The different phases in the life of a nuclear power plant can be summarized by the following:

• Decision to build a nuclear power plant and choice of the type of plant after the bidding process

• Site selection

• Design, construction and commissioning

• Operation including periodic safety reassessment up to the end of the lifetime

• Decommissioning and dismantling

• Spent fuel management and waste storage/repository.

In parallel the availability of fuel supply should be addressed and perma­nent training and retraining should be a concern for the whole duration of the life (currently 60 years) with preservation and transmission of knowledge.

Documentation should also be maintained during the life of the installa­tion in a manner easy to refer to and especially including the regulatory decisions or licence conditions. The IAEA document INSAG-19 (IAEA, 2003b) is concerned with maintaining the design integrity of nuclear instal­lations throughout their operating lifetime and further recommends the creation of a design authority within the licensee:

‘The need to maintain design integrity and to preserve the necessary detailed and specialized design knowledge poses a significant challenge for the organi­zation that has overall responsibility for the safety of a plant over its operating lifetime. This organization, namely the operating organization, will therefore need to take specific and vigorous steps to assure itself that the design knowl­edge is maintained appropriately. The operating organization must also assure itself that a formal and rigorous design change process exists so that the actual configuration of the plant throughout its life is consistent with changes to the design, that changes can be made with full knowledge of the original design intent, the design philosophy and of all the details of implementation of the design, and that this knowledge is maintained or improved throughout the lifetime of the plant. For the process of controlling design change, the acces­sibility of design knowledge is not a trivial matter. The amount of data is huge, as it includes, for example, original design calculations, research results, math­ematical models, commissioning test results and inspection history. Further, many design change issues can be complex.’

Safety culture, which is translated into the expression ‘safety first’, should be implemented during the whole lifecycle of a nuclear power plant from design to decommissioning and waste management. The concept of safety culture applies to organizations, including all levels of management, and to the individuals who should always demonstrate in their attitudes and behaviours their dedication to safety. Appendix 2 of the present book gives definitions, assessment and enhancement of safety culture in nuclear installations.