Reflexions on current and future nuclear safety

This paper gives an overview of the safety of current nuclear power plants and on future developments. It addresses basic concepts of nuclear safety, such as defence-in-depth, and the fundamentals of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), its strengths, limitations, and its role within the regulatory framework. With reference to core damage frequency, plant damage state or early release frequencies results of Level 1 and 2 PRA for international nuclear power plants will be presented and discussed; results of the PRA Level 3 research studies are outlined. Further, in an outlook, the safety of the European Pressurized Water Reactor will be highlighted and safety requirements for future reactors (GEN IV) will be discussed. (orig.)