Severe accident facilities for european safety targets. The safest project

Abstract : Severe accident with core meltdown is a threat to the containment integrity. As Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents demonstrate, significant release of radioactive products into the environment can have severe consequences both for people's health and the country's economy. Severe accidents are the focus of considerable research involving substantial human and financial resources worldwide. The research field encompasses many challenging phenomena, complicated by high temperatures and presence of radioactive materials. No individual country has sufficient resources to address all important phenomena within the framework of a national research programme, therefore optimised use of resources and the collaboration at European and international level is very important. One of the main objectives of the SAFEST project of the 7th EU framework programme is integrating European severe accident research facilities into a pan-European laboratory for study of corium behaviour in severe accidents. The resources of this laboratory will be provided to other interested European partners for better understanding of possible accident scenarios and phenomena in order to improve safety of existing and, in the long-term, of future reactors. The SAFEST consortium will be able to address several severe accident issues related to accident analysis and corium behaviour. It will be a valuable asset for the fulfilment of the severe accident RandD programmes that are being set up after Fukushima and the subsequent European stress tests, addressing both national and European objectives.