13 Feb (NucNet): Topical and focused peer reviews by European nuclear regulators could contribute to the harmonisation of nuclear safety and security in Europe, the director-general of Brussels-based nuclear industry association Foratom has said.
Jean-Pol Poncelet told a public hearing on proposed revisions to the European nuclear safety directive yesterday that harmonisation at various levels should be “strongly promoted” as part of the revision process.
He said the nuclear industry believes better cooperation between national safety authorities is the best way to reach alignment at EU level of nuclear safety to the highest safety standards.
Regular European topical peer reviews could contribute to achieving this goal, Mr Poncelet said. There are already a number of similar processes used to scrutinise nuclear power plants, including World Association of Nuclear Operators (Wano) peer reviews and International Atomic Energy Agency Operational Safety Review Team (Osart) inspections.
He said: “New initiatives from regulators are welcome if they avoid expensive redundancy. New peer reviews that are clearly focused on a specific scope with added-value for nuclear safety, defined by the safety authorities jointly and later shared, implemented and followed up by them, could be a very effective way to enhance harmonisation of nuclear safety.”
Mr Poncelet told the hearing that governance is the key to achieving ambitious and legitimate nuclear safety objectives.
Under the current institutional setup in Europe, national regulators are exclusively responsible for nuclear safety in their respective country. This responsibility cannot be shared or diluted without the possibility of undermining their authority and consequently the effectiveness and the credibility of safety measure, Mr Poncelet said.
He said there would be a risk of confusion and “double jeopardy” if more than one regulator is involved.
“Therefore, we strongly support current and future proposals contributing to more independence of, and providing more competence to the regulators, which have to be credible, impartial and effective.”
A proposal for an EU-wide nuclear safety directive was presented by the European Commission in June 2013. It calls for the establishment of a European system of peer reviews and EU-wide harmonised nuclear safety guidelines. The proposed revisions aim at improving the regulatory framework for nuclear safety.
Mr Poncelet had earlier said that proposed revisions were too technically detailed for a European-wide safety framework and risk undermining the authority of national safety regulators.
