Swiss nuclear plants pass EU stress tests

Switzerland’s five nuclear power stations have passed stress tests mandated for European nuclear plants in the wake of last year’s Fukushima disaster.

Undertaken by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG), the stress test report adopted on Thursday concluded that “all countries have taken significant steps to improve the safety of their plants”.

The report was the result of phase three of the European Union stress tests in which multinational teams of experts analysed the country reports carried out by national safety inspectors as part of phases one and two. The experts also made on-site inspections of Swiss plants in March.

The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) said on Thursday that in the context of resistance tests, Swiss nuclear plants had demonstrated “high safety margins and strong robustness”.

ENSI said Swiss nuclear power plants received “a special mention” for having seven levels of security of energy supply, while the Beznau plant was said to have “very good protection” against flooding.