Towards an optimized management of accidents

Abstract

Nuclear safety has been one of the main research domains in EURATOM programs for decades, and accident prevention and mitigation have drawn much of the attention paid over the years to this framework. In the essence of this interest are designs of reliable systems, accurate methods to estimate risk, and a permanent search for optimizing accident management. This is the focus of PIACE, MUSA, and AMHYCO projects. A fully passive system for decay heat removal in off-nominal conditions based on the concept of isolation condenser is the subject of PIACE. A harmonized approach for analyzing uncertainties and sensitivities associated with severe accidents, particularly with the source term to the environment, is the final aim of MUSA. And finally, AMHYCO is exploring the potential for enhancing the management of combustible gas risk. Despite the project’s diversity, they all will converge on the same outcome: an optimization of nuclear safety from better safety systems, risk estimating methods, and in-accident guidelines. These projects have received funding from the H2020 EURATOM research and training program under grant agreements 847715 (PIACE), 847441 (MUSA), and 945057 (AMHYCO).