'SAMIME' - An EC Concerted Action on Severe Accident Management in Europe

The EC Concerted Action 'Severe Accident Management Implementation and Expertise' - with acronym 'SAMIME' - was initiated in 1998 with the following main objectives: 1. to determine the status and the extent of the severe accident management (SAM) development and implementation in partner countries/regions/utilities; 2. to determine the extent to which the development is institutional and develop a consensus opinion among partners as to which elements are needed or useful in this respect; 3. to review the tools which are available to support SAM development and implementation and determine the extent to which these tools have a value during a SAM event; 4. to determine in which areas further research may be beneficial for SAM development. Thirteen organisations from all countries with NPPs in the European Union and neighbouring countries, also in Eastern Europe, agreed to participate in this effort. Partners were a balanced group of utilities, vendors and regulators. Two organisations became partners later on. One utility could not be a formal partner, but supported the project with its insights. Two US Owners Groups and the OECD Halden Reactor Programme provided input on specific topics. The Concerted Action was executed in a number of workshops which were preceded by extensive questionnaires to facilitate discussions. The project provided a good overview of what SAM guidance (SAMG) was in place in the various countries and in which direction the development went. After extensive discussions, a consensus opinion was achieved on what partners felt the elements of an adequate SAMG approach should be. Although differences may exist in the way SAMG can be implemented, a common base line could be defined - which was more than a common denominator, as it sometimes exceeded what was in place. Finally, the areas were outlined where additional research work still could enhance the SAMG, taking note of the fact that understanding of severe accidents would never be complete, and was not needed either to arrive at an adequate level of SAMG. As such, the results of the Concerted Action should be able to help decision makers in focusing future research efforts. The paper describes the various activities under the SAMIME Concerted Action and summarizes the results. (author)