At the annual meeting in the French town of Montrouge, the French safety authority, the Autorité de sûreté nucléaire, the ASN, called for closer collaboration. “Research findings in the area of safety are crucial for safety authorities. It thus makes sense that authorities work together and share findings”, explained ENSI Director Hans Wanner.

Both the ongoing supervision and the general development of science and technology pose unresolved questions about the safety of nuclear plants. “Research projects can therefore make it possible to recognise potential problem areas, develop possible improvements, reduce risks and improve procedures”, Hans Wanner goes on to say.

Furthermore, ASN also provided information at the meeting on its investigations relating to the irregularities in the Le Creusot forge in components for French plants. The Swiss representatives, for their part, offered clarification of the analyses relating to findings in the basic material of the reactor pressure vessel at Beznau 1.

• The Commission franco-suisse CFS

  The CFS was set up in 1989 through an agreement between the governments of France and Switzerland. The commission is made up of representatives of the French safety authority, the ASN, and Swiss federal authorities. Special working groups have been set up for protection in emergency situations and radiological protection in the conventional sphere. In addition, French and Swiss specialists regularly carry out joint inspections of nuclear plants and radiological protection facilities in both countries. This bilateral cooperation is seen to be valuable and informative for both countries.