Convention on Nuclear Safety: Switzerland publishes 8th National Report

News, Posts, International Affairs

Switzerland implements the requirements of the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS). This emerges from the 8th National Report to the CNS, submitted this week by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) to the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA.

The Convention on Nuclear Safety prescribes internationally binding safety standards for its 80 signatory states. The signatory states have undertaken to submit a specific National Report to the IAEA every three years on the implementation status of the Convention. Switzerland is one of the founder nations of the CNS and is actively involved in strengthening the accord.

By submitting its eighth National Report to the IAEA, Switzerland is complying with the requirement from Article 5 of the Convention. The National Reports must provide information on the specified subjects:

  • Nuclear plants currently in operation
  • Legislation and regulatory framework
  • National regulatory body
  • Responsibility of the licensee
  • Priority to safety
  • Financial and human resources
  • Human factors
  • Quality assurance
  • Safety assessment
  • Radiation protection
  • Emergency preparedness
  • Choice of siting, design, construction and operation of nuclear plants

The Vienna Declaration is part of the National Reports

On Swiss initiative, a diplomatic conference took place in 2015 in the context of the Convention. In 2013, Switzerland had submitted an amendment proposal for the Convention to adapt the requirements for the design and construction of nuclear power plants to the state of the art of science and technology. According to this, new nuclear power plants should be designed and constructed in accordance with the latest safety standards and technologies, and existing nuclear power plants should be subjected to a backfitting requirement as implemented in Switzerland and European countries. The Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety was accepted by the contractual states of the CNS and has been a fixed component of the Convention and its review process since the last review meeting in 2017. The signatory states also had to report on the extent of their implementation of the Vienna Declaration in the 8th National Report.

Next conference in spring 2020

The next review meeting of the CNS will take place in Vienna at the IAEA from 23 March to 3 April 2020. The National Reports of the participating contracting parties will be reviewed and evaluated at this conference. The individual states can then publish their results.