| I.A.E.A. - Country Nuclear Power Profile - Italy Report
( 2002 Edition - It updates the country information, in general, to the end of 2001)
(This is the fourth edition of the Country Nuclear Power Profiles)
Narrative overview of nuclear power development in Italy 1 - General information
2 - Electricity sector
3 - Nuclear power situation
4 - Nuclear power industry
5 - Regulatory framework
5. Regulatory framework
5.1. Safety Authority and the Licensing Process
General legislation and regulation
The main corpus making up, inter alia, the Italian system are itemised below, as regards Statutes and Legislative acts: - Law no. 1860 of 31 December 1962 published in the Italian Republic’s Official Journal no. 27 of 30 January 1963, as amended by the President's Decree no. 1704 of 30 December 1965 (Italian Republic’s Official Journal no. 112 of 9 May 1966) and by the President's Decree no. 519 of 10 May 1975 (Italian Republic’s Official Journal no. 294 of 6 November 1975).
- Legislative Decree no. 230 of 17 March 1995 published in the Supplement to Italian
Republic’s Official Journal no. 136 of 13 June 1995, implementing six EURATOM Directives on radiation protection (EURATOM 80/836, 84/467, 84/466, 89/618, 90/641 and 92/3). The Decree replaced the previous DPR n°185 issued in 1964 and establishes radiation protection requirements for workers, public and environment. - Legislative Decree no. 241 of 26th May 2000 has transposed EU (European Union) directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the radiation protection of workers and the public; the standards laid down in the directive incorporate the 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) into EU radiation protection legislation.
- Decree no. 241 has modified and integrated Legislative Decree no. 230 of 1995.
Besides, Legislative Decree no. 257 of 9th May 2001 was promulgated in order to modify certain details in Legislative Decree no. 241 of 2000 concerning requirements for notification and authorisation of non nuclear installations where ionising radiation is used for industrial, research and medical purposes.
Legislative Decree no. 230 of 1995, as modified by Legislative Decrees no. 241 of 2000 and no. 257 of 2001, now contains thirteen Technical Annexes which make almost all of the provisions applicable as of 1st January 2001, although some ministerial decrees enacting some of the provisions of the Legislative Decree have still to be published.In addition to the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 230, ANPA publishes Technical Guides, which outline the safety criteria and license application formats. These guides are prepared for nuclear operators and are informational in nature. Their purpose is to provide a better understanding of the controls exercised by ANPA in matters of safety and health protection.
5.2. Main National Laws and Regulations According to Article six of the Law 1860, any organization that intends to operate a nuclear installation has to be licensed by the Ministry of Industry, as advised by the Regulatory Body.
The Act No. 393 of 23 August 1975, outlines a construction licensing procedure, which is broken into two main stages: a study of the site in relation to the basic design principles of the power plant in question; and, a study of the preliminary project of the planned power plant. Act No. 393 on the NPP site selection instituted the co-operation of national authorities with regional and local authorities to take due account of the administrative decentralization implemented in legislation. In accordance with the established procedure, CIPE authorizes the areas where nuclear power plants can be constructed. In order to facilitate this phase, the Regulatory Body drew up a "National Sites Map", which indicates the areas where the nuclear power plants can be built. The CIPE's decision is taken after a consultation with ENEA and in agreement with the Inter-regional Advisory Commission made up of the presidents of the regional governments. In the first phase, each region concerned has to indicate, within 150 days following the CIPE deliberations, at least two areas in its territory where nuclear power plants could be constructed.
Once the areas have been selected, the utility is given permission by the Ministry of Industry to proceed with all investigations that are needed to determine whether the areas selected are technically suitable and to decide which area it would propose for the installation. Within 12 months, the utility has to submit a detailed report on the proposed site to the Minister of Industry, to the regions concerned and to the Regulatory Body. The report contains a detailed analysis of nuclear safety and health protection issues in accordance with the procedures laid down in D.P.R. No. 230, as relates to the siting of the location. Under the terms of Act No. 393, ANPA has to consult all concerned, e.g.,Ministries of Interior, Employment, Public Works, Health. The Ministries are required to reply within sixty days of being consulted. The outcome of the investigation is referred to the Advisory Committee by the Regulatory Body and ultimately forwarded to the Ministry of Industry.
This technical phase is followed by a decision making phase culminating in a final choice of the site by the region in agreement with the municipality concerned. The region’s decision must be communicated to the Ministry of Industry within two months. Once the site has been approved, the Ministry of Industry authorizes the utility to begin
preliminary site preparation under the control of the Regulatory Body. From this point on the licensing procedure continues along the lines set out in D.P.R. 230. This consists of the issuance of the construction permit and the operating license.
Before the final authorization is granted, nuclear power plants and facilities for the disposal of radioactive waste must undergo an environmental impact assessment, in accordance with Decree 377 of 1988.
Filing of application:
The utility submits the general design (site and plant) and the preliminary Safety Report to the Ministry of Industry and to the Regulatory Body. The documents supplied must also include a Preliminary Study on the treatment and disposal of radioactive waste.
The Regulatory Body draws up a technical report for nuclear safety and health protection
evaluation of the installation. It also makes a critical appraisal of the preliminary safety report and the preliminary study on the treatment and disposal of radioactive waste determining whether these comply with the conditions laid down during site selection.
The Regulatory Body's technical report is forwarded to the Ministry of Industry, which then
sends it to the Ministries of the Interior, Employment, Public Works, and Public Health for their comments. The comments should be forwarded to the Regulatory Body within sixty days. Having considered the assessment of the Advisory Committee, the Regulatory Body gives the Ministry of Industry its final evaluation. The construction license is granted by Decree from the Minister.
The Regulatory Body, on the advice of the Advisory Committee, establishes a list of the parts of the installation that involve nuclear safety and health protection. A detailed plan for each part of the installation included in the list has to be approved by the Regulatory Body, on the assessment of the Advisory Committee, prior to the construction. The study on treatment and disposal of radioactive waste must be handed to the Commission of the European Communities in accordance with section 37 of the EURATOM Treaty.
Two series of tests -non nuclear and nuclear- must be carried out and successfully performed before an operator can apply for a license to commission the installation. The results of non-nuclear tests are submitted to ANPA for approval The test can be carried out only with its permission and under its supervision. Depending on the reports produced by the operator and the results of the checks made during these tests, the Regulatory Body issues a certificate stating that from the safety viewpoint the installation is ready to be loaded with the nuclear fuel.
Nuclear tests may not be carried out until the operator has submitted the Final Safety Report (with Operating Rules, Operating Manual, Structure of Operating Organization, Proposal of Technical Specifications) and obtained the Regulatory Body's approval on the general test programme, after the Advisory Committee has given its assessment. The approval is subject to the Ministry of the Interior’s receipt of the emergency scheme for safety measures in case of an accident. Before beginning nuclear tests, the Regulatory Body also has to approve the maximum discharge levels for the radioactiveeffluents. The Operator must give the Regulatory Body a report on each nuclear test in order to get
certified.
The operating license is granted in successive stages, depending on the results of the nuclear tests within the limits, conditions and technical specifications with which the operator must comply. Aspecific license is required for the reactor operators, reactor senior operators and plant supervisors.
The operating license is granted by Decree of the Ministry of Industry and includes the technical requirements specified by the Regulatory Body. As a rule, the operating license is granted indefinitely.
However, a general review of the installation’s safety condition is usually undertaken after ten years. The period within which a safety review is carried out also depends on the operational life and on the status of the specific plant. Any modification to the initial design must be approved by the Ministry of Industry, which takes its decision after consulting the Regulatory Body.
5.3. International, Multilateral and Bilateral Agreements
AGREEMENTS WITH THE IAEA - Amendments to Articles VI & XIV of the Agency statute (Not ratified)
- Agreement on privileges and immunities (Entry into force: 20 June 1985)
- NPT related agreement INFCIRC/193 (Entry into force: 21 February 1977)
- Additional Protocol (GOV/1998/28) (Signature: 22 September 1998)
- Supplementary agreement on provision of technical assistance by the IAEA (Not Applicable)
- EURATOM (Member)
MAIN INTERNATIONAL TREATIES etc. - NPT (Entry into force: 2 May 1975)
- Convention on physical protection of nuclear material (Entry into force: 6 October 1991)
- Convention on early notification of a nuclear accident (Entry into force: 11 March 1990)
- Convention on assistance in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency (Entry into force: 25 November 1990)
- Vienna convention on civil liability for nuclear damage (Not applicable)
- Paris convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy (Entry into force: 17 September 1975)
- Joint protocol relating to the application of Vienna and Paris conventions (Entry into force: 27 April 1992)
- Protocol to amend the Vienna convention on civil liability for nuclear damage (Signature: 26 January 1998)
- Convention on supplementary compensation for nuclear damage (Not signed)
- Convention on nuclear safety (Entry into force: 14 July 1998)
- Joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management and on the safety of radioactive waste management (Signature 26 January 1998)
OTHER RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND UNDERTAKINGS
- Improved procedures for designation of safeguards inspectors (Rejected but agreed to special procedures)
- ZANGGER Committee (Member)
- Nuclear Export Guidelines (Adopted)
- Acceptance of NUSS Codes (Summary: National regulations are in conformity
with revised codes. Codes are sound international safety standards which should be made obligatory in all states operating NPPs. Letter: 27 December 1989) - Nuclear Suppliers Group Member
- Establishment of CERN with 12 other European Countries (Paris July 1953)
- Halden Boiling Water Reactor project Italian representative: ENEA ( June 1958)
- Joint European Torus Undertaking Italian representatives: ENEA and CNR (Brussels May 1978)
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