The ANVS lays down rules on nuclear pressure equipment, nuclear security and decommissioning in new Regulations
We have included rules concerning nuclear pressure equipment, the security of nuclear facilities and decommissioning in new ANVS Regulations. While the rules remain unchanged, parts of them have been transferred from two ministerial regulations to ANVS Regulations. The new ANVS Regulations apply from 1 January 2025.
Rules for businesses in the ANVS Regulations
Inspection bodies use these ANVS Regulations on nuclear pressure equipment, nuclear security and decommissioning (in Dutch) for their assessments and inspections. They assess nuclear pressure equipment for licensees of nuclear facilities.
The rules also apply to licence holders under the Nuclear Energy Act who:
- are responsible for the security of nuclear facilities (such as nuclear power plants),
- are responsible for the transportation of fissile materials (fuel for nuclear power plants), ores or radioactive materials,
- are responsible for the safety of nuclear facilities (from construction to decommissioning).
Response concerning technical requirements
The opportunity to respond to the Regulations was available to all parties between 30 September and 28 October 2024. One anonymous response was received, as shown in the ‘consultation report’. The responding party noted that it is not feasible to establish technical rules for nuclear facilities or nuclear pressure equipment in advance.
The Netherlands lacks a domestic industry capable of constructing entire nuclear facilities or nuclear pressure equipment. Therefore, we do not have our own specific technical rules for these aspects. A business planning to construct a nuclear facility in the Netherlands will opt for a foreign design. Each design has its own technical rules. We do not mandate a specific design.
Without knowing which design the business will decide on, we cannot establish technical requirements in advance. The choice of design depends on several factors.
We agree with the responding party and have amended the explanatory notes to the Regulations accordingly. We have also added one technical rule concerning the content of the decommissioning final report to the Regulations.
Overview of location of rules to follow in early 2025
Early in 2025, licensees and other stakeholders will receive another notification from us with further information. This will mainly address where the transferred rules were located in the ministerial regulations and where they can now be found.