CSN Licensing of facilities

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Licensing of facilities

AUTORIZACIÓN DE INSTALACIONES

Radioactive facilities are authorised according to the Regulation on Nuclear and Radioactive Facilities. Radioactive facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle require the same authorisations as nuclear facilities, while the rest of the radioactive facilities in categories 1, 2 and 3 only require an operating permit, a declaration of decommissioning (at the end of its operations) and, if relevant, an authorization for modification and of the change of ownership.

For category 1 radioactive facilities, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for granting the operating permits, authorizations of changes of ownership and declarations of decommissioning. The rest of the authorisations are granted by the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines or, when the relevant competences have been transferred, by the Department of Industry of the government of the region in which the radioactive facility is located. In all cases, a mandatory report is required from the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). This report is binding in the case of refusal and regarding the conditions it sets for granting the authorisation.

When the facility is ready to start operation, the licensee must report this fact to the CSN so that it can conduct an inspection visit. After this, if the result is positive, the Council will issue a notification for the commissioning which will send to the licensee and the Ministry.

All radioactive facilities have a supervisor responsible for their radiological protection aspects, who holds a licence issued by the CSN.

To set standards relating to the protection of the workers and the population against the risks of ionising radiations as well as to regulate the organisations related to radiological protection, a Regulation has been prepared on the Health Protection against Ionising Radiations.

The CSN is responsible for authorising and supervising the Radiological Protection Services and Technical Units. Depending on the radiological risk, it may require the licensees of the authorised facilities or practices to provide a radiation protection service or that they set up a Radiological Protection Technical Unit to provide specific advice in this matter. Likewise, the CSN will authorise Personal Dosimetry Services that will be responsible for measuring individual doses, both external and internal, of all workers exposed to radiation in the authorised facilities. For this, the licensees of the facilities are responsible for the radiological monitoring of the working area and for the individual monitoring of the workers.

For further information on the types and categories of facilities mentioned in this section, please visit the section on radioactive facilities.

The contents relating to the authorisation of nuclear facilities can be found in the following section: Nuclear safety > Authorisation of facilities.