APPLICATION OF PROBABILISTIC SAFETY ASSESSMENT IN THE REGULATORY PROCESS IN GERMANY

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) was introduced to nuclear techno logy 20 years ago. Since then its importance as a supplementary tool t o the traditional deterministic approach has been growing continuously . PSA is used by manufacturers, utilities, experts and regulatory bodi es. The role of PSA in the regulatory process in Germany is described in this paper. Main emphasis is given to the discussion of the regulat ory use of PSA, which is centered on licensing, periodical safety revi ews, and the evaluation of new reactor concepts.