After the events in Fukushima Daiichi, ENSI ordered immediate actions and additional safety tests for the Swiss nuclear power plants. Moreover, from the accident analysis and the EU stress test, ENSI derived a need for action to improve nuclear safety in Switzerland: the “Fukushima Action Plan”.
Today, the Federal Office of the Environment, FOEN, published its study “Extreme Flooding of the River Aare”. Their findings also include a re-evaluation of the flood risk to nuclear installations located on the Aare.
The tests at the time confirmed that, in international comparison, Swiss nuclear power plants have a high safety level. Despite these learnings, it is important to remain attentive at all times, to keep the proofs of safety up to date, to live a strong safety culture and to systematically analyse events.
For the second time since the Fukushima accident in 2011, power plant operators have demonstrated that their plants are capable of withstanding an extremely rare, severe earthquake.
Appointed by the ENSI Board in August 2019, Marc Kenzelmann has been in his new role as Director General of ENSI since 1 July 2020. In this interview, the 50-year-old talks about his new position with the Swiss nuclear regulator.
The Federal Council appointed Andreas Abegg as the new Chair and Cornelia Spitzer as the new Vice Chair of the ENSI Board. Both will take up their positions on 1 November 2020. Rafael Macián-Juan will replace Jacques Giovanola, an ENSI Board member for many years, as of 1 January 2021.
ENSI experts gave IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi, a guided tour of the Beznau nuclear power plant. Grossi was given a picture of the continuous improvements made to nuclear safety as laid down in the Vienna Declaration, in the setting of a Swiss example.
The Federal Council has appointed Lisa Martinenghi as a member of the ENSI Board: The doctor in civil engineering will take up office on 1 August 2020.
Martin Zimmermann will step down from his position as Chairman of the ENSI Board at the end of June 2020. The decision was triggered by publicly expressed accusations of a lack of independence on his part.
