ENIQ Joint European Activities on Risk Informed In-Service-Inspection

The European Network for Inspection and Qualification (ENIQ) is a utility driven network working towards a harmonized European approach on reliable and effective in-service inspection (ISI). More specifically ENIQ works on qualification of ISI systems an on risk-informed in-service inspection (RI-ISI) within a European context. To reflect the latter, the SC set up a specific Task Group on Risk (TGR). The TGR has recently published a European framework document on RI-ISI, aiming at supporting utilities to implement RI-ISI and to interface with the nuclear regulators in European countries. On-going activities of TGR aim at producing more detailed recommended practices and discussion documents on several RI-ISI related issues, such as interaction between inspection qualification and inspection reliability estimates for RI-ISI, PSA requirements, guidance for expert panels, risk acceptance, etc. Further, TGR has initiated a project together with the European Commission Joint Research Centre and OECD/NEA for benchmarking RI-ISI methodologies (RISMET project). Several international organisations, utilities and regulators will participate in this project, which is due to start in January 2006. Aim of this paper is to present the contents of the European framework document on RI-ISI and to review the current activities of ENIQ TGR.JRC.F.4-Nuclear design safet