NEA conference on Excellence in nuclear construction: discussions on safety and regulation of new reactors

On 19 June in London, Commissioner Stéphanie Guénot Bresson spoke at the Excellence in Nuclear Construction conference organised by the Nuclear Energy Agency, a specialised organisation of the OECD. Her speech took the form of a discussion with Mark Foy, Chief Executive of the ONR, the UK's nuclear regulator. Kirsty Gogan moderated the discussion between the two representatives of regulators who are directly involved in the context of the nuclear revival and plans to build new reactors, including small modular reactors using innovative technologies.

Stéphanie Guénot Bresson explained that French regulations, which only require safety objectives to be met, remain appropriate for new applications, and that the ASNR has established new frameworks for dialogue with project developers, including a ‘pre-licensing’ process.

The two speakers also illustrated the quality of international consultation between regulators, highlighting in particular their ability to organise joint reviews of joint projects in order to share safety assessments before national decisions are taken. For the record, the ASNR was the first regulator to organise such an initiative, in relation to the Nuward project.

Finally, it was reiterated that manufacturing quality has a direct impact on actual safety and that, as such, both regulators were in favour of any construction method that guarantees the replicability of procedures and facilitates monitoring of compliance with requirements.