Evaluation of the radiological consequences of severe accidents for future PWRS in France and Germany

On the request of the German and French safety authorities (German French Directorate, DFD) the German (RSK) and French (GPR) reactor safety commissions worked out recommendations for a common safety approach for future pressurized water reactors. Regarding the design to cover severe accidents, they recommended that the radiological consequences of low pressure core melt accident would necessitate only very limited protective measures in area and time (no permanent relocation, no need for emergency evacuation outside the immediate vicinity of the plant, limited sheltering, no long term restriction in consumption of food). The French/German constructors and utilities consortium NPI presented a design of a future European pressurized water reactor (EPR). Based on the design features of this new reactor GRS and IPSN calculated, with their methodology, the radiological consequences of a representative severe accident sequence with core meltdown. The evaluation of the results showed that the concept can fullfill the recommendation of GPR/RSK. 1 ref., 4 tabs