THE SAFETY OF NUCLEAR-POWER-PLANTS IN EAS TERN-EUROPE

Nuclear power plant operators and nuclear organizations from the West and from the East cooperate at many levels. The G7 and G24 nations hav e taken it upon themselves to improve the safety of Eastern nuclear po wer plants. The European Union has launched support programs, i.e. Tec hnical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (Tacis) an d Pologne-Hongrie: Aide a la Reconstruction Economique (Phare), and fo unded the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The countr ies of Central and Eastern Europe operate nuclear power plants equippe d with VVER-type pressurized water reactors and those equipped with RB MK-type reactors. The safety of these two types of plants is judged ve ry differently. Among the VVER plants, a distinction is mane between t he older and the more recent 440 MWe lines and the 1000 MWe line. Espe cially the RBMK plants (Chernobyl-type plants) differ greatly as a fun ction of location and year of construction. Even though they do not me et Western safety standards and at best can be backfitted lip to a cer tain level, it must yet be assumed that they will remain in operation to the end of their projected service lives for economic reasons.