Fire protection of PWR-type nuclear power plants

This article presents the fire protection principles applied by Electricite de France (EdF) to PWR-type nuclear power plants, and stresses on the recent evolutions of the design and exploitation approach of fire protection which have contributed to the improvement of nuclear facilities safety: 1 - general presentation; 2 - objectives of the fire protection: integrity of safety systems, personnel and people protection, equipments protection and keeping up of availability; 3 - design requirements: fire prevention, fire confinement, fire mastery, checking approach, formalization of the design approach, experience feedback of the design approach; 4 - example of application, the Chooz B power plant, head of the N4 step series: common dispositions to the different buildings, protection of the reactor building, protection of electrical facilities, protection of the turbine building, protection of transformers, protection of the emergency power sets, protection of hydrogen hazard buildings; 5 - in-service protection: intervention of the operator, fire fighting organization, reactor operation during fire accident; 6 - conclusion. (J.S.)