°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ

I am both happy and proud to announce that the so called DAC files (Demande d'Autorisation de Création) which include the Preliminary Safety Report (Rapport Preliminaire de Sûreté, RPrS) will be signed by Director General Kaname Ikeda today and then sent off to the French Nuclear Authorities. The RPrS together with the Impact Study are the principal documents supporting the application for the licensing of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ construction. The RPrS consists of two volumes, (a) the description of the facility and its environment and (b) the preliminary safety demonstration (see article below).

In a one-and-a-half year long effort, the RPrS was put together by AREVA TA under contract from CEA/Agence °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ France (AIF) in continuous interaction with °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project Office Safety Group that coordinated the contributions of Technical Departments. After an internal review process, the RPrS was sent to the Safety Commission set up by the IO Safety Control Section led by Lina Rodriguez. This commission consisted of a panel of independent experts, external to the IO, who provided their comments which were then discussed at meetings between the panel and IO. The review by the Safety Commission was completed in December 2007 and consequently updated based on the results of the review.

The RPrS has been written and will be printed in both French and English. The French document will be submitted to the French Nuclear Authorities. As soon as the English version is finalised it will be sent out to all the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Members. Once accepted by the French Authorities, the DAC files will then be presented to the public in a Public Enquiry.

So, the signature and the concluding submission of the files clearly signify the formal start of the licensing process. With this we have passed another important milestone on our way to the realization of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ.