National Atomic Energy Agency

On the 10th August 2022, the PAA President officially handed over decisions on granting authorisations to science and research centres, which will provide expert support to the PAA. The centres will be acting as the Technical Support Organizations (TSO) during the construction and operation of the NPP in Poland. Five expert institutions received the authorisation of the PAA President:

• Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection,
• Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN),
• Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Nuclear Technology,
• Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute,
• The Faculty of Geology of the University of Warsaw.

All institutions which obtained the authorisation have highly qualified staff and technical infrastructure, which will help carry out activities involving the assessment of applications for licensing a nuclear power plant and its inspection in an unbiased and reliable manner. The scope of the authorisation had been defined by the PAA President.

The granting of authorisations to research centres is another step forward in the preparation of the PAA to implement the tasks under the Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PPEJ). The PAA will be overseeing the construction of the NPP and issuing recommendations and opinions prior to the actual construction work. The PAA President is responsible for e.g. licensing of the NPP construction.

The support of TSO (responsible e.g. for analysis and expertise in nuclear technology and technical matters) will be crucial in the assessment of compliance with safety requirements, issuance of relevant authorisations and opinions.

Certain entities and centres are eligible to apply for the authorisation of the PAA President – the Atomic Law sets out specific requirements in this regard.

To obtain the authorisation, the entity or centre concerned has to submit an application to the PAA President. Several authorisations may be covered by a single application. The PAA President assesses the applicant’s documents, and may carry out an initial inspection at the applicant’s to verify the compliance with the requirements set out in the Atomic Law. After the assessment, and inspection (if any), the PAA President issues an administrative decision on granting the authorisation, changing its scope or refusal. For more information, please click HERE.