EU Funded Research Activities on NPPs Operational Safety

The 5^th framework programme (FP-5), the pluriannual research programme of the European Union (EU), covers the period 1998–2002. Research on nuclear energy, fusion and fission, is covered by the Euratom part of the FP-5. An overview of the Euratom’s research on Nuclear Reactor Safety, managed by the DG-RTD of the European Commission (EC), is presented. This concerns 70 multi-partner projects of approximately € 82.5 million total contract value that have been selected and co-financed during the period 1999–2001. They form the three clusters of projects dealing with the “Operational Safety of Existing Installations”. “Plant Life Extension and Management” (PLEM), “Severe Accident Management” (SAM) and “Evolutionary concepts” (EVOL). Emphasis is given here to the projects of the PLEM cluster.