To achieve its aim of improving nuclear safety in Europe, one of the objectives of WENRA, as stated in its terms of reference, is to develop a harmonized approach to nuclear safety and regulation. For this purpose, WENRA has been developing Safety Reference Levels (SRLs) for existing reactors for more than a decade. The emphasis of the SRLs has been on nuclear safety, primarily focussing on safety of the reactor core and spent fuel, but they also include issues like safety policy, management systems and emergency preparedness.
Following the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in 2011, WENRA tasked its Reactor Harmonisation Group (RHWG) with reviewing the SRLs and revising them where appropriate to take into account the lessons learnt from the accident. A revised set of WENRA SRLs for existing reactors was published on 14 September 2014.
In a corresponding WENRA statement issued on 27 October 2014, WENRA members committed to implement the SRLs into their respective national regulatory frameworks to improve and harmonize their national regulatory systems by 2017 as a target date.
WENRA has recently published two reports regarding implementation of the SRLs:
- Peer Review of the Implementation of the 2014 Safety Reference Levels in National Regulatory Frameworks, 23 March 2018
- Status of the Implementation of the 2014 Safety Reference Levels in National Regulatory Frameworks as of 1 January 2018, 09 March 2018
The first report covers a detailed peer review by RHWG of results of national assessments on the implementation status at the end of October 2015. The subsequent peer review was undertaken throughout 2016 and examined national conclusions on each of the 101 SRLs that were new or changed in the 2014 version. They were either confirmed or modified and were used as input for the drafting or amending of the national action plans to ensure full implementation. The conclusions and statistics within the peer review report reflect the status of implementation at the end of October 2015.
The second report is the latest version of an annual report prepared by RHWG on implementation of the whole set of SRLs, including those that were not revised in the 2014 version. This shows the status of implementation on 1 January 2018.
Most WENRA member countries have completed or are close to completing implementation into their national regulatory frameworks. WENRA members are committed to implementing the 2014 SRLs and will continue to work towards this. WENRA will publish further annual reports on the status of implementation to demonstrate continued progress.
