ON THE STATUS OF THE SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF EAST EUROPEAN NUCLEAR-POWER-PLANTS

After the reunification of Germany, a number of nuclear power plants of Soviet design are now situated on the territory of the new Federal Republic of Germany which represent various stages of development of a line of pressurized water reactors. Except for units 1-4 of the Greifswald Nuclear Power Station, which have been shut down, none of these plants have so far been completed. Even before reunification, thinking about the safety of these plants began in the old Federal Republic. Step by step, safety analyses were conducted which have meanwhile been concluded in part, while some are still under way. Also international initiatives were started to evaluate and improve reactors of Soviet design. The ideas expressed in this article, which are based on such investigations are no final evaluations, but rather subjective statements partly referring to interim results of ongoing work.