The regulatory inspections are performed to verify compliance with the regulatory requirements and with the conditions specified in the licence during all stages of the licensing process: siting, design, construction, com­missioning, operation and decommissioning until release from regulatory control. These independent inspections will not relieve the licensee of its responsibility for safety.

The main purposes of regulatory inspection are to ensure that: (a) the operator is managing safety to meet, as a minimum, the safety goals, criteria and regulations established by the regulatory body; (b) the structures, systems and components in the plant meet all necessary requirements; (c) safety-related documents and instructions are valid and applied; (d) the key licensee staff have the proper competence on safety; and (e) any corrective actions resulting from operational experience are properly applied.

In order to perform the above-mentioned activities, the regulatory body will prepare a systematic inspection programme. In terms of scope and resources, this programme is planned in line with the type of regulations (prescriptive, performance-oriented or both) consistent with the regulatory approach and the way in which the regulatory body needs to verify compli­ance with ensuring safety at all times. In addition, the inspection efforts — scope, frequency and number of inspectors involved — have to be graded in accordance with the criticality of the different safety aspects of the plant.

It is crucial that the regulator and the licensee have a clear understanding of the inspection programme prepared for all stages of the licensing process including areas to be subject to inspection, inspection methods, selection of inspection samples and the technical information needed. Hold points need to be discussed with the licensee from the beginning to provide them with a clear understanding of the regulatory considerations that need to be taken into account.

Routine inspections may be carried out by resident inspectors or by dedicated inspectors from the regulatory headquarters, depending on the size of the nuclear programme and the geographical distribution of nuclear power plants within the State. Other inspection types, such as unannounced inspections and specific inspections (covering thematic areas or particular safety aspects), need to be part of the inspection programme.

The regulatory inspectors at the plant should have free access to the plant at any time; this is a precondition to performing the inspections properly, and these inspections are the major regulatory function to verify safety compliance.

A comprehensive inspection programme includes the regulatory inspec­tion of the vendors, key contractors and other service providers to verify safety compliance, in particular with their quality management system — including safety culture — and their liaison with the licensee. In addition, it may include participation in regular management meetings (for construc­tion or operation) at the plant site and also verifying the roles and respon­sibilities of the licensee.

For new plants, it is also relevant that in establishing or modifying the content and schedule of an inspection programme, the regulatory body considers the results of previous inspections and the inspection experience of similar plant in another States.

In view of the significance of the safety issue, the communication of information, findings, recommendations and conclusions from regulatory inspections is planned at several levels; i. e. information needs to be com­municated to the regulatory body and to other governmental bodies or interested parties.