Lessons learned from exchanges between the french and german safety authorities. Comparison of the safety levels achieved for reactors built in these two countries

It is important to emphasize, right at the beginning, the exceptional extent of the assessment work performed over several years on the nuclear power plants in each country (exchange of confidential documents, communication of incidents during the plant building stage, specialist visits to the site, joint reports by the Franco-German Commission on all important safety problems). The D.F.K. (Franco-German Commission) has been the official framework for these exchanges since 1976 (the exchanges relating to FESSENHEIM and its ''twin'' plant NECKARWESTHEIM 1 began as far back as 1973 and were pursued, when construction of CATTENOM began, by a comparison with PHILIPPSBURG). Apart from its annual plenary session, it presently comprises 6 standing working groups dealing respectively with general safety problems (including primary system technology problems and exchanges on incidents discussed by two subcommittees), emergency plans, radiation protection problems, radioactive waste, fuel cycle installations, fast breeder reactors. It is also worth noting the regular meetings held by the standing groups of experts (GPR and RSK), which have enabled periodical assessment of the extent to which the approaches of the two countries to the main safety problems are tending to converge (severe accidents, operating feedback, containment, followup on the TMI and CHERNOBYL accidents, etc) and the exchanges between the IPSN and the GRS on the corresponding research programs