On 4 October, ENSREG approved the report on the first topical peer review 'Ageing management of nuclear power plants and research reactors' and related country specific findings. This topical peer review is the most important safety-related exercise after the post-Fukushima stress tests in Europe.
The timely and effective completion of this review highlights the continuous improvement of nuclear safety in the EU and neighbouring countries. In total, 19 countries (16 EU countries, Norway, Ukraine, and Switzerland) participated in the peer review. The process will now continue with the establishment of national action plans addressing the peer review results.
The subject of the first review (ageing management) was chosen on the basis of the age profile and the potential long term operation of European nuclear power plants. The exercise was developed by ENSREG with the technical support of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association. The licensees made self-assessments, based on which national regulators prepared the National Assessment Reports, published at the end of 2017. In January 2018, these reports were made available for questions and comments from stakeholders. More than 2300 questions were asked by peer reviewers, experts and civil society when reviewing the reports. In May 2018, ENSREG organized a one-week workshop involving around 140 experts to discuss the results of the self-assessments, the questions and comments on the national reports, as well as the replies to the questions.
The preparation of this first topical peer review was fully transparent (more information on the Public engagement page).
Questions or comments on the Topical Peer Review are always welcome and should be sent in English to ener-ensreg@ec.europa.eu.
Press release issued by ENSREG on 29 October 2018.
