Forms of Inspections and Inspectors

Inspection activities

Through its inspectors, the UJD SR carries out control and inspection activities at licence holders premises in accordance with the Atomic Act in the form of inspections. Inspection activity is defined as a process, by which compliance with the requirements set out in the Atomic Act, in decrees issued by the UJD SR, as well as the implementation of the UJD SR Decisions, is checked. In practice, the inspection verifies in particular that the nuclear installation has been constructed, is being operated, modified or decommissioned in accordance with the approved documentation and licence conditions. During operation, it also oversees compliance with the regulations and approved equipment maintenance procedures. Last but not least, it shall also be verified that the required activities are carried out by a sufficient number of adequately qualified and competent personnel.

Forms of inspections

Inspections are divided into planned and unplanned inspections as the first level. Planned and unplanned inspections are divided into routine, special, team and joint inspections with other public authorities as the second level.

Planned inspections are listed in the annual Inspection Plan of the UJD SR and are designed to cover equally all relevant areas of nuclear safety oversight.

Unplanned inspections are triggered by a condition at a nuclear installation (e.g. commissioning phases) or by operational events. UJD SR responds to a situation that has arisen unexpectedly or could not be scheduled in sufficient time. Unplanned inspections shall also be carried out by nuclear safety inspectors on persons who are reasonably believed to be using nuclear energy for non-peaceful purposes, or to be using nuclear energy in an unauthorised manner. Furthermore, persons who are reasonably suspected of violating obligations under international treaties relating to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as persons who are reasonably suspected of carrying out activities in the field of the use of nuclear energy pursuant to the Atomic Act without authorisation or approval. No case of unauthorised use of nuclear energy for non-peaceful purposes has yet occurred in the Slovak Republic.

In principle, inspections are announced in advance to the supervised entity. However, they may also be unannounced, if their focus and nature so require.

Inspection results

The course of each inspection, as well as the findings themselves, are documented in detail. Deficiencies identified during the inspection shall be recorded in a report, together with requirements and deadlines for their elimination. The licence holder is then obliged to notify the UJD SR of the manner and date of elimination of the deficiency.

Nuclear Safety Inspectors

A nuclear safety inspector is an employee of the UJD SR in permanent or temporary civil service after successfully passing an inspector’s examination before a commission composed of representatives of the UJD SR. A special category of the UJD SR inspectors is site inspectors (SI), who carry out their work at an assigned site with a particular nuclear installation. The main significance of the SI’s work lies in his daily presence at a particular nuclear installation, during which he continuously checks the condition of components, systems and equipment, monitors the values of selected safety parameters of the nuclear installation and controls the personnel’s approach to safety-significant activities.

The powers of a Nuclear Safety Inspector are defined in Section 31(11) of the Atomic Act and include the following:

• To enter at any time, without restriction, the premises of licence holders and the premises of nuclear installations and any premises where nuclear materials, special materials and equipment are located or where radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel is managed;
• to carry out inspection activities on the premises of licence holders;
• to ascertain from competent personnel, selected personnel, if they are not currently carrying out an activity with a direct impact on nuclear safety, their knowledge of the regulations;
• to investigate the status, causes and consequences of an operational incident and an incident in the shipment of radioactive materials;
• to check the emergency preparedness status;
• to control compliance with nuclear safety, physical protection, compliance with operating procedures;
• to verify the competence of the licence holder´s staff;
• to take part in the investigation of operational events and incidents during shipment of radioactive materials;
• to carry out inspections, take part in tests and carry out actions in order to ascertain whether the requirements resulting from the Atomic Act, generally binding legal regulations issued on the basis thereof and the conditions specified in the decisions of the UJD SR and in the inspection reports are complied with;
• to request the submission of documentation, records or other documents necessary for the performance of the inspection activity and request copies thereof and ask for information and/or explanations;
• to take the necessary number of samples of materials or fluids used or handled for analysis, or take samples from the environment after notification to the statutory body of the licence holder or its authorised employee;
• to use technical means to take photographic, video and audio documentation necessary for the performance of inspection activities, unless their use is prohibited by special regulations;
• to order the preservation of facilities, workplaces, structures and objects or parts thereof in their original condition until the completion of the investigation or order the documentation of the condition of facilities, workplaces, structures and objects or parts thereof at the time of the inspection;
• to order the performance of measurements, inspections, tests and other tasks necessary for the performance of inspection activities;
• to impose measures for the elimination of deficiencies, including binding deadlines for their fulfilment, after discussing the identified deficiencies with the statutory body of the legal entity or with the person authorised by the statutory body or with the natural person – licence holder in the form of a protocol;
• to withdraw the licence of special competence if it finds deficiencies in the special competence or in the activities of the selected staff member, which have led or could lead to a direct threat to nuclear safety, or to withdraw the licence of special competence if it finds deficiencies in the competence or in the activities of the lecturer, which have led or could lead to inadequate training of the selected staff members of the licence holders.