5. Conclusion

Nuclear safety in Eastern European countries has been greatly improved. Considerable investment by Western countries has enabled us to achieve an acceptable level of safety for the current fleet of power plants. The situation at Chernobyl is a special one, but it now seems to be being tackled with determination. Significant progress has also been made in assimilating the fundamental concepts of nuclear safety: defense in depth, taking account of design basis accidents and the management of severe accidents.

All these positive points relate to the design and improvements made to the reactors as a whole. Most of the VVER 440/230s with the oldest designs have been shut down, but those still in operation are the oldest and most vulnerable. What's more, improvements made to certain plants must be applied to all plants of the same type. In addition to the strength of...