Georg Schwarz, ENSI Deputy Director and head of the NPPs Division, explains the background and context in the following interview.
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.
The Swiss nuclear power plants (NPP) Beznau and Gösgen are required to perform standardized safety reviews of the base materials in their reactor pressure vessels to check for possible manufacturing flaws. Through this requirement, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI is implementing a recommendation issued by the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA).
All of Switzerland’s nuclear power plants will cope with an extreme flood of the sort that may occur on average once every 10,000 years, in addition to their ability to cope with other hazards. Even if the external power supply fails at the same time as the flood occurs, the plants can be brought into a safe condition. All the plants are clearly in compliance with the applicable limits.
