Gosatomnadzor on new trends in global nuclear safety regime

Humanity needs nuclear energy but there must be absolute security guarantees, Academician Andrei Sakharov used to say. What are the global nuclear safeguards in general and in Belarus? What are the new trends in the world? These and other matters were covered by representatives of Gosatomnadzor at a press briefing hosted by BelTA's press center on 14 June.

"According to UN studies, every dollar invested in security and prevention yields a hundredfold profit. It is much easier to invest in safety and prevention than to deal with the consequences of various tragedies. In this regard, the international community is developing global nuclear safeguards under the auspices of the IAEA," Deputy Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Aleksandr Dokuchayev said at the press briefing.

These safeguards embrace four basic dimensions. "First of all, this is the creation of a legal framework, obligations between countries: conventions, codes. This is also the development of safety standards, best practices which could then be scaled up around the world. The next element is the use of a set of international advisory and evaluation services, and the development of national databases and infrastructure, participation in the work of various global expert communities," he explained.

Belarus and the IAEA

According to Aleksandr Dokuchayev, Belarus works in all these four dimensions. "We are a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in furtherance of which Belarus and the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded an agreement. In addition, we are parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management and on the safety of radioactive waste management and a number of other documents and codes," he said.

With regard to the range of international advisory and assessment services, Belarus voluntarily applies to the IAEA to carry out various expert assessments. In turn, the IAEA sends delegations of experts to the country who work in various areas. "We, as a young state that has just started harnessing nuclear power for peaceful uses have taken advantage of all the advisory tools that the IAEA offers. In particular, the comprehensive assessment of the nuclear power infrastructure was undertaken twice - in 2012 and 2020. It was followed by a comprehensive assessment of the regulatory nuclear safety framework by the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission in 2016. In 2021 the IRRS sent a follow-up mission to review progress in Belarus' implementation of recommendations and suggestions made during the 2016 mission. In 2017 the Site and External Events Design (SEED) review service assessed the safety of the Belarusian NPP against site specific external hazards. In 2018 the Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV) mission of the IAEA assessed the level of preparedness of Belarus for a nuclear or radiological emergency. In 2019 the IAEA Safeguards Advisory Service Mission (ISSAS) visited Belarus to evaluate the legal framework and regulatory, administrative and technical issues related to state systems of accounting for and control of nuclear materials. In 2021 Belarus hosted the International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission,” he said.

Such missions scrutinized the work of the regulator, or the operator, or, in general, the entire system. The findings and reviews of the missions contained recommendations and expert opinion. “They praised our country on many occasions. The good thing is that our expertise and knowledge can be used by other countries. The IAEA suggests that other states adopt our best practices related to nuclear energy or nuclear safety regulation,” Aleksandr Dokuchayev said.

Other international organizations

Belarus also works closely with European counterparts, in particular with the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG). “We worked very closely with this group after the stress tests at the Belarusian nuclear power plant. This was an initiative of our country. We conducted stress tests on a voluntary basis, did everything in line with the requirements and standards of the European Union,” the Gosatomnadzor representative added.

In addition, Belarus cooperates with the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA) where the country got the observer status in 2015.

Belarus also expands cooperation within the framework of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) and the Forum of Regulatory Authorities of Countries Operating WWER reactors (WWER Forum).

Cooperation in the CIS

According to Natalya Danilenko, head of international cooperation at Gosatomnadzor, there is a commission on the peaceful use of atomic energy in the CIS. Belarus also makes part of it. “The commission deals with various issues related to the development of peaceful nuclear technologies and national energy programs. These include coordination of interaction between state authorities on the use of atomic energy and regulatory bodies in nuclear and radiation safety. The issues cover the development and harmonization of the legal framework and the development of targeted interstate draft agreements and other legal documents on the main areas of cooperation,” she said.

Belarus regularly takes part in the work of the commission because it deals with a wide range of issues, including those that go beyond regulatory activities. “Several years ago we saw the prerequisites and realized the necessity to set up a professional platform for interaction through the regulatory bodies. There are numerous precedents of setting such professional communities by regulators in the world, including WWER Forum, WENRA, and ENSREG. There has never been such a body in the CIS. Gosatomnadzor initiated its development, and this initiative was supported by other CIS member countries,” the head of the department said.

Following all necessary preparations, the CIS Council of Representatives of the Senior Officials of the Bodies Regulating the Safe Use of Atomic Energy was set up at the regular meeting of the CIS Commission on the Peaceful Use of Atomic Energy in St. Petersburg in January 2022. It will be chaired for the next two years by Olga Lugovskaya, head of Gosatomnadzor.

In general, the council aims to identify common problems in the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety and to determine common approaches to their solutions. Gosatomnadzor sees great benefit in the council's work both for Belarus and the CIS.

BelTA