A delegation from the  Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN, for its acronym in Spanish), headed by the commissioners Pilar Lucio and Francisco Castejón, has participated in Tokyo in the working sessions of both the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) and the Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI). Both committees report to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).

Meeting of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA)

The CNRA of the NEA has renewed its structure for the coming years. Starting in 2023, the committee will have five working groups with different tasks always focused on constant improvement in the field of nuclear safety.

The new mandates will focus especially on aspects such as oversighting and control of installations, the control of the supply chain and the incorporation of new technologies. Additionally, it aims to reinforce crosscutting aspects such as leadership, safety culture and, in general, organizational capacities geared towards safety.

At this forum, NEA Director General William Magwood announced the creation of a new high-level group under the NEA Steering Committee whose mandate will pursue a deeper understanding of the interactions of the different nuclear sectors (industry, regulators, etc.) with society and how to develop effective mechanisms for communication, commitment and trust-building. Commissioner Pilar Lucio, highlighted that, with this new group, "The progress is ensured and also the work on transparency and the construction of trust in regulatory bodies."

The Committee also reported on the work of the various working groups that report to it. The chairs of these groups presented their progress and proposed new activities and reports for approval. Among them, the Working Group on Codes and Standards (WGCS), which has presented its report on materials qualification, and the Working Group on Inspection Practices (WGIP) which has presented its document entitled "Commendable Practices developed during October 2022 workshop in Warsaw”.

 

The Committee also addressed the update of regulatory issues of interest such as the stress corrosion cracking events (SCC) that have occurred during the last year and the latest news on the Swedish nuclear plant Ringhals, which is carrying out repair works on the pressurizer of the primary circuit since August.

Meeting of the Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)

Commissioner Francisco Castejón participated in the CSNI working sessions, which allowed the members of the Committee to follow up on the most important activities carried out during the last year.

The commissioner highlighted "the importance of the CSNI's activities both internationally and for the CSN itself due to the work carried out to help maintaining the highest safety standards at nuclear facilities and as a forum to share the different technical experiences among the NEA member countries.”

The meeting led to the review the work of the various groups that depend on the Committee. It is worth highlighting the work carried out by the Working Group on Accident Management and Analysis (WGAMA), which has made significant advances in its three fields of application -thermalhydraulics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, and accident analysis-, and where the convergence of knowledge is essential for safety.

On the other hand, the representatives of the groups on External Events (WGEV), Risk Assessment (WGRISK) and Fuel Safety and the Fuel Cycle Safety (WGFS and WGFCS), presented their main activities carried out and requested the approval of specific documents derived from its activities.

In this context, it should be noted the report by the WGFS group on the review of key data from the Halden (Norway) research reactor, already dismantled, and which is essential to support research in various fields. During the discussion, it was proposed to review this database and its exploitation, in which the CSN could participate. The report of the recently created External Risk Assessment group that includes extreme atmospheric phenomena whose frequency may increase due to climate change was also addressed.

The Committee also reviewed the joint safety research projects sponsored by the CSNI within the NEA, and advanced the state of preparation of the seminar to review the benefits obtained in the last four decades from joint nuclear safety research projects, which will place in 2023.

This Committee also addressed coordination with other organizations in activities related to the CSNI, the report on recent activities with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the report on recent activities of the European Commission.

Nuclear Regulatory Activities Committee and Nuclear Installations Safety Committee

The CNRA is an international committee composed of representatives of the regulatory bodies of OECD member countries. It was created in 1989 to guide the NEA program on the regulation, authorization and inspection of nuclear facilities in terms of safety. The CNRA has various working groups that address issues such as the operating experience of nuclear power plants to communication with the public, including the regulation of new reactors or safety culture.

Regarding the CSNI, its mission is to help NEA member countries to maintain and develop the scientific and technical knowledge bases necessary to assess the safety of nuclear reactors and fuel cycle facilities on an ongoing basis. The CSNI has eight working groups focused on security research on various technical issues that seek to keep up to date with a defined work program based on the interests and needs of the committee members.

The CSN considers important maintaining of an active participation in all the groups of which it is part, and directly promotes activities relate to the safety culture (since the Spanish regulator is immersed in its own evaluation process) and the communication of risks to the public. Therefore, the membership to this committee is considered relevant and strategic, as it provides the CSN with the most valid references towards maintaining updated regulations and practices harmonized with our environment.