Stress Tests
International Organizations
In 2011, the European Commission (EC), in coordination with the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG), launched a stress test initiative to determine the behavior of nuclear power plants in EU member states under scenarios similar to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan and aimed to identify potential improvements needed in the plant.
In addition to the EU member states, an initiative has been launched by the EC for the participation of neighbouring countries in stress tests, and Republic of Türkiye has voluntarily committed to participate in this study for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Türkiye signed joint declaration on stress tests on 23 June 2011, but did not participate in all processes as there was not an operating nuclear power plant in the country.
On 15 December 2011, an initiative started on the preparation of the national stress test report, and the "Stress Tests National Report-Version 1" was submitted to the European Commission in June 2012, with the contributions of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, the project company of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.
It was evaluated that the national report should be updated within the framework of the progress in the Akkuyu Project, and the preparatory work for the "Stress Tests National Report-Version 2" was started in the middle of 2017. The report, which was prepared with the contributions of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, was finalized at the end of 2018 and submitted to the European Commission.
In the last quarter of 2021, the European Commission started to work on the expert evaluation of the "Stress Tests National Report-Version 2". A team of experts was formed to examine the report within the framework of expert evaluation, and questions regarding the report were conveyed to Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Republic of Türkiye (NDK) in December 2021. NDK's answers to peer review team questions were sent to ENSREG on March 2022. The peer review visit was conducted in Ankara on 16 to 18th of May, 2022. The second step of peer review visit was conducted in Akkuyu Site on 27 to 31st of May, 2024.
Subsequent to the visits mentioned, the Peer Review Report of the Türkiye Stress Tests, dated 13 November 2024 and prepared by ENSREG experts, received endorsement from the ENSREG during their meeting in Brussels on 28 November 2024. A joint press release regarding the Report, prepared by ENSREG and NDK, was published on the official websites of both authorities on 20 March 2025.
The joint press release is avaliable at the following link:
https://www.ndk.org.tr/en-US/news/ndk-ensreg-joint-press-release
A copy of the Report is available at the following link:
