Climatic hazards and reactor safety

Climatic change is likely to increase both the frequency and the amplitude of extreme natural events like heat waves or flooding. The assessment of the probability and of the intensity of the events allows engineers to dimension nuclear facilities and to set up adequate protection measures. For instance the expected increase of sea-level (between 30 and 80 cm by 2100) is already taken into account in the upgrading of the safety of sea-shore nuclear power plants. The flexibility and adaptation of present nuclear power plants are important: some nuclear plants have been designed in China to resist to cyclones while others in Canada or Scandinavia have their heat sink frozen in winter. These examples show that technical solutions can be implemented to assure the safety of a nuclear plant in a very large range of natural conditions. (A.C.)