Senior international nuclear safety and radiation protection experts today concluded an eight-day International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to review the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety at the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA).
The team reviewed measures taken to address the recommendations and suggestions made during an earlier Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission conducted in 2011.
The IRRS team said in its preliminary findings that Slovenia had made significant progress since the review in 2011. The team identified a good practice in the country's nuclear regulatory system additional to those identified in 2011 and made new recommendations and suggestions to SNSA and the Government to strengthen the effectiveness of the country's regulatory framework in line with IAEA Safety Standards.
"By hosting a follow-up mission, Slovenia demonstrated its commitment to enhance its regulatory programmes, including by implementing the recommendations of the 2011 mission," said Petr Krs, mission leader and Vice Chairman of the Czech Republic's State Office for Nuclear Safety.
SNSA's Director, Andrej Stritar, welcomed the progress noted by the team, while also emphasizing that the mission highlighted important future nuclear safety challenges for Slovenia.
The five-member review team, comprising experts from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France and Romania, as well as four IAEA staff members, conducted the mission at the request of the Slovenian Government from 9 to 16 September 2014.
The main observations of the IRRS Review team included the following:
- SNSA has made significant progress in addressing the findings of the 2011 IRRS mission and has demonstrated commitment to effective implementation of the IRRS programme;
- The economic situation in Slovenia might in the short and long term affect SNSA's ability to maintain its capacity and competence; and
- A radioactive waste disposal project is stalled and the licensing process has not yet started, highlighting the importance of sustainable governmental commitment for the development of a repository.
A good practice was identified by the IRRS team:
- The Resolution on Nuclear and Radiation Safety in the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2013-2023 was issued as a programmatic, high-level national policy document.
The mission identified some issues in need of attention or improvement, including:
- The Government should ensure that appropriate human and financial resources are provided to SNSA in the short and long term, including for the implementation of an appropriate nuclear safety research programme;
- The Government should require organizations involved in emergency preparedness and response to issue the documents referred to in the National Emergency Response Plan; and
- SNSA should require that the operator of the Krško NPPs' solid radioactive waste storage facility take appropriate measures to ensure that the waste packages are accessible and can be inspected.
The mission team delivered its initial findings to SNSA and will submit a final report in about three months. SNSA informed the team that it will make the report public.
The mission included a series of interviews and discussions with SNSA staff and a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and the Environment.
Quick Facts
Slovenia has one operating nuclear power plant and one research reactor. As of 2013, nuclear energy comprised one-third of the country's energy production.
About IRRS Missions
IRRS missions are designed to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the national nuclear regulatory infrastructure of States, while recognizing the ultimate responsibility of each State to ensure safety in this area.
This is done through consideration of both regulatory, technical and policy issues, with comparisons against IAEA Safety Standards and, where appropriate, good practices elsewhere.
The IAEA encourages countries that have hosted initial IRRS missions to invite follow-up missions two to four years after the initial missions.