Approval of the report on the results of stress tests on European nuclear power plants

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) and the European Commission have adopted, on April 26 2012, the report on the results of the stress tests on European nuclear power plants.

This report responds to the request from the European Council on 25 march 2011 asking for the launch of stress tests on the European nuclear power plants to take account of the first lessons learned from the Fukushima accident.

In a joint declaration adopted in conjunction with the report, ENSREG and the European Commission welcome the quality of the accomplished work and the efforts demonstrated by all European actors so as to carry out this unprecedented work in the best possible conditions. ENSREG and the European Commission also stressed the valuable improvements that the stress tests report will help achieve in the field of nuclear safety.

The results of stress tests conducted in France (Complementary Safety Assessments) are favorably appraised by the ENSREG report, which notes the comprehensiveness of the safety assessments conducted under the control of the French Safety Authority (ASN). The ENSREG report welcomes the wide range of improvements decided to increase the safety of french nuclear facilities beyond their existing safety margins, first of which the creation of a "hardened safety core" designed to ensure control of the basic safety functions in extreme situations. This report also makes several recommendations that ASN will work to implement.

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This stress tests process, which was launched in march 2011, has mobilized thousands of people in Europe, from the operators of European nuclear power plants, from the national safety authorities and their technical support organizations (TSO), and from the European Commission.

The report approved on April 26 2012 is the outcome of a peer review of the national reports established by the safety authorities of 17 participating countries. This review, organized from January to April 2012, has involved more 80 experts coming from 24 States as well as the European Commission.

The stress tests process has been carried out in an open and transparent spirit both at the french and european levels. Several public events were organized in order to present this process. The reports drafted by national regulatory authorities and the report adopted on April 26 are available on the website of ENSREG (www.ensreg.eu).

Another public event is scheduled on May 8 in Brussels aiming to present the results of the stress tests to the public (for registration : ENER-LUX-STRESS-TESTS@ec.europa.eu).

ENSREG and the European Commission now intend to set up an Action Plan which will include a follow-up process to the recommendations expressed in the ENSREG. They also share the view that the setting up of work in areas such as emergency preparedness and response will be useful.

 The ENSREG report will be sent to the EU Heads of States and Governments in the prospect of the European Council scheduled on 28-29 June 2012.

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ASN deems that the work conducted in each country and at the european level in the frame of the stress tests is a major step towards the harmonization and improvement of nuclear safety.

Press contact:
 Evangelia Petit, Press Officer, tel. : +33 1 40 19 86 61, evangelia.petit@asn.fr