Recent developments in the field of nuclear safety research

Some recent developments in the field of nuclear safety research will be presented. The contribution starts from the general aim of safety research – to contribute to the sustainability of nuclear energy compared with other energy resources.
The first two examples refers to the safety of operating NPPs. Possible boron dilution transients can lead to reactivity accidents at certain conditions. Comprehensive experimental and numerical studies were carried out to identify the critical conditions of such transients. Another topic – which belongs to the severe accident research - is the investigation of the reactor pressure vessel behaviour during core melt and corium in the lower plenum. Pre- and post-test calculations of the Swedish FOREVER-experiments will be presented.
The third topic deals with the transmutation of long-lived radionuclides. Up to now the radioactive waste has safely to be isolated for millions of years. Implementing new concepts a drastic reduction of waste and isolation time can be expected. As example accelerator driven systems (ADS) are discussed.