Today, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee to participate in the discussion of the performance report 2022 of the department.
Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, Head of the State Supervision 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 Regulatory Committee Khachatur Khachikyan, the leadership of the Committee, and other officials participated in the consultation.
The work of the committee of 2022 on state regulation of the field of atomic energy use aimed at ensuring the safety of the population, objects of nuclear energy use, protecting the population 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 in the sidelines of 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 the introduction of security system modifications were studied, and conclusions were drawn. In order to ensure the physical protection of the ANPP, 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 operation 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 2022, within the scope of regulatory control of health, scientific and industrial facilities, inspections, studies of the fulfillment of requirements under the license were carried out, decommissioning and neutralization of the radioactive source, etc. were carried out as necessary. 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 within the framework of upcoming programs, implementation of an accelerator in the field of scientific research, development of nuclear medicine, personnel training and other programs are planned.
It was noted that work is being done to improve the Law "On the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes" and to approximate the Armenian legislation closer to the EU directives. It was also reported about the activity of "Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety" CJSC.
A discussion was held on the topics presented in the report, an exchange of ideas on steps to increase the effectiveness of state regulation in the field of atomic energy use.
The Prime Minister referred to the importance of the preperation and training of personnel in this field, noting that it is necessary to consolidate the resources directed to the field education and form a quality system.
The Head of the Government emphasized the proper implementation of the priorities of Armenia in the field of atomic energy use and gave instructions to the officials.
