MAINTENANCE MEASURES

The importance of nuclear power plant maintenance, in terms of both pl ant safety and plant operation, is undisputed among all parties concer ned, i.e. operators, authorities and expert consultants. Even in the a bsence of very specific requirements in the body of codes and regulati ons, maintenance programs were designed in a variety of ways and insta lled in nuclear power plants, or are still being expanded. Market dere gulation and incipient national and international competition in elect ricity markets is going to impose new stringent requirements upon oper ators, i.e. the need to cut costs. Understandably, all traditional app roaches and procedures will have to be scrutinized with respect to the ir necessity and their benefits, and ways and means will have to be fo und to reach the unaltered objective of high safety and availability a t less expense. As in the past, also expert consultants intend to part icipate actively in this process and, in this way, ensure that safety is not diminished by the need to seek an adequate level of expenditure s for maintenance. This contribution initially covers the main aspects of maintenance, indicating existing possibilities for optimization in this area. The practical cases cited are to show what can be achieved and, in this way, severe as suggestions. At the same time, this is to indicate that comprehensive concepts and approaches are indispensable .