The Use of Operating Experience to Reduce Risk

Abstract

The French nuclear program is based on a high level of standardization. However, operating experience of the first units, information on operating experience from foreign units, technical developments and new requirements from the safety authorities have led to some modifications from the initial design of the plants.

A major problem is to maintain standardization of all the units when at the same time modifications are implemented on units, some of which are under construction and others in operation. Another problem is to assure that an improvement on one point will not prove harmful on another. An organization and procedures have been set up by Electricite de France to collect operating experience data, analyze them, and decide where and when to apply eventual remedies to different units of a given series and to different series (900MW, 1300MW ...). These decisions take into account risk analysis, and the state of construction, start-up, or operation.

A system of determining priorities has been used, and examples of criteria and priority items are given.