Ensi: Leibstadt and Beznau nuclear power plants withstand strong earthquakes
Published: Monday, Apr 8th 2024, 17:30
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The nuclear power plants (NPPs) Leibstadt and Beznau in the canton of Aargau can withstand rare and strong earthquakes, according to the nuclear supervisory authority Ensi. The nuclear power plants have demonstrated that they can bring their reactors into a safe and stable state during or after a very severe earthquake.
The examination of the documents submitted by the Beznau and Leibstadt nuclear power plants has shown that both the core cooling and the cooling of the spent fuel pools of the two plants are guaranteed in the event of very severe earthquakes, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (Ensi) announced on its website on Monday.
According to Ensi, these are earthquakes that can be expected every 1000 or 10,000 years. The nuclear cooling system and the cooling of the storage ponds would also be guaranteed in the event of a combination of earthquakes and earthquake-related flooding.
The dose values of 1 or 100 millisieverts that must be demonstrably complied with would not be exceeded in the event of such an incident, as Ensi stated.
The Ensi identified a need for improvement in certain areas as part of its inspections. According to its own statements, it made demands in its comments which, however, did not fundamentally call into question the overall results of the verifications carried out and would be pursued further as part of the ongoing supervision.
Proof still outstanding for Gösgen nuclear power plant
According to Ensi, the review of the extended earthquake verification for the Gösgen nuclear power plant in the canton of Solothurn is currently at an advanced stage, but has not yet been finalized. In mid-2023, Ensi accepted the corresponding safety case for the Mühleberg nuclear power plant in the canton of Bern. The hazard potential has decreased significantly as there are no longer any fuel elements on site.
In 2016, the Ensi defined new specifications for the seismic hazard of Swiss nuclear power plants, taking into account the latest scientific findings.
In three steps, the operators had to prove once again by the end of 2020 that their plants can withstand an extremely rare strong earthquake. The last time nuclear power plant operators had to provide proof of earthquake resistance was after the reactor accident in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.
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