Ten-yearly Safety Review of the Borssele Nuclear Power Plant

In the early years of nuclear energy, nuclear power plants were built on the assumption that the design and other provisions would need very little change during their lifetime. The accidents in Harrisburg and Chernobyl, however, changed the attitude towards safety considerably. The changed views were reflected in the modern reactor designs of the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Also, most plants world-wide underwent changes in accordance with the new concepts. In the meantime, the idea grew in many countries that such safety reviews should be undertaken periodically. The Netherlands decided on two-year and ten-year evaluations. The two-year evaluation is to check if the basic requirements for the licence are still being met. The ten-year evaluation is the actual state-of-the-art evaluation, in which international development in the field of nuclear safety is taken into consideration. Borssele's obligation to carry out these evaluations is laid down in their Dutch Nuclear Power Act licence.

The first ten-yearly evaluation was concluded in 1992/1993, resulting in a large number of modifications to the installation (amounting to 250 million euro) implemented in the period between 1995 and 1997. The emphasis was on 'hardware' adjustments. The implementation has resulted in a safety level, which more than satisfies the current risk standards required by the Dutch Government. NRG (then KEMA) assisted in this project providing various services during the whole course of the evaluation and the implementation from 1991 to 1997.

Early in 2001 Borssele started the second ten-year evaluation, which will be completed in 2003. NRG was involved in the preliminary stage as well as in the practical execution. NRG staff reinforces the evaluation project team and carries out several specific tasks, such as the evaluation of the ageing management. The expertise contributed by NRG includes project management, nuclear techniques, operational aspects, rules and regulations and specific analyses. The evaluation will be performed within a period of three years, so that the final report can be presented to the regulatory authorities in 2003. Decisions will then be taken about possible modifications to the 'hardware' (installation) and to the 'software' (operation).

The evaluation comprises as main items: the design of the installation and the organisational, personnel and administrative aspects with specific emphasis on ageing management. The overall purpose is to demonstrate that the Borssele nuclear power plant can be operated safely for ten more years, taking into account the latest regulations, national and international developments and the current state-of-the-art.

The Borssele nuclear power plant produces 4% of the Dutch electricity demand.

Contactperson:
Dr. V.A. Wichers
NRG, PO Box 25, 1755 ZG Petten, Netherlands
tel: +31-224 564656, fax: +31-224 568490, e-mail: wichers@nrg.eu

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NRG, PO Box 25, NL-1755 ZG Petten, Netherlands, Tel +31-224564950, Fax +31-224568912
Information: info@nrg.eu
Update 18 February 2004