The member states of the European Union that use nuclear power, together with Ukraine, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Turkey, have assessed the fire protection of their nuclear facilities. The country report for Finland was compiled by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority.
The peer review of nuclear facilities’ fire protection is carried out by the EU Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) and all country reports are published on the ENSREG website. Next, the countries will evaluate, comment and learn from each other's procedures and measures.
A fire at a nuclear facility is a threat that must be prevented because if it spreads, it can lead to a simultaneous failure of several systems that are important for safety. Preparing for fires uses the defence-in-depth principle of fire protection. The principle means that efforts are made to prevent fires and in case of a fire, it is detected as early as possible so that it can be extinguished and its spread prevented.
In addition to the fire protection procedures, the countries have reported on plants’ fire safety analyses prepared in order to ensure nuclear safety.
The country report for Finland includes an assessment on the fire protection arrangements of all five Finnish nuclear power plant units and spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at nuclear power plants. In addition to STUK, the nuclear power companies also participated in the preparation of the country report for Finland.
One of the key safety principles of Finnish nuclear power plants is continuous improvement. The fire safety of the plants is also continuously being developed, and peer review provides tools for this development. The Finnish country report does not identify any new development goals for fire safety.
Reports open for comments online
The country reports are open for questions and comments until 9 February 2024 on the ENSREG website Commenting is open to everyone.
ENSREG, the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group is an independent, expert advisory group created by the EU Member States' nuclear safety authorities. The decision to establish the group was made by the European Council in 2007. STUK has participated actively in the activities of ENSREG since its inception.
The EU Nuclear Safety Directive requires a peer review of the safety of nuclear facilities every six years. The peer review of nuclear facility fire protection is the second in its order. The first was carried out regarding the effects of the ageing of nuclear facilities.
