Periodic Safety Review

Periodic nuclear safety assessment of nuclear installations

Under Section 23 par. 2 (f) of the Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 541/2004 Coll. on the peaceful use of nuclear energy (the Atomic Act) and on amendments to certain laws as amended, the licence holder is required to periodically assess, verify and where practicable, systematically and in a verifiable manner increase the level of nuclear safety of nuclear installations during their operation and during decommissioning, and to conduct, at least every ten years, periodic, comprehensive and systemic nuclear safety assessment of nuclear installations (hereinafter as the “periodic assessment”), taking into account the current level of knowledge in the field of nuclear safety assessment and to take measures to eliminate identified deficiencies and to eliminate their occurrence in the future; this includes also verification that measures are in place to prevent accidents and mitigate the consequences of accidents, including the verification of the application of defence in-depth principles.

Intervals and the scope of the periodic assessment under Section 23 par. 2 (g) of the Atomic Act are laid down in the Decree of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic No. 33/2012 Coll. on periodic, comprehensive and systematic nuclear safety assessment of nuclear installations as amended.

The purpose of the periodic assessment is to determine the extent, to which a given nuclear installation meets current national requirements and international safety standards, and is in line with the good engineering practice. The review evaluates nuclear installations according to the current requirements, examines the cumulative effects of aging of the nuclear installation, the impact of its modifications and the use of operational experience and technical development in the nuclear safety. The review also identifies justified modifications to the nuclear facility in order to maintain or increase the required high level of nuclear safety to the level approaching the level of modern nuclear facilities in the world. At the same time, it is necessary to determine whether the removal of negative findings identified during the review and the implementation of proposed safety improvements will ensure the maintenance of the required level of safety until the next periodic assessment.

In 2013, the amendment to the Atomic Act No. 143/2013 Coll. set a permit for the operation of all nuclear installations for an unlimited period (previously limited to a maximum of 10 years). The condition of periodic assessment after 10 years of operation remains valid.

Periodic assessment of V2 NPP

The license holder, Slovenské elektrárne, a. s., (SE, a. s.) performed a periodic nuclear safety assessment for the NPP Jaslovské Bohunice Units 3 & 4 (V2 NPP). A periodic assessment was performed for the state of nuclear power plant as at 26 August 2016, i.e. as at the date stipulated in the ÚJD SR Decision No. 275/2008 and was completed on 30 August 2017. Subsequently ÚJD SR performed the review of the periodic assessment.

The report “The review of the periodic assessment of V2 NPP” documents the results of the ÚJD SR review of the periodic assessment conducted by SE, a. s. ÚJD SR reviewed the results of the periodic assessment including the integrated plan for the implementation of proposed corrective actions and safety improvements to remove identified negative findings. The review, carried out within the framework of the ÚJD SR inspection No. 206/2017, was aimed at verifying compliance of the results of periodic assessment with the actual status and requirements of generally binding legal regulations of the Slovak Republic, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) reference levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety standards and the good practice.

Periodic assessment of EMO 12 NPP

The license holder, Slovenské elektrárne, a. s., (SE, a. s.) performed a periodic nuclear safety assessment for the NPP Mochovce Units 1 & 2 (EMO 12 NPP). A periodic assessment was performed for the state of nuclear power plant as at 31 March 2017, i.e. as at the date stipulated in the ÚJD SR Decision No. 100/2011.

The report “The review of the periodic assessment of EMO 12 NPP” documents the results of the ÚJD SR review of the periodic assessment conducted by SE, a. s. ÚJD SR reviewed the results of the periodic assessment including the integrated plan for the implementation of proposed corrective actions and safety improvements to remove identified negative findings. The review, carried out within the framework of the ÚJD SR inspection No. 306/2018, was aimed at verifying compliance of the results of periodic assessment with the actual status and requirements of generally binding legal regulations of the Slovak Republic, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) reference levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety standards and the good practice.

Updated: 09.08.2022