Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate

The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI ) (French Inspection fédérale de la sécurité Nucléaire, IFSN ) is the supervisory authority of Switzerland for nuclear safety and security of nuclear facilities; it oversees the Beznau, Gösgen, body city and Muhlenberg, the research reactors at the Paul Scherrer Institute, the University of Basel and ETH Lausanne and the Swiss " interim storage facility for radioactive waste" ZWILAG. Seat of the ENSI is Brugg in the canton of Aargau.

ENSI in turn is monitored by the ENSI Board, one chosen by the Swiss Federal Council and under his direct body.

• 3.2.1 Supervision, Inspection and Approval
• 3.2.2 revision
• 3.2.3 Radiation Monitoring
• 3.2.4 Remote monitoring and forecasting
• 3.2.5 Vorkommnisbearbeitung
• 3.2.6 Emergency Preparedness
• 3.2.7 Safety Rating

History

By the end of 2008, the Department was responsible for the safety of nuclear installations (HSK ) responsible in Switzerland technical supervisory authority for nuclear installations. She had her seat in the Aargau Würenlingen.

The HSK controlled the security of the five operating nuclear power plants and other nuclear installations in Switzerland. The HSK simultaneously perceived the function of radiation protection oversight of all nuclear installations as well as tasks in the field of storage and disposal of radioactive waste. In contrast to Germany, where the above functions are separated and are sometimes even applied at the country level, the Inspectorate took out the tasks under a common management umbrella. It was controlled by the group consisting of non-executive professionals Commission for the Safety of Nuclear Installations ( KSA).

Since 1 January 2009, the tasks are perceived by ENSI. According to Act of Parliament was the HSK separated by the Federal Office of Energy and converted into an independent supervisory authority. Thus, the requirement of the International Convention on Nuclear Safety regarding is converted to the independence of the supervisory authority.

Legal foundations

The organization of the ENSI is regulated ( ENSIG ) in ENSI law. The legal basis for the supervisory activities of the ENSI are mainly found in the Nuclear Energy Act (KEG) and the Radiation Protection Act ( RPA ).

The tasks of the ENSI

According to the Nuclear Energy Act is responsible for the security of its system of operators. ENSI verifies that the operator of this responsibility to comply with and great by our own analyzes, inspections and meetings with senior management own valuation bases.

The supervisory activity of ENSI can be divided into two main tasks of the plant evaluation and monitoring of the operation:

Plant evaluation

Principles and Regulations

The assessment and monitoring of nuclear power plants is based on laws, policies, and technical- scientific basis. This includes the safety requirements and the criteria pursuant to which the assessment of the ENSI represented. The principles and guidelines to be developed by ENSI according to the state of science and technology. These promotes ENSI nuclear safety research, is represented in over 70 international commissions and expert groups for the safety of nuclear energy and is working on the development of international security target. In the guidelines, among other radiation protection objectives in the operation of nuclear facilities are defined, regulated reporting on the operation or organization of nuclear power plants and sets out the requirements for deep geological disposal.

Report

ENSI created security advisories, if operators of nuclear installations make applications that go beyond the existing operating license. For example, the periodic safety checks of all nuclear power plants by ENSI evaluated and the results are recorded with cushions in a report.

Shares

Requests for changes of nuclear installations that are covered by existing operating permits, treated ENSI and issued a positive decision in a release. Examples include changes to safety classified components and systems or changes to technical specifications.

Operational monitoring

Control, inspection and approval

ENSI analyzed the reporting of the operator, performs supervisory meetings and controls the core systems including their organization and operation through on-site inspections. ENSI allows for safety-related positions in nuclear facilities to only those persons who have the necessary skills and training.

Revision

Each nuclear power plant performs an annual audit of several weeks, during which maintenance work and repairs will be made ​​at the factory. At the same time the fuel is renewed. This revision shutdowns of nuclear power plants will be monitored and supervised by ENSI.

Radiation monitoring

ENSI monitors compliance with the radiation protection requirements and dose limits. It controls the radioactivity charges of nuclear installations and compliance with the release limits. It determines the exposure of the population and the plant personnel.

Remote monitoring and forecasting

ENSI operates around each nuclear installation around a measuring system for the automatic dose rate monitoring and a system for transmission of system parameters from the nuclear power plants. The data allow the ENSI to create forecasts for a possible spread of radioactivity in the environment at an incident.

Vorkommnisbearbeitung

Events in Swiss and foreign nuclear power plants are evaluated systematically in terms of their importance for nuclear safety. By assessing the measures taken by the provider, it is checked whether the findings can be transferred to other nuclear installations in Switzerland. If necessary, calls the ENSI improvements.

Emergency Preparedness

ENSI is part of a nationwide organization for severe accident management, who belongs to the National Emergency Operations Centre among others.

Safety assessment

ENSI summarizes all expenses incurred in the course of one year data to a safety assessment. From this it derives any measures and its future oversight planning. In annual reports on the safety of nuclear installations, radiation protection and the experience gained from operating and research ENSI accountable to the public stores.

Analyzes after the nuclear accident in Fukushima

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, ENSI has analyzed the events with an interdisciplinary team of experts. The results, including the lessons learned have been presented from August to December 2011 in four of the public reports.

The Swiss nuclear power plants also had to demonstrate, after Fukushima, as controlling an 10,000 - year flood, as well as a 10,000 - annual earthquake and earthquake conditional flood. Next, Switzerland participated voluntarily in the EU stress test. As a result of these reviews, the Swiss nuclear power plants had to make various improvements.

Operation in 2009

In 2009, the Swiss nuclear plants recorded 24 reportable incidents. Of these eleven incidents occurred in two reactors at the nuclear power plant Beznau, four in Muhlenberg, three and four in Gösgen in body city. There are also two occurrences in the core facilities at PSI. The occurrence in Beznau of 3 August 2009, it was assigned on the international INES scale event of stage 2, the register late occurrence in Gösgen June 24, 2008 Level 1 and the other events during the year were classified at level 0. That's since at least 1995, with respect to such events clearly worst year of operation of the Swiss nuclear power parks.

Operation in 2010

The 41 reportable incidents in 2010, distributed as follows on the Swiss nuclear power plants: A total of ten times for the two reactors at the nuclear power plant Beznau, eleven times for Gösgen, five times for body city and fourteen times for Muhlenberg. In case Muhlenberg ENSI perspective, the disturbances had occurred " substantially " during the commissioning of new equipment. In the core facilities at PSI occurred in 2010 two reportable incidents INES level 0 No incidents reported ENSI in the two research reactors at the EPF Lausanne and the University of Basel. 40 of the 41 occurrences are the INES level 0 assigned to. An occurrence during the revision of the nuclear power plant body city from August 31, 2010 ordered the ENSI INES level 2 to. The permissible radiation dose of 20 millisieverts ( mSv ) per year was exceeded in a diver. A violation of the Radiation Protection Act was not achieved in the incident.

Operation in 2011

In 2011, there were 31 reportable incidents in the Swiss nuclear power plants. Of these, 30 were in stage 0 and one divided into stage 1 the event INES scale. Seven incidents involved the Beznau with Block 1 and 2; five incidents related Gösgen, eleven nuclear power plant body city, four nuclear power plant Muhlenberg, three nuclear facilities at the Paul Scherrer Institute and a research reactor at the EPF Lausanne. No incident reported ENSI the ZWILAG and the research reactor at the University of Basel. The INES -1 event has been reported due to possible clogging of the emergency system water intake by an extreme flood in the nuclear power plant Muhlenberg. This realization prompted the power plant operators BKW FMB Energie AG, turn off the system prior to the scheduled revision date and retrofit.

Year of operation 2012

In 2012 there were in the Swiss nuclear installations 36 reportable incidents. 14 related to the two blocks of the nuclear power plant Beznau; nine nuclear power plant Gösgen, five nuclear power plant body city, six nuclear power plant Muhlenberg and two nuclear facilities at PSI. No reportable incidents reported ENSI the Central Interim Storage Würenlingen ZWILAG, the research reactor at the EPFL and the research reactor at the University of Basel. Among the reportable incidents were four reactor scrams: One in the nuclear power plants Muhlenberg and Gösgen and two in Beznau. An occurrence of the year 2012, assigned to the 0 -reaching to 7 internationally recognized event scale INES Level 1 ENSI. It concerned a disturbance in Unit 2 of the nuclear power plant Beznau: For a periodic function test of the emergency diesel generator not this started. The unit was hit with compressed air, but did not ignite. The set botene technical personnel of the plant vented the fuel supply line. In the subsequent attempt to start the engine ran on. All other occurrences of the year were below the event INES scale, ie at level 0

Operation in 2013

The provisional number of reportable incidents that are relevant for nuclear safety, the 37 messages in the range of variation of the previous years. Two incidents involved the Beznau block 1 and five Beznau NPP Unit 2; seven incidents were related to the Gösgen, also the seven Leibstadt, 13 NPP Muhlenberg, two nuclear facilities at PSI and a research reactor at the University of Basel. No incidents reported ENSI the Central Interim Storage Würenlingen and the research reactor at the ETH Lausanne. ENSI will report in its oversight report for the second quarter of 2014 in detail about the incidents.