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25.05.2011 15:24

EU Nuclear Stress Tests Start on 1 June

The Commission is also in close contact with countries outside the EU and is working with them on re-assessing their nuclear power plants

AUTHOR: publics.bg

The Bulgarian Kozloduy NPP joined the stress tests earlier in March in order to determine their exact criteria
© Kozloduy NPP

From 1 June 2011 onwards, all 143 nuclear power plants in the EU will be re-assessed using EU wide criteria, from the EC announced today. These are comprehensive tests as the Commission has called for which embrace both natural and man made hazards (i.e. effects of airplane crashes and terrorist attacks). The European Commission and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators' Group (ENSREG) agreed today on the criteria covered and the way controls will be done.

The European Commission and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators' Group (ENSREG), which represents the 27 independent national authorities responsible for nuclear safety, have today agreed on the scope and the modalities for a comprehensive risk and safety assessment of EU nuclear power plants. The stress tests are re-assessments of the safety margins of the EU nuclear power plants. To guarantee the highest safety standards in the world, the EU draws the lessons from Fukushima and focuses in the tests on all sorts of natural disasters and includes also the effects of man-made accidents such as airplane crashes as well as terrorist or other malevolent attacks.

All security-related aspects such as measures preventing terroristic attacks will be dealt separately, following discussions with Member States recognising among others the need for confidentiality.

From the 1 June onwards, nuclear power plants will be re-assessed in a three-step-process:

- Pre-assessment by the nuclear power plant operators which answer the stress tests questionnaire, submitting supporting documents, studies and plans.

- National Report drawn up by the national regulator checking whether answers of nuclear power plant operators are credible.

- Peer reviews. Multinational teams will review the national reports. These teams will consist of seven people – one European Commission representative and six Members of the 27 national regulators. The exact composition of each team will be decided later. Teams can decide to inspect nuclear plants on the spot.

The Commission is also in close contact with countries outside the EU and is working with them on re-assessing their nuclear power plants. These are in particular Switzerland, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Armenia.