The completion of the Targeted Safety Reassessment was demanded by the Council of the European Union for each and every European nuclear power plant.
During the course of the reassessment those responses to extreme situations had to be investigated. The recommendation for the implementation of such remedial actions, which would enable the avoidance of consequences such as in Fukushima, in every reasonably imaginable situation, was expected. The reassessment shall be carried out in accordance using the method accepted by the European Commission and its regulatory working group (ENSREG).
Paks Nuclear Power Plant handed over the progress report, regarding the reassessment, to the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority. The HAEA prepared the preliminary national report for the European Commission based upon this report.
From the positive statements we emphasize that the design basis of the plant corresponds to the internationally accepted standards and, concerning all the initiating events within the design basis, the basic safety functions are maintained. This statement is largely based on the result of the Periodic Safety Review (PSR) of the plant completed in 2008. During the course of that review, the results of the actions decided during the previous PSR, carried out 10 years earlier, were evaluated and new safety enhancement arrangements were also decided upon. In the frame of these arrangements, several modifications and measures are already in the advanced stage, which are aimed at improving the management of events beyond the design basis – including sever accidents – in order to stabilize the processes and to effectively mitigate the consequences.
Although the assessments are not yet completed, there are some unquestionably positive statements along with some findings which might help to further strengthen the capabilities of the plant against some extreme conditions. Some of these were already known before starting the TSR and appropriate corrective actions are being elaborated and implemented, some other parts were only revealed during this reassessment. The safety significance of the latter ones has not been established yet. Further to the investigation of the problem areas laid out by ENSREG, the reassessment carried out by HAEA also includes the national legislation regarding the requirements of nuclear safety. Paks Nuclear Power Plant will complete its final report before the 31st of October 2011, which will then be evaluated by the HAEA before the 31st of December 2011. The HAEA will identify the actions that the power plant must take, to achieve the goals of the reassessment, and then shall inform the European Commission regarding the results of the reassessment. The reports from the European countries will be subject to an international reassessment organised by the European Commission in the first half of 2012.
(Source: HAEA)