ITER licensing process underway
14 Jan 2011
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Sabina Griffith
ITER Deputy Director-General Carlos Alejaldre and Safety Section Leader Joelle Elbez-Uzan reading the letter from the French Nuclear Regulator confirming the "receivability" of the safety files.
The ITER licensing process took a major step forward on 14 December, when the ITER Organization received a letter from the French Authority (Mission Sureté Nucleaire et Radioprotection) stating that the submitted safety files were "receivable." A statement that is obviously good news as it will allow the authorities to launch the technical examination of the files, the first milestone within a long process that comprises the technical examination of the files by various technical bodies and a public part.
"There is still a long way to go, but this note is certainly the key to opening the process," Safety Design and Integration Section Leader and ITER Organization Licensing Officer Joelle Elbez-Uzan said.
Following the letter, Deputy Director-General Carlos Alejaldre, Head of the ITER Safety Quality & Security Department, this week participated in a kickoff meeting at the ASN Headquarters in Paris, where the preliminary analysis of the files comprising more than 5,000 pages was presented. "This is a crucial stage for all of us," Carlos Alejaldre said, "both for the authorities and for us. As ITER is the first fusion device ever that has to pass the nuclear licensing procedure, we are setting the precedent for future projects."
Following the letter, Deputy Director-General Carlos Alejaldre, Head of the ITER Safety Quality & Security Department, this week participated in a kickoff meeting at the ASN Headquarters in Paris, where the preliminary analysis of the files comprising more than 5,000 pages was presented. "This is a crucial stage for all of us," Carlos Alejaldre said, "both for the authorities and for us. As ITER is the first fusion device ever that has to pass the nuclear licensing procedure, we are setting the precedent for future projects."