ETSON views on R&D priorities for implementation of the 2014 Euratom Directive on safety of nuclear installations

Following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011, the Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom has reinforced the previous 2009 Directive that had established a Community framework for the safety of nuclear installations. In particular, one new article introduces a high-level EU-wide safety objective of preventing accidents through defence-in-depth and avoiding radioactive releases outside a nuclear installation. For achieving this objective, the research necessary outcomes are mainly a better knowledge of the involved physical phenomena and its capitalization in methodologies and tools such as simulation codes. ETSON, the European Technical Safety Organisation Network, had already identified in its Position Paper in 2011 the main R&D priorities. The present paper underlines that most of these priorities, with a few updates due to progress of knowledge, remain consistent with the objectives of this new Directive. And it illustrates the ETSON involvement through examples of on-going or planned R&D national and international projects.