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The regulatory body CSN has issued a positive opinion for the Enusa fuel plant, located in the town of Juzbado, Salamanca, to maintain its activity for an additional ten-year period.
The validation of the Enusa fuel plant
The regulator’s position is supported by an exhaustive Periodic Safety Review (PSR) which ensures that the facilities operate under optimal standards for future manufacturing projects.
After the analysis and review of twenty-three detailed technical reports, experts have confirmed that the plant maintains an adequate response to current regulatory requirements. Likewise, the body’s history of supervision and control has been decisive in validating the facility’s capacity regarding radiological protection and operational management.
Subsequently, the report establishes twelve limits and conditions that define the new roadmap for Enusa. These requirements range from the precise identification of those responsible for the material inventory to the protocols for the removal of packages from the nuclear facility.
Furthermore, the licensee must integrate commitments derived from the Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) into its management systems. This adjustment seeks to align the factory with the international criteria of the NUREG-1520 regulations, originally promoted by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Finally, the administrative process will be completed once the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITERD) ratifies the authorization. At that time, six Complementary Technical Instructions (CTI) will come into effect.
These guides regulate critical aspects such as the transport of fissile substances and the quality assurance of the production center. In this way, the Spanish energy sector ensures the nuclear fuel supply under a scheme of constant surveillance and regulatory updates that reinforce confidence in the national industrial infrastructure.
Source and photo: CSN