Convention on Nuclear Safety CNS – 7th Review Meeting – 2017: Country Review Report for Switzerland

Drafted by Country Group 7: Australia, Croatia, Denmark, India, Ireland, Mali, Netherlands, Peru, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Ukraine

The  Country  Group  highlights  the  following  results  of  international  peer  review  missions  of
Switzerland:

• In  April  2015,  an  IRRS  follow-up  mission  was  conducted  in  Switzerland. The  mission concluded that the four recommendations and 16 suggestions for which ENSI was primarily responsible had been implemented but that the Swiss government should give ENSI, as the technical  nuclear  safety  authority,  the  ability  to  issue  legally  binding  technical  safety requirements and licence conditions on nuclear safety, nuclear security and radiation safety.
• Also, an OSART follow-up mission to the Mühleberg NPP was completed in June 2014.
• Switzerland  participated  in  the  European  Stress  Test  and  its  follow-up  activities. Furthermore, in December 2013, Switzerland tabled a proposal to amend Article 18 of the Convention  on  Nuclear  Safety  and  participated  in  the  ensuing  Diplomatic  Conference. Switzerland  contributed  actively  to  the  development  of  the  Vienna  Declaration  on  Nuclear Safety.
• Switzerland will take part, on a voluntary basis, in the Topical Peer Review Process which will start in 2017 according to the EU Nuclear Safety Directive 2014/87/EURATOM. The first Topical Peer Review  will  focus  on  the  overall  ageing  management  programs implemented  in  the  NPP  as  well  as  on  insights  gained  from  specific  ageing  supervision programs.
• Switzerland will host an IPPAS Mission in 2018.

The Country Group identified the following Challenges for Switzerland:

• Challenge 1: Open issues from the IRRS Follow Up Mission in 2015: “The government should:
  • strengthen ENSI’s independent regulatory authority by giving ENSI the ability to issue
    binding technical safety requirements, licence conditions on nuclear safety, security and
    radiation protection, and
  • strengthen ENSI’s position as the competent, technical authority, by having NSC provide
    their technical safety input to ENSI solely in an open and transparent manner.”
• Challenge 2: Finalizing the investigations concerning UT indications at Beznau RPV
• Challenge 3 : Decommissioning of Mühleberg NPP (see also challenge 2 from 6th RM, which remained Open).

In addition the country group identified 1 Suggestion and 5 Areas of Good Performance. The Country Group concluded that Switzerland:

• Submitted  a  National  Report,  and  therefore  complies  with  Article  5  and  in  time  following Rule 39 of INFCIRC/573 Rev. 6;
• Attended the 7th CNS Review Meeting, and therefore complies with Article 24.1;
• Held  a  national  presentation  and  answered  questions,  and  therefore  complies  with  Article 20.3.