Every 6 years, EU countries carry out mutual, thematic assessments of the safety of nuclear installations. In Poland, such an object is the MARIA research reactor. Until 27 May 2022, public consultations of the documents regulating the thematic review of nuclear facilities are ongoing.

The thematic review of nuclear facilities (Topical Peer Review – TPR) aims to improve nuclear safety and radiological protection at nuclear facilities. The review involves a self-assessment of a country’s nuclear installations on the basis of guidelines from the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) and the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA). On this basis, a national report is prepared, which is then consulted by experts from the European Union.

The first such review took place in 2017-2018, and the main topic it covered Was the aging of nuclear installations. The area of ​​special attention in the current edition of the TPR 2 review is safety and fire protection. The nuclear facility to be assessed in Poland is the research reactor MARIA operating at NCBJ.

Currently, the documents regulating the TPR 2 review are being prepared. The consultations are open to all interested parties in the form of an internet questionnaire and will end on May 27, 2022. The opinions and comments submitted during the consultations will be forwarded for consideration by ENSREG and WENRA, after which the final versions of the projects will be submitted for approval in June 2022.

The first phase of the national review will last from mid-2022 to the end of October 2023. Following the preparation of reports by the member states, there will be a peer review of nuclear facilities, which will end in mid-2024. In the following year, final works will be carried out to agree on the final conclusions and prepare them for their introduction to the assessed installations. The final review report is expected to be published in autumn 2027.

Detailed information on the thematic review of nuclear facilities, as well as the current draft regulatory documents and the link to the survey, can be found on the ENSREG website: https://www.ensreg.eu/tpr-2-public-engagement.