Convention on Nuclear Safety

KEY POINTS

Euratom responsibilities

• Euratom does not possess nuclear installations as defined in the convention.
• The safety of nuclear installations is the main responsibility of the holder of the corresponding licence from the EU country on whose territory the installation has been set up.
• The responsibilities of Euratom within the convention are derived from the Euratom Treaty (Title II, Chapter 3) dealing with the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers of ionising radiation as confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (Judgment C-29/99).

Objectives

• The convention seeks to:
  • achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety through the enhancement of national measures and technical cooperation;
  • establish and maintain effective defences against radiological hazards in nuclear installations in order to protect people and the environment, etc.;
  • prevent nuclear accidents and limit their consequences.
• The convention does not lay down detailed safety standards but represents a commitment to the application of fundamental safety principles for nuclear installations.

Scope

The convention applies to the safety of fixed civil nuclear power plants including facilities for storage, handling and treatment of radioactive materials that are on the same site and are directly related to the operation of the nuclear power plant.

Implementation

• The parties to the convention are committed to establishing a legislative and regulatory and administrative framework to ensure the safety of nuclear installations which provides for:
  • the establishment of sufficient national safety requirements and regulations;
  • a system for licensing nuclear installations and the prohibition of operating without a licence;
  • a system of inspection and assessment. Comprehensive and systematic assessments shall be carried out before the construction and commissioning of an installation and throughout its life;
  • measures to enforce the regulations and the terms of licensing (suspension or revocation of licences, etc.).
• The parties must set up an independent regulatory body to grant licenses and to ensure that the regulations are correctly implemented. The duties of this body must be effectively separated from those of any other organisation whose task is to promote or use nuclear energy.
• Licence holders must establish policies prioritising safety and must draw up a quality assurance programme to ensure that the requirements are met. Emergency measures must also be put in place, detailing the procedures for informing the relevant authorities, such as hospitals.
• Each party to the convention must submit to the other parties a report on the measures that they have taken to meet their obligations under the Convention. The reports are reviewed during the regular meetings of the contracting parties.

Safety of installations

• The regulatory body is in charge of granting operating licences to nuclear installations. The convention specifies assessment criteria for each phase in the life of an installation: siting, design and construction, and operation.
• In choosing the site, consideration must, among other things, be given to its effect on the safety of the installation and the effects of the installation on individuals and the environment. Other contracting parties in the vicinity of the site must also be consulted if the installation is likely to have consequences for them.
• Regarding design and construction, safety measures must be put in place against the release of radioactive materials and the techniques and equipment used must be proven by experience or testing.
• Authorisation to operate a nuclear installation is based on safety analysis and a commissioning programme. The management of the installation must conform with the regulations established by the national authorities. Programmes to collect and analyse data must also be introduced.
• Each installation must also have on-site and off-site emergency plans to protect workers, the general public, the environment, etc. in the case of a radiological emergency.

Organisational arrangements

Parties meet at least once every 3 years. The European Commission represents Euratom at these meetings where parties report on measures they have taken to fulfil the treaty obligations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provides the secretariat for the convention.