Aufsichtsbericht 2015

Preface
This year, I can once again introduce the report by
confirming the most important fact: in 2015, there
were no incidents at Swiss nuclear facilities that
endangered the safety of either humans or the environment.
Last year, all facilities satisfied the statutory
safety requirements and were operated safely.
Among other methods, we have verified this by conducting
more than 500 pre-announced and unannounced
inspections and by evaluating various pieces
of evidence that we requested from the operators.
However, one incident in particular stood out last
year and is still of concern to us: ultrasound investigations
ordered by us revealed irregularities in
the steel of the reactor pressure vessel of Unit 1 of
the Beznau nuclear power plant. It is for the operator
Axpo to demonstrate to us what the findings
mean and what impact they have on the safety of
the reactor pressure vessel.
We will not approve a restart of Beznau 1 until we
are satisfied that the findings do not represent a
safety impairment and that the statutory requirements
are met. It will not be possible to say
whether this is the case until all of the analyses are
complete, all of the facts are on the table, and we
have reviewed these facts in cooperation with an
international team of experts. This process is
unlikely to be completed before the end of 2016.
The year 2015 intensified a trend that emerged a
few years ago, further raising its profile among
politicians and the general public: the deteriorating
financial situation of Swiss electricity producers
might affect the remaining service life of Swiss
nuclear power plants.
For many years, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants
were a highly profitable venture: every year, the
operating companies’ shareholders – largely cantons
– derived large sums of money from the electricity
sector. Safety and economics were not
mutually exclusive. On the contrary, it was in the
operators’ interest to invest proactively in safety so
that they could operate their facilities profitably for
as long as possible.
This made our task as a supervisory authority a
relatively easy one. The necessary improvement
measures were normally implemented without a
great deal of discussion. For example, even before
the reactor accident in Fukushima, Axpo decided
to invest some CHF 700 million in safety at the
Beznau nuclear power plant. It did so in the knowledge
that the facility had an unlimited operating
licence and in the expectation that it could therefore
continue operating for 60 years, allowing it to
amortize this costly investment.
In recent years, however, the situation has changed
dramatically. Today, the companies can barely make
money from electricity. It can no longer be ruled
out, therefore, that in the future the operators will
invest only as much in their nuclear power plants as
is absolutely necessary to satisfy the minimum
statu tory requirements. However, continued operation
of the nuclear power plants, as envisaged in
the Energy Strategy 2050, presupposes ongoing
investments in safety over and above the minimum
standards. As a supervisory authority, we cannot
tolerate cutbacks in safety for financial reasons.
In 2015, we completed a review of our supervisory
culture, a project that had been under way for over
three years and that is of great importance to me.
Although responsibility for the safety of nuclear
facilities lies with the operators, we are well aware
that the way in which we perform our duties as a
supervisory authority influences both the safety
culture of operators and the safety of facilities.
The reactor accident in Fukushima offered a clear
illustration of this connection. For us, it was also an
opportunity to scrutinise our own supervisory culture.
The project we have now completed yielded
a whole host of measures that must now be implemented
into everyday operations. The project’s
end does not mark the completion of the review of
our supervisory culture; rather, this will continue
on an ongoing basis in the future.
Safety is a question not only of engineering but
also of the people involved in it. For that reason, I
would like to conclude by thanking all ENSI staff,
who throughout 2015 have shown prudence,
commitment and a sense of responsibility in their
efforts to maintain and improve safety.
Dr. Hans Wanner
Director General
June 2016
10 ENSI Aufsichtsbericht 2015