International Forum on Harmonization of Reactor Design Requirements - European Focus
The first harmonisation forum, a four-day forum bringing together participants from nuclear utilities, regulators and vendors was held in September 2009.
Over the past two decades, the benefits – in overall cost and safety – of reactor design standardization have been the subject of several initiatives on the part of nuclear regulators, vendors and utilities. Today’s context – of expanding nuclear new build worldwide – gives fresh urgency to creating wider understanding of the benefits to be attained and the issues at stake in attaining them.
This WNU forum, with support from the European Utilities Requirement (EUR) organization and WNA’s Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL) group, reviewed and analysed past initiatives, and on-going efforts of the European Nuclear Installations Safety Standards (ENISS) initiative, the Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP) and the Western European Regulators’ Association (WENRA).
Other design requirements harmonization forums should follow, in Asia and America, each focusing on specific regional issues.
Who is it for?
Nuclear professionals from all sectors relevant to the harmonization of reactor design requirements – utilities, regulators, reactor vendors, R&D and Technical Support organizations.
Programme design
This WNU programme built on the 2005 EUR training course and expanded to cover international safety standards and international initiatives on harmonization of regulatory requirements. Each day focused on a specific aspect of reactor design requirements, eliciting the points of view of government agencies, regulators, utilities and primary vendors on the European scene.
The forum format is based on morning (and some afternoon) “lectures”, early afternoon group working sessions (of about 10 participants each), and late afternoon plenary panel / discussion sessions.
The next harmonisation forum
The WNU hopes to run a second harmonisation forum in the near future. If you are interesting in attending please let us know at wnu@world-nuclear-university.org