Unannounced inspections
«I’m a site inspector for ENSI, responsible for the Beznau NPP. Every week I pay a control visit to the nuclear power plant without prior announcement. I’m interested in everything, including ladders that have fallen over and that you can trip over. Thanks to their training and experience, inspectors know what to look for. We get up close in order not to miss any detail, but keep our critical distance from the operators.»
Raffaella Perego, ENSI site inspector
In addition to the general weekly works inspections, ENSI specialists carry out topic-specific inspections at all works. In the field of electrical engineering, for example, they check reactor protection, which ensures that the installation is correctly switched off in an emergency. In construction technology, for instance, they inspect, for instance, the professional execution of structural measures or condition examinations. Furthermore, special inspections take place for all areas of relevance for nuclear safety, protection against radiation and protection in emergency situations.
The measuring instruments for radiological protection are also inspected on a regular basis. ENSI staff check whether the measuring systems for monitoring radioactivity in nuclear power plants are in proper functioning condition. Only in this way can the population and personnel be reliably protected against ionising radiation. In addition, ENSI’s radiological protection experts measure radioactive radiation at the fences of nuclear installations and check compliance with the legal limits.
With its inspectors ENSI is a regular presence at nuclear power plants, waste management and research facilities in during transport. They also monitor whether inspections of installations by experts at nuclear power plants have been correctly carried out and documented – and whether the results of the inspections are in accordance with the requirements that have to be complied with. Further important subjects for inspection are the implementation of modifications to installations that ENSI has approved and the work of the radiological protection team for the protection of the personnel of nuclear installations.