STUK-B 205 / JULY 2016 B Finnish report on nuclear safety Finnish 7th national report as referred to in Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety Säteilyturvakeskus Strålsäkerhetscentralen Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK-B 205 / JULY 2016 Finnish report on nuclear safety Finnish 7th national report as referred to in Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety STUK • SÄTEILYTURVAKESKUS Osoite/Address • Laippatie 4, 00880 Helsinki STRÅLSÄKERHETSCENTRALEN Postiosoite / Postal address • PL / P.O.Box 14, FIN-00881 Helsinki, FINLAND RADIATION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY AUTHORITY Puh./Tel. (09) 759 881, +358 9 759 881 • Fax (09) 759 88 500, +358 9 759 88 500 • www.stuk.fi STUK-B 205 ISBN 978-952-309-329-4 (print) Erweko Oy, Helsinki/Finland 2016 ISBN 978-952-309-330-0 (pdf) ISSN 0781-1713 2 STUK-B 205 Finnish report on nuclear safety. Finnish 7th national report as referred to in Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety. STUK-B 205. Helsinki 2015. 86 pp. + Annexes 42 pp. Keywords: national report, Convention on Nuclear Safety, Finland Executive summary Finland signed on 20 September 1994 the Convention on Nuclear Safety which was adopted on 17 June 1994 in the Vienna Diplomatic Conference. The Convention was ratified on 5 January 1996, and it came into force in Finland on 24 October 1996. This report is the Finnish National Report for the Seventh Review Meeting in March/April 2017. There are two nuclear power plants operating in Finland: the Loviisa and Olkiluoto plants. The Loviisa plant comprises of two PWR units (pressurised water reactors, of VVER type), operated by Fortum Power and Heat Oy, and the Olkiluoto plant two BWR units (boiling water reactors), operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oyj. In addition, a new nuclear power plant unit (PWR) is under construction at the Olkiluoto site. At both sites there are interim storages for spent fuel as well as disposal facilities for low and intermediate level nuclear wastes. Posiva, a joint company by Fortum and TVO, submitted a construction licence application for the spent nuclear fuel repository in the end of 2012. The construction licence was granted for Posiva by the Government in November 2015. Finland is currently reviewing a construction licence application for Fennovoima Hanhikivi unit 1 in Pyhäjoki (VVER type design). Since the review is underway, Hanhikivi unit 1 is discussed in this report mainly with regard to the licensing process and siting (see Articles 7 and 17 and Annex 5). Furthermore, there is a Triga Mark II research reactor, FiR 1 in Espoo licensed to VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. The operating licence for the research reactor FiR 1 is valid until the end of 2023. However, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd has decided to shut down and decommission the reactor earlier due to economical reasons. This will be the first decommissioned nuclear facility in Finland representing a new challenge for the utility and the regulatory body. In this report, latest development in the various topics of the Convention on Nuclear Safety is described. Major safety reviews and plant modernisations are explained including safety assessment methods and key results. Safety performance of the Finnish nuclear power plants is also presented by using representative indicators. Finnish regulatory practices in licensing, provision of regulatory guidance, safety assessment, inspection and enforcement are also covered. Major developments in Finland since the Sixth Review Meeting are as follows: updating of legislative and regulatory framework, implementation of the renewed regulatory guides at the operating nuclear power plants completed, periodic safety review carried out at the Loviisa nuclear power plant in 2015-2016, and IRRS follow-up mission (IAEA’s Integrated Regulatory Review Service) carried out in Finland. Furthermore, construction of the new nuclear power plant unit continued and progressed to the operating licence phase, one 3 STUK-B 205 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY new unit has entered into construction licence phase and construction licence for Olkiluoto Spent Nuclear Fuel encapsulation and disposal facility was granted. Latest development in the various topics of the Convention on Nuclear Safety is described in relevant articles. Finland continues the hosting and participation in the international peer reviews and the Government of Finland has requested the IAEA to carry out four OSART missions in Finland between 2017–2022: • Olkiluoto 1&2 OSART mission will be conducted from 27 February until 16 March 2017 • Loviisa NPP OSART mission would take place in March 2018. • Pre-Operational OSART mission for Olkiluoto 3 before the first fuel loading (according to current schedule in April 2018) • Pre-Operational OSART mission for Fennovoima (Hanhikivi unit 1) would take place in 2022. In the report, the implementation of each of the Articles 6 to 19 of the Convention is separately evaluated. Based on the evaluation, the following features emphasising Finnish safety management practices in the field of nuclear safety can be concluded: • During the recent years Finnish legislation and regulatory guidance have been further developed and the revision of regulatory guide system was finalised in 2013. The overall revision of the regulatory guides took into account international guidance such as IAEA safety standards and WENRA (Western European Regulators’ Association) safety reference levels for existing reactors and safety objectives for new reactors. In addition, the lessons learnt from the TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi accident are taken into account. No deviation from the convention obligations has been identified in the Finnish regulatory infrastructure including nuclear and radiation safety regulations. • The revised regulatory guides were published at the end of 2013. The revised guides are applied as such for new nuclear facilities. For the existing facilities and facilities under construction separate facility specific implementation decisions are made. In the end of 2014 the licensees of operating NPPs submitted to STUK assessments on the fulfilment of the revised regulatory guides. In 2015, STUK evaluated the assessments and made decisions on how to further improve safety. Regular update and implementation of regulatory guides, particularly with regard to nuclear power plants in operation, are unique measures on the international perspective. • The licensees have shown good safety performance and rigorous safety management practices in carrying out their safety related responsibilities in the operation and modernisation of existing NPPs. During recent years, only minor operational events (INES 1 and below) have taken place and no major safety problems have appeared. The licensees’ practices are considered to comply with the Convention obligations. • Safety assessment is a continuous process and living full scope level 1 and 2 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) practices are effectively used for the further development of safety. Periodic safety review of the Loviisa plant was carried out in 2015–2016, and the periodic safety review of the Olkiluoto plant was carried out in 2007–2009. The decisions how to apply the revised regulatory guides at the operating NPPs were made by STUK in 2015. Several plant modifications have been carried out at the operating NPPs during the recent years to further improve the safety. Some of these modifications are originating from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. • The resources of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) have been increased to meet the needs to oversee the construction of the new plants in Finland. The reports of the recent IRRS mission and follow-up mission have been published on STUK’s website and mission results have been and will be used to further improve 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STUK-B 205 regulatory guidance and practices. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd supports effectively the regulatory body in the safety assessment work providing safety analysis capabilities and tools and performing safety analyses. There are also national research programmes which support and develop the competencies in nuclear safety and waste management of VTT as well as in the universities participating in the research programmes. • The Nuclear Energy Act was amended in 2015. The Act was revised to broaden STUK’s legal mandate to issue binding regulations. This was one of the recommendations from IRRS mission to Finland in 2012. Based on the amended Act, STUK published the new binding regulations concerning nuclear safety, security, emergency preparedness and waste management, as well as uranium and thorium mining in the beginning of 2016. Furthermore, based on changes in the Act the Government has to take into account the proposals included in the STUK’s statements when considering the conditions of the Decision-in-Principle and licences for nuclear facilities. • In January 2013 the Ministry of Employment and the Economy set up a working group to prepare a research and development strategy for the safe use of nuclear energy. The working group emphasized the importance of the research in the competence building. The Ministry of the Employment and Economy has started the implementation of the recommendations. In 2015 the Nuclear Energy Act was changed to ensure the financing for the enhancement of the nuclear safety research infrastructure. The Sixth Review Meeting in 2014 identified some challenges and recorded some planned measures to improve nuclear safety in Finland. These issues are included and responded