The meeting among the «Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center» and IAEA representatives was held from June 25-26, in Yerevan. The visit aimed to introduce the new innovative tool (TOSCA), designed to self-assess the capabilities of scientific and technical organizations supporting national regulatory bodies. The IAEA will provide appropriate support for implementing the self-assessment exercise upon request from the Member States.
By the decision N 326 of March 7, 2024, the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the document “Parameters that are subject for review during assessment and expertise of environmental impact of objects important for atomic energy purposes” developed and authored by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center. The document provides basis for environmental radiological impact assessment of objects important for atomic energy purposes during normal and potential emergency situations taking into account internationally approved approaches.
Representative of NRSC participated in the «Second Regional Coordination Meeting» on the IAEA RER9157 regional project held in Viena, Austria, in the period of 15-18 January 2024. The implemented works and planned activities in the frame of the project were discussed.
On January 9-10, 2024, the representative of the NRSC participated in the international working meeting on «International CBRN Response and Assistance» organized in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. During the meeting, the issues related to the national plan to respond to incidents caused by nuclear/radioactive substances were discussed․
NRSC staff member participated in the Sixth Meeting of Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiatives Regulatory Track Working Group 2 on Multinational Pre-licensing Regulatory Design Review. WG2 based on the discussions developed new revision of the methodology for Multinational Pre-licensing Regulatory Design Review.
The representative of NRSC participated in the International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning, Environmental Protection and Remediation: Ensuring Safety and Enabling Sustainability, organized by the IAEA. The conference was initiated to assist the necessary dialogue between the safety and sustainability communities on the interrelationships between safety and sustainability. An article on «Improvement of the regulatory framework in the field of radioactive waste management in the Republic of Armenia։ Challenges in implementation of radioactive waste management program, policy and strategy» was presented during the conference, highlighting the importance of finding a balance between safety and sustainability while creating or improving the regulatory framework.
During its regular meeting on June 1, the Armenian Government approved a draft presidential decree approving the Armenia-US Arrangement for the Exchange of Technical Information and Cooperation in Nuclear Safety Matters. The Committee on Nuclear Safety Regulation of the Republic of Armenia and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission signed an expanded Cooperative Arrangement in Washington, USA, on March 14, 2023. The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Commission of Armenia has been cooperating with the U.S. since 1995. The Armenia-US Arrangement for the Exchange of Technical Information and Cooperation in Nuclear Safety Matters was signed on September 30, 1997, resumed in 2007 and in 2017. Under the arrangement, the USNRC performed or sponsored research in such areas as: Digital Instrumentation and Control; Reactor and Electrical Equipment Qualification; Environmental Transport; Radionuclide Transport and Waste Management; Dry Cask Storage and Transport; Fire Safety Research; Nuclear Fuel Analysis; Severe Accident Analysis; Operating Experience and Generic Issues; Human Factors Engineering; Organizational Factors/Safety Culture; Human Reliability Analysis (HRA); Probabilistic Risk Assessments; Radiation Protection and Health Effects; Seismic Safety; State of the Art Risk Consequences; Reactor Containment Structural Safety; Reactor Vessel and Piping Integrity; Regulatory Guide Update; New and Advanced Reactor Designs; Decommissioning; Thermal Hydraulic Code Applications and Maintenance; Uncertainty Analysis for Thermal Hydraulic Kinetics; Coupled 3D Neutronic and Plant Thermal Hydraulics; Medical Isotope Production; Long-term Operational Management; Plant and Systems Operations. Armenia’s Premier Nikol Pashinyan stated that small modular nuclear reactors with a capacity of 70 MW enable the existing capacities to be gradually built up.
NRSC representatives took part in retraining and maintenance trainings organized and conducted by the Department for Combating Terrorism and Nonproliferation of the National Nuclear Safety Administration to keep Armenian emergency response personnel prepared and up to date should they need to respond to a radiological incident. The course centered on the Spectral Advanced Radiological Computer System (SPARCS), a versatile gamma radiation detection system used in cars, trucks, boats, and aircraft for emergency response operations. SPARCS can be deployed for a wide range of radiological sources, conducting background surveys and portal monitoring at major public gatherings and providing border crossing surveillance. https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-team-enhances-armenias-emergency-response-capabilities
NRSC representative took participation in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 35th Annual Regulatory Information Conference held on 14-16 March 2023 in Washington DC, USA. During the Conference two important agreements were signed between the U.S. NRC and ANRA. The signed agreements will allow continuing cooperation between U.S. NRC and ANRA/ NRSC in the field of licensing and safety assessment of nuclear installations. It will also give an opportunity to receive U.S. NRC safety analysis simulation tools (PARCS, RELAP, TRACE, RADTRAD) to support ANRA in its regulatory decision-making process.
