The subject matter of the invention is a method for controlling design basis and hypothetical accidents in a nuclear power station which has a high-temperature reactor with spherical fuel elements, at least one shutdown system and devices for afterheat removal. The high temperature reactor is accommodated in a prestressed concrete pressure vessel which, for its part, is surrounded by a containment building. The nuclear power station has four protective barriers for the retention of fissile material (the coating of particles of fissile material, and the graphite matrix of the fuel elements, the reactor pressure vessel, the containment building). The method consists in taking a plurality of sequential steps to ensure the functionality of the individual protective barriers, and thus to guarantee activity containment even in the event of hypothetical accidents. The steps comprise automatically initiated protective actions and, in addition to these, emergency measures which can be executed manually and are employed in the event of non-initiation of the protective actions. Furthermore, passive protection devices are also provided.
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