Nuclear safety, WENRA for the development of a common approach

Common approach for the safety of new reactors, extension of the operational life of nuclear power plants and nuclear safety in Ukraine: these are the topics discussed in Larnaca (Cyprus) during the plenary meeting of the WENRA (Western European Nuclear Regulators Association).

The meeting, which took place on 24 and 25 April, was hosted by the Radiation Protection Inspectorate of Cyprus.

WENRA is made up of the Directors responsible for the European nuclear safety authorities with nuclear plants and Ukraine and has over time been open to other States as Associates (Canada and Japan) and Observatories, such as for example. Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Norway and the United States.

The Association, in which ISIN has participated since its establishment in 1999, has the objective of developing a shared approach to nuclear safety, as a basis for its regulation within the EU and promotes its continuous improvement, guaranteeing the European institutions an independent evaluation capacity.

Part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussion of Long Term Operation: all the WENRA member countries in which nuclear power plants operate presented their orientation regarding the extension of the operational life of the power plants well beyond 30 years of life, downstream of in-depth safety and aging management assessments.

Ample space, during the two days of work, for the usual update on the situation of nuclear plants in Ukraine. In particular, the Director of the Nuclear Safety Authority, the SNRIU, reported on the state of the Zaporizhzhya power plant: following the demolition of the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper river, the artificial reservoir of the plant remained the only one that could be used as a well of ultimate heat to cool the approximately 3000 irradiated fuel elements present in the reactors, now all in cold shutdown, and in the pools of the 6 units of the plant. This represents one of the main critical issues on the plant in addition to the military situation that has now established on the plant itself where Russian troops are present with weapons that put its security at serious risk.

Also in this plenary, the topic of defining safety levels for the new technologies represented by Small Modular Reactors was discussed: in particular, the criterion on which we are working to review the safety reference levels developed by WENRA for current reactors and harmonize them with new technologies, is to maintain neutrality with respect to technology, considering all industrial reactors, including SMRs, not based on the powers of the reactors but on the definition of the levels of protection expected for the population. In this context, WENRA is also working to develop and collect the criteria to be considered for the development of nuclear fuels capable of withstanding accidental events (ATF - Accident Tolerant Fuels).

WENRA has carried out considerable harmonization work which, starting from 2006, has led to the definition of a set of reference criteria for the safety of reactors in operation, the treatment, storage and disposal of radioactive waste and irradiated fuel as well as the decommissioning of the plants, subject to implementation by the Member States.

During the meeting, the next actions were discussed in accordance with the new strategic objectives of the Association, approved and signed last November by the Directors of all the nuclear safety authorities members of WENRA.