The RBMK Safety Review: what is it?

There is general agreement in the West that the 15 RBMK reactors in operation in Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine do not meet modern safety standards - but there is general agreement in the East that they cannot be shut down. What can be done to help? What should be done first? The RBMK Safety Review hopes to answer these questions. Commissioned by the European Community, the Review will be carried out by experts from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Finland, Sweden and a team from ex-Soviet design and research institutes, plant operators and regulators. The topics to be covered are: system engineering and accident progression; protection systems; core physics; external events; engineering quality; operating experience and analysis; human factors; regulatory aspects and probabilistic safety assessments. (U.K.)