Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee to discuss the 2022 activity report of the structure.
Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, Head of the State Control Service Romanos Petrosyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Bagrat Badalyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan, Deputy Minister of Finance Vahan Sirunyan, Acting Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Regulation Committee Khachatur Khachikyan, Committee management, and officials.
The works of 2022 of state regulation of the field of atomic energy use by the Committee were presented to the Prime Minister, aimed at ensuring the safety of the population, facilities for the benefit of nuclear energy, protecting the people and the environment from the possible harmful effects of ionizing radiation.
It was noted that measures to increase the safety of the Armenian nuclear power plant and fulfill the conditions and requirements attached to the license for the operation of the 2nd power unit continued within the framework of the control over nuclear facilities. Inspections were carried out, reports were analyzed, design documents for introducing security system modifications were studied, and conclusions were drawn. To ensure the physical protection of the NPP, the work with international partners, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose mission visited Armenia in March 2022, continued. In the context of the upcoming programs, details were presented regarding the double extension of the operational period of the 2nd power unit of the National Nuclear Power Plant, the construction of a new power unit, the development of the national plan for the management of radioactive waste, etc.
It was reported that the Committee continues to carry out state registration and licensing of ionizing radiation sources. In the framework of regulatory control of health, scientific and industrial facilities in 2022, inspections and studies of the fulfillment of requirements attached to the license were carried out, as necessary, decommissioning and neutralization of the radioactive source were carried out, etc. The work carried out in the framework of radiation monitoring of the environment, which is carried out using modern systems implemented with the support of the European Union, was presented. It was noted that the implementation of an accelerator in scientific research, development of nuclear medicine, personnel training and other programs are planned within the framework of upcoming programs.
It was noted that work is being done to improve the RA Law “On the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes” and bring RA legislation closer to the EU directives. It was also reported the activity of the “Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety” CJSC.
A discussion was held on the topics presented in the report; thoughts were exchanged on how to increase state regulation’s effectiveness in atomic energy use.
The Prime Minister referred to the importance of training and training personnel in this field, noting that it is necessary to consolidate the resources directed to field education and form a quality system.
The head of the government emphasized the proper implementation of the RA priorities in the field of atomic energy use and gave instructions to the officials in this regard.
