The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has participated in the 68th meeting of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), held by via videoconference the 2nd and 3rd of December. The CSN delegation has been headed by the commissioner Francisco Castejón, who has been accompanied by Carlos Castelao, head of the Research and Knowledge Management Unit, and other members of the regulatory body.

The meeting began yesterday with the welcoming remarks pronounced by the Chairman of the CSNI, Jean-Christophe Niel, general director of the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety of France (IRSN), and the intervention of the general director of the NEA, William Magwood, who thanked all attendees for their adaptation and effort to the difficult working conditions during the pandemic, which has inevitably affected the work program of the committee and its working groups this year.

Following the usual dynamics of the meetings of this Committee, the exchange continued with the review of the progress status and planning of the activities entrusted, as well as the approval of new ones, based on the presentations and proposals from the working groups. In total, the CSNI approved six reports and five new activities.

Work program

In relation to the work program, the update on the process to launch the projects under the framework of the FIDES Program, in which Spanish participation is yet to be formalised, stands out due to its relevance.

Among the approved technical activities, those related to the project aimed at analysing the importance of Uncertainties in the Assessment of Natural Hazards, as well as another activity oriented to the development of technical guidance on nuclear safety graded approach applied to Fuel Cycle Facilities, stand out. In this regard, the CSN showed its interest in monitoring and participating in these activities.

As an important activity for the CSN, it is also worth noting the continuation of its participation in the International Common-Cause Failure Data Exchange (ICDE) project on equipment and component failures due to common causes.

In the course of these days, a Status report on thermalhydraulic passive systems, and another Technical Opinion Paper on the Applicability of Nuclear Fuel Safety Criteria to Accident Tolerant Fuel Designs, have also been approved.

After holding this meeting, the commissioner Francisco Castejón highlighted “the excellent results obtained by the CSN and the Spanish groups working on the different research projects sponsored by the CSNI, as well as the significant feedback obtained so that the regulator can carry out its regulatory and supervisory role for Spanish nuclear facilities”.

About the CSNI

The Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations is an international committee within the framework of the NEA whose main mission is to help member countries maintain and develop the bases of technical and scientific knowledge to assess the safety of nuclear power plants, experimental reactors and fuel cycle research and facilities.

The CSNI is integrated by nine working groups that cover matters such as risk assessment, accident analysis and management, aging and integrity of structures and components, organizational and human factors, safety of the fuel cycle, electrical systems and external events management. The members of this Committee are high-level scientists and engineers with responsibilities for nuclear safety and associated research programs, as well as representatives of the regulatory authorities.

In this regard, the CSN and other Spanish institutions contribute actively and in a relevant way to most of the CSNI groups, programs and projects. In particular, a CSN representative is one of the six members of the CSNI Program Review Group, which performs quality assurance and scientific support functions in the planning and decision-making of this important Committee.

* Check here the glossary of technical terms *