Analyses of the events in Fukushima revealed that the operator was not solely responsible for the failures in the run-up to the earthquake and tsunami, but rather that the supervisory authorities were also partly responsible. The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) therefore took this opportunity to review its own oversight culture.
The general conditions for systematic ageing management are fulfilled in Switzerland. This enables the timely detection of any age related degradation, and initiation of suitable counter measures.
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.
Some initial and provisional explanations as to why the design defects came about and why the accident progressed in such a catastrophic manner are presented by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) in its reports which examines the circumstances before, during and after the accident. In order to understand the scope and complexity of […]
The executive board of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) has named Andreas Schefer as the new Chief of Staff. The 48 year old lawyer is taking over from Felix Altorfer, who at the start of 2017 became Director of the Waste Management Division.
The main focus of the Inspectorate’s activities during 2003 was again the supervision of operations and maintenance at the Beznau, Gösgen, Leibstadt and Mühleberg nuclear power plants. These activities are reported in Chapters 1–4 of this report. Chapter 5 deals with general issues relating to nuclear power plants, such as emergency preparedness and inspections. Read […]
Beznau 1 NPP gets the go-ahead to start up again. Axpo has proved that the inclusions found in the steel of the reactor pressure vessel do not have a negative effect on safety. ENSI, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, has reviewed and accepted the safety case.
The operator Axpo was able to plausibly demonstrate to the ENSI that even if one were to assume that the reactor pressure vessel of Beznau 2 had similar material defects to those in Beznau 1, the safety operation of the reactor pressure vessel is still sufficiently guaranteed.
The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) requires that the Beznau and Gösgen nuclear power plants check the quality and design of the forgings of the steam generators in respect of adherence to the material specifications.
