BRATISLAVA, May 5, (WEBNOVINY) — A Convention on Nuclear Safety review meeting, which evaluates national reports by participating countries, concluded that nuclear power plants in Slovakia are among the world’s elite in terms of safety. “The conclusions of the review meeting have confirmed accordance of Slovakia’s legislation and other activities in the field of nuclear safety with the articles of the Convention. No negative statement was made in the conclusions. Compared to other countries operating nuclear power stations, Slovakia is at the forefront in terms of safety and operational indicators,” the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (UJD) announced after the International Atomic Energy Agency session held in April in Vienna.
Slovakia received 79 questions in writing to its national report. They were related to the legislative and supervisory framework, the security system upgrade at the V2 Bohunice nuclear plant, the periodic safety review, emergency preparedness, the completion of Mochovce 3 & 4 and the measures Slovakia adopted in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. “Representatives of participating countries praised the high quality of the National Report of the Slovak Republic, its transparency and the abundance of provided technical information,” the nuclear watchdog stated.
Countries that operate nuclear installations also debated emergency preparedness at the meeting. “The countries stated that intrastate measures should be coordinated by respective institutions,” UJD noted. The regulator believes that Slovakia needs to carry out a national exercise, simulating a nuclear power station accident. “The exercise would test the preparedness at the national level, reaction capabilities of county crisis staffs and the reactions of the nuclear power plant operator. Such simulation would test the emergency preparedness in the Slovak Republic from a complex point of view,” the Nuclear Regulatory Authority elaborated. The last such exercise took place in late 1990s.
The Convention on Nuclear Safety is the first binding document on nuclear safety. It was drafted to formulate principles of organizational, technical and legislative requirements for top level nuclear safety worldwide. The so-called review meetings evaluate national reports submitted by participating countries. Each country reports about measures that have been or will be adopted. The Convention took effect on October 24, 1996. It has 72 signatories at present.
Power utility Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) and the nuclear decommissioning company Jadrova a Vyradovacia Spolocnost (JAVYS) operate nuclear power plants in Slovakia. SE runs two units in Jaslovske Bohunice and in Mochovce. JAVYS is in charge of decommissioning the two units of the V1 Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power station. There also is an interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in Slovakia and technologies to handle radioactive waste.
SITA
