National Atomic Energy Agency

We have the pleasure to introduce the annual report summarizing the statutory activities in regulatory oversight and regulation by the President of the PAA. Despite the challenges arising from the global pandemic, the PAA maintained its effective functions, assuring, that the use of ionizing radiation sources has been used in a safe, and non-threatening to the public and natural environment way.

In the year 2020, the Agency’s nuclear regulatory inspectors carried out 465 inspections at organisational units that used sources of ionizing radiation, as well as 35 nuclear material safeguards inspections. Due to the epidemic situation, many of those were remote inspections. Moreover, in the past year, 7 inspections were carried out at nuclear facilities operated by the National Centre for Nuclear Research and the Radioactive Waste Management Plant.

The President of the PAA issued 754 decisions regarding licenses to conduct exposure-related activities involving ionizing radiation, which increased the number of supervised activities up to 6,947, as of the end of December 2020 (an increase of 4,9% over the previous year). The President of the PAA granted a total of 349 radiation protection officer licenses and authorisations to take up positions of significant importance for ensuring nuclear safety and radiological protection in entities that conduct exposure-related activities.

Last year the PAA activated 13 early warning stations for radiation contamination along the Polish eastern border. The PAA set up 25 new stations between 2016 and 2020. Further expansion of the station network and its higher density will enable the PAA to detect radiation emergencies earlier and forecast. 

The Polish Nuclear Power Programme contributes to the growing importance of issues related to nuclear safety and radiological protection. The PAA, as a main stakeholder in the future licensing process of the nuclear power plant, will follow the overarching rule of nuclear safety and radiological protection, as the fundamental rule of use of nuclear technology applications and sources of ionizing radiation.

We kindly invite you to read the PAA annual report.