Projects in the ENSI Research Programme seek to clarify outstanding issues, establish fundamentals and develop the tools that ENSI requires to discharge its responsibilities. The projects also foster the skills needed for regulatory activities and encourage the development of independent expertise. Finally, international projects deliver results that Switzerland could not achieve on its own and at the same time encourage international networking. These are the main objectives of ENSI’s research strategy.
ENSI is participating in two large-scale international research projects providing data on the ageing phenomena of reactors and on the operating and accident behaviour of fuel rods. The findings are being incorporated into ENSI’s safety assessments.
ENSI has updated its research strategy in recent months and the ENSI Board approved it in January 2023. The focus in the coming years will be on radiation protection, the effects of earthquakes on nuclear facilities, the long-term operation of nuclear power plants and disposal issues.
Calculations of radiation-induced tumour risks should also take account of uncertainties in the models used. This is the conclusion reached by ENSI radiation protection expert Luana Hafner and physicist Alberto Stabilini in their scientific paper.
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory in the town of St Ursanne, Marc Kenzelmann, Director General of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), pointed out the great importance of independent research at Mont-Terri.
ENSI is participating in two large-scale international research projects providing data on the ageing phenomena of reactors and on the operating and accident behaviour of fuel rods. The findings are being incorporated into ENSI’s safety assessments.
During a joint project-workshop, members of the international BIOPROTA Forum and members of the IAEA MODARIA II Working Group 6 discussed methods for biosphere modelling within the context of deep geological repositories. The workshop took place from 10 – 12 May 2017 at the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) in Brugg.
In future, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, ENSI, will be able to calculate the amount of heat dissipated from transport and storage containers by means of a new independent calculation tool. This has emerged from ENSI’s 2016 Research and Experience Report.
Although many insights have been gained through radiation biology research, many ambiguities still remain. Nevertheless, ENSI, in cooperation with other international organisations, is working towards closing these knowledge gaps.
Research work helps in taking decisions and developing the instruments that ENSI needs in order to perform its functions. The insights gained help develop the competence needed for supervisory activities and creates independent expertise. Internationally networked projects deliver results that could not be achieved in Switzerland alone.
The objective of the international Mont Terri Rock Laboratory Research Project is to study the geological, hydrogeological, geochemical and geomechanical properties of Opalinus clay. These properties are critically important for the assessment of the safety and technical feasibility of a deep geological repository for radioactive waste in this type of rock. In 2009, ENSI’s research […]
