The Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) — Nuclear Safety Council — is Spain's nuclear regulator. CSN is constituted as a public-law entity independent of the General Administration and reports directly to Parliament (the Cortes Generales).

Mandate

Created by Law 15/1980, CSN is the sole authority in Spain for:

  • Nuclear safety, radiation protection, radioactive material control, and emergency preparedness.
  • Proposals for and assessment of nuclear and radiation-protection regulations.
  • Inspections and supervision of facilities and activities.
  • Reporting to Parliament on the operational state of Spanish nuclear facilities and on annual radiation exposure of workers and the public.

Regulatory instruments

CSN issues binding regulatory instruments called Instrucciones del Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (IS). These are technical regulations covering reactor operation, radiation protection, waste management, transport, and the use of radioactive sources. The IS series complements the national legal framework set by:

  • Law 25/1964 (the Nuclear Energy Act, as amended).
  • Royal Decree 1836/1999 (Regulation on Nuclear and Radioactive Facilities).
  • Royal Decree 783/2001 (Regulation on the Protection of Health Against Ionising Radiation).
  • EU Council Directives transposed into Spanish law (BSS 2013/59/Euratom, Nuclear Safety 2014/87/Euratom).

Operating fleet

CSN supervises the operating reactor fleet:

  • Almaraz 1-2 (PWR, Westinghouse), Ascó 1-2 (PWR, Westinghouse), Cofrentes (BWR), Vandellós II (PWR), and Trillo (PWR, Siemens KWU).
  • Almaraz I and Ascó I decommissioning is scheduled under the 2019 nuclear-phaseout plan agreed between operators (the AMI consortium) and the state.
  • Decommissioning of Vandellós I (GCR) and José Cabrera (Zorita) is well advanced.
  • ENRESA, the state waste management company, operates El Cabril for low and intermediate-level waste; the centralised interim spent-fuel store (ATC) is under regulatory review, with several reactor sites currently using individual on-site dry storage installations.

International role

CSN is active in IAEA, the OECD NEA, and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group. CSN participates in WENRA reference-level harmonisation and reports under the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention.