The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) announced on Monday that it had signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with its Chinese counterpart, the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA). The technical agreement had been signed in Beijing on November 12 by NNR CEO Dr Mzubanzi Bismark Tyobeka and Chinese Environmental Protection/NNSA Vice Minister Li Ganjie.
“We operate in a highly globalised nuclear environment which is constantly evolving and bilateral cooperation arrangements such as these serve as a valuable mechanism for ensuring that the NNR’s regulatory practices are in line or benchmarked against the best current standards and practices as applied internationally within the nuclear industry and more particularly within the associated regulatory authorities fraternity,” explained Tyobeka. He further noted that the two regulators had a lot of areas of common interest.
Initially, the two sides will focus on some half-a-dozen areas for cooperation and the exchange of practical information. These are: enforcement actions when regulations are violated (including the systems of penalties and fines), licensing procedures, inspection of nuclear vendors, the training of inspectors, joint inspections and technical support cooperation concerning the NNR’s Centre of Excellence.
China today has 27 nuclear power reactors in commercial operation with another 25 under construction. The building of yet another 22 will soon start and even more are in the planning stage. The country’s nuclear capacity will have been increased three-fold by 2020/2021.
These reactors will include some of the most advanced designs in the world. The Asian giant has achieved a high degree of autonomy in reactor design and construction as well as in the nuclear fuel cycle. It is also making full use of Western technology, adapting it as well as making improvements.
The NNR reported that China is strongly committed to establishing the world’s best nuclear safety standards and the NNSA is responsible for the regulatory oversight of the country’s nuclear industry. The NNR has the same role in South Africa.