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The IRRS mission to Switzerland was conducted at the request of the Swiss government and hosted by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), the national regulatory body for safety and security of nuclear facilities.

During the 18-29 October mission, the 20-member team - comprised of 17 senior regulatory experts from 15 countries, as well as 3 IAEA staff members - reviewed facilities and activities regulated by ENSI. This included four operational power reactors, one operational research reactor and a national interim storage facility for radioactive waste.

Activities covered during the safety review included emergency preparedness and response, transport, decommissioning, occupational exposure control, environmental monitoring and public exposure, and the safety interface with nuclear security. The IRRS team also reviewed the licensing process and regulatory guidelines for the ongoing plans for constructing a deep geological waste repository. The mission also used the opportunity to exchange information on national regulatory implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team identified good practices in the area of safety culture. ENSI continuously improves its internal safety culture and promotes the proactive safety culture of licensees through periodic focus groups. The team also noted: the role of ENSI in implementing the regulatory policy and associated requirements for continued safety improvements at nuclear power plants; the collaborative dialogue among all federal cantonal authorities involved in the licensing process of nuclear facilities; and the periodic security background tests for ENSI’s staff, including evaluation of a potential lack of impartiality.