European ITER Site Studies: Lessons Learnt in Safety and Licensing

On June 28 th 2005, an agreement was reached amongst the ITER parties on the selection of the European Site of Cadarache in France. As consequence, the ITER generic site safety assessment had to be adapted to the French requirements in order to initiate the licensing process. It is precisely in this point that Europe has been working through the European ITER Site Studies programme. The main objective was: to contribute to the ITER Organization to fulfill in time the deliverable of licensing files to the French authorities. This paper details the main gained lessons by the European Organizations involved in the writing of supporting studies for these licensing files. The lessons learnt tackle a very wide range of technical and strategic aspects, some of them never considered before for a fusion facility. It could be mentioned, for instance, the application of international codes and standards to typical fusion components, the integration of the approach for accident evaluation, the definition of waste treatment strategies or the functional approach to zoning (radiological zoning, ventilation zoning...) of the facility among others. The effort has involved the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) and the current Fusion for Energy organization, EURATOM Associations and European industries. Two facts have made specially challenging the task of support the licensing process: ITER being the first fusion reactor to be licensed as Installation Nucléaire de Base and the entry in force of a new nuclear regulation in France. So original and challenging scenario has lead to adaptation strategies and innovative for fusion approaches in safety and licensing studies.