IAEA lauds Rooppur plant construction, oversight
Three of the five missions of the IAEA have already visited the project site while the remaining two will visit by mid-2023
The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has appreciated the process being followed in the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The IRRS is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of a member state's regulatory infrastructure for nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety. It is commonly known as an 'IRRS mission'.
After concluding its 13-day visit to the power plant on 8 December, the mission, comprising 22 experts from 15 countries, also appreciated the role of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) – the agency responsible for overseeing the nuclear plant activities, said Dr Satayjit Ghose, chief scientific officer and project director of the Nuclear Regulations Infrastructure Development Project.
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The mission also mentioned areas where improvements could be made to enhance the national nuclear and radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, as the country constructs its first nuclear power plant (NPP), Dr Satayjit said.
The IRRS delegation visited the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission's TRIGA Research Reactor, the central radioactive waste processing and storage facility at BAERA, the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Science, the Square Hospital of radiotherapy and Bangladesh Industrial X-ray, as well as the construction site of the country's first nuclear power plant, Rooppur NPP in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna, around 200 km west of the capital Dhaka.
It also reviewed the responsibilities and functions of the government, as well as the management and activities of the regulatory body including authorisation, review and assessment, inspection and enforcement, development of regulations and guides, and emergency preparedness and response, says a report of the scientific journal Nuclear Engineering International.
When completed, Rooppur NPP will contribute a total of 2400 MW to Bangladesh's energy grid. The first unit of the power plant is expected to be connected to the grid by 2023 and the second unit by 2024.
However, as per the integrated work plan, five missions of the IAEA will visit the project site by mid-2023 and before the fuel loading to commission the plant, said Dr Md Shawkat Akbar, project director and the managing director of the Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh Limited, last October.
As of now, three IAEA missions have already made four visits to Bangladesh since the beginning of the Rooppur Nuclear Project's work.
The remaining two missions are expected to visit Bangladesh before the nuclear fuel shipment to the country for the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant at the end of next year, said officials at BAERA.
In March this year, the IAEA Safeguards and SSAC Advisory Service (ISSAS) paid its visit and provided a peer review of a state's safeguards infrastructure and the performance of the SSAC.
Earlier in 2011, Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions visited Bangladesh as the first mission of the IAEA.
Later in 2016, INIR made the follow-up mission to see the development of the areas it made in the first visit.
INIR is designed to assist member states in evaluating the status of their national infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme.
Dr Satayjit Ghose said Bangladesh is expecting IAEA's IPPAS mission in the mid of the next year to see and provide peer advice on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material, associated facilities and associated activities are regulated and finding where to improve.
Areas recommended to improve
After visiting several nuclear radiation and research facilities, the IAEA's IRRS team offered several recommendations to further enhance the regulatory framework for the effective oversight of facilities and activities.
The first recommendation of the mission was on establishing the national policy and strategy for safety in accordance with the IAEA fundamental safety objective and principles.
The team's second recommendation was on updating the legal framework for nuclear and radiation safety by commencing revision of the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control (NSRC) Rules, which define the fundamental principles and rules for the protection of workers, the public and the environment.
Apart from this, the team also recommended developing BAERA's human resources plan to ensure that a sufficient number of trained, qualified, competent and certified staff are available to perform all its functions effectively.
"We are pleased to find that our self-assessment effectively pre-empted some of the findings of the mission, which we had incorporated into our action plan," Chairman of BAERA Muzammel Haque told Nuclear Engineering International.
"Now we will focus on further enhancing BAERA's regulatory effectiveness by including the additional IRRS report findings to strengthen our regulatory infrastructure in line with international standards," he added.
IAEA appreciates regulatory authorities
The IRRS team identified a number of areas of good performance of BAERA. These include – seeking technical advice from expert committees to inform regulatory decision-making associated with the NPP and efficient planning and use of resources to conduct multiple inspections of medical facilities during regional visits, reads the report of Nuclear Engineering International.
The mission was also pleased with the BAERA Code of Ethics, which provides a clear commitment to an ethical approach in its regulatory activities, said Dr Satayjit Ghose.
