New legislation in the nuclear field in Sweden

Transcription

1 1 New legislation in the nuclear field in Sweden A presentation at INLA Congress 2012 (Manchester) - 11 October 2012 by Ingvar Persson, Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste and PP 1 Presentation of the speaker Ingvar Persson: Ongoing missions: Senior Legal Adviser in Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste Recently completed mission: The Chairman of Inquiry, appointed by the Government to lead the Inquiry on Coordinated Regulation in the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Field Jan 2009 Apr 2011 Two reports: NUCLEAR POWER new reactors and enhanced liability (SOU 2009:88) RADIATION SAFETY - current law in a new form (SOU 2011:18) Employment record the last 25 years Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, Chief Legal Adviser Ministry of the Environment, Deputy Director, responsible for dealing with questions concerning nuclear law Swedish General Audit Office, 1988 Audit Director Professional experience - a small selection: OECD/NEA Steering Committee - Representative of Sweden Negotiation on Swedish EU Membership - Participation in the Swedish negotiation team with special attention concerning Euratom Treaty Joint Convention on the safety of spent fuel management and on the safety of radioactive waste management - Head of the Swedish delegation during the negotiation on the conventions

2 2 PP 2, My presentation Historical retrospect Swedish nuclear facilities Current law Legislative amendments Precondition for the construction of a new nuclear power reactor The licensing process A proposal on harmonised rules in the field of nuclear technology and radiation protection

3 3 PP 3, Historical retrospect From expectations' on a new energy source Sweden was one of the nations that early started a development work within the nuclear. In 1945 the Government appointed the so-called Atomic Committee that would study the possibilities and consequences of nuclear energy. In 1947, the Atomic Energy Company was formed as a sort of joint venture between the State, the technical colleges and industry. AB Atomic Energy would do research and development of the peaceful use of nuclear energy. At that time, Sweden also had a development program within the military sector of nuclear energy, which lasted until the late 60 th. The permit to operate Sweden's first nuclear reactor, the so-called R1-reactor, located at the Institute of Technology in Stockholm, was issued in On June 1, 1956, the Parliament adopted the Atomic Energy Act whose purpose was to "promote the controlled introduction and use of nuclear power. Comments In 1960, R2 and R2-0 a research and materials testing reactor respective training reactor was in operation the reactors is placed in Studsvik, about 100 km south of Stockholm closed permanently in 2005 The year 1964 was the country's first nuclear reactor in operation. The reactor is located in Ågesta outside Stockholm and was productive in operation until Ågesta is a cogeneration reactor that produced electric power and district heating to Farsta, a suburb of Stockholm. A few years later, in 1969, formed the State of Sweden and ASEA, a joint venture, AB ASEA-Atom, to design and build commercial nuclear power plants. The nuclear reactor Oskarshamn 1, which became operational in 1972, was of Asea-Atom construction and the first commercial reactor, after experimental reactor in Ågesta, which supplied electricity in Sweden.

4 4 PP 4, Historical retrospect to Concerns for the potentially dangerous associated with nuclear technology Then an advisory referendum on the nuclear issue held in the spring of 1980 after the TMI accident, the Parliament decided on general guidelines on energy policy. The guidelines was meant that no nuclear power expansion would take place beyond the twelve already decided upon and that existing facilities should gradually cease operations and that the last nuclear power reactor in Sweden would cease to operate in The Act on Nuclear Activities - emphasizes the human factor and the waste management issue was adopted According to the government, however, provisions in the law regarding the number of reactors and the decommissioning period length was not necessary The Act on Nuclear Activities was amended in 1987 to prohibit the issue of a licence for the construction of a nuclear power reactor. This 1987 amendment reflected parliament s decision after a referendum held in Comments The amendment meant that the licensing provisions will continue to apply in relation to the operation of those nuclear power facilities that had already been constructed at the time of the 1987 amendments. Thus, the only new installations to be subject to the act s licensing procedure will be those constructed for the handling, storage and final disposal of nuclear waste, including spent nuclear fuel. In 1995 an inter-party agreement was made between the political parties forming the majority in the parliament on guidelines for a new Swedish energy policy. The aim was to create conditions for the efficient use and cost-effective supply of energy, thereby facilitating the creation of an ecologically sustainable society. According to the inter-party agreement the specific date 2010 as the far limit for nuclear power was no longer topical on the political agenda. As a result of the inter-party agreement, the Act on the Phasing-out of Nuclear Power was adopted in 1997 and entered into force on 1 January The Phasing-out Act gave the Swedish government the right to revoke a permit to operate a nuclear power reactor. The act confirmed that the licensee was entitled to compensation from the state for losses incurred due to a forced closedown. Two reactors has been phased-out under the Act on the Phasing-Out of Nuclear Power, namely the reactor Barsebäck 1 (30 November 1999) and reactor Barsebäck 2 (31 May 2005).

5 5 PP 5, Historical retrospect to the ability to renew the reactor stock New legislative amendments to the Nuclear Activities Act and the Environmental Code entered into force 1 January The amendments will make it possible to gradually replace existing nuclear power reactors with new nuclear power reactors. The ban on new nuclear reactors has been removed without thereby clearing the way for an unlimited number of reactors under the Nuclear Activities Act. The Act on the Phasing-out of Nuclear Power has been repealed

6 6 PP 6, Nuclear Installations in Sweden There are 10 operating nuclear power reactors in Sweden; seven are boiling water reactors and three are pressurised water reactors. There are three PWR and one BWR at Ringhals (with a combined installed capacity of 3715 MWe), three BWR at Forsmark (3218 MWe) and three BWR at Oskarshamn (2320 MWe). The 10 reactors produce around 65 TWh, accounting for about 45 percent of Sweden s total electricity production. The reactor companies are planning to further increase the installed capacity of the receptive reactors in the immediate future and have applied for that according to the legislation. Several power companies (Vattenfall, E.ON, Fortum) own the shares of the various companies licensed to operate nuclear power generating stations in Sweden. These larger companies are themselves owned by private shareholders with the exception of Vattenfall which is state owned. E.ON has a stake in every operating company and is the parent company of OKG. Vattenfall is the parent company for Forsmark and Ringhals. Two reactors has been phased-out under the Act on the Phasing-Out of Nuclear Power, namely the reactor Barsebäck 1 (30 November 1999) and reactor Barsebäck 2 (31 May 2005). Studsvik Nuclear AB is engaged in treatment of radioactive waste and decommissioning services. The Company s two research reactors has been phased-out one tank type ( kw), and one pool type (1 000 kw). Repository for Radioactive Operational Waste (SFR). Since 1988 Sweden s low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste is deposited in the located at Forsmark. SFR receives short-lived low- and intermediate-level waste from nuclear power plants, hospitals, and industry and research facilities in Sweden. Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (CLAB) Sweden does not reprocess spent fuel. Spent nuclear fuel and other high-level nuclear waste are placed in temporary storage at the Central Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (CLAB) located near Oskarshamn. And just now an application for a final disposal repository is under review by the Environmental Court and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority. The facility is, according to the application, planned to be located at Forsmark. Westinghouse Electric Sweden is engaged in fuel manufacturing and have a skills and development centre for boiling water reactor technology

7 7 PP 7, General Regulatory Regimes Nuclear safety and radiation protection is regulated primarily by the following laws: the Environmental Code [SFS 1998:808], which addresses environmental aspects of nuclear activities, and lists nuclear activities among several other environmentally hazardous activities ; applies to all kinds of inconveniences of ionizing and nonionizing radiation and thus includes nuclear safety and radiation protection the Nuclear Activities Act [SFS 1984:3], which concerns mainly security and control issues and the overall safety of nuclear operations; the Radiation Protection Act [SFS 1988:220], which aims to protect people, animals and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation;

8 8 PP 8, Other laws of importance.. the Act on Financing of Management of Residual Products from Nuclear Activities [2006:647], which contains provisions for the future costs of spent fuel and nuclear waste disposal, decommissioning of reactors and other nuclear installations and research in the field of nuclear waste; and the Nuclear Liability Act [SFS 1968:45], which implements Sweden s obligations as a Party to the 1960 Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the 1963 Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention. The Nuclear Liability Act will be replaced by the Act (2010:950) on Liability and Compensation for radiological accidents - when the 2004 protocol amending the Paris Convention enters into force for Sweden

9 9 PP 9, Legislative amendments concerning nuclear power New legislative amendments in the Environmental Code and the Nuclear Activities Act entered into force 1 January The amendments will make it possible to gradually replace existing nuclear power reactors with new nuclear power reactors. The ban on new nuclear reactors has been removed without thereby clearing the way for an unlimited number of reactors under the Nuclear Activities Act. The Act on the Phasing-out of Nuclear Power has been repealed The Nuclear Activities Act has be amended to require any party who has a permit to own and operate a nuclear facility to conduct a regular overall assessment of safety with a view to emphasises its importance as a safety principle and increases clarity for permit holders. The regular overall assessment is an important and fundamental principle for safety and radiation protection work at nuclear facilities. The overall assessment involves a process that enables the supervisory authority to gradually tighten the safety requirements

10 10 PP 10, Preconditions for the construction of a new nuclear power reactor A new provision to the Environmental Code states that one precondition for the construction of a new nuclear power reactor in Sweden will be: that the new reactor replaces one of the present electricity generating reactors, that this older reactor has been permanently shut down when the new reactor is starts operating, and that the new reactor is constructed on a site where one of the present electricity generating reactors in operation is located. The new legislation has the consequence that the number of nuclear reactors in Sweden is limited to 10 reactors.

11 11 PP 11, Preconditions A new reactor does not necessarily have to be constructed on the same site where the nuclear power reactor to be replaced is located It should be possible to locate the new reactor on one of the other sites where present electricity generating nuclear power reactors are operating. The production capacity for a new reactor does not need to be limited to that of the reactor to be replaced. Thus it is possible to replace a for example MW e reactor with a 1800 MW e reactor The legislation is framed in a way that limits the number of reactors in Sweden to the current number - but not the total capacity of the reactors.

12 12 PP 12, The licensing process is complex in Sweden Operation of a nuclear facility requires two separate licenses. License according to the Environmental Code are issued by the Environmental Court - but a larger nuclear installation has to undergo an examination of permissibility by the government. License for Nuclear Installations under the Act on Nuclear Activities are issued by the government. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority is able to attach conditions relating to safety to any license that is issued under the Act on Nuclear Activities Licenses according to the Radiation Protection Act - for other activities involving radiation than nuclear activities - are issued by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority

13 13 PP 13, Examinations under the Environmental Code Permit applications for nuclear activities are, according to the Environmental Code, examined on the basis of an overall perspective The permission of permissibility gives the Government a far-reaching scope to steer new nuclear activities in the desirable direction in terms of - industry, energy, labour market, climate and regional policy. An application for permission to have to be examined under statutory requirement in the Code of best possible technology The issue of the management and final storage of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste is of great importance But the Government may only permit an new facility for nuclear activities if it has been approved by a municipal council (municipal veto).

14 14 PP 14, Examination under the Nuclear Activities Act An application under the Nuclear Activities Act for a license to new nuclear activities has to be examined under the statutory requirement of best possible technology. This examination has to assign the management and final storage of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste great importance, in addition to nuclear safety and radiation protection. Another important issue in this context is that the legislation emphasizes that a licensee must have an organization with sufficient financial, administrative and human resources to perform the responsibilities required by law

15 15 PP 16, Proposals on harmonised rules in the field of nuclear technology and radiation protection (SOU 2011:18) A Committee of Inquiry, appointed by the government, has examined the prospects for harmonising the rules concerning activities in the field of nuclear technology and radiation protection. The Committee finds that the actual laws are overlapping in a way that could lead to significant legal uncertainty - caused by a lack of legislative coherence the overlapping application process - where two separate permits have the same legal force is one example. The Committee therefore suggests that the regulations in the Environmental Code, the Act on Nuclear Activities and the Radiation Protection Act should be harmonised and be integrated into the Environmental Code. The aim has been to simplify the structure and formulation of the provisions and make them more effective without thereby jeopardising public requirements regarding nuclear safety and radiation protection. Comments: Since the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act are to be applied in parallel, licence conditions decided on by the Environment Court in a permit application case pursuant to the Environmental Code may encompass measures already required under the provisions of the other two laws. It is not only this double licensing procedure the overlapping application process where two separate permits have the same legal force that is said to be causing problems. Other issues caused by a lack of legislative coherence have also been raised. The inquiry has summarised the problem areas that have come to its attention as follows: - the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act are more overlapping in character than parallel; their provisions regulate the same types of substantive issues from partially different starting points. - application processing under the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act is one example of an overlapping regulatory practice, - lack of coherence between the three laws results in unnecessary double processing and means that resources are not being used to maximum advantage, - licence applications for small, environmentally limited or relatively harmless activities are dealt with needlessly high up in the judicial chain; in contrast to more extensive application cases it seems unnecessary for such matters to be examined by the Government or by an environmental court,

16 16 - the regulations should be harmonised to enable licensing and supervisory procedures to be adapted to the hazard potential of the activity in question and to the need for special skills on the part of the operator. - the terms nuclear activity and practices involving radiation overlap and are unclear and are also based on different premises, since the former embodies a permit requirement while the latter does not, - the terms radioactive waste and nuclear waste overlap the distinctions are difficult to maintain and do not fulfil any purpose, - the rules in the Nuclear Operations Act concerning the approval of (sub)contractors and entrepreneurs should be simplified, - the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority supervises application of the Nuclear Operations Act, the Radiation Protection Act and the Environmental Code with regard to ionising and non-ionising activity; thus the agency is formally empowered to choose whether a certain requirement should be imposed in accordance with one or the other of the three. For the sake of legal security, the supervisory rules should be harmonised, - appeals against siting decisions by the Radiation Safety Authority must be harmonised currently, the same matter/case may be considered either by the Government, by an administrative court or by an environmental court depending on whether the agency decides to base its decision on the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act or the Radiation Protection Act, - the sanction provisions set out in the Nuclear Operations Act, the Radiation Protection Act and the Environmental Code overlap and should therefore be harmonised; the penal provisions in Chapter 29 of the Environmental Code and the rules concerning environmental sanction charges in Chapter 30 also apply in the case of activities coming under the Nuclear Operations Act or the Radiation Protection Act. An offence may therefore be punishable under all three.

17 17 PP 17, Coordination - regulatory simplification - transparent safety requirements In the Committee s view, the close links between the regulations in the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act suggest that the provisions concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection should be integrated into the Environmental Code. Comments Since its inception, the Environmental Code has covered ionising and non-ionising radiation. Besides injury/inconvenience arising from ionising radiation, the Code s area of application extends to safety at nuclear facilities, supervisory matters and the operators own control systems. Thus there are a number of close links between the rules in the Environmental Code, the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act. The stated aim of the Environmental Code to promote sustainable development that assures present and future generations of a healthy and good environment also reflects the aims of the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act. The protection of people and the environment prescribed by the Environmental Code refers to protection not only against injury and damage but also against other inconveniences, i.e. disturbances that reduce people s well-being in a medical or hygienic sense. One advantage of placing all provisions on radiation safety in the Environmental Code is that formally speaking its rules already cover practices involving both ionising and non-ionising radiation. Another advantage is that certain rules in the Environmental Code, such as the general rules of consideration, are already being applied and are taken into account when cases are dealt with under the Nuclear Operations Act. The supervision chapter in the Code is complete and in principle does not require any changes if substantive radiation safety provisions are introduced into it. The same applies to the provisions on sanctions in the Code. In the Committee s view, the integrated assessment of sources of disturbance that becomes possible if the rules set out in the Nuclear Operations Act and the Radiation Protection Act are incorporated in the Environmental Code would make it easier to gain an overall picture of the environmental risks involved. This in turn would strengthen safety and radiation protection in accordance with government requirements. Also, harmonisation of the provisions on nuclear safety and radiation protection in the Environmental Code would lead to simplification of the rules, e.g. through the elimination of the widely criticised procedure of considering permit applications twice over for facilities engaging in practices involving radiation. A further advantage of having a single overall licensing procedure under the Environmental Code instead of dealing with applications under the Nuclear Operations Act is that it would embrace the right of public attendance.

18 18 If the rules are harmonised in the Environmental Code, the Government would be able to focus on assessing the permissibility of major new facilities pursuant to Chapter 17 of the Code, instead of engaging in technical deliberations on safety and radiation protection, aspects that are better dealt with by the Radiation Safety Authority. In sum, as a result of the Committee s deliberations, it is proposed that the current Chapter 12 be deleted, to be replaced by substantive rules concerning nuclear safety and radiation protection under a new heading, Nuclear safety. It is further proposed that these provisions apply to both ionising and non-ionising radiation and be collectively designated practices involving radiation.