Regulatory oversight of nuclear safety in Finland. Annual ... - STUK

Nuclear liability
The Nuclear Liability Act prescribes that the users
of nuclear energy must have a liability insurance
policy, or other financial guarantee, for a possible
accident at a nuclear facility that would harm
the environment, population or property. Fortum
Power and Heat Oy and Teollisuuden Voima Oy
have prepared for damage from a nuclear accident
as prescribed by law by taking out an insurance
policy for this purpose, mainly with the Nordic
Nuclear Insurance Pool.
In case of an accident, the funds available for
compensation come from three sources: the license
holder, the country of location of the facility and
the international liability community. In 2011,
a total of 300,000,000 SDR was available for
compensation from these sources. SDR refers to
Special Drawing Right, an international reserve
asset defined by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), whose value is based on a basket of key
international currencies. In 2011, the value of the
SDR was about EUR 1.15. As a result of international
negotiations completed in 2004 concerning
the renewal of the Paris/Brussels nuclear liability
agreements, funds available for compensation will
be more than tripled compared with the current
situation. However, the entry into force of these international
agreements has been repeatedly postponed.
Consequently, the decision has been taken
in Finland to legislate nationally regarding a
higher amount of insurance and impose an unlimited
liability on licensees. The amendment to
the legislation entered into force at the beginning
of 2012.
In Finland, the Financial Supervisory
Authority is responsible for ascertaining the contents
and conditions of the licensee’s insurance arrangements.
The Financial Supervisory Authority
has approved both Fortum Power and Heat Oy’s
and Teollisuuden Voima Oy’s liability insurance,
and STUK has verified the existence of the policies
as required by the Nuclear Energy Act.
The Nuclear Liability Act also covers the transport
of nuclear materials. STUK ascertains that
all nuclear material transport has had liability
insurance either approved by the Financial
Supervisory Authority or by the authorities of
the sending state in accordance with the Paris
Convention.
STUK-B 147
STUK to do. The compliance of activities with the
plans is verified through inspections carried out
at the plant site or at subcontractors’ premises. In
addition to these inspections and reviews, STUK
has separate inspection programmes for periodic
inspections of operating plants and inspections
during construction. STUK also employs resident
inspectors at the plants, who supervise and witness
the construction, operation and condition of
the plant and the operations of the organisation
on a daily basis and report their observations. An
overall safety assessment is conducted annually on
each nuclear facility, dealing with the attainment
of radiation protection objectives, the development
of defence in depth, and the operation of organisations
constructing or operating nuclear facilities
and providing services to them.
STUK evaluates the safety of nuclear
facilities starting from the application
for a decision-in-principle
The construction of a nuclear power plant, intermediate
storage for spent fuel and a final disposal
facility require a Government decision-in-principle
that the project is in line with the overall good of
society. The task of giving a statement on and preparing
a preliminary safety assessment of the application
for the decision-in-principle is vested with
STUK. The safety assessment will state, in particular,
whether any issues have been discovered that
would indicate that the necessary prerequisites for
the construction of a nuclear power plant in compliance
with the Nuclear Energy Act do not exist.
In connection with the application for the decisionin-principle,
the applicant also presents a report on
the environmental impact assessment. When an
application for a construction or operating licence
for a nuclear facility has been submitted to the
Government, STUK issues a statement on it and
includes its safety assessment.
STUK regulates the different nuclear
facility design and construction stages
The principles and detailed approach of STUK’s inspection
activities are described in the YVL Guides
issued by STUK. Guide YVL 1.1 describes the
monitoring and inspection procedures at a general
level, while the detailed procedures are described
in other YVL Guides. The purpose of monitoring
and inspection activities regarding plant projects is
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