Experts from nine countries spent two weeks, from 6 June to 17 June, assessing the implementation of nuclear security arrangements in Finland. The evaluators concluded that Finland has well-functioning security arrangements, which have been further strengthened in recent years.
The International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) peer review, coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was carried out in Finland for the third time. The first IPPAS was conducted in Finland in 2009, and its follow-up assessment in 2012. The third IPPAS assessment was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and was organized by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). The team's assessment report contains information on security arrangements and is, therefore, not public.
Tapani Hack, Section Head of STUK's Nucledar Security unit, says that the IPPAS team's task was to assess how well Finland implements international regulations and recommendations in this field. According to Hack, it is valuable for STUK and Finnish nuclear and radiation safety in general to have experts from so many countries to get to know Finnish practices in depth, discuss with them, and hear their views.
“The IPPAS team consisted of excellent experts from nine major nuclear countries and the arrangements for the assessment are such that they were able to get a good and honest picture of the Finnish situation,” says Hack. The team comprised nine experts from Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as one IAEA staff member, and was led by Bernard Stauffer, Head of Nuclear & Cyber Security Section of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI).
Recommendations and good practices
The IPPAS assessment covers the legislative and regulatory practices concerning security arrangements, the security of radiation sources, information security and site-specific assessments. Representatives from various authorities and licensees participated in the assessment in Finland. The IPPAS evaluation covers the security regulations, the security of radiation sources, information security and site-specific assessments.
The evaluation team provided recommendations, some of which were related to the legislation on security arrangements. In particular, it was recommended that the terminology used in the legislation be clarified. For example, the terms used for security arrangements, nuclear safety and safety culture are not sufficiently clear, according to the evaluation team. In the view of the evaluation team, STUK's resources should also be increased for the supervision of both information security and the security arrangements of radiation sources. For the licensees of a nuclear facility, the assessment team recommended clarifications to certain procedures concerning the security arrangements.
Good practices identified include good cooperation between STUK and other authorities and the fact that, within STUK, cooperation between different divisions such as security arrangements, nuclear safety and safeguards works well.
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