European Nuclear Pressure Components: What Kind of Rules Do We Need?

In Europe, Nuclear Pressure Components are subject to different sets of rules in different countries. In the 1970s, small and medium-sized countries generally adopted a complete American set of rules transposed into national legislation. Larger nations that already had more detailed legislation preferred to introduce a full set of their own national regulations. In the early 2000s, the Pressure Equipment Directive was introduced (PED) in each EU country. Its main aims were to standardize the approaches, to strengthen the evaluation of safety risks and to open up the market. This paper summarizes the regulatory developments. In connection with potential nuclear investments by the GDF SUEZ group in France, different studies and comparisons have been carried out within TE. The paper gives the principal conclusions and recommendations from the ongoing evaluation of the rules.