The third meeting of the Belgo-Luxembourg Commission of nuclear safety and radiation protection was held on Thursday 11 February 2016 at the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) in Brussels.
The Commission was first established on 14 May 2013 following an agreement made between the Belgian Minister of the Interior and the Luxembourg Minister of Health regarding the organisation of bilateral cooperation in nuclear safety and radiation protection.
During the meeting, the delegations of the two countries exchanged views on the current state of Belgian nuclear installations, particularly with regards to the long-term operation of reactors Doel 1 and 2 and Tihange 2; the authorisation for the restart of reactors Tihange 2 and Doel 2; a review of incidents which occurred in 2014 and cross inspections between neighbouring countries.
The Grand Duchy has previously been vocal in expressing concern over safety deficiencies at the Tihange nuclear plant, with Luxembourg's Secretary of State for Sustainable Development, Camille Gira, meeting with Belgian officials in January 2015 to raise these issues. At last Thursday's meeting the parties present agreed to enhance the operational exchange of information between the two countries.
The Luxembourg delegation also presented its Action Plan concerning the field of medical applications of ionising radiation. The two countries worked out the details of a week-long European inspection of medical imaging services, scheduled for late 2016.
Several international issues were also on the agenda, including protocol in emergency situations, Luxembourg's participation in a nuclear and radiological emergency plan exercise in Tihange and the implementation of recommendations from associations such as HERCA and WENRA concerning nuclear crisis management.
In terms of radiation protection, the two delegations will be maintaining their cooperation for the transposition of the EU Directive concerning basic safety standards for the protection of health against ionising radiation exposure, as well as on the issue of radon and the revision of Belgian regulation regarding the transport of radioactive materials.
Overall, the meeting presented the opportunity to take stock of existing cooperation projects between the two countries, as well as those yet to come, with the objective being to further advance nuclear safety and radiation protection.
The gathering followed the fourteenth meeting of the Franco-Luxembourg Commission on Nuclear Safety, which took place earlier in February.
