Nuclear regulators sign up for collaboration

Several international cooperation agreements related to nuclear safety and regulation have been signed this week on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference in Vienna.

Several international cooperation agreements related to nuclear safety and regulation have been signed this week on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference in Vienna.

Wanner (left) and Binder sign the MOU between ENSI and CNSC (Image: ENSI)

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) announced yesterday it had signed "international arrangements to cooperate and exchange nuclear regulatory information" with India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) and the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI).

CNSC said the arrangement with the AERB was announced during the visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Canada in April 2015. The arrangements with the NRA and ENSI were negotiated over the past few months, it said.

ENSI announced today that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CNSC intended to "strengthen their collaboration and enhance the exchange of information". The MOU was signed by CNSC president Michael Binder and ENSI director Hans Wanner in Vienna.

In a statement, ENSI said, "Active participation in the international exchange of information and experience is important for ENSI as a nuclear regulator, as it increases its competence and enables lessons to be learned from important incidents and inspection results in nuclear power plants abroad."

In addition, CNSC said it has agreed to extend its existing bilateral MOU on cooperation with France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety by another five years.

Binder said, "These types of arrangements with our CNSC regulatory counterparts are valuable. They enable us to exchange information, experience and best practices, and to enhance training."

Korea teams up with UAE ...

Another MOU, to "promote cooperation in the field of nuclear safety with respect to light-water reactors" between the United Arab Emirates' Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), was signed in Vienna on 14 September. The MOU was signed by KAERI president Jong Kyung Kim and Hamad Alkaabi, deputy chairman on FANR's board and the UAE ambassador to the IAEA.

Alkaabi (left) and Kim sign the MOU between FANR and KAERI (Image: KAERI)

The five-year MOU calls for the two organizations to "engage in cooperation on thermal-hydraulic experiments, safety analysis, severe accident analysis and risk assessment and management, amongst other areas."

Alkaabi said, "This agreement advances the UAE's efforts to maximize safety as the nation prepares to add nuclear power to its energy mix."

... and Vietnam

South Korea is also to cooperate with Vietnam under an MOU between Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) and the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS), also signed in Vienna.

The signing of the MOU between VARANS and NSSC (Image: VARANS)

Under the MOU, NSSC and VARANS will exchange information and experts in the fields of nuclear energy and radiation safety. The cooperation will focus on key topics such as nuclear safety, security and safeguards; import and export controls on nuclear-related items; safety assessments; physical protection; inspections of nuclear facilities; environmental monitoring; and, development of human resources.

VARANS said the MOU "will be the basis for the execution of collaborative activities by the two nuclear regulatory bodies".

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News