The acting president of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), Javier Dies, has participated virtually in the plenary meeting of the Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association (WENRA) that has taken place in a hybrid way in Bonn, Germany, and remotelly. This meeting was also attended virtually by the technical director of nuclear safety of the Spanish regulator, Juan Carlos Lentijo, among other representatives of the CSN.

The meeting began with a discussion on WENRA membership, with the aim of ensuring that the operation of the association continues to be efficient despite the increase in its number of members. Based on the previous work of a high-level ad-hoc group, a document with general requirements and criteria to assess and manage the candidacies and the possible integration of new members in the association was adopted.

The meeting continued with a review of the situation in Ukraine and the international support dedicated to the country and the Ukrainian regulatory body (SNRIU). In particular, the actions undertaken within international organizations and under other groups were reviewed, to address the possible actions that WENRA could implement in a complementary manner with the aim of supporting the regulatory body in the development of its functions. To progress in this assistance, WENRA has offered the SNRIU technical assistance in the form of issuing recommendations and support actions for the performance of its regulatory functions, meeting the needs raised by the Ukrainian regulator.

WENRA Challenges

The Plenary also addressed the main challenges faced by the association in the current nuclear scenario and those that it will have to tackle in the future, in line with the implementation of its strategic objectives. Some emerging or relevant issues identified were the long-term operation of current nuclear power plants, the regulatory implications associated with the licensing of new generation of reactors (including Small Modular Reactors) or the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The acting president of the CSN, Javier Dies, emphasized the need to study the regulatory framework to allow supporting the future licensing of advanced fuels currently under development for operating reactors.

During the meeting, the association of regulators welcomed the United States as a new observer member and took the opportunity to review the state of preparation for the next Topical Peer Review under the Nuclear Safety Directive, whose scope and technical specifications have been prepared within WENRA.

The meeting also served to review the activity of the working groups dedicated to the harmonization of nuclear safety requirements for reactors (Reactor Harmonization Working Group), to the safe management of radioactive waste and decommissioning (Working Group on Waste and Decommissioning) and to the nuclear safety in research reactors (Working Group on Research Reactors). In addition, the activities of the Steering Group of Reference Levels (SRL Steering Group) were reviewed. This group addresses the ongoing process of reviewing, updating and reorganizing the entire body of safety reference levels of the association.

Likewise, the representatives of the different regulators that integrate this association contributed with the most important activities that their institutions and countries have faced since the last meeting.

The Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) was created 20 years ago in the spirit of establishing a regional forum that allows the exchange of information and experiences in nuclear safety and the development of initiatives and programs within the framework of the European Union, aimed at the harmonization of the safety of nuclear installations in Europe.

The Nuclear Safety Council is one of the founding members and participates in plenary meetings as well as in permanent working groups.

 

* Check here the glossary of technical terms *