The Swiss Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) is interested in the events abroad. They learn how to act with the national Power Plants in case of a nuclear incident.

Directly after the accident in Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on 11 March 2011, ENSI ordered immediate measures for a review of the safety of the Swiss nuclear power plants. In parallel, an interdisciplinary team of experts from ENSI (the “Japan Analysis Team”) reconstructed the events of the accident and subjected them to in-depth analysis.

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8 June 2011

Switzerland demands a strengthening of international safety monitoring

At the OECD Forum in Paris, ENSI Director Hans Wanner argued for a strengthening of the international monitoring of nuclear power. This followed comments by the Swiss Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard at yesterday’s meeting of minsters from the G8 and G20 countries on nuclear safety in Paris during which she called for internationally binding safety standards. Compliance with such standards should be monitored by independent inspectors from other countries and in the interests of transparency the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency should facilitate easy access to the results.

2 December 2015

ENSI reviews Axpo’s project plan for the safety case of the Beznau 1 reactor pressure vessel

Axpo submitted today a project plan (road map) to ENSI, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, outlining procedures for the characterisation and evaluation of the indications in the base material of the Beznau 1 reactor pressure vessel. ENSI will review this plan in collaboration with a group of international experts.

17 August 2015

“Only an ultrasonic examination is capable of providing authoritative information regarding the current condition of the reactor pressure vessel.”

The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) requires the Beznau nuclear power plant to provide proof that the reactor pressure vessel is safe. In an interview, Georg Schwarz, the Director of the Division for Nuclear Power Plants and Deputy Director of the ENSI, explains the importance of carrying out an ultrasonic examination.

23 July 2015

Beznau 2 can continue operating until the start of the annual overhaul in mid-August

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.

16 July 2015

More investigations are needed on the reactor pressure vessel of Beznau 1

While carrying out ultrasonic measurements of the reactor pressure vessel of the Beznau 1 nuclear power plant the operator detected flaw indications that require evaluation. It submitted a corresponding report to the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI yesterday.

12 January 2015

Switzerland is consistently implementing recommendations of EU Stress Test

Switzerland is on course with its implementation of recommendations resulting from the EU Stress Test. This emerges from the status report submitted to the European Union (EU) by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI).

29 August 2013

ENSI follows WENRA recommendation on review of reactor pressure vessels

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).

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Background Articles

11 February 2021

Ten Years on from Fukushima (2/6): The radiological effects of the accident

After the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi, extrapolations revealed that about one-eighth of the amount of radioactivity that escaped at Chernobyl was released into the surrounding area.

5 February 2021

All Swiss nuclear power plants comply with the updated earthquake safety standards

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.

4 February 2021

Ten Years on from Fukushima (1/6): The lead-up to the 2011 Disaster

Ten years ago, a very strong earthquake and the subsequent tsunami destroyed the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Safety systems failed and in several reactor units, the result was a core meltdown and the release of considerable quantities of radioactive substances.

Documents

ENSI-AN-11284	Research and Experience Report 2021 – ENSI-AN-11284	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (21.80 MB)
ENSI-AN-11075	Radiological Protection report 2020 – ENSI-AN-11075	Annual reports, Radiation Protection Reports	PDF (22.54 MB)
ENSI-AN-11061	Research and Experience Report 2020 – ENSI-AN-11061	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (22.44 MB)
ENSI-AN-10919	Research and Experience Report 2019 – ENSI-AN-10919	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (25.64 MB)
ENSI-AN-10577	2018 Research and Experience Report – ENSI-AN-10577	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (25.01 MB)
ENSI-AN-9961	2016 Research and Experience Report – ENSI-AN-9961	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (12.73 MB)
ENSI-AN-9601	2015 Research and Experience Report – ENSI-AN-9601	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (9.01 MB)
ENSI-AN-9157	2014 Research and Experience Report – ENSI-AN-9157	Annual reports, Research and Experience Reports	PDF (14.00 MB)
	Rules of procedure of the International Review Panel on Beznau Reactor Pressure Vessel	Other documents	PDF (126.63 KB)
ENSI-AN-9106	Action Plan Fukushima 2015	Action Plans	PDF (1,008.53 KB)
ENSI-AN-9041	EU Stress Test: Swiss National Action Plan – Follow up of the Peer Review	Other documents	PDF (758.87 KB)
ENSI-AN-8801	Implementation of post-Fukushima international recommendations	Other documents	PDF (882.92 KB)

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