IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national nuclear and radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, based on IAEA safety standards and international good practices, while recognising the responsibility of each country to ensure nuclear and radiation safety.
The IRRS team conducted the mission to the Netherlands from 5 to 16 June. The mission, carried out at the request of the Dutch government and hosted by the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS), was part of the second IRRS cycle to the Netherlands. The first IRRS mission in the Netherlands took place in 2014, with a follow-up review in 2018.
The team - comprising 16 senior regulatory experts from 13 Member States as well as three IAEA staff members - reviewed the regulatory oversight of facilities and activities and exposure situations. The team visited the Borssele nuclear power plant, the Central Organisation for Radioactive Waste, the research reactor at the Reactor Institute Delft and the Reinier de Graaf Hospital to observe inspections conducted by Dutch regulators.
The IRRS team identified two good practices: development of a regulatory guide on the use of level 3 Probabilistic Safety Assessment for research reactors and its implementation in the licensing process of the Pallas research reactor; and development of the information system Calamiteiten Net that forms a robust basis for the coordination of national and cross-border protective actions during the early phase of a possible nuclear accident.
The team made several recommendations and suggestions to further reinforce continuous improvement of the Dutch regulatory system and the effectiveness of the regulatory functions in line with IAEA safety standards. These included: the government should develop a national strategy for safety that sets out the mechanisms for implementing the national policy for nuclear safety and radiation protection, considering a graded approach, in line with the IAEA Safety Fundamentals; the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports should ensure that diagnostic reference levels for medical exposure, dose constraints for carers and comforters and for volunteers participating in a programme of biomedical research are established; and ANVS should implement the improvements of its ANVS Integral Management System, identify and develop its processes and procedures in a coherent manner, integrate them into its management system, and ensure that the management system is consistently used throughout the organisation.
"By inviting an IRRS mission, in this important period of the nuclear power programme in the Netherlands, the government demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement of the national regulatory framework for safety," said the IRRS team leader Cantemir Ciurea-Ercau from the Romanian National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control.
The IRRS team is confident that implementing the updated action plan will further support ANVS and other national regulators in the Netherlands to successfully enhance their regulatory framework in the challenging environment posed by the enlargement of the nuclear power programme."
"The IRRS mission is setting a new benchmark for the Dutch nuclear safety and radiation protection system," said Vivianne Heijnen, minister for the environment of the Netherlands. "We see this as an extremely important peer review. With this report we can continue to build a future-proof nuclear system in which safety remains paramount. And we will do just that."
The final IRRS mission report will be provided to ANVS in about three months. The Netherlands plans to make the report public.
The mission will be followed later this year by an IAEA International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission and an Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation (Artemis) mission. The IPPAS mission will review the legislative and regulatory framework for the physical protection of nuclear material and associated facilities and activities in the Netherlands, while the Artemis mission will assess radioactive waste and used fuel management, decommissioning and remediation programmes in the country.
Nuclear power has a small role in the Dutch electricity supply, with the 485 MWe (net) Borssele pressurised water reactor providing about 3% of total generation. The plant has been in operation since 1973 and is scheduled to close in 2033. At the end of 2022, the Dutch government announced the Borssele site as the preferred location for two new power reactors. One reactor, in Dodewaard, has been in permanent shutdown since 1997. The Netherlands also uses radioactive sources in medical, industrial and research applications.
