Evaluation of the Finnish nuclear safety research program 'Safir'

A panel of three members has been asked by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (KTM) to evaluate SAFIR, the Finnish research program on nuclear power plant safety. The program was established for the period 2003-2006 to help maintain expertise in nuclear safety, to integrate young people into the research in order to help assure the future availability of expertise, and to support international collaborations. The SAFIR program is funded primarily by fees from the two nuclear utilities, secondarily by the Technical Research Centre of Finland and by other organizations, like the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. The program is directed by a Steering Committee, appointed by KTM, with representatives from all organizations involved with nuclear safety in Finland. SAFIR has consisted of 24 projects from year to year that fall into seven subject areas: 1. Reactor fuel and core. 2. Reactor circuit and structural safety. 3. Containment and process safety functions. 4. Automation, control room and information technology. 5. Organizations and safety management. 6. Risk-informed safety management. For each of these areas there are Reference Groups that provide oversight of the projects within their jurisdiction. The panel carried out its evaluation by reviewing copies of relevant documents and, during a one-week period 19-24 March 2006, meeting with key individuals. The results of the panel are provided as general conclusions, responses to questions posed by KTM, challenges and recommendations and comments on specific projects in each subject area. The general conclusions reflect the panel's view that SAFIR is meeting its objectives and carrying out quality research. The questions addressed are: Are the achieved results in balance with the funding. How well does the expertise cover the field. Is the entire SAFIR program balanced to all different fields in nuclear safety. Has the 2004 reorganization of the funding been successful. In general the panel was very positive about SAFIR in the context of these questions and provided guidance for the program for the future. The panel's discussion of challenges and recommendations touched on eight topics in research management that they thought were important. In their discussion of specific projects within the seven subject areas they made many comments and recommendations which might be useful in developing the next four-year period of research. (orig.)