National Atomic Energy Agency

The decision to grant the authorization to the Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute (PGI-NRI) was received by the head of this unit, Dr. Mateusz Damrat, during a meeting with Andrzej Głowacki, Vice President acting as the PAA President. The scope of authorization includes specialized siting analyzes in terms of geological and engineering conditions and hazards. The PGI-NRI is the sixth center with the authorization of the PAA President.

“Another institution joins the group of authorized research centers”, said Andrzej Głowacki during the hand-over of the document. “Before we issued the decision on granting the authorization, our experts checked whether this institution had the appropriate staff and technical equipment necessary to carry out nuclear safety analyzes in a reliable and impartial manner,” explained Andrzej Głowacki.

The PGI-NRI performs the functions of the national geological and hydrogeological services in Poland. It has existed for over 100 years. Through comprehensive research, it determines the geological structure of the country and its natural resources and monitors the state of the environment.

“Knowledge of the geological structure and determination of geological and engineering conditions is of fundamental importance for siting buildings, especially those that are strategic for the Polish economy”, emphasized Mateusz Damrat, Director of the PGI-NRI. “The quality of the geological and engineering surveys performed and the proper identification of the substrate determine the method of siting, the safety of the construction and the costs of the entire investment”, added the director of the Institute.

The authorization of the PAA President opens the way for interested research centers to apply for the role of the Technical Support Organization (TSO) for PAA under the Polish Nuclear Power Program.

The PAA will perform regulatory supervision over the design stage, construction and then operation of nuclear power plants. The PAA President will be responsible, among others, for issuing a license to build a nuclear facility. The Agency's inspectors are to check whether the requirements related to nuclear safety and radiological protection are fulfilled.

The TSO's expert support will be of great importance in the process of assessing compliance with safety requirements, issuing appropriate permits and PAA opinions. Technical support organizations will be responsible for, among others, conducting analyzes and providing expert opinions in the area of nuclear technology and individual technical fields.

Specific entities and institutions may apply for the authorization of the PAA President - the Atomic Law Act sets out specific requirements in this respect.

The authorization process begins with the submission of an application by an interested entity or institution to the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency. It is permissible to cover multiple scopes of authorization with a single application. The PAA President evaluates the documents submitted by the applicant and may also carry out an initial inspection at the applicant's premises in order to verify compliance with the requirements set out in the Atomic Law Act. After carrying out the assessment and possible inspection, the PAA President makes an administrative decision on granting the authorization, or changing its scope or refusing to grant the authorization. More information on this is available HERE.