The regulator carried out 13 inspections of the plant last year and the plant did not report any incidents
The plant is in its first dismantling phase since 2023
The project manager of the plant assured that in 2023 the operation of the facility was within normal limits.
The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has participated in the meeting of the Local Information Committee of the Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant (Burgos) to present to the citizens and the different entities in the area, the most relevant aspects related to safety. nuclear and radiological protection of the facility during the past year. The plant, shut down since 2012, is currently in its first phase of dismantling after the transfer of ownership to Enresa.
This annual meeting, coordinated by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD), has allowed more than fifty attendees to learn in detail about the dismantling project approved by said ministry in July 2023, as well as the role of the regulator in the different stages of this process. In this regard, the plant’s project manager, Sofia Luque, recalled that the CSN supervises and controls the operation of the plants, both in operation and during dismantling. Luque has detailed the different mechanisms that the organization has for this, highlighting the essential work of the resident inspectors, in charge of carrying out daily monitoring at the plant itself.
Regarding these supervision and monitoring works, the project manager explained that last year 13 inspections were carried out in Garoña and they were categorized six findings, all of which were considered to be of very low importance for safety. Likewise, it has indicated that throughout 2023 the plant did not report incidents and that, given that the overall operation was within normality, it was not necessary to require the adoption of any additional actions to those already established in the work plans and in the monitoring and supervision programs that the regulator carries out.
With regard to environmental radiological monitoring, the project committee has ensured that the radiological quality of the environment around the plant was within the range of usual historical values. Likewise, he invited attendees to consult through the organization’s website, among other data, those referring to the operational states of the nuclear power plants operating in Spain, as well as the levels of radioactivity in the atmosphere in real time.
Local information committees
The meeting, chaired by the deputy director general of Nuclear Energy of the MITERD, José Manuel Redondo, also allowed the mayor of the Tobalina Valley, Jesús Ángel López de Mendoza, to review the most significant events that occurred in the municipality. Likewise, the director of the facility, Manuel Ondaro, has reported on the operation of the plant and the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies, through Carlos García Vegas, has presented the main actions carried out by the institution last year and has reviewed the External Emergency Plan of the Santa María de Garoña Nuclear Power Plant (PENBU) to remind attendees what to do in the event of a nuclear emergency. The meeting was also attended by the subdelegate of the Government in Burgos, Pedro de la Fuente.
These committees, in accordance with the provisions of article 13 of the Regulation on Nuclear and Radioactive Facilities (RINR), have the objective of informing the different entities represented about the development of regulated activities, as well as jointly dealing with issues that arise from interest to all.
The CSN maintains its commitment to transparency and information as fundamental tools to reinforce the population’s confidence in nuclear security. Through these types of meetings, the regulatory body facilitates access to truthful information of interest to citizens, promoting dialogue and social participation in matters of nuclear safety and radiological protection.
*See the glossary of technical terms here*
