1. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 1 Strategy for Regulatory Safety Research NERS-Präsentation, 23. September 2004

2. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 2 Mission of the HSK According to the Atomic Energy Legislation all measures necessary to minimize risk must be performed which correspond to the state of the art: HSK must independently evaluate this state of theart in all relevant areas

3. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 3 Goal Actual scientific and technical knowledge Identify Enlarge Make available for the regulatory oversight Definition of clear priorities to effectively use the available means for projects and co-operations on both, national and international level.

4. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 4 Nuclear Safety Research in General Basis for the safety assessment of nuclear installations Scientific and commercial interests Independent regulatory oversight according to the state of the art Future oriented research as a basis for regulatory decisions for appropriate, efficient and transparent fulfilling of the necessary tasks Regulatory Safety Research

5. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 5 HSK – Research Strategy Definition of research goals providing answers for actual and future regulatory safety issues to produce results which can be communicated towards the relevant stakeholders and the public. Its basics are: Practical needs of the regulatory body (improved internal technical competence, availability of external experts) Actual and future challenges of nuclear energy use Medium term planning safety for research partners Cost efficiency

6. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 6 Maintenance of Competence High level expertise & competence of all interest groups are essential for safe operation during their whole lifecycle, decommissioning, waste management and disposal planning and operational safety of deep geological repositories Attractive education opportunities motivate scientists. Applicability of research results is important, but also the exchange of new ideas and further development on national and international level.

7. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 7 International collaboration We integrate the needs of safety authorities, utilities and scientists to jointly solve the future challenges. Therefore, Swissnuclear, KSA, HSK, and Paul Scherrer Institute contributed in the formulation of the strategy paper for the regulatory safety research. International collaboration allows defining the most important research areas and solving complex issues. The common use of expensive laboratories does not only save money, but simultaneously stimulates technical discussions. Double work may thus be avoided by creating synergies and, cultural understanding is promoted.

8. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 8 OECD-Research Projects & Multinational Research Cooperations Halden Ractor Project: OECD-Fire Project: OECD-MCCI Project: US NRC: MSWI: Phébus Mont Terri Fuel- and material research, Man-Machine-Interaction Data collection and -analysis with respect to fire events Cooling mechanisms in order to dominate the spreading of molten core in the containment Risk analysis, Severe Accident and Ageing Research, Deregulation Melt-Structure-Water Interaction during a severe accident Behaviour of fission products (French research reactor Cadarache) Long term behaviour of Opalinus Clay

9. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 9 Research Areas Material research: Reactor vessel, primary circuit and containment are dominant contributors for safety (stress corrosion cracking and non destructive testing are important issues) Safety culture: Last 5 years of the plants are subject of the employees’ discussions; this fact might have consequences on human behaviour significantly contributing to operational safety; Criteria for the safe operation: Legislation must define clear criteria for plant shut down and so, relevant research results have to be found Core Cooling, material science, integrity of the primary circuit, human behaviour and organisational structure Safe transport and storage of radioactive waste: still has to be discussed

10. Dr.-Ing. B. Faust / NERS-Meeting, 23 th September 2004 Slide 10 Wish of Zero-Risk: Joke of Karl Valentin, a German Cabarettist Valentin tells to Liesl Karlstadt, that he wanted to sell his house in order to move to an underground tunnel 1000m below the ground level. “Your idea is incredible”, Karlstadt answered. “Right, but safe against Meteorites”. Her argument that “meteorites are very seldom”, does not change the mind of Valentin: “Yes, but for me safety is more important than rarity”. Emotional Aspect of Risk Evaluation