National Atomic Energy Agency

As part of the licensing process, the PAA becomes involved in the oversight of a nuclear power plant at an early stage - the President of the Agency issues, among others, a license for the construction of the facility. The license is issued on the basis of an application submitted by the investor. The application is accompanied by documentation amounting to hundreds of thousands of pages. It will take 24 months to evaluate these documents and issue a decision on the construction license. During this period, the Agency's experts will have to assess whether construction plans of a nuclear power plant meet the requirements of national law and international standards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency, among others. Numerous analyses will also be carried out as part of the licensing, including with the use of calculation codes. The PAA will also use the assistance of authorized expert laboratories and other research units.

In the process of constructing a nuclear power plant, the National Atomic Energy Agency will perform an inspection function. This means that experts of the PAA will supervise the construction in terms of ensuring nuclear safety and radiation protection.

A nuclear power plant’s construction license is not the only license issued by the President of the PAA as part of the licensing of a nuclear facility. The head of the nuclear regulatory authority also issues:

• a commissioning license,
• an operation license,
• a license for decommissioning a nuclear facility.

At each stage of the nuclear power plant’s operation, nuclear regulatory inspectors of the PAA will conduct regular inspections. Suppliers of structures, systems and components will also be verified. The PAA will also perform quality checks, including on the manufacture of safety-relevant components used in the construction of the nuclear facility.

We encourage you to watch other educational animated videos that explain the basic aspects of ionizing radiation.

The animated video below provides information about the safety aspects that must be considered in the design of a nuclear power plant. We encourage you to watch the video.