesmentionedunder1and2above,
theSafetyWorkingGrouphascontinueditseffortstodevise
conmonsafetycriteria.Atthisstagethegroupisdiscussing
thesafetystrategiesappliedtothevariousfastreactorsplan­
nedorunderconstruction intheCommunity,
Thesediscussions shouldprovideabetterunderstanding ofthe
argumentswhichhavepromptedtheconstructors tooptforcer­
tainsolutionsratherthanforothersastothesafetyproblems
intheexecutionoftheirproject.
Ananalysisandcomparisonoftheseargumentswillserveas
abasisforthepreparation ofsafetj'criteria.
2.1.9.Lastlymentionmustbemadeoftheworkinggroup'sdiscussions
onspecificsubjectssuchastheinteractionofmoltenfueland
sodium,thedesignofthesecondarycontainment .accidentscau­
sedbyfactorsoriginatingoutsidethepowerplantthefuture
requirements oflarge-scaletestinstallations ,andmolten-core
col1ec'orn.
Theaimofthistypeofdiscussionistoprovideageneralin­
sightintocurrentknow-howandtoexaminethepossibilityof
jointactionintheseareas.
2.2GrouponCodesandStandards
TheWorkingGrouponCodesandStandardswassetupin1974:since
whichtimeithasheldfivemeetings.InitiallytheGroupisconcen­
tratingondrawingupalistofexistingcodesandstandardswhich
canbeappliedtofastreactors.Suchalist,willmakeitpossible
topinpointthoseareasinwhichadditionalknowledgeisdesirable.
Althoughthegroup'sactivitiesareaimedprimarilyatfacilitating

-13-
thesaleofLMPBRs,particularly inthesenseofopeningupthemaj>-
ket,theyarealsoconnectedwiththesecurityaspects.Themeasu­
resthathavebeentakensiresetoutbelow.
2.2,1,TheGrouphasdecided,asaninitialstep,toreviewthepresent
stateofknowledgeinthefollowingareas:
a)Manufacturingandacceptancestandards:
OnthebasisoftheTechnicatome qualitycode,anexamination
hasbegunofthevariousformsofdetaileddesignstandards
adoptedinthedifferentcountrieswithaviewtoproducing
acommonguidelinedocumentforassessingtheextentto
whichnationalstandards maybointerchangeable .
b)Structuralanalysisofecruipment:
OnthebasisoftheASMEB&PVCode,SectionIII,headingF°
1592(currentlybeingusedasareferencedocumentinthe
caseofthethreeprojectsreferredtoabove)^theGrouphas
undertakentoascertain,byreferencetotheinformation a~
vailableonthevariousprojects,thepointsonwhichheading
N°1592isentirelysatisfactory andthosewhichcallfor
improvements .
c)Constructionmaterials :
TheWorkingGrouphasstarteddrawingupatableofspecifi­
cationsinrespectofthematerialscurrentlyinuseorsche­
duledforuse-whileatthesametimenotinganydeviations
fromthecommercialspecifications aswellasthedatare­
quiredforapplications ofothersteelsinthefast-reactor
sector,
d)Classificationofcomponents:
TheWorkingGrouphasundertakentocomparethebasesfor
classification oftheecmipnientusedinthecurrentprojects.

-19-
P.2.2.Alltheabove-mentioned projectsarenowinhand.Onthecom­
pletioninp.boivtayear'rtiire ,itshould "bepossibletospeci­
fywhatsirbsequentactionisneededforharmorizationofthe
codesandstandardstobe'appliedtoLMFBRs,
3.MEASURESRELATINGTOPLUTONIUM RECYCLINGANDRADIOACTIVE-WASTE DISPOSAL.
Certainmeastireswhichhaveimplications fromthestandpointofnu­
clearsafetyare3ikewisebeingimplemented bytheCommissionas
partoftheindirect-action programmes ontherecyclingofplutoniura
innuclearpowerplantsandthemanagementandstorageofradioactive
waste.TheseprogrammeswereapprovedbytheCouncilofIiLnister
on17December1974and26June1976respectively .
Thevorkcarriedouturdertheplutoniurarecyclingprogrammeisaimed
essentiallyatacquiringabetterk^ovledgeofthecharacteristics
ofplutonium-fuelledpowerplantsandassessingtheenvironmental
impactoflight-waterreactorsandthesafetyoftheplutoniumfuel'
cycleinthosereactors.
Theseprojects,whicharecarriedoutundercontract,primarilywith'
industryorwithnationalresearchcentres,aredevisedeitherinthe
lightofsurveysonindustry'srequirements PADorwiththehelpof
ad_hocgroupsofexperts(fuelfabrication ,-plutoniumtransport).
PeriodicopinionsontheseprojectsaredeliveredbytheAdvisory
CommitteeonProgrammeManagement,TheCommunity'sfinancialcontri­
butiontothevrorkisabout1000000u.a.andonlyprojectsofCom­
munityinterestareadopted.
Theareascoveredrelatetothebehaviour ,underaccidentconditions ,
ofplutonium-fuelledlight-water powerplants ,,transportcontainers
(forplutoniumandplutoniumfuels)andplutonium-fuel fabrication
plants.
Theaimoftheradioactive-waste managementandstorageprogramme
istodevelopandperfectthemanagementofthelargequantitiesof
radioactivewastethatwillarisefrorithenuclearelectricityin­
dustryinthefuture;.inordertoprotectthepopulationandthe

environment,Measuresofatechnological natureimplementedunderthis
programmearedirectedmainlyatfirdingeffectivesolutionswhereby
radioactivewastecan,afterappropriatetreatment ,beisolrtedfrom
theenvironmentforperiodswhich,incertaincases,cansnouirttoa
geologicalage,
Corcurre 3J"'1vv*h-theseTEeamres -ar-+nbe'"~gta'cer- ar-r
problemsofradioactive-waste managementforwhichsolution?cannotbe
foundwithintheframeworkofexistinginternational legaladministra­
tiveandfinancialprovisions.A::aresultofthisworkitmouldbe
possibletoformulateafirstsetofguidingprinciplesorr&Tbema­
nagement,Provisionhasbeenlaecleforfinancingtothetuncof0,2
millionu.a,overfiveyears,tobebornesolelybytheCommunity,
ACTIO:OKTHETRANSPORT O?RADICA^TIVB MATERIALS.
TheCommissionhasstartedactionatCommunitylevelandhasconsulted
thenationalexpertsonthetransportofradioactivematerialsinor­
dertoascertainwhetherthemeas-iresadoptedatnationalI'v.-elform
asufficiently coherentwholevis-a-vistheinternational reflations
(andinparticulartherecommendations oftheIAEA.)toensurethesafe
andrapidtransportofradioactivematerials.
TheJRC.whichhasalreadymadeastudyofthevolumeoftransport
ofspentfueloverthenext10years,iscurrentlylookingatthevo­
lumeoftransportoffreshfuelUTgandotherfissilematerialsra­
dioelements forscientific -industrial andmedicaluseandradioacti­
vewastefrompowerstationsandreprocessing plants.TheJRChas-al­
sobeeninstructedtolookintothepossibilityofloadingandunloa­
dingirradiatedfuelelementsunderdryconditionsinordertoreduce
thenon-fixedexternal -cortsiirrat;onof+hetransportcontainers.

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Althoughthepresentvolureoftrafficinnuclearmaterialsissuf­
ficientlylownottopresentaryrraiordifficulties intheiranedia+e
futureitislikelyinthelongertern;toposegraveproblemsof
internaltionaltransportowingtotheexpecteddevelopmentofnuclear
energy«
TiieCorrissionhaspreparedaruestionna ?rewhichhas"beensentto
thenationaleucpertswithaviewtoestablishing ingreaterdetailthe
problemsthatvillbeencounteredinthefutureandtoworkingout
additionalmeasuresfordealingwithCommunitytransportrequirements .
Areporthasbeencompiledonproceduresforthelicensingofcontai­
nersandthetransportofradioactive substancesintheMemberStates
(EtTR5563).
Alltheactivitiesdescribedinthisreporthavebeenconductedonthe
basisofconstantcooperationwithsuchinternational organizations
astheInternational AtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA),theInternational
StandardsOrganization (ISOTC85SC3and5)"theOECDNuclearEnergy
Agency(CommitteeontheSafetyofNuclearInstallations-CSNT)and
theInternational EnergyAgency(lEA)aswellaswiththecompetent
bodiesinnon-membercountries ,e.g.theUnitedStates.