Synthesis of technical sessions

Eight themes were tackled: prospective of nuclear, availability of uranium resources, reprocessing and radioactive waste, PWR type reactors: second and third generation, the fourth generation, research reactors, if there will be a fifth generation, international cooperation. Nuclear energy presents an important part of the world energy possibility for this century. Its first priority is to strengthen public acceptability. It must answer the public questions in term of waste management or uranium availability, non proliferation, resistance to terrorism and reactors safety. On all these points elements of technical response can be brought on combining the possibilities of third and fourth generation reactors and the reprocessing possibilities. The strategy is also to go on optimizing the operation of PWR type reactors that will be the reactors of the twenty first century. Then, on taking into account future on long term by developing the passage to fourth generation reactors that have the potentiality of thousands years of production with depleted uranium and to continue research on fusion. (N.C.)