Head of Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission visits Warsaw
21.08.2023
On 21 August, the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA), Andrzej Głowacki, held talks with the President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Rumina Velshi. The meeting took place at the PAA headquarters. The conversation was part of the development of cooperation between the Canadian and Polish nuclear regulators.
It was another meeting this year as part of the strengthening of cooperation between the two institutions. Both the CNSC and the PAA are in the process of assessing small modular reactor (SMR) technologies to meet nuclear safety and radiological protection requirements.
- Currently, the world is witnessing intensive development of new nuclear technologies such as SMRs. Therefore, cooperation between nuclear regulators is very important, providing opportunities to exchange knowledge and analysis results. This, in turn, contributes to the optimisation of the licensing process, which will enable a more efficient implementation of these technologies in Poland and worldwide - said Andrzej Głowacki.
- In Canada alone, we currently have several new nuclear technologies to evaluate. What is currently happening worldwide in the nuclear power market is, on the one hand, necessary if we are to achieve our climate goals, and on the other hand, a challenge for regulators. Only by working together, cooperating with the regulators of other countries, can we meet these challenges in a fully effective way - added the President and CEO of Canada's nuclear regulatory authority, Rumina Velshi.
In addition to discussions on further cooperation between the two nuclear watchdogs, the meeting was also an opportunity to discuss nuclear safety in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Multi-year surveillance cooperation
The first cooperation agreement was concluded between the PAA and the CNSC in 2014. That year, the institutions signed a memorandum during the International Atomic Energy Agency conference in Abu-Dhabi. This was complemented by a Memorandum of Cooperation for collaboration on small modular reactors (SMRs) signed in February 2023. At that time, a committee on advanced nuclear technology and SMR was established, comprising experts from CNSC and PAA. The committee is to coordinate cooperation between the Polish and Canadian regulators for large-scale nuclear reactors and small modular reactors.
Polish and Canadian supervision under the cooperation is to exchange information on best practices and technical reviews around this technology. The parties have also committed to sharing the results of independent analyses and assessments conducted as part of the licensing process. The cooperation also involves joint activities in the above areas, as well as in training and developing regulatory solutions to ensure the safety of this technology.
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
The CNSC regulates the use of nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security and the environment; to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public. There are currently four nuclear power plants operating in Canada.
