The submission of the Swiss action plan to ENSREG on 31 August 2026 marks the completion of a further and final step in the European Union’s TPR II process on « fire protection in nuclear facilities».
Since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, ENSI has been participating on a voluntary basis in the European Union’s programmes to enhance the safety of nuclear facilities (EU stress test, Topical Review I «Ageing Management», Topical Review II «Fire Protection»).
The operators of the affected nuclear facilities in Switzerland are now required to develop appropriate measures to address the areas for improvement identified in the peer review, as well as the areas of good performance. In several cases, work has already begun. ENSI regularly monitors the progress of this work as part of its routine supervisory activities.
Action plan further enhances safety of nuclear facilities
«The international review is very valuable to us. We are participating voluntarily in TPR II because we are convinced that a critical external perspective contributes to the continuous improvement of nuclear safety», explains Felix Altorfer, ENSI Executive Board member responsible for the TPR II. «The results confirm that we have a robust regulatory framework in Switzerland and that good work is being carried out at the nuclear facilities. At the same time, they clearly show us where there is still room for improvement. The task now is to consistently incorporate these findings and thereby further strengthen nuclear safety in Switzerland.» .
Fire protection in nuclear facilities had already been reviewed in 2023 as part of the TPR II conducted by ENSREG. As a first step, all participating countries assessed the fire protection measures in their nuclear facilities and summarised the results in a national report. In a second step, fire protection experts from the participating countries assessed the national reports through a peer review in a Country Review Report and derived recommendations from them. These recommendations have now, in a third step, been incorporated into national action plans, such as Switzerland’s.
