Ministry of Economic Affairs

Report to the European Commission
on the implementation of

Council Directive
2009/71/EURATOM

First National Report of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands as required under
Article 9.1

July 2014

Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Abstract

The Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM established a community framework for
the nuclear safety of nuclear installations. Article 9.1 of the Directive requires
Member States to report in a three year cycle, on how they have fulfilled their
obligations under the Directive.
This is the first National Report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, describing how
the Netherlands meets the obligations of the Directive.
The report closely follows the ENSREG guidelines HLG_p(2012-21)_108 regarding
Member States Reports to the Council Directive.

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

List of Symbols and Abbreviations

Abbreviation

Full term

Translation or
explanation (in brackets)

ALARA

As Low As Reasonably Achievable

ANS

American Nuclear Society

ANSI

American National Standards
Institute

ASME

American Society of Mechanical
Engineers

Bkse

Besluit kerninstallaties,
splijtstoffen en ertsen

Nuclear installations,
fissionable materials, and
ores Decree

Bs

Besluit Stralingbescherming

Radiation Protection Decree

BV

Besloten Vennootschap

Private company with
limited liability

Bvser

Besluit vervoer splijtstoffen,
ertsen en radioactieve stoffen

Transport of fissionable
materials, ores, and
radioactive substances
Decree

BWR

Boiling-Water Reactor

BZK

(Ministerie van) Binnenlandse
Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties

(Ministry of) the Interior
and Kingdom relations

Cmer

Commissie voor de m.e.r.

Commission for
Environmental Impact
Assessments

COVRA

Centrale Organisatie voor
Radioactief Afval

Central organisation for
interim storage of
radioactive waste

CNS

Convention on Nuclear Safety

CSNI

Committee on the Safety of
Nuclear Installations

EIA

Environmental Impact
Assessment

ENSREG

European Nuclear Safety
Regulators Group

EOP

Emergency Operating Procedure

(OECD/NEA)

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Abbreviation

Full term

EPZ

NV ElektriciteitsProductiemaatschappij ZuidNederland

ETC

Enrichment Technology Group Ltd

Subsidiary of Urenco and
Areva, focussing on
enrichment technology
(centrifuge technology)

ET-NL

Enrichment Technology Nederland
B.V.

Subsidiary of ETC Ltd

EU

European Union

EZ

(Ministerie van) Economische
Zaken

FTE

full-time equivalent

GRS

Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und
Reaktorsicherheit

(Nuclear safety experts
organisation, Germany)

HABOG

Hoog Actief Afval Gebouw

Interim storage facility of
COVRA for High Level Waste
and Spent Fuel

HFR

High Flux Reactor

Research Reactor (Petten,
tank in pool type, 45 MW th ,
operated by NRG)

HOR

Hoger Onderwijs Reactor

Higher Education Reactor
(Delft, open pool, 2 MW th ,
operated by RID)

I&C

Instrumentation and Control

IAEA

International Atomic Energy
Agency

ILT

‘Inspectie Leefomgeving en
Transport’

Inspectorate of the ministry
of Infrastructure & the
Environment. KFD is part of
ILT.

IPSART

International PSA Review Team

(IAEA)

IRRS

International Regulatory Review
Service

(IAEA)

JC

Joint Convention on the Safety of
Spent Fuel Management and on
the Safety of Radioactive Waste
Management

Page 4 of 66

Translation or
explanation (in brackets)
(Operator of Borssele NPP)

(Ministry of) Economic
Affairs

Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Abbreviation

Full term

Translation or
explanation (in brackets)

JRC

Joint Research Centre of the
European Community

Kew

Kernenergiewet

Nuclear Energy Act

KCB

Kerncentrale Borssele

Borssele NPP

KFD

Kernfysische Dienst

Department for Nuclear
Safety Security and
Safeguards; inspectorate
branch of the Dutch RB
(part of ILT)

KWU

Kraftwerk Union

(Siemens nuclear power
group, nowadaysAreva)

LH

Licence Holder, licensee

LTO

Long Term Operation

MER

Milieu-effect rapport

Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) report

mSv

milliSievert

(Milli = 10-3); see Sievert

μSv

microSievert

(Micro = 10-6); see Sievert

MMI

Man Machine Interface

MW e

Megawatt electrical

MW th

Megawatt thermal

NAcP

National Action Plan

NDRIS

National Dose Registration and
Information System

NEA

Nuclear Energy Agency

NERS

NEtwork of Regulators of
countries with Small nuclear
programs

NEA

Nuclear Energy Agency

(An OECD agency)

NPK

Nationaal Plan Kernongevallenbestrijding

National Nuclear Emergency
Plan

NPP

Nuclear Power Plant

National plan of the
implementation of poststress test measures

(OECD)

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Abbreviation

Full term

NRG

Nuclear Research and consultancy
Group

NUSS

Nuclear Safety Standards

(of the IAEA, old series)

NUSSC

Nuclear Safety Standards
Committee

(IAEA)

NVR

Nucleaire Veiligheids-Richtlijn

Dutch transposition of IAEA
Safety Standards

OECD

Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development

OSART

Operational Safety Review Team

PSA

Probabilistic Safety Assessment

PSR

Periodic Safety Review

PWR

Pressurised-Water Reactor

QA

Quality Assurance

RASSC

Radiation Safety Standards
Committee

(IAEA)

RB

Regulatory Body

In the nuclear safety
Directive called ‘Competent
regulatory authority’

RID

Reactor Institute Delft

Operator of the HOR
research reactor in Delft and
part of the Delft Technical
University

RIVM

Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu

National Institute for Public
Health and the Environment
(The Netherlands)

RR

Research Reactor

SALTO

Safety aspects of Long Term
Operation

SAMG

Severe Accident Management
Guidelines

SAR

Safety Analysis Report

SF

Spent Fuel

Page 6 of 66

Translation or
explanation (in brackets)
Nuclear consultancy
company and operator of
the HFR

(IAEA)

Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Abbreviation

Full term

Translation or
explanation (in brackets)
A summary of the most
relevant information of the
SAR and a public document

SR

Safety Report

Sv

Sievert

unit of ionizing radiation
dose

SZW

(Ministerie van) Sociale Zaken en
Werkgelegenheid

(Ministry of) Social Affairs
and Employment

TRANSSC

Transport Safety Standards
Committee

(IAEA)

URENCO

URanium ENrichment COrporation
Ltd

WANO

World Association of Nuclear
Operators

VWS

(Ministerie van) Volksgezondheid,
Welzijn en Sport

WENRA

Western European Nuclear
Regulators Association

(Ministry of) Health,
Welfare, and Sport

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 2
List of Symbols and Abbreviations ................................................................................. 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 11
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 17
ARTICLE 4

Legislative, regulatory and organizational framework ..................... 19

4.0

Text of Article and summary statements...................................................... 19

4.1

Established and maintained national framework for nuclear safety ......... 24

4.0.a
4.0.b
4.0.c
4.0.d
4.0.e
4.0.f

Overview of national legislative framework ..........................................................19
Overview of regulatory and organisational framework .........................................21
Implementation of the national framework by the RB and other organisations .....23
Differences in implementation between nuclear installations ................................23
Allocation of national responsibilities and coordination........................................24
Ratification of relevant international conventions and other legal instruments .....24

4.1.a
Responsibilities for adoption of national nuclear safety requirements ..................24
4.1.b
Provision of a system of licensing and prohibition of operation of installations
without a licence ..................................................................................................................25
4.1.c
Provision of a system of nuclear safety supervision ..............................................27
4.1.d
Enforcement actions, including suspension of operation and modification or
revocation of a licence .........................................................................................................28

4.2 Ensuring the national framework is maintained and improved when
appropriate................................................................................................................ 29
4.2.a

Arrangements .........................................................................................................29

ARTICLE 5

Competent regulatory authority ......................................................... 33

5.0

Text of Article ................................................................................................. 33

5.1

Establishment and maintenance of a competent regulatory authority ...... 33

5.2

Independence of the competent regulatory authority ................................. 33

5.1.a
5.1.b

Legal foundations of the competent regulatory authority ......................................33
Authorities and their responsibilities .....................................................................33

5.2.a
Position of the RB in the national administration and legal system .......................33
5.2.b
Separation of RB from bodies responsible for promotion and/or utilization of
nuclear energy ......................................................................................................................34
5.2.c
Ensuring effective independence of regulatory decision making ..........................34
5.2.d
Reporting arrangements of the RB, illustrating its independence ..........................34

5.3 Legal powers and human and financial resources of the competent
regulatory authority ................................................................................................. 34

5.3.a
Power to require Licence Holder to comply with national safety requirements and
licence conditions .................................................................................................................35
5.3.b
Power to require demonstration of compliance .....................................................35
5.3.c
Verification of compliance through regulatory assessments and inspections ........36
5.3.d
Regulatory enforcement actions.............................................................................36

5.4

Examples of implementation ......................................................................... 36

5.4.a
5.4.b
5.4.c

Example of licencing .............................................................................................36
Examples of inspection ..........................................................................................37
Example of enforcement ........................................................................................37
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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

ARTICLE 6
6.0

Licence holders ................................................................................... 39

Text of Article ................................................................................................. 39

6.1 Ensuring prime responsibility for nuclear safety rests with Licence
Holders ...................................................................................................................... 39
6.2

Ensuring regular assessment and verification of nuclear safety ................ 40

6.2.a
6.2.b

Regulatory requirements ........................................................................................ 40
Examples of how LHs address the aforementioned requirements ......................... 41

6.3 Verification of measures in place for prevention of accidents and the
mitigation of their potential consequences ............................................................. 42

6.3.a
Regulatory requirements establishing the basis for the verification of the measures
for the prevention of accidents and mitigation of consequences .......................................... 42
6.3.b
Examples of how LHs address the aforementioned requirements ......................... 43

6.4 Ensuring the establishment and implementation of management systems
at the Licence Holders .............................................................................................. 45
6.5 Requiring Licence Holders to provide for adequate financial and human
resources .................................................................................................................... 45

6.5.a
Regulatory requirements to provide for adequate financial and human resources 45
6.5.b
Description of the process of verification by the RB of the financial and human
resources of the LH .............................................................................................................. 46

ARTICLE 7

Expertise and skills in nuclear safety................................................. 47

7.0

Text of Article ................................................................................................. 47

7.1

Implementation at the Licence Holders ........................................................ 47

7.2

Implementation at the Competent regulatory authority............................. 47

ARTICLE 8

Information to the public.................................................................... 49

8.0

Text of Article ................................................................................................. 49

8.1

Implementation ............................................................................................... 49

8.1.a
Legal basis for providing information ................................................................... 49
8.1.b
How the regulatory authority provides information and communicates in its fields
of competence to the general public and to workers ............................................................ 50
8.1.c
Frequency of information provision including arrangements for ensuring that the
information provided is up to date and easily accessible ..................................................... 50
8.1.d
Particular arrangements for providing information in emergency situations ......... 51
8.1.e
Categories of information that are not being provided and the legal basis that is
limiting access to information and appeal mechanisms ....................................................... 51
8.1.f
Information provided by Licence Holders ............................................................. 51

ARTICLE 9

Reporting ............................................................................................. 53

9.0

Text of Article ................................................................................................. 53

9.1

Periodic reporting ........................................................................................... 53

9.2

Reporting by the Commission ....................................................................... 53

9.3 Periodic self assessment of the national framework and the Competent
regulatory authority ................................................................................................. 53
Annex 1

Transposition of Directive 2009/71 Euratom .......................................... 55

Annex 2

Nuclear Safety Rules (NVRs) .................................................................. 61

Annex 3

Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs) ............................................................... 65

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

Introduction

This is the first National Report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as
required under Article 9.1 of Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM.
This section sets out the purpose of the present report. It then continues
with an overview of the national nuclear programme including the nuclear
installations, followed by a description of the national policy towards
nuclear activities in the Netherlands and the main safety issues of the
reporting period. The introduction finishes with a description of the
structure of the report.
Nuclear Installations according to the definition of Article 3(1) of the
Directive
Overview of installations
Table 1 lists all installations according to the definition of Article 3(1) of the
Directive, present in the Netherlands. All radioactive waste in the Netherlands is
stored at the national waste management facility operated by COVRA in the SouthWest of the country. Nuclear installations therefore do not have their own (longterm) waste storage facilities. Spent fuel from the Borssele Nuclear Power Plant
(NPP) is reprocessed abroad and spent fuel from Research Reactors (RRs) is stored
at COVRA.

Table 1

Nuclear installations, Article 3(1), in the Netherlands

Nuclear installation

Short description

Enrichment plants 1

Urenco enrichment plant, Almelo

Nuclear fuel fabrication plants

None

NPPs

Borssele NPP, PWR, 485 MW e
Dodewaard NPP, BWR, in safe enclosure

Reprocessing plants

None

Research reactor facility(ies)

High Flux Reactor (HFR), Petten, 45 MW th
Low Flux Reactor (LFR), Petten, 30 kW th
permanent shutdown, preparing for
decommissioning
Technical University Delft research reactor
(HOR), 2 MW th

Spent fuel storage facility(ies)

HABOG facility, operated by National waste
management authority COVRA

Somewhat more details about the installations are provided below.
Enrichment plant of Urenco in Almelo
Urenco, at the end of 2012, supplied 31% of world-demand for low-enriched
uranium, of which its plant in Almelo, the Netherlands, provided one third.
Nuclear Power Plant: Borssele NPP
The Borssele NPP is a two-loop Siemens PWR that has been in commercial operation
since 1973. As it is the only NPP now in operation in the Netherlands, the emphasis

1

The company ET-NL in Almelo supplies all centrifuges for the enrichment plants of its parent companies Urenco and
Areva – world-wide.
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in the remainder of this report is on this plant. It has a net electrical output of about
485 MW e . The NPP generates some 4% of the Netherlands’ electricity demand.
In 1994 the Dutch Parliament decided to phase out the plant by 2003. The decision
was legally challenged and taken back. Instead, in 2006 a Covenant was signed by
the operator, the owners of the plant, and the government, allowing the plant to
operate until end 2033 at the latest, under additional (safety- and non-safety
related) conditions, next to the licence requirements. Following a specific safety
assessment, a licence for Long Term Operation has been issued in 2013.
The operator and Licence Holder (LH) of Borssele NPP is the company EPZ. Delta
and Essent/RWE are shareholders of EPZ, and own 70% respectively 30% of the
shares.
Nuclear Power Plant: Dodewaard NPP, in safe enclosure
The Dodewaard NPP was a BWR-type 60 MW e reactor that operated from 1968 until
early 1997. In 2002 the LH obtained a licence for ‘deferred dismantling’ after 40
years of safe enclosure. In April 2003, all the spent fuel had been removed from the
site and had been shipped to Sellafield. Also, the plant has been decontaminated,
and a new ventilation system has been put into place. June 1st, 2005, the 40-years
safe enclosure period started under a licence that requires the owner to commence
dismantling activities in 2045.
Research Reactors: High Flux Reactor (HFR)
The HFR is a tank-in-pool type reactor commissioned in 1961 and is located in
Petten in the province of North Holland. The owner is the Joint Research Centre
(JRC) of the European Commission but since January 2005, the LH and operating
organisation is the Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG). The HFR is used
not only as a neutron source for applied and scientific research, but also for the
production of isotopes for medical and industrial applications.
Research Reactors: HOR in Delft
The HOR is an open pool-type research reactor with a thermal power of 2 MW th . It is
located in Delft. The owner is the Technical University of Delft. It services education
and research purposes. Medical applications are getting more and more attention at
the HOR and its associated facilities. Currently the HOR is being upgraded. The
associated project is called OYSTER. The installation of a liquid hydrogen cold
neutron source is an essential element in the project as well as a possible power
increase.
Spent fuel and radioactive waste storage facility of COVRA
COVRA is the national waste management organisation in the Netherlands. On its
(single) site of 25 ha, it operates several waste processing and storage facilities for
radioactive waste and spent fuel. All high level waste is stored in the dedicated
HABOG building, which is a modular vault with a passive cooling system. It stores
spent fuel (SF) of research reactors, spent uranium targets from molybdenum
production, vitrified waste and compacted end caps and hulls, from the reprocessing
of power reactor Spent Fuel (SF).
More about waste management and COVRA can be found in the national report of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands of the Joint Convention 2 (JC) on the Safety of Spent
Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
National Policy Regarding Nuclear Activities
Covenant
The Dutch government in 2006 signed an agreement (Covenant 3) with the owners of
the Borssele NPP which allows for operation until the end of 2033, if next to the
requirements of the operating licence additional requirements specified in the
Covenant are met. The legal status of the agreement is such, that it cannot easily be
2
3

The last (fourth) report for the JC has been published in 2011.
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stcrt-2006-136-p29-SC76083.pdf

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

challenged by future policies on nuclear power. One requirement is that the Borssele
NPP keeps belonging to the top-25% in safety of the fleet of water-cooled and
water-moderated reactors in the European Union, Canada and the USA. To assess
whether Borssele NPP meets this requirement, the Borssele Benchmark Committee
has been established. The first report of the Commission has been published in
September 2013 4, and has been presented at the 6th Review Meeting of the
Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS).
The Committee concluded that the Borssele nuclear power station belongs to the
25% safest NPPs of a similar type in the EU, U.S. and Canada, and thus complies
with the safety requirement of the covenant.
Policy on new nuclear power
In the policy on nuclear power, guaranteeing nuclear safety has the highest priority.
The minister of Economic Affairs 5 published in February 2011 a letter to Parliament
on several aspects of nuclear energy, among which are the preconditions for nuclear
new build in the Netherlands. These preconditions present high-level requirements.
Within the preconditions, it is up to commercial parties to invest in new nuclear
power; in the liberalised energy market the government will not invest in power
plants. The technical preconditions address issues on safety, waste management,
decommissioning, mining, non-proliferation, and security.
Current policy also includes in particular the requirement to take into account
lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi accident, as well as the outcomes of the
European ‘stress test’ for NPPs.
Policy on research reactors
Research in nuclear reactors takes place in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten
operated by the Nuclear Research and Consulting Group (NRG) and in the only
nuclear reactor for higher education (“Hoger Onderwijs Reactor”: HOR) in the
Netherlands operated by the Reactor Institute Delft (RID, part of the Technical
University of Delft: TUD). The Netherlands government finances nuclear research by
NRG through a research subsidy aimed at the fields of nuclear safety, radiation
protection, waste and the transition to a CO 2 -low energy supply.
In the past five years, the national and local government have taken several steps
to facilitate the construction of a new research reactor, the PALLAS, to replace the
HFR in Petten. In 2012, the government (both national and local) decided to support
the preparations for PALLAS by a loan. Also in 2012, the financing of the upgrade of
the research reactor of the TUD has been arranged with the support of the national
government.
Policy on nuclear safety
A new policy paper on nuclear safety is about to be published. In it, the overriding
mission is the protection of humans and the environment against the risks of
radiation, now and in the future. The policy document states that the party that
applies the ionizing radiation has primary responsibility for this protection. The
relevant government and semi-government bodies also have responsibilities to this
end. The government has four strategic objectives for achieving this protection:
1. Radiation protection: Any exposure to radiation must be justified, it must be as
low as reasonably achievable, and it must remain under the prescribed levels.
2. Nuclear safety: Nuclear facilities must comply with safety requirements in
accordance with the state-of-the-art and safety must be subject to continuous
improvement.
3. Security and nuclear safeguards: The measures pertaining to security and
nuclear safeguards must be up to date, proportional and realistic.

4

http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/bestanden/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2013/09/09/the-safety-of-borsselenuclear-power-station/the-safety-of-borssele-nuclear-power-station.pdf
5
At that time, the ministry had a different name: ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.
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4. Competent authority: The competent authority for radiation protection and
nuclear safety must meet international requirements in terms of expertise,
transparency and independence, and it must subject its working methods to
continuous improvement.
The ambition is that by optimizing its methods, an independent authority can
continue to improve the way humans and the environment are protected and thus
also build trust.
Decisions and decrees on radiation protection and nuclear safety are prepared and
sanctioned as transparently as possible. The importance of public access and
transparency is always balanced against the importance of securing nuclear facilities
and radioactive sources on the one hand and the risks of disseminating ‘dual-use’
knowledge, information and technology on the other. The risks of ionising radiation
are publicized via governmental websites and other means. Parliament is also
regularly and actively brought up to date.
Policy on the safe management of spent fuel and nuclear waste
This topic is addressed only briefly in the present report. For more details, refer to
the National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel
Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
According to the current policy all radioactive waste produced in the Netherlands will
be stored at COVRA in buildings for a period of at least 100 years. During this period
the deep geological disposal is prepared financially, technically and socially in such a
way that it can be implemented after the storage period. In the current policy it is
assumed the disposal facility will be ready to receive radioactive wastes in 2130.
The government policy on spent fuel management is that the decision on whether or
not to reprocess spent fuel is in the first place a choice for the operator of a NPP. In
the early days the operators have decided in favour of reprocessing their spent fuel
for economic reasons, reuse of plutonium and reduction of the waste volume.
Reprocessing contracts have been concluded for all spent fuel generated by the
current operating NPP until its end of operation. Bilateral treaties have been signed
by the Republic of France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands regulating for Dutch
spent fuel (SF) produced until the end of operation of Borssele NPP, its receival by
Areva NC in France, its reprocessing and the return of radioactive wastes from
reprocessing to the Netherlands before 31 December 2052. The Parliamentary
discussion of the enabling law for this treaty was finished end 2013.
Reorganisation of the Competent Regulatory Authority
At present responsibilities and tasks of the Regulatory Body (RB) are spread over
several organisations and ministries. The Dutch Council of Ministers decided on
January 24, 2014 that the RB’s expertise in the area of nuclear safety, radiation
protection and related security and safeguards, will be brought together in a single
independent organisation in the Netherlands. The reorganisation will make it
possible to increase the RB’s efficiency and effectiveness in using available (budget
and human) resources.
Currently it is foreseen that the new RB will pick up its duties starting from the
beginning of 2015 accompanied by some legal steps. About one year later the final
legal formalities should be completed.
The new RB will be responsible for regulating nuclear safety and radiation
protection. The new organisation will have a staff of about 150 and will optimally
unite and utilise the expertise and experience available within the various entities
that currently constitute the RB, and exercise all of its regulatory functions. The new
RB will be an Independent Administrative Authority (Dutch acronym: ZBO), it will be
positioned at the ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
The new RB will meet international standards and will prepare legislation, draft
technical regulations, develop safety requirements, issue permits, carry out
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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

inspections and enforcement, participate in regulatory research programs and
provide information. The new RB will also be (jointly) responsible for emergency
preparedness and response in the event of accidents which could result in the
release of radiation.
Most Important Safety Issues in this Report
• After Fukushima, the international communities have launched several
interrelated initiatives to learn from the events in Japan and to initiate dedicated
programs to further enhance nuclear safety. The Netherlands has participated
fully in all of the Fukushima-related initiatives of the European Commission and
ENSREG and those led by the IAEA. The safety of all nuclear facilities in the
Netherlands has been evaluated in so called stress test reports and the measures
strenghtening nuclear safety are being implemented.
• The operating life of the Borssele NPP is to be extended with 20 years until 2034.
The Licence Holder (LH) has finished a Long Term Operation (LTO) Justification
project to ensure that safety and safety relevant systems, structures and
components continue to perform their intended functions during LTO. The
outcome of the project was used for the LTO-licence application. In 2013 the LTOlicence entered into force. The regulatory review of LH’s LTO-programme has led
to various licence requirements on top of the measures proposed by the LH.
Structure of the Report
The report closely follows the ENSREG guidelines HLG_p(2012-21)_108 regarding
Member States Reports to Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM. The numbering of
the chapters reflects the numbering of the articles of the Council Directive, that
according to Article 9.1 of this Directive need to be reported on.

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Summary

Updated information on matters developed since previous report
Not applicable.
Important issues identified in previous report or arisen since past report
Not applicable.

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

ARTICLE 4 Legislative, regulatory and organizational
framework

This chapter describes the legislative, regulatory and organisational
framework as it is today. However, important changes to the organisation
of the Competent regulatory authority have been decided upon. Some
details about these changes can be found in the Introduction to the present
report.
4.0

Text of Article and summary statements

Article 4 - Legislative, regulatory and organisational framework
1. Member States shall establish and maintain a national legislative, regulatory and
organisational framework (hereinafter referred to as the ‘national framework’) for
nuclear safety of nuclear installations that allocates responsibilities and provides for
coordination between relevant state bodies. The national framework shall establish
responsibilities for:
(a) the adoption of national nuclear safety requirements. The determination on how
they are adopted and through which instrument they are applied rests with the
competence of the Member States;
(b) the provision of a system of licensing and prohibition of operation of nuclear
installations without a licence;
(c) the provision of a system of nuclear safety supervision;
(d) enforcement actions, including suspension of operation and modification or
revocation of a licence.
2. Member States shall ensure that the national framework is maintained and
improved when appropriate, taking into account operating experience, insights
gained from safety analyses for operating nuclear installations, development of
technology and results of safety research, when available and relevant.
The Guidelines of the Higher Level Group regarding Member States Reports request
some summary statements, specified in their HLG_p(2012-21)_108 document.
These are provided below in sections 4.0.a through 4.0.f. These sections provide a
short introduction to the legislative, regulatory and organisational framework in the
Netherlands, as far as they are relevant to nuclear safety.
4.0.a

Overview of national legislative framework

The legal framework in the Netherlands with respect to nuclear installations can be
presented as a hierarchical structure. Refer to the diagram in Figure 1.

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Figure 1 Simplified representation of the hierarchy of the legal
framework for applications of nuclear technology
The Nuclear Energy Act (Kew) is the most prominent law governing nuclear
activities. It is a framework law, which sets out the basic rules on the application of
nuclear technology and materials, makes provisions for radiation protection,
designates the competent authorities and outlines their responsibilities.
Subordinate to this act, a number of Decrees exist containing additional regulations
related to the use of nuclear technology and materials. These continue to be
updated in the light of ongoing developments. Notable is the recent update of the
Decree on Radiation Protection (Bs).
At a lower level there are the Ordinances 6. These can be issued by the minister
responsible for conducting the regulatory process under the Nuclear Energy Act.
At a lower level there are regulations and guides issued by the Competent
regulatory authority: the Nuclear Safety Rules (Dutch: NVRs 7). The Nuclear Energy
Act (Article 21.1) provides the basis for this system of more detailed safety
regulations concerning the design, operation and quality assurance of (mainly)
NPPs. Annex 2 provides a complete list of the current NVRs. In the NVRs the WENRA
Reactor Safety Reference Levels published in 2008 have been implemented.
The Netherlands has a small but diverse nuclear programme. Because of this
diversity and to allow maximum flexibility, specific requirements are listed in the
licence, tailored to the characteristics of the installations, rather than in general
ordinances. In the licences, NVRs can be referred to as well as to other codes and
standards. See also section 4.0.d.

6
7

Dutch: ‘Ministeriële Regelingen’, MR
Dutch: ‘Nucleaire Veiligheids Regels’, NVRs

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Transposition of Directive 2009/71/EURATOM
By a specific ordinance published 8 in 2011, the Netherlands has brought Council
Directive 2009/71/EURATOM of 25 June 2009 on nuclear safety into force. The
Netherlands has reported its correct transposition of the Directive to the
Commission, which after evaluation of the information presented to it, has accepted
it 9. Annex 1 presents the full text of the ordinance (translated into English).
The ordinance prescribes the systematic evaluation and investigation of the nuclear
safety of nuclear installations during their operating life, possibly leading to changes
in the installation. The ordinance requires at least 10-yearly Periodic Safety Reviews
(PSRs) and report on these to the Minister (via the RB). This already was the current
practice before the existence of the ordinance. If deemed necessary by the
responsible Minister, he may require the LH to report earlier on the safety of the
nuclear installation.
If the investigations and evaluations warrant it, the LH has the obligation to improve
nuclear safety as far as reasonably achievable, not withstanding the licence
conditions. LHs are expected to establish and manage their management systems
with priority to safety. LHs are also required to analyse their operating experience
(including incidents) and those of other installations and findings of research
programmes systematically. The lessons learnt may result in modifications in
installations, procedures or the organisation of the LH.
The ordinance also addresses safety culture. Furthermore there is the requirement
to have an education and training programme which needs to guarantee adequate
qualification of staff working in the nuclear installation.
Licences under the Nuclear Energy Act have specific licence conditions addressing
human resources. In addition, the ordinance gives the Minister mandate to define
additional requirements regarding the human and financial resources of the LH.
4.0.b

Overview of regulatory and organisational framework

Ministerial responsibilities
The minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) is the primarily responsible authority for
conducting the regulatory process under the Nuclear Energy Act and for the main
functions of the RB.
Several other ministers also have responsibilities in specific areas related to the use
of radioactivity and radiation. The ministry of EZ is the coordinating ministry for all
the issues related to the Nuclear Energy Act. The following list illustrates the
responsibilities of the various ministers regarding the various areas of interest:
• Minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) for nuclear safety, radiation protection, physical
protection of fissile materials and radioactive materials and wastes. Also
coordinating minister for the Act; i.e. minister reporting to Parliament and
responsible for the ‘maintenance’ of the Act. The coordination function has been
recorded in a special Decree.
• Minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) for radiation protection in the mining industry.
• Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) for worker safety and health.
• Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS) for healthcare and patient safety.
• Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment (I&M 10) for non-radiological
emissions into surface water.
• Minister of Security and Justice(V&J) cooperating in the execution of the National
Nuclear Emergency Management and Response Plan (NPK).
• Minister of Defence for applications of ionizing radiation by the military.
• Minister of Finance for liability issues, including nuclear accidents.

8

Government Gazette: Stcrt. 2011, 12517 and Stct. 2013 14320
ENER-D.1/SMI/cm Ares(2011)782852 July 12th 2011, and ENER.DDG2.D.1/SMI/cm(2013)803523 April 24th 2013
10
Dutch: ‘Infrastructuur en Milieu’, I&M.
9

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• Minister of Foreign Affairs for the coordination of Dutch foreign policy, regarding
to the Nuclear Energy Act especially focused on non proliferation and Euratom and
IAEA affairs.
Regulatory body
The Competent regulatory authority, or ‘Regulatory Body’ is the authority
designated by the government as having legal authority for conducting the
regulatory process, including issuing authorizations, review and assessment,
inspection, and enforcement and thereby regulating nuclear safety, radiation
protection, radioactive waste management and transport safety.
At present the RB is composed of separate entitities residing at different ministries,
but a major reorganisation will be carried out in the next years, establishing one
single new RB. For more information, please refer to the Introduction of the present
report.
The separate entities of the RB operate with working agreements under the
responsibility of the minister of Economic Affairs. Their responsibilities and tasks are
summarized below:
• Within the ministry of EZ, the ‘programmadirectie voor Nucleaire Installaties en
Veiligheid’ (pdNIV), i.e. Nuclear Installations and Nuclear Safety Directorate, is
responsible for the preparation of legislation, formulating policies (excluding
energy policy), regulatory requirements, licensing and related review and
assessment.
• Within the ministry of EZ, the ‘Rijksdienst voor Ondernemers’ (RvO), team
Radiation Protection & Society 11 has been mandated to grant licences under the
Nuclear Energy Act, excluding licences for nuclear installations and licences for
the larger transports of nuclear fuel. Such licences are issued by the pdNIV.
• The nuclear inspectorate of the RB, the ‘Kernfysische dienst’ (KFD) is within the
general responsibility of the Minister of EZ the organisation responsible for the
independent supervision (review and assessment, inspection and enforcement) of
compliance, by the Licence Holders (LHs) and other operators 12 with the
requirements on the safety, security and non-proliferation 13. The KFD is
embedded in an organisational division of the Human Environment and Transport
Inspectorate (ILT) of the ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (I&M).
• It should be noted that in addition to the KFD, there are other authorities
(national and local) contributing in a limited way to the supervision of the
activities of the LHs.
Each of the entities pdNIV, RVO and KFD has its own set of responsibilities and
tasks, related to the Nuclear Energy Act. Neverthesless, there are many projects of
the RB in which the entities work together in project teams. Examples are the
National Report for the European stress test and associated Peer Review, the
National Report to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and associated activities, the
present national report related to Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM, and the
upcoming IRRS mission and its preparation.
Supporting organisations
The RB can rely on various national and foreign organisations that regularly provide
technical support. In this section the most important ones are introduced.
• Governmental supporting organisation RIVM:
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is a
specialised Dutch government agency. Its remit is to modernise, gather, generate
and integrate knowledge and make it usable in the public domain. By performing
these tasks RIVM contributes to promoting the health of the population and the
11
12
13

Dutch: ‘Team stralingsbescherming en samenleving’
Operators includes in this context users of radioactive materials and radiation, for which a license is not required
These requirements apply to activities and facilities (including nuclear facilities).

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environment by providing protection against health risks and environmental
damage.
The RIVM among others coordinates the back-office of the National Nuclear
Assessment Team for radiological analyses and information (BORI). The RIVM
supports the Ministries with scientific studies and independent analyses of
samples of emitted radio isotopes (e.g. from the nuclear installations). RIVM also
maintains the National Radioactivity Monitoring Network, that includes a network
of measuring posts. RIVM works together with other (governmental) expert
organisations as the Royal National Meteorological Institute (KNMI) with models
for the prediction of the effects of discharges of radioactive material in the air.
• Technical Support Organisations (TSO):
To date there is no dedicated national TSO. Organisations are contracted on ad
hoc basis to support the RB with various tasks. Support is provided by foreign
TSOs and national and international consultancy organisations. Some major
supporting organisations are listed below:
– GRS, Germany. The Dutch RB cooperates with a Technical Support
Organization (TSO) from Germany, GRS. This is a TSO for the German national
regulator and one of the large German TSOs. In the Netherlands it evaluates
safety cases and provides other types of consultancy to the RB. In addition GRS
provides associated education and training for governmental and commercial
organisations. GRS currently has major framework contracts with both the
licensing and inspection branche of the RB.
– The Nuclear Research & consultancy Group (NRG) in Petten and Arnhem
provides consultancy & educational services to government and industry. The
company has implemented ‘Chinese Wall’ procedures to protect the interests of
its various clients and avoid conflicts of interest. NRG also is a LH. NRG
currently has a framework contract with the licensing branche of the RB.
• Education and training organisations:
The RID organisation at the Technical University in Delft provides education and
training in nuclear technology and radiation protection. For the education on
radiological protection and for dedicated trainings, the RB also contracts
universities and institutes and Technical Support Organisations like NRG and GRS.
4.0.c

Implementation of the national framework by the RB and other
organisations

Nuclear installations operate under licence, awarded after a safety assessment has
been carried out. The licence is granted by the RB under the Nuclear Energy Act.
The licensing branch (pdNIV) is responsible for handling the licence applications and
performing related review and assessment.
The inspectorate branch KFD is responsible for review and assessment activities in
relation with its oversight activities.
Both pdNIV and KFD may seek expertise by contracting expertise from TSOs and
other expert organisations; this is a common practice.
4.0.d

Differences in implementation between nuclear installations

The national legislative framework provides the generic nuclear safety and radiation
protection objectives that apply to all nuclear installations.
The Netherlands has a small but diverse nuclear programme. There are many
different nuclear installations; a power reactor, a permanently shut down power
reactor in safe enclosure, three research reactors, hot cell facilities, radiological
laboratories, an enrichment plant and a central national radioactive waste storage
facility. Because of the diversity present, and in order to allow maximum flexibility,
specific requirements are listed in the licence, tailored to the characteristics of the
installations, rather than in general ordinances. In the licences, the Nuclear Safety
Rules (NVRs) can be referred to as well as other nuclear codes and standards.
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4.0.e

Allocation of national responsibilities and coordination

The separate entities of the RB operate with working agreements under the
responsibility of the minister of Economic Affairs. Their responisibilities and tasks
have been explained in section 4.0.b. The mandates of the several entities and of
their managers have been laid down in General Decisions.
4.0.f

Ratification of relevant international conventions and other legal
instruments

The Netherlands is party to many Treaties and Conventions related to the use of
nuclear technology and materials.
• Non-proliferation: The Netherlands is party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons’ (NPT). Related are guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group
that prescribe limitations to the transfer of sensitive nuclear technologies like the
enrichment and the reprocessing technologies. In addition, the Netherlands has
joined the ‘Proliferation Security Initiative’ (PSI), which is based on a UN Security
Council Resolution 1540 (UNSCR 1540) for the non-proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction (WMD).
• Liability: The Netherlands is party to several Conventions on liability, like the
‘Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy’ and the
‘Brussels Convention’ supplementary to the ‘Paris Convention’, and the ‘Joint
Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris
Convention’.
• Nuclear safety: The Netherlands is party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety
(CNS).
• Waste management: The Netherlands is party to the Joint Convention on the
Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste
Management.
• Physical protection: The Netherlands is party to the Convention on Physical
Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Installations.
In addition, the Netherlands has expressed its support for the following Codes of
Conduct:
• Code of Conduct on Safety and Security of Sources (published 2004, IAEA)
• Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors (published 2004, IAEA)
4.1

Established and maintained national framework for nuclear
safety

4.1.a

Responsibilities for adoption of national nuclear safety
requirements

4.1.a.1

Responsibility for preparing and issuing national nuclear safety
requirements
The minister of Economic Affairs is the primarily responsible authority for conduction
of the regulatory process and law-making under the Nuclear Energy Act and for the
main functions of the RB.
4.1.a.2

Process of establishing and revising national nuclear safety
requirements
The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands describes how laws are made
and how the Constitution itself can be amended. The members of the Senate and
the House of Representatives (together: the Parliament) scrutinise the work of the
Government.
The Government comprises the King, the Prime Minister, the other Ministers and the
State Secretaries. The cabinet is the Government, excluding the King. The
government is accountable for its policies to Parliament.
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The national legislative framework consists of Acts, Decrees, Ordinances, and
regulations & guides issued by the government. These are prepared by the RB as far
as they relate to nuclear safety and radiation protection. They have been described
to some detail in section 4.0.b, as far as they are relevant to nuclear safety.
Most bills (proposals for new laws) are introduced in Parliament by the Government.
The House of Representatives can adopt, reject or amend a bill.The main task of the
Senate is to assess the bills that the House has approved of. The legislature can
create ‘framework laws’ (like the Nuclear Energy Act) and delegate the creation of
detailed rules to ministers or specific bodies (like the RB).
The Dutch Council of State 14 provides the government with independent advice on
proposals for new regulation. During the drafting of new regulation, the RB also
seeks the involvement of stakeholders like the LHs, NGOs and the public. The
traditional approaches have increasingly been paralleled by novel forms of
consultation. A range of processes to capture (citizen) concerns are deployed,
including seminars and workshops, citizen's panels, and Internet consultation.
Currently, the RB has the lead in preparing the new and detailed ‘Dutch Safety
Requirements’ (DSR) and various guidelines based on post-Fukushima lessons
learnt.
As part of the proces a check is performed by the Inspectorate branch of the RB in
order to assess the practicability, enforceability and susceptibility to fraud of the
proposed regulations/requirements.
4.1.b

Provision of a system of licensing and prohibition of operation of
installations without a licence

4.1.b.1
Licensing process and system
Principal responsible authority
The minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) is the primarily responsible authority for
conduction of the regulatory process under the Nuclear Energy Act and for the main
functions of the RB.
However, in addition to the Nuclear Energy Act, several types of regulation may
apply to a nuclear facility and the activities conducted in it and/or supporting it.
Therefore often there are several authorities, sometimes at several levels in the
governmental organisation involved in the licencing procedures.
The Nuclear Energy Act stipulates (in Article 15, sub b) that a licence must be
obtained to construct, commission, operate, modify or decommission a NPP.
Similarly, the Act states (in Article 15, sub a) that a licence is required to import,
export, possess or dispose of fissionable material.
The proper management of the (nuclear) licensing process is tasked to the
Competent regulatory authority or ‘Regulatory Body’ (IAEA definition).
Procedures
The procedures to obtain a licence under the Nuclear Energy Act (and other acts),
follow the guidelines specified in the General Administrative Act (Awb), division 3.4.
These procedures provide for public involvement in the licensing process. Any
stakeholder is entitled to express his views regarding a proposed activity. The RB
shall take notice of all views expressed and respond to them with careful reasoning.
If the reply is not satisfactory, the RB can be challenged in court.
Coordination Law
For projects related to large scale energy generation, a special Coordination Law
applies. Large scale projects that could be impacted by this law are for instance the
construction of power plants with an electrical power greater than 500 MWe,
14

The Advisory Division, as its name implies, advises the government and Parliament on legislation and governance,
while the Administrative Jurisdiction Division is the country’s highest general administrative court.
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investment in the power grid, etc. According to the Coordination Law the ministry of
Economic Affairs (EZ) is charged with the task of coordinating the activities,
organising the interaction between the many authorities involved, each of which will
perform its duties. Typical of such projects is the involvement of many levels of
governmental organisations; from the ministries down to the municipal level.
Environmental Impact Assessment, Safety Assessment, and processing comments of
stakeholders
Within a licence application for a nuclear installation, it is often compulsory to
conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA (Dutch: milieueffectrapportage, m.e.r.). Such an assessment is compulsory for all reactors with a
thermal power higher than 1 kW 15. A permanent commission, the Commission for
the Environmental Assessment (‘Commissie voor de m.e.r.’, Cmer) advises the
competent authorities on the requirements of all EIAs conducted in the Netherlands.
This applies in particular to EIAs related to nuclear installations within licence
procedures regulated by the RB.
The EIA procedure (chapter 7 of the Environmental Management Act) is:
• The initiator notifies the competent autority of his intention.
• The public can express its view on the scope of the envisaged EIA.
• An independent external committee advises on the content of the EIA for the
initiative, taking into account the views of the public.
• The competent authority draws up a memorandum on the scope and the level of
detail to be developed in the EIA, taking into account the views of the public.
• The initiator draws up the EIA.
• The independent external committee advices on the environmental report in
relation to the memorandum on the scope and level of detail and the views of the
public.
Prior to the formal application, the RB and the initiator enter into a stage of informal
dialogue. During this stage, the draft of the application, the EIA if applicable, and
the Safety Assessment Report are reviewed.
The initiator submits the application and the documents (including the EIA if
applicable) and information pertaining to it. The RB assesses the application and
draws up a draft decision. The public can express its views on the draft, and if
applicable the EIA. Subsequently the competent authority draws up the final
decision taking into account the submitted views. Finally, interested parties can
lodge an appeal at the Administrative Law Judicial Division of the Council of State.
Furthermore, the applicability and enforceability of the licence is evaluated by the
inspectorate branche of the RB, the KFD.
The RB will consider all views expressed by the public. When appropriate, it will
group the views into a number of unique topics/views. The RB then will respond to
all unique views and all responses are recorded with the documentation of the
definite licence. Common responses of the RB include elaborations on policies,
(assessment) techniques or other issues that need clarification.
Licence conditions
The national legislative framework provides the generic nuclear safety and radiation
protection objectives that apply to all nuclear installations.
Specific requirements, tailored to the characteristics of the installations, are included
in the licence. Refer to section 4.0.d for more information on the Dutch approach to
licence conditions.

15

This is specified in the EIA Decree, Annexes C and D

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4.1.b.2
Process and system for relicensing / licence renewal
Some changes in installations and procedures do not require a licence renewal, and
others do.
In the case of minor modifications, a special provision in the Act (Article 17) applies
that allows such modifications to be made with a minor licence change. This
instrument can only be used if the consequences of the licence modification do not
lead to different or greater environmental impact than under the current licence is
permitted. The notification is published and is open to appeal. Furthermore, there
may be licence conditions in the licence, that require the LH to present changes for
verification to the RB. These are foreseen modifications within the scope of the
licence that do not require an Article 17 notification. Also refer to section 4.1.c.1 on
supervision.
With modifications that are not considered minor by the RB, licence renewal is
needed. The LH will have to update its Safety Analysis Report and supporting
documents and submit these to the RB for regulatory review. Under certain
circumstances described in the annexes C and D of the EIA Decree, there is also an
obligation to conduct an EIA. Like with any licence application, public can express it
views like with ‘normal’ licence applications described above.
A special possibility for the Minister provided for by art 18a of the law, is to change
the conditions in a licence because of numerous technical advances or new
possibilities to protect the population that have become available since the original
licence was issued.
4.1.b.3

Legal provisions to prevent operation of a nuclear installation
without a valid licence
Article 15 of the Nuclear Energy Act states that it is forbidden to operate a nuclear
installation without a valid licence.
4.1.c

Provision of a system of nuclear safety supervision

4.1.c.1
System of safety supervision of nuclear installations
Article 58 of the Nuclear Energy Act states that the responsible minister should
entrust designated officials with the task of performing supervision: safety
assessment, inspection and enforcement. For nuclear installations this is the task of
the inspectorate of the RB (KFD) in the Netherlands. The responsible Ministers have
issued a General Decision16 that specifies the designation of inspectors and their
tasks.
The LH must act in compliance with the Nuclear Energy Act, the licence and the
associated Safety Analysis Report (SAR). The compliance is verified by KFD with a
system of inspections (announced and unannounced), audits, assessment of
periodical operational reports, and evaluation of operational occurrences and
incidents. Furthermore, KFD assesses documents submitted by LHs like those for
plant modifications that do not affect the licence, modifications of technical
specifications, changes to certain plant procedures and the organisation. Inspection
activities are supplemented by international peer review missions 17. For the NPP an
important document for inspection is the two-yearly safety evaluation report, in
which the LH presents its own assessment of performance with respect to the
licence base on technical, organisational, personnel and administrative provisions.
There are also the ten-yearly Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs) that KFD reviews.
These PSRs are major undertakings for the licensees. In it they perform a self
assessment of their past performance, and present proposals for adaptations to
further improve their (safety) performance.

16
17

‘Besluit aanwijzing en taakvervulling toezichthouders Kernenergiewet 2013’
Mainly IAEA missions like OSART and INSARR
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The management of inspections is supported by a yearly planning, the reporting of
the inspections and the follow-up actions. About once or twince a year there are
meetings of the management of the LH and the management of the inspectorate of
the RB (KFD). The discussions are mainly about general issues relating to
supervision activities. More often technical or project meetings between plant staff
and inspectorate staff are held, discussing issues or progress in relation with
inspection findings or assessment activities. There are also regular inspections of the
plant’s incident analysis group activities. Once a year a special meeting about
human and organisational factors is held with a number of LHs.
Technical inspections are performed investigating whether the LH is acting in
accordance with the terms of the licence. Other inspections focus on organisational
aspects and safety culture. These inspections aim at scrutinizing the way the LH has
fulfilled its responsibility for safety and ascertaining whether the LH’s attitude shows
a sufficient awareness of safety aspects.
During the yearly refuelling outage at Borssele NPP, extra supervision activities are
performed.
Noticing the project PALLAS which aims to establish a new Research Reactor (RR) to
replace the HFR, the inspectorate branche of the RB has started to develop a
supervisory strategy for RR new build projects.
4.1.c.2

Responsible bodies for implementing the elements of the
system of safety supervision of nuclear installations
The inspectorate branch of the RB (KFD) is the responsible body for implementing
the system of safety supervision. However, it can and will seek or contract suitable
support if and when necessary.
For safety assessments, KFD can rely on a contracted TSO (GRS), with which it has
a Framework agreement for the period 2013 – 2017. For radiological issues, support
is provided by RIVM.
Upon request of the RB, in-depth international team reviews are also carried out by
the IAEA. Examples are AMAT, OSART, Fire Safety, IPERS, ASSET, IPPAS, INSARR,
SALTO and other dedicated reviews.
In addition, the Borssele NPP itself carries out self-assessments at regular intervals
and invites others like WANO to perform assessments and support. Although WANO
reports are not published, the RB has access to the results of these assessments.
4.1.d

Enforcement actions, including suspension of operation and
modification or revocation of a licence

4.1.d.1

Legal powers and responsibilities for implementing enforcement
measures
In the event of deviation from or non compliance with the regulatory conditions and
requirements, the RB (inspectorate branch KFD) takes enforcement actions. These
actions could lead to shutting down the nuclear installation and/or revoking the
licence. Enforcement procedures have been established describing how the KFD
reacts in cases of non compliance. Staff of KFD can prepare an official report for the
public prosecutor, should the need occur. The legal power to take these action is
based on, among others, Article 83a of the Nuclear Energy Act and on the Economic
Offenses Act.
Article 19.1 of the Nuclear Energy Act empowers the Minister to modify, add or
revoke restrictions and conditions in the licence in order to protect the interests
specified in article 15b of the Act on which the licence is based. Article 20a of the Act
stipulates that the RB is empowered to withdraw the licence, if this is required in
order to protect those interests. Those interests are:
a) the protection of people, fauna, flora and property;
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b) the security of the state;
c) the security and safeguarding of nuclear materials (fissile materials and
ores) and the security of nuclear installations;
d) the supply of energy 18;
e) the liability for damage or injury caused to third parties;
f) the compliance with international obligations.
4.1.d.2
System of enforcement for the safety of nuclear installations
The system of enforcement for the safety of nuclear installations is managed by the
inspectorate branch of the RB, the KFD. Enforcement decisions are based on the
findings of the safety supervision (by KFD), described in section 4.1.c.1 of the
present report.
The enforcement strategy of KFD has been laid down in a enforcement strategy
document 19. A set of procedures exists, describing measures like discussions with
LHs, sending warning letters, director meetings, administrative enforcement, and
legal enforcement. The type of measure to choose depends on the context of a case
and the gravity of the non-compliance identified.
4.1.d.3
Enforcement measures available
The enforcement measures are not limited to suspension of operation. Refer to
section 4.1.d.2 for various options.
4.2

Ensuring the national framework is maintained and improved
when appropriate

4.2.a

Arrangements

4.2.a.1

Arrangements for ensuring the national framework for nuclear
safety remains effective, and for improvement of the framework
Refer to section 4.0.a for a description of the national regulatory framework.
Although not explicitly legally required, current practice provides for periodic review
of the expertise and effectiveness of the authorities in performing their duties and
associated followup actions to guarantee the national framework remains effective.
The Netherlands is a EU Member State and timely implements EU Directives (i.e.
‘transposition’). In addition, the Netherlands is party to various Conventions
requiring a proper national framework. Periodically the Netherlands reports its selfassessment in its national reports and discusses its findings in the various Review
Meetings.
Article 18a.1 of the Nuclear Energy Act states that the minister of Economic Affairs
(EZ) regularly considers if the scope of the licence issued and licence conditions
associated with it, are still adequate, considering the present technical possibilities
to protect the people, fauna, flora and goods. There are several instruments that the
RB uses to implement this requirement, some of which have been named in sections
4.1.c (safety supervision) and 4.1.d (enforcement actions) of the present report.
Other instruments are listed below.
Periodic Safety Reviews
The Netherlands has a decades long history of Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs).
Since about 20 years one of the conditions of the licence is that the safety of the
nuclear installation is to be periodically reviewed in the light of operating experience

18
19

A modification of the law is being prepared by which “supply of energy” no longer will be on the list of interests.
Document: ‘Handhavingsbeleid ILT-KFD’. This in turn is based on the inspection policy of the Human Environment
and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the KFD is embedded in.
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and new safety insights. A review of operational safety aspects must be performed
once every two years, whilst a more comprehensive safety review must be
conducted once every 10 years. The latter involves a review of the plant’s design
basis in the light of new developments in research, safety thinking, risk acceptance,
etcetera. The policy on back-fitting was first formulated in 1989 (‘Policy Document
on Backfitting’). It should be noted that this policy has not been formally adopted,
but is used by the RB as guidance and has been accepted by the LH. In 2010 the
NVRs were updated. Then also a new NVR on PSR came into force, based on the
corresponding IAEA safety standard. Also the adopted WENRA policy on PSR is a
further guidance today and the WENRA Safety Reference Levels for existing reactors
have been included in the PSR.
In 2011, the Netherlands has brought Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM of 25
June 2009 on nuclear safety into force by a specific ordinance 20.
The ordinance prescribes i.a. the systematic evaluation and investigation of the
nuclear safety of nuclear installations during their operating life possibly leading to
changes in the installation (‘continuous improvement’). Also, the ordinance
prescribes inter alia that:
• LHs should give sufficient priority to nuclear safety systems;
• LHs must provide adequate human and financial resources to meet the obligations
on the nuclear safety of a nuclear installation;
• All parties, including the LH, are required to provide a mechanism for educating
and training theirstaff responsible for the safety of nuclear plants.
For more information on the ordinance refer to section 4.0.a.
Peer Review Missions
The RB regularly initiates peer review missions to the NPP, like SALTO, IPSART and
OSART. Currently the RB is in a process of self assessment in preparation for the
IRRS mission which will visit the RB in the autumn of 2014.
Sharing of important operating experience – Licence Holders
A standing task force at the NPP Borssele assesses incidents. The establishment of
this task force is required under the licence. A second standing task force assesses
ageing issues.
The NPP operates databases for its own use and these contain data on incidents
from various sources, including the plant itself, WANO, IAEA and OECD/NEA IRS,
IAEA News, VGB, AREVA, USNRC, GRS, etc.
The NPP reports relevant incidents to WANO and VGB. Operational measures
obtained from WANO (Good Practices and Performance Objectives & Criteria) are
implemented by Borssele NPP. Information is regularly exchanged on a bilateral
basis with operators in neighbouring countries, plus a number of other countries.
Personnel of Borssele actively participates in WANO-, OSART-, AMAT and other
missions at foreign NPPs.
Research reactors and fuel cycle facilities (uranium enrichment and nuclear waste
storage) have organisational structures and expertise to share important experience
between facilities. All of them have standing task forces for the assessment of
incidents.
All facilities have specific international contacts within their scope of work.
Sharing of important operating experience – Regulatory Body
There are frequent regulatory contacts with many European countries and the USA.
Within the framework of the NEA, the Netherlands participates in a working group
dealing on a regular basis with operational events. The Netherlands is a member of
the OECD/NEA and IAEA mechanisms for sharing key operational experience, the
Working Group on Operational Experience (WGOE) of the OECD/NEA Committee for
20

Government Gazette: Stcrt. 2011 – 12517, and Stcrt. 2013 - 14320

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the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), and the international incident reporting
systems (IAEA and OECD/NEA IRS, IRSRR and FINAS). Further the Netherlands is a
member of the EU Clearing House.
The RB closely monitors the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident
(special project created). The inspectorate branch of the RB also contributed to the
NEA/CNRA Special Task Group Fukushima Lessons Learned. It also participates in
international expert teams for nuclear topics. A recent example is the international
review team related to the Doel-issue (flaws in reactor vessel).
4.2.a.2

Specific examples of improvements to the national framework

Decommissioning
Article 15f of the Nuclear Energy Act regulates LH’s obligations regarding having
financial provisions for the decommissioning costs. In April 2011 the Nuclear
Installations, Fissionable Materials and Ores Decree (Bkse) was amended.
The updated Bkse requires the LH to have and periodically (every five years) update
a decommissioning plan during the lifetime of the facility. The plan shall be
approved by the authorities every time it is updated. In addition to this, minimumrequirements on the content of a decommissioning plan are defined. The
decommissioning plan serves as the safety-basis for all the activities carried during
the decommissioning phase, and it provides the basis for the financial provisions for
the decommissioning costs. During decommissioning, the LH is obliged to act
according to the decommissioning plan.
Furthermore, the LH is required to have a financial provision to cover the costs of
decommissioning, which will have to be updated and approved by the authorities
every time the decommissioning plan is updated. The LH is in principle free to
choose the form of the financial provision. Upon approval, the authorities will assess
whether the financial provision offers sufficient security that the decommissioning
costs are covered at the moment of decommissioning.
New safety requirements (post-Fukushima)
A current major regulatory project is the drafting of the Dutch Safety Requirements,
providing a new set of requirements for the design, construction and operation of
new nuclear reactors. In the DSR post-Fukushima lessons learnt are incorporated as
far as possible. They are also intended to be used as a reference for the concept of
“continuous improvement” of existing installations, in particular within the
framework of periodic safety reviews.
New RB
An other major project is the ongoing complete reorganisation of the RB, developing
it into one entity. For more details on this topic, refer to the Introduction to the
present report.

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ARTICLE 5 Competent regulatory authority

This chapter describes the Competent regulatory authority (or: Regulatory
body, RB) as it is today.
However, important changes to the organisation of the RB have been
decided upon. The implementation of these changes will be too late to be
reported in the present report. In the Introduction, some information on
the planned changes is provided.
In our next report for Article 9(1) of Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM,
the description of the RB will be much different.
5.0

Text of Article

Article 5 - Competent regulatory authority
1. Member States shall establish and maintain a competent regulatory authority in
the field of nuclear safety of nuclear installations.
2. Member States shall ensure that the competent regulatory authority is
functionally separate from any other body or organisation concerned with the
promotion, or utilisation of nuclear energy, including electricity production, in order
to ensure effective independence from undue influence in its regulatory decision
making.
5.1

Establishment and maintenance of a competent regulatory
authority

5.1.a

Legal foundations of the competent regulatory authority

The minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) is the primarily responsible authority for
conducting the regulatory process under the Nuclear Energy Act and for the main
functions of the RB. The entities of the RB operate under the responsibility of the
minister of EZ. The RB is the authority designated by the government as having
legal authority for conducting the regulatory process, including issuing licences,
review and assessment, inspection and enforcement, and thereby regulating
nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety, nuclear security and
safeguards.
In particular, the legal basis for the supervisory functions of the RB can be found in
the Nuclear Energy Act, Article 58. The functions and mandates of the various
entities performing the different tasks have been laid down in subordinate
regulation.
5.1.b

Authorities and their responsibilities

Refer to section 4.0.b, ‘Overview of regulatory and organisational framework’.
5.2

Independence of the competent regulatory authority

5.2.a

Position of the RB in the national administration and legal
system

As described in section 5.1.b, the RB for Nuclear Energy Act issues has three main
components: the pdNIV (developing nuclear safety and radiation protection policies
and issuing licences), RVO (supporting licencing activities) and the inspectorate of
the RB (KFD) performing supervision, inspection and enforcement. The three main
entities of the RB are embedded in organisational divisions of two ministries.

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5.2.b

Separation of RB from bodies responsible for promotion and/or
utilization of nuclear energy

The RB is not in any way involved in energy policies. The different entities forming
the RB are effectively separate from other bodies dealing with energy policies. The
RB’s involvement with nuclear power is restricted to nuclear safety and radiation
protection and associated security issues. The entities of the RB that are embedded
in organisational divisions of the ministry of Economic Affairs (pdNIV and RVO), are
kept separate from divisions associated with energy policies. The inspectorate
branche of the RB is part of another ministry but operates under the responsibilty of
the Minister of Economic Affairs, who also determines its budget.
5.2.c

Ensuring effective independence of regulatory decision making

Due to the effective separation described in section 5.2.b, decisions are taken by the
RB independently from energy policy and LH. The RB is transparent in its decision
making. The reporting arrangements (described in section.5.2.d.) are instrumental
in achieving perception of independence in decision making.
5.2.d

Reporting arrangements of the RB, illustrating its independence

The different entities forming the RB report to the minister of Economic Affairs (EZ)
being the primarily responsible authority for conducting the regulatory process
under the Nuclear Energy Act. The minister of EZ reports regularly to Parliament on
nuclear safety, radiation protection, and other Nuclear Energy Act issues. Results of
major studies, conducted under the authority of the RB are presented by the
minister of EZ to Parliament. In addition, Parliament can require the minister to
report to Parliament on specific issues.
Every year the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) prepares a
report about its inspection activities, including those of its subdepartment the KFD.
This publication is made available to the public on the I&M 21 ministry’s website. In
addition KFD prepares an annual report on nuclear incidents to be sent to the Dutch
Parliament. KFD is also further developing its own part of the ILT-website.
The ministry of EZ has extensive dossiers on many issues published on its website,
featuring many in-depth studies on issues related to nuclear-related activities.
Information on all major LHs can be found online too. This is part of the ministry’s
policy on transparent governance.
Also, the licensing procedures provide for timely publication of documents (refer to
section 4.1.b.1).
5.3

Legal powers and human and financial resources of the
competent regulatory authority

This section 5.3 shows how the Netherlands ensures that the Competent regulatory
authority or RB can fulfil its obligations in connection with the national framework
described in Article 4(1) with due priority to safety. In the successive subsections
5.3.a through 5.3.d, the focus is on legal powers entirely. However, this section 5.3
starts with the legal basis for the activities of the RB (i), and the ensurance of
adequate human (ii) and financial (iii) resources. The information on resources is not
repeated in the sections 5.3.a through 5.3.d.
(i) General legal basis for the activities of the RB
Refer to section 5.1.a.
(ii) Ensuring adequate human and financial resources
The allocation of financial resources to the ministries is provided yearly by the
general budget of the government. Organisations like KFD, RIVM and RVO receive
funding from the ministry of EZ.
21

Dutch: ‘Infrastructuur & Milieu’, i.e. Infrastructure & Environment

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Budget rules for the ministries are set by the government's budget rules for the
period 2013-2017. In addition there are (legal) government-wide regulations that
are important for the budget process within each ministry.
Annually the workload is programmed and distributed among the available
personnel, based on the available FTEs. The RB has a regular planning and control
cycle. In it the RB balances the tasks at hand with the available (human) resources,
setting priorities where and when necessary.
As a part of the formation of the new RB, based on the experience of the constituent
parts of the RB (including the self-assessment for the IRRS mission in November
2014), at the moment an investigation is in progress to assess the resources
(people and money) needed for the expected workload in the future.
When and if needed, support is contracted with Dutch and foreign organisations,
some of which have been listed in section 4.0.b.
There are adequate financial resources available to the RB to hire its staff and
contract TSO services and education & training. Office space and IT structure and
the like is provided by the ministries that house the several entities that comprise
the RB.
A small part of the costs of oversight and licensing are covered by annual fees and
fees for individual licensing activities, to be paid by the LHs. The basis for this
reimbursement is founded in a Decree on Reimbursement 22.
5.3.a

Power to require Licence Holder to comply with national safety
requirements and licence conditions

5.3.a.1
Legal provisions by which the RB can require compliance
Many articles in the Nuclear Energy Act require compliance with safety and radiation
protection requirements and the demonstration thereof. In various Decrees and
Ordinances more provisions can be found to which LHs are bound. Furthermore, with
the issuance of a licence, the RB will define licence conditions, to which the licensee
must comply too. The licence conditions may refer to NVRs or other standards to
include these in the licence base of the facility of the LH.
5.3.a.2
Examples of implementation of these powers of the RB
For examples refer to section 5.4.
5.3.b

Power to require demonstration of compliance

5.3.b.1

Legal provisions in place to require demonstration of compliance
by the LH
Several articles in the Nuclear Energy Act and subordinate regulation require
demonstration of compliance by the LH and specify the information to provide to the
RB when applying for a licence or licence renewal.
Article 58 of the Nuclear Energy Act states that the responsible minister should
entrust designated officials with the task of performing supervision: safety
assessment, inspection and enforcement. This is mainly the task of the inspectorate
of the RB (KFD) in the Netherlands. During operation, compliance shall be
demonstrated to the KFD. During (announced and unannounced) inspections,
compliance shall be demonstrated to the inspectors visiting the installation.
Compliance is also shown during Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs), although these are
more aimed at supporting continuous improvement. The requirement of conducting
PSRs is set in regulations and is also documented in the licence requirements of the
NPP and the RRs.

22

In Dutch: ‘Besluit vergoedingen Kernenergiewet’
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5.3.b.2
Examples of implementation of these powers of the RB
For examples refer to section 5.4.
5.3.c

Verification of compliance through regulatory assessments and
inspections

5.3.c.1
Legal arrangements in place for the RB for verification
Refer to section 5.3.b.1 for this basis.
5.3.c.2
Examples of implementation of these powers of the RB
For examples refer to section 5.4.
5.3.d

Regulatory enforcement actions

5.3.d.1

Legal arrangements in place for the RB to ensure the
enforcement process
For a legal basis, refer to section 5.3.b.1. The system of enforcement for the safety
of nuclear installations is managed by the inspectorate branch of the RB, the KFD.
Enforcement decisions are based on the findings of the safety supervision (by KFD),
described in section 4.1.c.1 of the present report.
5.3.d.2
Examples of implementation of these powers of the RB
For examples refer to section 5.4.
5.4

Examples of implementation

5.4.a

Example of licencing

The Borssele NPP (KCB) has started operation in 1973.
Around the year 2006 the KCB made plans to extend its operating life with 20 years
until 2034. This required a licence for Long Term Operation (LTO). The LH (EPZ)
started the project LTO in order to meet the requirements of the Dutch RB. The
outline of the project was based on IAEA Safety Report 57 “Safe Long Term
Operation of Nuclear Power Plants” (SR-57). As a result of comments in the first
IAEA SALTO peer review in 2009, the scope of the project was extended with the
assessment of active components. The goal of the project LTO was to ensure that
safety and safety relevant Systems, Structures and Components continue to perform
their intended functions during long term operation. The outcome of the project LTO
was used for a licence change application and this has been submitted to the Dutch
RB for approval of prolonged operation of KCB after 2013.
The RB stated additional requirements for organisational and managerial aspects
and human factors, based on IAEA Safety Guide NS-G-2.10 ‘Periodic Safety Review
of Nuclear Power Plants’ (2003), notably Safety Factors 10 (Organisation,
management system and safety culture) and 12 (Human Factors). However these
non-technical requirements were addressed separately in the PSR project.
In 2013 the renewed licence entered into force with new licence conditions as a
result of the LTO assessments. As a basis for its decision making, the RB reviewed
the LTO assessment with support of GRS, a German TSO. The IAEA SALTO mission
of 2012 was in support of and reviewed details related to the LTO assessment.
Before the end of 2013 various licence requirements had to be fulfilled, including the
completion of the recommendations from the regulatory evaluation of the LTO
programme of the LH. In these recommendations the results of the SALTO mission
of May 2012 were considered.

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5.4.b

Examples of inspection

5.4.b.1
Inspection: Regular compliance verification
The inspectorate branch of the RB (KFD) carries out a large variety of inspections
and audits at nuclear installations. The KFD works according to its annual
compliance verification plan. This covers several types of compliance verification
activities, like:
• assessment and verification of adjustments at nuclear installations and physical
inspections of the correct practical implementation of these changes;
• assessment and evaluation of the technical failures and interruptions at the
installations and ensure the follow up of the points of improvements originating
from the evaluations by the ‘failure working group’;
• monitoring of safety culture at the nuclear installations;
• physical and administrative inspections of execution of installation maintenance
with special attention for the nuclear fuel replacement period (outages);
• monitoring and auditing of radiation protection and permitted discharges;
• assessment and judgment of the composition and use of the nuclear fuel in the
core of nuclear installation (nuclear physics assessment);
• assessment and (administrative) inspections of the maintenance and inspection
schedule and certification of systems, structures and components (SSC);
• effectiveness of internal quality assurance systems;
• inspections with a focus on ageing and long term operations;
• assessments and inspections of LH’s arrangements for emergency preparedness
and response, inspectors also are present at emergency exercises to judge the
adequacy of these arrangements.
5.4.b.2

Inspection:Ensuring measures are in place to prevent accidents
and incidents and mitigate consequences of accidents
For all operational states of the NPP, including outages, the minimum number of
SSCs required to be in operational condition is given in the technical specifications
document of the NPP. The document reflects the NPP’s Defence-in-Depth concept.
The technical specifications document is part of the licence. Therefore the
inspectorate branche of the RB regularly verifies whether the operation of the NPP
(in all operational states) remains within the limits set in the specifications
document. During verifications, the focus can be on SSC-related subjects like
testing, maintenance, overhaul, calibration, replacement, repairs and modifications.
By referring to the technical specifications, the RB ensures that the Defence-inDepth concept of the NPP is adhered to during all operational states.
5.4.b.3

Inspection: Management system of the LH that shall ensure
nuclear safety and include continuous improvement
All Dutch LHs of nuclear installations are obliged to develop and implement a
management system that ensures safe operation of their installations. This
requirement is part of their permit under the Dutch Nuclear Energy Act. The KFD
checks the management system on a regular basis and takes corrective actions if
there is an unwanted deviation or omission that can affect nuclear safety. The
inspections and audits can be targeted on the management system as a whole being
up-to-date and/or its scope adequate. In more detailed assessments it is possible to
focus on specific compliance topics.
5.4.c

Example of enforcement

The inspectorate branche of the RB uses a graded approach regarding compliance
verification and enforcement. This approach is common for authorities in the
Netherlands with enforcement tasks. The approach used is based on a national
compliance verification strategy and has been developed by the Dutch authorities

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using six priciples as starting points: selective, agile, cooperative, independent,
transparent and professional. This strategy 23 covers various options for action.
There are mild enforcement measures such as presenting suggestions to LHs, but
also more severe ones like administrative- and criminal law based enforcement
measures. When a LH is violating its licence conditions or other regulations, when
nuclear safety or the environment is at risk, the KFD will take enforcement
measures. Recently (status June 2014), KFD imposed three administrative
enforcement penalties at two nuclear installations. Furthermore, there is another
administrative penalty in preparation. All of these penalties are related to nuclear
safety. These penalties allow the LH to reverse the non-compliance situation within a
strict time frame. If this requirement is not met, a substantial financial penalty has
to be paid. The three enforcement actions are:
1. enforcement case number H73884 (bottom plug)
The failure of a component without a compulsory maintenance programme. The
licence was enforced - all maintenance programs for safety relevant SSCs had to be
reviewed.
2. enforcement case number H82025 (gas monitors)
An unauthorised lack of redundant gas monitoring systems during operation. A
penalty was announced for the next case of lack of redundancy.
3. enforcement case number H75550 (crane)
A measure resulting from a periodic safety review was not implemented timely. A
penalty was announced for the case that the implementation will not be completed
before a certain date.

23

Ref 27 831, October 12th 2005 ‘Kaderstellende visie op toezicht’- only available in Dutch

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ARTICLE 6 Licence holders

This chapter describes how the Netherlands ensure that Licence Holders
fulfil their obligations with respect to nuclear safety of their nuclear
installations.
6.0

Text of Article

Article 6 – Licence holder
1. Member States shall ensure that the prime responsibility for nuclear safety of a
nuclear installation rests with the licence holder. This responsibility cannot be
delegated.
2. Member States shall ensure that the national framework in place requires licence
holders, under the supervision of the competent regulatory authority, to regularly
assess and verify, and continuously improve, as far as reasonably achievable, the
nuclear safety of their nuclear installations in a systematic and verifiable manner.
3. The assessments referred to in paragraph 2 shall include verification that
measures are in place for prevention of accidents and mitigation of consequences of
accidents, including verification of the physical barriers and licence holder’s
administrative procedures of protection that would have to fail before workers and
the general public would be significantly affected by ionizing radiations.
4. Member States shall ensure that the national framework in place requires licence
holders to establish and implement management systems which give due priority to
nuclear safety and are regularly verified by the competent regulatory authority.
5. Member States shall ensure that the national framework in place requires licence
holders to provide for and maintain adequate financial and human resources to fulfil
their obligations with respect to nuclear safety of a nuclear installation, laid down in
paragraphs 1 to 4.

6.1

Ensuring prime responsibility for nuclear safety rests with
Licence Holders

The Netherlands have implemented European Council directive 2009/71/EURATOM.
While not explicitly mentioned in the regulation that implements the Directive, the
responsibility of the LH stems from the systematics of the Dutch legal system
including the Nuclear Energy Act and subordinate regulation, and the duties of the
LH described therein. This is explained to some detail below.
Nuclear Energy Act
The Nuclear Energy Act contains a number of articles, which deal with criteria,
interests and conditions under which a licence can be awarded.
Article 70 of the Nuclear Energy Act also states that a licence issued pursuant to this
Act is personal to the holder. As such this person is responsible for the safety
requirements related to the licence of the installation. The LH can transfer all or part
of the licence to a third party, provided he has approval to do so from the licensing
authority (Minister of Economic Affairs). Conditions may be attached to such
approval. The explanatory memorandum on Article 70 of the Nuclear Energy Act,
which states that a licence is to be awarded to a corporate body (legal person),
refers to guarantees of necessary expertise and trustworthiness in relation to safety.
Trustworthiness in relation to safety can amongst other things also be associated
with financial solvability.

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Radiation Protection Decree
Further elaboration can be found in the Radiation Protection Decree (Besluit
stralingsbescherming; Bs) especially the duty of care provisions of Article 5. There
are many provisions in the Radiation Protection Decree that prescribe specific duties
of the LH. These provisions are also applicable to nuclear installations and facilities.
The Radiation Protection Decree also describes competence requirements regarding
radiation protection.
6.2

Ensuring regular assessment and verification of nuclear safety

6.2.a

Regulatory requirements

6.2.a.1

Perform systematic safety assessments within the licencing
process
The Nuclear Energy Act (section 15b) prescribes the requirement to acquire a licence
for building, operating and decommissioning of nuclear installations – so for all
stages of the lifetime of the facility. The type of safety assessments required
(deterministic as well as probabilistic) for nuclear installations is described in Decree
Bkse 24 (Article 6).
Bkse section 7.2(i) provides specific guidance on specific decommissioning issues.
6.2.a.2

Perform regular verification of nuclear safety and promote
continuous improvement as fare as reasonably achievable
At the level of the licence, requirements for the regular verification of nuclear safety
are defined, with elements like in-service inspection, surveillance and functional
testing. These are supported by references to the Dutch Nuclear Safety Rules
(NVRs), which are based on IAEA Safety Guides. Article 21.1 of the Nuclear Energy
Act provides for this system of more detailed regulations in NVRs regarding the
design, operation and quality assurance of (mostly) power plants.
Nuclear facilities shall have a proper management system documenting among
others verification procedures. There is also an NVRs addressing this requirement in
general terms (based on IAEA GS-R-3) and other NVRs addressing more specific
requirements regarding regular verification, like NVR NS-G-2.6 for maintenance,
control and in-service inspections in NPPs.
The Regulation implementing the Directive 2009/71/EURATOM prescribes the
systematic evaluation and investigation of the nuclear safety of nuclear installations
during their operating life possibly leading to changes in the installation (‘continuous
improvement’). These requirements of this Directive have been strictly implemented
in an ordinance 25 (July 2011 requiring Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs). If the
examinations and assessments warrant it, the LH has the obligation, to take
measures to improve nuclear safety.
Furthermore, long before the ordinance was established, the licences of nuclear
installations required such PSRs. Such self-assessments are subject to review by the
RB. The Netherlands has a long history of PSRs and consecutive packages of
improvement measures. Refer to Annex 3 for information on the PSRs conducted by
the LH of the Borssele NPP. In recent years these have coincided with (for the
Borssele NPP) with a Long Term Operation (LTO) evaluation and implementation
programme.
Requirements to the PSR can be found in NVRs referenced in the licence, like NVR
NS-G-2.10 ‘Periodic Safety Review of NPPs’.

24
25

Bkse, Nuclear installations, fissionable materials and ores Decree
‘Tijdelijke regeling implementatie richtlijn nr. 2009/71/Euratom inzake nucleaire veiligheid, nr. WJZ/11014550’

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Examples of major PSRs in the Netherlands are those of Borssele NPP (full scope 10yearly and of limited scope version 2-yearly) and of the HFR in Petten (full scope 10yearly and of limited scope 5-yearly).
6.2.b

Examples of how LHs address the aforementioned requirements

6.2.b.1

Arrangements of the LHs to perform systematic safety
assessments on their installations
At the NPP Borssele , the LH’s own management system and internal verification
organisation are important mechanisms enabling the LH to adhere to the licence and
achieve its corporate safety objectives.
Relevant self assessments performed by the LH include:
• Yearly evaluations and reporting on plant functions such as operational experience
feedback, surveillance and in-service-inspections, ageing management, radiation
protection, radiological releases, and radwaste (some of them are licence
conditions);
• Two-yearly evaluation of the current licensing basis as part of the two-yearly
Periodic Safety Review (PSR);
• Ten-yearly PSR;
• Inspections and audit program of internal department for nuclear safety and
quality assurance;
• Self assessments in preparation for WANO peer review missions;
• Self assessments in preparation for IAEA missions, invited by the RB;
• Self assessments in accordance with WANO SOERs and SERs.
Refer to Annex 3, for the history of PSRs and associated backfittings.
6.2.b.2

Arrangements by the LH for continuous improvement in nuclear
safety
For the Borssele NPP, event analyses are centrally coordinated and discussed in the
Internal Reactor Safety Commission.
Corrective actions resulting from safety assessments or event analyses are collected
in a central database, subject to periodical review in plant management meetings.
Since 2013 the continuous improvement process itself is subject of optimization
(lean/six sigma method).
Especially the 10-yearly PSRs are major safety assessment efforts. Borssele NPP has
a history of several decades of PSRs that have led to many improvements including
major modification projects.
6.2.b.3
Main elements of programmes of verification of safety
The systematic safety assessments mentioned in 6.2.b.1 are an essential element in
LH’s verification of safety.
Participation in international bodies, conferences, WANO and IAEA missions serve as
an important vehicle to compare with and learn from other LHs.
The LH uses risk informed decision making in daily operations as well as for outage
preparation and execution. The so-called Safety Monitor, a user friendly tool based
on the living PSA, is used to minimize the impact on the Total Core Damage
Frequency (TCDF). The actual TCDF is evaluated on a monthly basis.
The internal oversight department verifies safety through inspections and audits.
6.2.b.4
Periodic safety assessments performed on nuclear installations
See also 6.2.a.2 and 6.2.b.1.

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The two-yearly PSRs of the Borssele NPP evaluate against the current licence base
and the WANO Performance Objectives and Criteria.
The ten-yearly PSRs of Borssele NPP evaluate the licence base itself against
international developments. Prior to the evaluation the scope and framework of the
PSR is defined and approved by the regulator. The living PSA is used to gain
probabilistic insights, as part of the evaluation but also to determine impact of
proposed corrective actions.
6.3

Verification of measures in place for prevention of accidents and
the mitigation of their potential consequences

6.3.a

Regulatory requirements establishing the basis for the
verification of the measures for the prevention of accidents and
mitigation of consequences

6.3.a.1
Requirements during design stage
The Bkse Decree describes the safety assessments (deterministic as well as
probabilistic) that have to be performed and documented (Safety Assessment
Report, SAR) with the licence application and the criteria which have to be met.
Adopted or adapted IAEA guides are SSG-3 (Level-1 PSA) and SSG-4 (Level-2), in
addition there is a national guide on Level-3 PSA.
The prescribed analyses extend to the assessment of severe accidents.
Specific requirements to the design are stated in NVRs and other codes and
standards, that are referenced in the licence. Refer to section 4.0.a for more
information on NVRs. Refer to section 4.1.a.2 for information on the development of
the new Dutch Safety Requirements.
6.3.a.2
Requirements during operation
The explanatory memorandum on Article 37b of the Nuclear Energy Act states that
the LH must operate a nuclear facility in a manner that reflects the most recent
safety insights. The SAR and PSA are continually updated and are in fact ‘living
documents’. In addition the periodic performance of PSRs (requirement laid down in
NVRs referenced in the licence) provide for periodic reassessment during the
operating life of the facility, addressing all safety relevant issues like safety
assesments, PSA, LTO, Human Factors, safety culture, etcetera.
Specific requirements to operation are stated in NVRs, that are referenced in the
licence. Refer to section 4.0.a for more information on NVRs. Refer to section
4.1.a.2 for information on the development of the new Dutch Safety Requirements.
The inspectorate branche of the RB, the KFD, verifies if adequate measures are in
place at the LH to guarantee the safety of employees and the public in the
Netherlands. This covers for example the assessment of (radiation protection)
reports, certification of SSCs, inspections and whitnessing of periodic tests and
maintenance on site and second opinion reviews of discharges by an independent
research institute. These activities have been integrated in the compliance
verification plans of the KFD.
For a more detailed description of compliance verification activities of the KFD refer
to section 5.4.b.
6.3.a.3
Requirements for mitigation of consequences of accidents
The radiation protection Decree (Bs) prescribes requirements to the LH and the
Government to have available means to mitigate the consequences of accidents.
In the licence of the NPP, reference is made to several NVRs with requirements
regarding mitigation of consequences of accidents. Some examples, highly relevant
for on-site emergency preparedness are:
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• NVR NS-G-2.15 ‘Severe Accident Management Programmes for NPPs’
• NVR GS-R-2 ‘Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological
Emergency’
• NVR GS-G-2.1 ‘Arrangements for Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or
Radiological Emergency’.
A licence condition of the Borssele NPP requires its LH to establish and maintain an
emergency plan and an emergency organisation.
6.3.b

Examples of how LHs address the aforementioned requirements

6.3.b.1

Measures to prevent incidents becoming accidents and
minimization of consequences
The design of the Borssele NPP is based on the Defence-in-Depth concept. This is a
safety philosophy consisting of a set of diverse and overlapping strategies and/or
measures, known as ‘levels of defence’. It creates independent and redundant layers
of defence to compensate for potential human and mechanical failures. An important
principle is that the means provided on one level of defence should be independent
from those of other levels. This assures that the failure of one system will not affect
more than one level of defence. Defense-in-Depth includes the use of access
controls, physical barriers, redundant and diverse key safety functions, and
emergency response measures.
• The first level of defence shall prevent abnormal operation and failures.
Operational experience, especially as indicated by collected plant-specific
component failure data, data resulting from the non-destructive testing of the
primary pressure boundary, as well as the programmes for inspection,
maintenance, testing, ageing etc. applied to plant systems and components, has
shown that the first level of defence is adequately preserved.
• The second level of defence shall control abnormal operation and timely detect
failures. In the Operational Limits and Conditions (OLC) document the limits are
defined within which the Borssele NPP must operate. In order to ensure that the
limits are not exceeded, the safety systems are subject to an extensive set of in
service inspection, surveillance and maintenance procedures. These procedures
together with the Operational Limits and Conditions document form the second
level of defence.
• The third level of defence shall control accidents within the design basis. The
essential means provided consist of the safety systems and other measures to
control Postulated Initiating Events (PIEs) including Limiting Design Basis Events.
The safety analyses that are reported in the Safety Report have to prove that the
radiological consequences of design-basis events meet the radiological criteria.
These radiological criteria specify smaller acceptance doses if the assumed
frequency of the PIEs increases.
• The fourth level of defence shall control severe plant conditions. This is realised
by the symptom-based Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) and the Severe
Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs), that need to prevent or mitigate
consequences of severe accidents should they happen despite the presence of
levels 1-3.
• The fifth level of defence shall mitigate the radiological consequences of
significant releases of radioactive materials in the unlikely event that they would
occur. It is covered by the strategies for off-site emergency preparedness.
At the Borssele NPP, the LH has conducted complete Level 1, 2 and 3 PSAs, which
include external hazard initiators and all operational states. The full scope Level 3
PSA results in estimated risk levels compliant with the regulatory criteria. These are
“living” PSAs, i.e. they are updated yearly. They also provide input to the
surveillance and maintenance strategies, modification planning and execution, and
periodic safety assessments, the so-called “risk monitor”.
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The full scope Level 3 PSA has been used to derive LH’s (EPZ) SAM strategy. The
on-site emergency plan includes a specific emergency response organisation with
adequate staff, instructions and resources. The emergency response plan has three
principal goals:
• to ensure that the operating organisation of the NPP is prepared for any on-site
emergency situation;
• to mitigate as much as possible the effects on the operating personnel of the NPP
and on the environment in the vicinity of the plant;
• to inform the relevant governmental bodies timely to support as effectively
possible on off site emergency actions.
Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs) have been in operation at
Borssele NPP since 2000 as an outcome from the PSR at the plant in 1993. Their
scope was expanded following the 2003 PSR to include shutdown conditions. The
SAMGs are based on the generic SAMGs produced by the Westinghouse Owners
Group and were considered state of the art in 2003. They are intended to address
scenarios deriving from severe external hazards, such as earthquakes and floods,
where there is the imminent potential for core melt.
The SAMGs include guidance for using the pressure relief valves and various
pressuriser spray options to control the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) pressure. For
an ex-vessel event the containment (37,100m3) has filtered venting, a spray
system, air coolers, a filtered recirculation system and Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs). The containment is designed for overpressures of 3.8 bar.
Borssele has standard arrangements for controlling the plant in the event of a
severe accident. The Main Control Room (MCR) has a filtered air supply and,
following a Station Black Out (SBO) event, compressed air and respirators are
available. There is also an alternative Emergency Control Room (ECR, which is
bunkered and has gas-tight doors, but which does not have a filtered air supply) for
managing a controlled shutdown, core cooling and spent fuel pool cooling. Both the
MCR and ECR have suitable and robust access to plant measurements needed to
control a severe accident.
There are seven operations shift teams at Borssele, each managed by a shift
supervisor and each composed of at least eight operators. It is the shift supervisor’s
responsibility to decide on the extent of the LH’s Emergency Response Organisation
(ERO) that needs to be activated. Once the ERO is operational, the site emergency
director takes over responsibility for the emergency. Based on data from exercises,
the ERO will be set up within 45 minutes (also outside normal working hours) and
then requires a further 30 minutes to become operational.
The ERO is a scalable organisation: the number of staff called in (by pagers, phone
calls) will depend upon the scale of the emergency being addressed. The ERO will be
located in the plant’s Alarm Coordination Centre (ACC). This is a purpose-built
facility designed for internal events and emergencies. Though bunkered (like the
ECR), it is not designed to withstand severe events such as a major earthquake,
flood or aircraft crash. If damaged, ERO has to use an other room, but consequently
lose some of the dedicated ERO-facilities.
Details of the SAM facilities at the LH can be found amongst others in the National
Report of the Netherlands on the evaluation of the complementary safety
assessment of the Borssele NPP, published in 2011.
Realtime data and process information is available at both crisis centers of the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the power plant. Support from the OEM in
case of an emergency is contractually assured.
6.3.b.2
Measures for mitigation of consequences
Off site emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) and post accident
management (PAM) mainly is a national responsibility. Nevertheless utility’s
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responsibility is also important especially regarding providing technical information
on plant conditions and the potential risk for emissions.
If an emergency occurs, the plant management must inform the relevant authorities
immediately, advise them of the classification of the accident, and provide whatever
information is required in order to assist the KFD to assess the nature and potential
consequences of the accident, to determine the potential for mitigating its effects
and to make a prognosis of potential radioactive discharges. Realtime data and
process information is available to the inspection branche of the RB, the KFD. This is
part of the plant information supplied to the KFD during an emergency. The RB has
a strict 24/7 schedule to secure its availability during any actual or potential
accident or serious incident.
6.4

Ensuring the establishment and implementation of management
systems at the Licence Holders

NVR GS-R-3 ‘The Management System for Facilities and Activities’ requires any LH
to establish an management system where priority to safety is paramount. The
requirements in this NVR apply to all nuclear facilities.
In the licence of a nuclear installation, reference is made to additional NVRs with
more detailed requirements to the management system, tailored to the needs of
these installations.
The KFD verifies the management systems of LHs on a regular basis. For a more
detailed information on compliance verification activities, refer to section 5.4.b.
6.5

Requiring Licence Holders to provide for adequate financial and
human resources

6.5.a

Regulatory requirements to provide for adequate financial and
human resources

6.5.a.1
Financial resources
Refer to section 6.1 of the present report for requirements in the Nuclear Energy Act
related to financial solvability.
In the licence of the Borssele NPP several NVRs are referenced, all applicable to the
management system of the LH. These NVRs (like NVR GS-R-3 26) also address
financial resources. For instance, it is stipulated that the management of the NPP
must act promptly to provide adequate facilities and services during operation and in
response to emergencies. The personnel involved in reviewing activities must have
sufficient independence from cost and scheduling considerations. This applies to
reviews of all safety-related activities.
6.5.a.2
Human resources
The Nuclear Energy Act states that an application for a licence must contain an
estimate of the total number of employees plus details of their tasks and
responsibilities, and, where applicable, their qualifications. This includes supervisory
staff.
In addition, in the licence of the NPP, relevant NVRs are referenced: NVR NS-G-2.8
‘Recruitment, Qualification and Training of Personnel’ and the specific Safety Guide
NVR 3.2.1 27 for control room personnel. NVR NS-G-2.8 also makes it clear that the
26

NVR GS-R-3 ‘The Management System for Facilities and Activities’, section 4 states: “Senior management shall
determine the amount of resources necessary and shall provide the resources (9) to carry out the activities of the
organisation and to establish, implement, assess and continually improve the management system”. In footnote
(9) NVR-GS-R-3 states: “‘Resources includes individuals, infrastructure, the working environment, information and
knowledge, and suppliers, as well as material and financial resources.”
27
NVR 3.2.1 ‘Voorschriften Opleiding Bedieningspersoneel van Kernenergiecentrales’, i.e. Requirements to the
education of control room personnel.
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responsibility for ensuring that individuals are appropriatly qualified and remain so
rests with the operating organisation. NVR-GS-R-3 requires management to provide
all the resources necessary.
6.5.b

Description of the process of verification by the RB of the
financial and human resources of the LH

When a LH does not meet the set safety requirements or any deadline specified by
the RB, the inspectorate branche KFD can take a more strict approach to verify
whether the LH has sufficient financial and human resources. The managers of the
KFD and the directors of the LHs discuss this matter on a regular basis to ensure
nuclear safety. Furthermore, the inspectors use a questionnaire that covers this item
with questions about among others workload, management support for employees,
education & training, qualification and the (safety) culture in organisations.

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ARTICLE 7 Expertise and skills in nuclear safety

The national framework in place requires arrangements for education and
training to be made by all parties for their staff having responsibilities
relating to the nuclear safety of nuclear installations in order to maintain
and to further develop expertise and skills in nuclear safety. This chapter
describes these arrangements.
7.0

Text of Article

Article 7 - Expertise and skills in nuclear safety
Member States shall ensure that the national framework in place requires
arrangements for education and training to be made by all parties for their staff
having responsibilities relating to the nuclear safety of nuclear installations in order
to maintain and to further develop expertise and skills in nuclear safety.

7.1

Implementation at the Licence Holders

The Borssele NPP has a training department that is responsible for: maintaining the
personnel qualification register, qualification activities, coordination of training
activities, training records keeping, and delivering of in-house developed training
courses; and organizing training courses that are delivered by contractors. For
conduct of the in-house developed training, subject matter experts are extensively
used. Training responsibilities for conduct of practical (on-the-job) training are
distributed among respective plant departments.
Training and personal development programmes are developed based on
competency analysis and consequent training matrix for each job position. Nuclear
safety, ALARA principles, industrial safety, operating experience (domestic and
international) are included and re-enforced during general employee training, during
conduct of initial training programmes and during refresher courses.
Training programmes are structured to cover required theoretical knowledge,
practical training and on-the-job training. Training material for the basic course is
maintained under a QA review scheme.
Control room operators, emergency support staff and several others use the full
scope, plant specific training simulator. This simulator is based in the simulator
school in Essen (Germany). Training is given by professional teachers of the
simulator school. The contracted staff for running the simulator training programme
is of appropriate size and comparable to general industry practice.
External organizations are extensively used for delivering training. For specialized
training on specific equipment vendor facilities are used. For safety related subjects,
equipment vendors or recognized institutions in the nuclear field are used, for
example Westinghouse, Areva, WANO, and NRG.
7.2

Implementation at the Competent regulatory authority

The expertise of the RB spans disciplines like radiation protection, nuclear safety,
risk assessment, security and safeguards, emergency preparedness, legal and
licensing aspects.
The RB provides tailor-made training for its staff.
Apart from the general courses, training dedicated to the technical discipline is
provided. This includes international workshops, but also conferences and visits to
other regulatory bodies. In addition there is information exchange through the
international networks of OECD/NEA, IAEA, EU etc. To be mentioned are the
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contributions to WENRA, ENSREG, TRANSSC, NUSSC, RASSC, NERS, NEA/CNRA and
several of its Working Groups.
Experts have to keep up to date with developments in their discipline and are also
responsible for maintaining a network for a number of other disciplines that are not
permanently available. It is the policy of the RB that the core experts have sufficient
knowledge to specify and assess work done by external experts.
For areas in which its competence is not sufficient or where a specific in-depth
analysis is needed, the RB has a budget at its disposal for contracting external
specialists. This is considered one of the basic policies of the RB: the core disciplines
should be available in-house, while the remaining work is subcontracted to third
parties or Technical Support Organisations (TSOs).

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ARTICLE 8 Information to the public

This chapter describes how the Netherlands satisfies the requirements of
Article 8 regarding providing information to the public and the workers on
the regulation on nuclear safety.
8.0

Text of Article

Article 8 - Information to the public
Member States shall ensure that information in relation to the regulation of nuclear
safety is made available to the workers and the general public. This obligation
includes ensuring that the competent regulatory authority informs the public in the
fields of its competence. Information shall be made available to the public in
accordance with national legislation and international obligations, provided that this
does not jeopardise other interests such as, inter alia, security, recognised in
national legislation or international obligations.

8.1

Implementation

The different entities of the RB such as EZ/pdNIV and KFD have strategies for
external communication which broadly follow the ENSREG guidance on
communication strategies. However, in preparing for the new organisation that will
bring together the various entities of the RB, a new integrated strategy will be
developed.
8.1.a

Legal basis for providing information

The General Administrative Act (Awb) is the body of law that governs the activities
of administrative agencies of government and the interaction of the public in the
procedures (i.e. objections and appeals). Also refer to section 4.1.b.1. The Awb
applies to virtually all procedures under any law. The Awb also provides for
procedures regarding publication of information of draft decisions, like those to
award a licence. These need to be published in the Government Gazette, and in the
national and local press. Under the Awb, documents provided with an application for
a licence are to be made available for inspection by members of the public. All
members of the public are free to lodge written opinions on the draft decision and to
ask for a hearing.
Specific requirements for the publication of new regulations are also laid down in the
Publication Act (Bekendmakingswet). All new legislation is published on the
Internet 28 and in the Government Gazette after enactment by the parliament.
Beyond this, ministries may make their own arrangements to provide greater
accessibility to their regulations. Announcements of new regulations have to be
published in the “Staatscourant”.
Under the Dutch Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob), as a basic
principle, information held by public authorities is public, excluding information
covered by the exceptions enumerated in the Act in its Article 10. The act requires
authorities to provide information unsolicited as it is in the interest of good and
democratic governance, without prejudice to provisions laid down in other statutes.
According to Article 3, any person can request information related to an
administrative matter as contained in documents held by public authorities or
companies carrying out work for a public authority.

28

www.overheid.nl
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The Nuclear Energy Act states requirements regarding providing information to the
public in case of accidents and to staff mitigating the consequences of such
accidents.
Stakeholder involvement is embedded by public consultation during the licencing
process under the General Administrative Act (Awb) and if applicable in the process
of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the Environmental Protection
Act. This process also involves meetings of RB, LH and the public. The RB is
transparent in its communication of regulatory decisions to the public (e.g. on
licence applications and adequacy of ‘stress tests’); these are published with
supporting documentation.
The RB reports to the minister of Economic Affairs (EZ) being the primarily
responsible authority for conducting the regulatory process under the Nuclear
Energy Act. The minister of EZ reports regularly to Parliament on nuclear safety,
radiation protection, and other Nuclear Energy Act issues. Results of major studies,
conducted under the authority of the RB are presented by the minister of EZ to
Parliament. In addition the Parliament can require the minister to report to
Parliament on specific issues.
8.1.b

How the regulatory authority provides information and
communicates in its fields of competence to the general public
and to workers

Information in relation to the regulation of nuclear safety is made available to the
workers and the general public in various ways.
Legislative information is available on governmental websites, including laws,
ordinances, guidelines and texts of licence conditions. Increasingly, many kinds of
data, policies, decisions, findings, analyses, et cetera are being actively published on
government websites. Where necessary, reports in English are translated or a Dutch
summary is provided. Inspectorates also publish information about their activities
and in some cases summaries of their findings on the Internet. On several
occasions, there are information meetings and also hearings, at which anyone can
express his opinion on the issue at hand.
Parliament is actively informed by the RB via the minister of Economic Affairs. All
national and EU reports releated to the ‘stress test’ analysis and Peer Review have
been sent to Parliament and are also available on the government website. This is
also true for the reports associated with the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the
Joint Convention on the Safe Management of Spent Fuel and the Safe Management
of Radioactive Waste. In addition to the English versions of the reports, a Dutch
translation or Dutch summary often is provided. Accompanying explanatory letters
to the Parliament always are in Dutch. Early 2012 in the Netherlands a public
meeting was organised, focused on the results presented in the National Report on
the stress test of the Dutch NPP.
The RB is aware of the different backgrounds of informed groups and the general
public. The ministries, of which the RB is part of, often produce easy to understand
press releases, as well as detailed reports. Of some reports, there are detailed as
well as summary versions (in the Dutch language). Most information targeted at the
Dutch audience (general public, staff of governmental bodies, Parliament etcetera)
is published in Dutch. Information targeted at informed groups (experts) and peers
in other countries is mainly published in English, usually with a summary in Dutch.
8.1.c

Frequency of information provision including arrangements for
ensuring that the information provided is up to date and easily
accessible

Information on laws and other regulation, as well as licences and regulatory
decisions related to licensing, are published on the governmental website, as soon
as available. This information is kept up to date.
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Starting licensing processes, and associated information meetings are timely
announced in major newspapers and on the Internet.
Every reportable incident is published on the website of the inspectorate. On a
yearly basis the supervision branch of the RB reports to Parliament about the
incidents at nuclear installations.
8.1.d

Particular arrangements for providing information in emergency
situations

Chapter VI of the Nuclear Energy Act also addresses (in Article 43) the provision of
information to those members of the population who might be affected by a nuclear
accident. Consistent with its responsibility for managing the response to a
(potential) nuclear accident, national government also is responsible for informing
the public. This will be done in close cooperation with the local authorities in the
threatened or affected area.
In case of a threat or emergency that needs national coordination, and needs the
involvement of various ministries, the National Crisis Center will set up a national
crisis communication centre to inform the public. Experts from the various ministries
will help and support the local and regional Public Information Units based on the
recently developed Communication Strategy for Nuclear and Radiological
Emergencies. Public information about the potential risks of NPPs and the existing
emergency plans is provided by the municipalities. The material needed for the
information may be provided by central government, as has been the case for the
municipalities in the vicinity of the Borssele and Doel NPPs, the latter being in
Belgium but close to the Dutch border.
In addition, the governmental websites have a link to the topic of ‘crises’, where
information can be found on numerous aspects of nuclear accidents. Another part of
the site, to be open to the public only in emergency situations, contains a more
comprehensive set of relevant questions and answers.
8.1.e

Categories of information that are not being provided and the
legal basis that is limiting access to information and appeal
mechanisms

Under the Dutch Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob), any person can
request information related to an administrative matter as contained in documents
held by public authorities or companies carrying out work for a public authority. As a
basic principle, information held by public authorities is public, excluding information
covered by the exceptions enumerated in Article 10 of the Act. Such exceptions may
be based on concern for security of the state, major commercial interests that may
be harmed by publication of some company data, etcetera.
8.1.f

Information provided by Licence Holders

The operators and LHs of nuclear facilities present their activities to the general
public via local presentations at meetings, dedicated websites and publicly available
reports.

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ARTICLE 9 Reporting

This chapter describes how the Netherlands satisfies the requirements of
Article 9 on reporting and regulatory self-assessment.
9.0

Text of Article

Article 9 - Reporting
1. Member States shall submit a report to the Commission on the implementation of
this Directive for the first time by 22 July 2014, and every three years thereafter,
taking advantage of the review and reporting cycles under the Convention on
Nuclear Safety.
2. On the basis of the Member States′ reports, the Commission shall submit a report
to the Council and the European Parliament on progress made with the
implementation of this Directive.
3. Member States shall at least every 10 years arrange for periodic self-assessments
of their national framework and competent regulatory authorities and invite an
international peer review of relevant segments of their national framework and/or
authorities with the aim of continuously improving nuclear safety. Outcomes of any
peer review shall be reported to the Member States and the Commission, when
available.

9.1

Periodic reporting

According to the Directive in Article 9(1): “Member States shall submit a report to
the Commission on the implementation of this Directive for the first time by 22 July
2014, and every three years thereafter, taking advantage of the review and
reporting cycles under the Convention on Nuclear Safety.”
The present report is a first in a series of such reports to the Commission. The
Netherlands will respect the agreed reporting cycles.
9.2

Reporting by the Commission

According to the Directive in Article 9(2): “On the basis of the Member States′
reports, the Commission shall submit a report to the Council and the European
Parliament on progress made with the implementation of this Directive.”
To facilitate the Commission’s abovementioned task, the Netherlands will follow the
guidelines for national reports, provided by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators
Group (ENSREG).
9.3

Periodic self assessment of the national framework and the
Competent regulatory authority

According to the Directive in Article 9(3): “Member States shall at least every 10
years arrange for periodic self-assessments of their national framework and
competent regulatory authorities and invite an international peer review of relevant
segments of their national framework and/or authorities with the aim of
continuously improving nuclear safety. Outcomes of any peer review shall be
reported to the Member States and the Commission, when available.” 29
The Netherlands’ RB has invited an (IAEA) IRRS mission. The final mission will visit
the RB in November 2014. In preparation for this mission, the RB is in the process
of an extensive self assessment. The findings of the mission will be shared with the
29

A similar requirement is also included in the ‘Waste Directive’, DIRECTIVE 2008/98/EC OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
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Commission and the Member States. The Netherlands will respect the periodicity for
such self assessments, as required by the Nuclear Safety Directive.

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Annex 1

Transposition of Directive 2009/71 Euratom

This Annex presents the original Dutch text of the regulation as well as an unofficial
‘courtesy’ translation into English.
ORIGINAL DUTCH TEXT:
STAATSCOURANT NR.12517, 19 JULI 2011
Regeling van de Minister van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie
en de Staatssecretaris van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid van 18 juli
2011, nr. WJZ/11014550, houdende de implementatie van richtlijn nr.
2009/71/Euratom van de Raad van de Europese Unie van 25 juni 2009 tot
vaststelling van een communautair kader voor de nucleaire veiligheid van
kerninstallaties (PbEU L 172/18) (Tijdelijke regeling implementatie richtlijn
nr. 2009/71/Euratom inzake nucleaire veiligheid).
De Minister van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie en de Staatssecretaris
van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid,
Gelet op richtlijn nr. 2009/71/Euratom van de Raad van de Europese Unie van 25
juni 2009 tot vaststelling van een communautair kader voor de nucleaire veiligheid
van kerninstallaties (PbEU L 172/18) en de artikelen 18a, derde lid, 21, eerste lid,
en 76, vierde lid, van de Kernenergiewet;
Besluiten:
Artikel 1
In deze regeling wordt verstaan onder:
– kerninstallatie: inrichting als bedoeld in artikel 15, onderdeel b, van de wet;
– Minister: Minister van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie;
– nucleaire veiligheid: de toestand van deugdelijke bedrijfsomstandigheden en de
aanwezigheid van preventie- en beschermingsmechanismen ter voorkoming van
ongevallen en de beperking van de gevolgen van ongevallen, die ervoor zorgen dat
werknemers en bevolking beschermd worden tegen de aan ioniserende straling van
een inrichting als bedoeld in artikel 15, onder b, van de wet verbonden gevaren;
– vergunninghouder: natuurlijke persoon of rechtspersoon die een vergunning als
bedoeld in artikel 15, onderdeel b, van de wet houdt;
– wet: Kernenergiewet.

Artikel 2
1. De vergunninghouder zorgt dat de nucleaire veiligheid van de onder zijn beheer
zijnde kerninstallatie continu op systematische en verifieerbare wijze wordt
onderzocht en geëvalueerd.
2. De vergunninghouder betrekt bij de onderzoeken en evaluaties de voor de
desbetreffende kerninstallatie:
a. relevante ontwikkelingen en inzichten inzake de nucleaire veiligheid van
vergelijkbare installaties in binnen- en buitenland;
b. de mogelijkheden de nucleaire veiligheid te verbeteren.
3. De vergunninghouder houdt de weerslag van de onderzoeken en evaluaties
systematisch bij en zorgt dat deze op toegankelijke wijze bewaard blijven.

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4. De vergunninghouder doet iedere tien jaar verslag aan de Minister inzake de
nucleaire veiligheid van de onder zijn beheer zijnde kerninstallatie op basis van
de onderzoeken en evaluaties.
5. Onverminderd het vierde lid kan de Minister de vergunninghouder opdragen
tussentijds verslag te doen indien dat naar zijn oordeel met het oog op de
nucleaire veiligheid wenselijk is.

Artikel 3
1. Zodra de onderzoeken en evaluaties daartoe aanleiding geven neemt de
vergunninghouder, onverminderd het bepaalde in de vergunningvoorschriften, de
maatregelen die redelijkerwijs van hem gevergd kunnen worden om de nucleaire
veiligheid te verbeteren.
2. Indien maatregelen ter verbetering van de nucleaire veiligheid aanpassing van
vergunningvoorschriften vergen, doet de vergunninghouder bij de Minister
onverwijld een aanvraag tot wijziging van de vergunningvoorschriften.

Artikel 4
Een verslag als bedoeld in artikel 2, vierde lid, bevat in elk geval:
a. een evaluatie van de technische, organisatorische en personele voorzieningen ter
waarborging van de nucleaire veiligheid van de kerninstallatie;
b. een evaluatie van de maatregelen die zijn genomen ter voorkoming van
ongevallen en de verdere beperking van de gevolgen daarvan, waaronder in elk
geval een evaluatie van de fysieke beschermingsmechanismen en administratieve
beschermingsprocedures;
c. een analyse van de eigen bedrijfservaringen, inclusief storingen, en informatie
verkregen bij andere kerninstallaties en relevante onderzoeksprogramma’s voor
zover van toepassing op de nucleaire veiligheid van de kerninstallatie;
d. een verantwoording van de gevolgde meet- en onderzoeksmethodes, alsmede de
registratie daarvan.

Artikel 5
De vergunninghouder zorgt dat de beheerssystemen van de kerninstallatie zodanig
wordt ingericht en uitgevoerd dat voldoende prioriteit wordt gegeven aan nucleaire
veiligheid.

Artikel 6
1. De vergunninghouder beschikt over een opleidingsplan voor de opleiding en
training van het personeel met het oog op de nucleaire veiligheid van de onder
zijn beheer zijnde kerninstallatie en geeft uitvoering aan dit opleidingsplan.
2. Een opleidingsplan als bedoeld in het eerste lid bevat in elk geval:
a. het benodigde opleidingsniveau van personeelsleden, gedifferentieerd naar
functie;
b. trainingen gericht op de actualisatie van de deskundigheid van het
personeel;
c. instructies en praktijkoefeningen voor het personeel.

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Artikel 7
1. De vergunninghouder beschikt over voldoende financiële en personele middelen
om te voldoen aan de verplichtingen inzake de nucleaire veiligheid van de onder
zijn beheer zijnde kerninstallatie.
2. De Minister kan een vergunninghouder een aanwijzing geven inzake een
aanpassing in de omvang of de beschikbaarheid van bepaalde financiële of
personele middelen.
3. Een aanwijzing als bedoeld in het tweede lid bevat een redelijke termijn van
tenminste een maand waarbinnen aan de aanwijzing gevolg moet zijn gegeven.

Artikel 8
Deze regeling treedt in werking met ingang van 22 juli 2011 en vervalt op 1 juli
2013.

Artikel 9
Deze regeling wordt aangehaald als: Tijdelijke regeling implementatie richtlijn nr.
2009/71/Euratom inzake nucleaire veiligheid.
Deze regeling zal met de toelichting in de Staatscourant worden geplaatst.
Den Haag, 18 juli 2011
De Minister van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie,
M.J.M. Verhagen.
De Staatssecretaris van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid,
P. de Krom.

UNOFFICIAL ‘COURTESY’ TRANSLATION:
Ordinance of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation
and the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment of 18 July 2011,
no. WJZ/11014550, concerning the implementation of Council Directive
2009/71/Euratom of 25 June 2009 establishing a Community framework
for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations (OJEU L 172/18) (Temporary
ordinance implementing Directive No. 2009/71/Euratom on nuclear
safety) 30.
The Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and the Secretary of
State for Social Affairs and the Employment,
Having regard to Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom of 25 June 2009 establishing a
Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations (PbEU L
172/18) and sections 18a (3), 21 (1), and 76 (4), of the Nuclear Energy Act;
Hereby order:
Article 1
In this regulation the following terms are defined as follows:
– nuclear installation: a nuclear facility as referred to in section 15 (b) of the Act;
– Minister: Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation;
– nuclear safety: the achievement of proper operating conditions and the presence
of prevention and protection mechanisms to prevent accidents and mitigate the
30

Please note that this temporary ordinance has been made permanent in 2013.
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consequences of accidents, resulting in protection of workers and the general public
from dangers arising from ionising radiations from a facility as referred to in section
15 (b) of the Act;
– licence holder: a natural or legal person who has a licence as provided for in
section 15 (b) of the Act;
– Act: Nuclear Energy Act.

Article 2
1. The licence holder shall ensure that the nuclear safety of the nuclear installation
under its management is continuously inspected and evaluated in a systematic
and verifiable manner.
2. When inspecting and evaluating the nuclear installation concerned, the licence
holder shall take account of the following:
a. relevant developments and insights concerning nuclear safety at comparable
installations in the Netherlands and abroad;
b. opportunities for improving nuclear safety.
3. The licence holder shall keep systematic records of the inspection and evaluation
results and ensure that they are stored in such a way as to be accessible when
needed.
4. Every ten years the licence holder must submit to the Minister responsible for
nuclear safety a report based on the results of the inspections and evaluations of
the nuclear installation under its management.
5. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, the Minister may instruct the licence holder to
submit an interim report if he believes this would be desirable in the interests of
nuclear safety.

Article 3
1. As soon as the inspections and evaluations so require, the licence holder, without
prejudice to the provisions of the licence requirements, shall take such measures
as can reasonably be expected of it to improve the nuclear safety of the
installation.
2. If measures to improve nuclear safety require amendment of licence
requirements, the licence holder shall immediately submit an application to the
Minister to amend the licence requirementss.

Article 4
A report as referred to in article 2, paragraph 4, must in any event contain:
a. an evaluation of the technical, organisational and human resources to ensure the
nuclear safety of the nuclear installation;
b. an evaluation of the measures taken to prevent accidents and mitigate their
consequences, including in any event an assessment of the physical protection
mechanisms and administrative protection procedures;
c. an analysis of the own operational experiences, including abnormal situations,
and operational experiences from other installations and relevant research
programs to the extent applicable to the nuclear safety of the own nuclear
installation;

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d. a justification of the measurement and research methods used, as well as their
registration.

Article 5
The licence holder must ensure that the management systems of the nuclear
installation are organised and implemented in such a way that sufficient priority is
given to nuclear safety.

Article 6
1. The licence holder shall have a training plan for the education and training of staff
with a view to ensuring the nuclear safety of the nuclear installation under its
management and must implement this plan.
2. A training plan as referred to in paragraph 1 must in any event contain:
a. the required levels of training for staff, differentiated by function;
b. training sessions focused on updating the expertise of staff;
c. instructions and practice exercises for staff.

Article 7
1. The licence holder shall have sufficient financial and human resources to fulfil its
obligations with regard to the nuclear safety of the nuclear installation under its
management.
2. The Minister may give a licence holder an instruction about adjusting the scale or
availability of certain financial or human resources.
3. An instruction as referred to in paragraph 2 must allow a reasonable period of at
least one month for compliance with the instruction.

Article 8
This ordinance will enter into force on 22 July 201131.

Article 9
This ordinance may be cited as the Regulation on the Implementation of Directive
2009/71/Euratom on Nuclear Safety.
This ordinance will be published with its explanatory notes in the Government
Gazette.
The Hague, 18 July 2011
The Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation,
M.J.M. Verhagen.
The State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment,
P. de Krom.

31

Please note that this temporary ordinance has been made permanent in 2013.
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Annex 2

Nuclear Safety Rules (NVRs)

No.
NVR NS-R-3

Title
‘Beoordeling van de vestigingsplaats voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. NS-R-3, Site Evaluation for Nuclear Installations Safety
Requirements
‘Externe door de mens veroorzaakte gebeurtenissen bij de
beoordeling van de vestigingsplaats voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.1, External Human Induced Events in Site Evaluation for NPPs
‘Verspreiding van radioactieve stoffen in lucht en water en
beschouwing van de verdeling van de bevolking bij de beoordeling
van de vestigingsplaats voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.2, Dispersion of Radioactive Material in Air and Water and
Consideration of Population Distribution in Site Evaluation for NPPs
‘Beoordeling van seismische gebeurtenissen van invloed op de
veiligheid van kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.3, Evaluation of Seismic Hazards for NPPs
‘Meteorologische gebeurtenissen bij de beoordeling van de
vestigingsplaats voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.4, Meteorological Events in Site Evaluation of NPPs
‘Beoordeling van overstromingsgevaar voor kernenergiecentrales
met vestigingsplaats aan de kust of aan een rivier’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.5, Flood Hazard for NPPs on Coastal and River Sites
‘Geotechnische aspecten bij de beoordeling van de vestigingsplaats
en funderingen voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G3.5, Geotechnical Aspects of Site Evaluation and Foundations for
NPPs

NVR NS-G3.1

NVR NS-G3.2

NVR NS-G3.3

NVR NS-G3.4

NVR NS-G3.5

NVR NS-G3.6

NVR NS-R-1

NVR NS-G1.1

NVR NS-G1.2
NVR NS-G1.3

‘Veiligheid van kernenergiecentrales: veiligheidseisen voor het
ontwerp’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. NS-R-1, Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design Safety
Requirements
‘Programmatuur voor computergestuurde veiligheidsrelevante
systemen voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.1, Software for Computer Based Systems Important to Safety in
NPPs
‘Veiligheidsbeoordeling en -verificatie voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.2, Safety Assessment and Verification for NPPs
‘Veiligheidsrelevante meet- en regelsystemen voor
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.3, Instrumentation and Control Systems Important to Safety in
NPPs

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No.
NVR NS-G1.4

NVR NS-G1.5

NVR NS-G1.6
NVR NS-G1.7

NVR NS-G1.8
NVR NS-G1.9

NVR NS-G1.10
NVR NS-G1.11

NVR NS-G1.12
NVR NS-G1.13

NVR NS-R-2

NVR NS-G2.1
NVR NS-G2.2

NVR NS-G2.3

Page 62 of 66

Title
‘Ontwerp van splijtstofhantering en -opslag systemen in
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.4, Design of Fuel Handling and Storage Systems in NPPs
‘Externe gebeurtenissen met uitzondering van aardbevingen in het
ontwerp van kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.5, External Events Excluding Earthquakes in the Design of NPPs
‘Seismisch ontwerp en kwalificatie voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.6, Seismic Design and Qualification for NPPs
‘Bescherming tegen interne branden en explosies in het ontwerp van
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.7, Protection Against Internal Fires and Explosions in the Design of
NPPs
‘Ontwerp van noodstroom systemen voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.8, Design of Emergency Power Systems for NPPs
‘Ontwerp van het reactor koel- en aanverwante systemen in
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.9, Design of the Reactor Coolant System and Associated Systems
in NPPs
‘Ontwerp van reactor insluiting systemen voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.10, Design of Reactor Containment Systems for NPPs
‘Bescherming tegen interne gevaren anders dan branden en
explosies in het ontwerp van kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.11, Protection Against Internal Hazards other than Fires and
Explosions in the Design of NPPs
‘Ontwerp van de reactor kern voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.12, Design of the Reactor Core for NPPs
‘Stralingsbescherming aspecten in het ontwerp voor
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G1.13, Radiation Protection Aspects of Design for NPPs
‘Veiligheid van kernenergiecentrales: veiligheidseisen voor de
bedrijfsvoering’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. NS-R-2, Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation Safety
Requirements
‘Brandveiligheid in de bedrijfsvoering van kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.1, Fire Safety in the operation of NPPs
‘Bedrijfslimieten en –voorwaarden en bedrijfsvoeringsprocedures
voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.2, Operational Limits and Conditions and Operating Procedures for
NPPs
‘Wijzigingen aan kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.3, Modifications to NPPs

Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

No.
NVR NS-G2.4
NVR NS-G2.5

NVR NS-G2.6

NVR NS-G2.7

NVR NS-G2.8

NVR NS-G2.9
NVR NS-G2.10
NVR NS-G2.11

NVR NS-G2.12
NVR NS-G2.13

NVR NS-G2.14
NVR NS-G2.15

NVR GS-R-3

NVR GS-G3.1

NVR GS-G3.5

Title
‘De bedrijfsvoeringsorganisatie voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.4, The Operating Organization for NPPs
‘Beheer van de kern en splijtstof hantering voor
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.5, Core Management and Fuel Handling for NPPs
‘Onderhoud, toezicht en in-service inspecties in
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.6, Maintenance, Surveillance and In-service Inspection in NPPs
‘Straling bescherming en radioactief afval tijdens het bedrijven van
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.7, Radiation Protection and Radioactive Waste Management in the
Operation of NPPs
‘Werving, kwalificatie en training van personeel voor
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.8, Recruitment, Qualification and Training of Personnel for NPPs
‘Inbedrijfstelling voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.9, Commissioning for NPPs
‘Periodieke veiligheidsbeoordeling voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.10, Periodic Safety Review of NPPs
‘Een systeem voor de terugkoppeling van ervaringen van
gebeurtenissen in nucleaire installaties’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.11, A System for the Feedback of Experience from Events in
Nuclear Installations
‘Verouderingsbeheer voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.12, Ageing Management for NPPs
‘Beoordeling van seismische veiligheid voor bestaande nucleaire
installaties’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.13, Evaluation of Seismic Safety for Existing Nuclear Installations
‘Bedrijfsvoering van kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.14, Conduct of operations at NPPs
‘Beheer van zware ongevallen voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. NS-G2.15, Severe Accident Management Programmes for NPPs
‘Het managementsysteem voor faciliteiten en activiteiten’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. GS-R-3, The Management System for Facilities and Activities
‘Toepassing van het managementsysteem voor faciliteiten en
activiteiten’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. GS-G3.1, Application of the Management System for Facilities and
Activities
‘Het managementsysteem van nucleaire installaties’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. GS-G3.5, The Management System of Nuclear Installations
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No.

Title

NVR GS-R-4

‘Veiligheidsbeoordeling voor faciliteiten en activiteiten’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. GS-R-4, Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities
‘Vorm en inhoud van het veiligheidsrapport voor
kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. GS-G4.1, Format and Content of the Safety Analysis Report for NPPs
‘Seismische gevaren bij de beoordeling van de vestigingsplaats voor
nucleaire installaties’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. SSG-9,
Seismic Hazards in Site Evaluation for Nuclear Installations
‘Deterministische veiligheidsanalyse voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. SSG-2,
Deterministic Safety Analysis for NPPs
‘Ontwikkeling en toepassing van niveau 1 probabilistische
veiligheidsanalyse voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. SSG-3,
Development and Application of Level 1 Probabilistic Safety
Assessment for NPPs
‘Ontwikkeling en toepassing van niveau 2 probabilistische
veiligheidsanalyse voor kernenergiecentrales’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. SSG-4,
Development and Application of Level 2 Probabilistic Safety
Assessment for NPPs

NVR GS-G4.1

NVR SSG-9

NVR SSG-2

NVR SSG-3

NVR SSG-4

NVR GS-R-2

NVR GS-G2.1

‘Gereedheid voor en bestrijding van een nucleaire of radiologische
noodsituatie’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Requirements Safety Standard Series
No. GS-R-2, Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or
Radiological Emergency
‘Voorbereiding voor de gereedheid voor en bestrijding van een
nucleaire of radiologische noodsituatie’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Safety Standard Series No. GS-G2.1, Arrangement for Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or
Radiological Emergency

NVR 2.1.1

‘Safety functions and component classification for BWR, PWR and
PTR’
Adaptation of: IAEA Safety Guide Series No. 50 SG-D1

NVR 3.2.1

Voorschriften Opleiding van Bedieningspersoneel van
Kernenergiecentrales

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Annex 3

Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs)

The LH of the Borssele NPP conducts and reports a Periodic Safety Review every 2
and 10 years. The requirements of the PSRs have been laid down in the licence. The
2-yearly safety review considers the safety performance against existing codes and
standards. The objective of this review is to evaluate the technical, operational,
human and administrative facilities with regard to nuclear safety and radiation
protection, and to take appropriate action if consistency with the design basis cannot
fully be demonstrated. The 10-yearly safety review evaluates developments in
technological and regulatory insights to ensure that plant remains in compliance
with the “state of the art”.
Before the official introduction of PSRs, a major upgrade was established in 1986
with the introduction of the ‘bunker concept’. This is a ‘two-train’-bunker concept,
protected against high flood level and earthquakes. It contains two 100% trains of
diverse systems for primary make-up and emergency feedwater supply and two
100% Emergency Diesels.
First PSR and associated modifications
In the late 1980s, mainly as a result of the Chernobyl accident, the Dutch
government formulated an accident management and back-fitting policy. The LH of
Borssele NPP was asked to upgrade the safety of its plants by incorporating state-ofthe-art features.
In the early 1990s, with the aid of the reactor supplier, the LH developed a new
safety concept for its plant. The utility operating the Borssele NPP (which was 20
years old at the time) embarked on a € 200 million modification programme.
The basis was the first 10-yearly safety review of 1993. A comparison of the plant’s
then current design basis with national and international deterministic nuclear safety
rules was made. Additional input for the new safety concept were plant insights
gained from similar designs; operating experience and the German Risk Study
(DRS-B). A plant-specific PSA was performed in parallel with the activities for the
conceptual design. This PSA played a major role in later stages of the modification
programme. Once the safety concept had been finalised, it was translated into a
‘safety plan’, consisting of a package of modification proposals for the plant
systems, structures and components.
Safety improvements were:
• Extensive improvement of functional and physical separation of redundant
systems and increase of redundancies and some diverse systems;
• Improvement of protection against external events. E.g.: reserve ultimate heat
sink by eight 17% deep wells, emergency control room in hardened building,
emergency response center in bunker;
• Improve protection against LOCA, SB-LOCA, MSLB, SGTR and SBO – expansion of
emergency power system to 3x 100% EDGs in different locations around the
plant;
• Improve AM and SAM: introduction of SAMG’s, Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners
(PARs) and filtered containment venting, bleed and feed, adoption of the WOG
Generic SAMGs (in operation since 2000);
• Introduction of 30 minutes grace time for all design base events, 10 hours
autarky time and 24 hour autonomy time for design base external events;
• Modernisation of control room and introduction of full scope simulator;
Second PSR and associated modifications
The second 10-yearly safety review finalized in 2003, resulted in the project
“Mod2Go”. The safety-interests of improvement-issues had been estimated, from a
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nuclear safety point of view as well as from a radiation protection point of view using
both deterministic and probabilistic considerations. Again, the plant-specific living
Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) model was a major tool.
Some major measures were:
• Increasing the supply of diesel oil in the bunker systems from 24 hours to 72
hours;
• Possibility to supply the bunkered systems by the primary (large capacity) EDGs;
• Extension of the autonomy time to 72 hours fro design base external events;
• Protection against hazardous gases from river Westerschelde shipping accidents
(toxic, combustible);
• Increasing the flooding margin of the bunkered systems by raising the SBO EDG’s
air intakes;
• Installation of a second reserve cooling water (TE) pump;
• Automatic starting of the bunkered primary reserve injection system if the level in
the RPV becomes too low during midloop operation;
• Improvement of the emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) with regard to
avoiding dilution of the primary coolant after start-up of a main coolant pump;
• Extension of the SAMGs to low-power and shut-down modes of operation;
• Implementation of an E-0 optimal recovery guideline for low-power and shutdown modes of operation (E-0 = reactor trip and safety injection, diagnostics).
Third PSR and associated modifications – implementation 2014 - 2017
The third PSR was finished in 2013. A part of the third PSR coincided with the LTO
programme and the European ‘stress test’. The implementation of the stress test at
the LH was also known as a Complimentary Safety Assessment (CSA).
First half of 2014 the KFD conducted its review of the PSR. Second half of 2014 the
LH submitted its improvement plan to the RB.
The highlights of potential measures are:
• Technical measures: management of core melt, extension of autarky and
autonomy, protection of electrical components and digital I&C.
• Operational measures: safety culture actions, further strengthening of the
emergency response organization.

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Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM National report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, July 2014

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