A delegation from the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), headed by its chairman, Josep Maria Serena i Sender, has participated in Brussels at the Fifth Regulatory Conference, organized by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) during June, 6th and 7th . This 2019 edition was chaired by Italian nuclear regulator (ISIN) General Director, Stefano Laporta.

CSN’s commissioner, Javier Dies has participated as speaker of the conference contributing with his experience both in the academic field and in knowledge management within the regulator. The Spanish regulatory body has participated in the steering committee of the conference. The Spanish delegation has also included representatives of the nuclear sector and trade unions.

First working session, on aging management, focused on the results of the first Topical Peer Review (TPR) under the 2014/87/Euratom Directive that reviews the European framework on safety and, in particular, in the national interpretations of the recommendations, as well as future activities or how the TPR should be used to improve nuclear safety.

Second working session was focused on decommissioning and the management of radioactive waste, the lessons learnt and the main challenges faced by  different decommissioning projects. In this regard, Juan Luis Santiago, director of Operations of the National Company of Radioactive Waste (Enresa, by its acronym in Spanish), has explained  the experience in Spain acquired with the decommissioning process of Zorita NPP and the beginning of the tasks of Garoña NPP decommissioning.

Third session was focused on the standardization of supply chains and obsolescence of components, the need for replacement and licensing of new systems and components that includes digital technology and, as a consequence, the need to fully include the concept of cybersecurity.

Final session highlighted the management and maintenance of knowledge, the challenges faced by the nuclear sector, both in the industry and in the regulator due to the loss of specialists in the most specific areas of the industry.

The ENSREG Conference, which has brought together almost 200 participants from various spheres of society and the nuclear sector around the world, has made it possible to highlight the shared awareness of nuclear safety and its continuous improvement, as well as the importance of communication, transparency and public participation in its development and implementation. It has also served to pool ongoing and future activities, and contributions and expectations on nuclear safety in the European Union.

ENSREG is a high level advisory group created in 2007 at the request of the European Commission to submit recommendations to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament on nuclear safety and nuclear waste management. The CSN participates in group meetings as well as in several ENSREG working groups dedicated to the areas of nuclear safety, management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, international cooperation and communication and transparency of the regulatory body.

The program and the presentations are available on the ENSREG website at www.ensreg.eu/ensreg-conferences.