DESIGN VERIFICATION IN COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR FACILITIES: POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

In international discussions on safeguards, increased importance is being attached to the design verification of nuclear facilities. The authors, however, think that here expectations exceed the actual significance of design verification, as, for instance, the question of technical feasibility is disregarded altogether. The sole purpose of design verification is to prove the accuracy of the design information limited to safeguards-relevant plant areas. The time limits imposed for the transfer of design information show conclusively that design verification is not meant to be an instrument securing the inspectorates a say in plant design. An early start of discussions with the inspectorates on plant design is, of course, of mutual interest. Optimization of the safeguards system to be implemented may result, as may, on the other hand, slight adjustments to the plant design to follow safeguards requirements. In this paper legal and contractual grounds will be considered. In addition, possibilities and their limits, imposed by the German licensing procedure for nuclear facilities, will be discussed.