The Integrated Regulatory Review Service in Poland has begun
04.09.2023
20 foreign nuclear safety and radiation protection experts are participating in the second mission of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS). For a fortnight, the specialists will assess the compliance of the national nuclear regulatory system with international standards. The IRRS mission came to Poland at the invitation of the Polish government. The official opening took place on Monday, September 4, 2023, at the PAA headquarters.
- This is the second IRRS review in Poland, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves today are very different from those in 2013. We have more and more activities and tasks to perform not only because of the implementation of the Polish Nuclear Power Programme or plans related to SMR, but also the ever-growing interest in the use of ionising radiation in industry, medicine and research – said the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA), Andrzej Głowacki, at the opening of the IRRS mission.
- I am sure that not only the next two weeks devoted to the IRRS mission, but also the coming months will be full of challenges for the PAA. I also hope that thanks to our efforts, good international cooperation, we will manage to meet them, maintaining the highest nuclear safety standards in Poland - added Andrzej Głowacki.
The opening of the IRRS review at the PAA headquarters was attended by Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński. – Having strong nuclear regulatory authority is a prerequisite for developing nuclear power in the country. It is even more important in the case of a country like Poland, where we intend to introduce nuclear power to the national energy mix – Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński pointed out.
In addition to IAEA experts, the opening of the IRRS mission was attended by representatives of Polish institutions involved in nuclear safety and radiation protection, including the Civil Aviation Authority, the Nuclear Safety and Radiological Protection Council acting under the President of the PAA, the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care, the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate and the Office of Technical Inspection.
Importance of the IRRS review
The IRRS review mission is a mechanism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The review consists of analysing and comparing the legal, technical and organisational solutions in place in a country with the relevant IAEA standards. The results of the conducted review are used to identify areas for further strengthening of the national nuclear safety and radiation protection system.
The IRRS mission is to strengthen Poland's nuclear regulatory authority. The previous IRRS review was conducted in April in 2013. At that time, IAEA experts confirmed that Poland had strengthened the regulatory framework for nuclear safety and radiation protection. The current IRRS mission will last until September 15, 2023. After its completion, foreign experts will prepare a report for Poland with an assessment and possible recommendations that could further strengthen the Polish nuclear regulatory system.
