Survey of national regulatory requirements relevant to PWR pressure vessels

The objective of the present report is to perform a survey and comparison of the national regulatory requirements applicable in the different European countries, including the Russian Federation, and pertaining to the reactor pressure vessel, the assessment of its service degradation (mainly under irradiation) and the limits this degradation imposes on plant operation and plant lifetime. Since the US rules have inspired many European regulations, they are also included in the survey. The main differences and similarities between the different European approaches are identified in order to provide an input for future European harmonization work. (C) 1999 Commission of the European Communities. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.