The French Nuclear Safety Authority is launching the safety option’s review of the ATMEA1™ reactor

ATMEA* announced the signature of an agreement with the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), for the review of the safety options of ATMEA1™, the 1,100 MWe Pressurized Water Reactor developed by the joint venture.

The objective of this review, which will be conducted with the support of the French Institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety (IRSN), is to evaluate the reactor’s safety options against French safety regulations.  

Stefan vom Scheidt, President and CEO of ATMEA, declared: “This formal review of the adequacy and appropriate level of safety options of ATMEA1™, carried out by internationally renowned safety authority ASN and its technical support organization IRSN, is an important step to demonstrate the licensability of the reactor. Since reactor’s basic design has been successfully completed, ATMEA is now ready to answer formal requests for proposal from its customers.”

ATMEA will make the results and conclusion of the review available to potential customers and their respective safety authorities. These conclusions will be issued in the fall of 2011.

* ATMEA, created in November 2007, is an AREVA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries joint venture. It aims to take a leading position in the worldwide mid-sized power range reactor market. Its headquarters are located in Paris. http://www.atmea-sas.com/