Feb 01, 2017The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) participated last week in the Interregional Training Course on the Implementation of National Requirements for Nuclear Power Programmes, which was organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. The training course was run from 22 to 26 January at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, and sought to provide perspectives from experts on the roles of both the nuclear regulator and the operator in defining and implementing national requirements for the management and operation of a nuclear power plant.
The target audience was IAEA Member States that have decided to proceed with the development of their first nuclear power plant. Representatives from nuclear regulatory bodies and current and future operators of Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Turkey and Vietnam were present at the training course. Fifteen participants from the seven emerging nuclear countries attended the week-long training course, which saw both FANR’s specialists and management alike share its experience as a regulator of the UAE’s first nuclear power plant. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) shared its invaluable insight at the training course from the perspective of an established regulator.
Amongst FANR’s presentations on the inspection qualification programme, on nuclear safety and on safeguards was a presentation on FANR’s licensing approach to the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant. FANR issued two licences in December 2016: the first to authorise the operator to transport unirradiated nuclear fuel to the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; and the second to handle and store such fuel at Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
The IAEA inter-regional training courses are invaluable to the support of education and training, and human resource development and capacity-building in the nuclear field. ‘FANR is strongly committed to Emiratisation and has a wealth of Emirati talent with the potential of being leaders in the nuclear energy sector’, said Christer Viktorsson, FANR Director General. Emiratis account for more than 60% of employees at FANR. They also make up more than half of the number of employees in the Operations Division, which is composed of the technical departments with expertise in nuclear safety, nuclear security, radiation safety and non-proliferation.
FANR has gained international recognition as a competent regulator. The UAE nuclear regulator oversees the implementation of the UAE’s obligations under the international treaties, conventions and agreements in the nuclear sector, and determines administrative standards, which support excellence in regulation. FANR cooperates closely with the IAEA, and is committed to ensuring the highest international standards of nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation.