Report of
FNCA 2015 Workshop on Safety Management System for Nuclear Facilities Project
June 8 - 12, 2015,
Dalat, Vietnam
Opening and Welcome
The workshop was opened by Dr Nguyen Nhi Dien, Director of the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute and Deputy Chair of VINATOM, who welcomed the participants and thanked ANSTO for their leading role in the FNCA SMS project.
Mr Hefin Griffiths, Project Leader for the lead country Australia, replied on behalf of ANSTO. He thanked Dr Dien and his fellow special guests from DNRI for their support to the peer review. Mr Griffiths also thanked the host country staff for hosting the workshop and peer review and thanked them for the excellent preparation and administration.
Mr Griffiths welcomed the participants, particularly the new participants, stating that the group may start the week as strangers, but that over the week they would become friends and that the peer review process was aimed at friends helping each other with the common goal of improving safety.
Workshop Introduction and the SMS Project Context
Representatives from the participating countries introduced themselves to the workshop. The list of participants is given in following pages.
Mr Griffiths described the activities of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) to the participants. The FNCA is a Japan led cooperation framework for peaceful use of nuclear technology in Asia. Within this framework, the Safety Management Systems for Nuclear Facilities project (SMS project) began in 2009 and was planned to run until 2013. It is led by Australia and follows the previous successful Nuclear Safety Culture project which used the self-assessment- peer review approach. Mr Griffiths announced that Australia had agreed to fund the project for the next two years, meaning that the 2016 workshop would be the last for the project.
he SMS project objectives are to identify key aspects of safety management systems for nuclear facilities, to develop self-assessment and peer review methodologies for safety management, and by mutual agreement, to undertake peer reviews at designated institutes in project countries. The inaugural SMS project workshop was held in Sydney in 2010. Subsequently combined workshop / peer reviews were held in Serpong, Indonesia in October 2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2011, Daejeon, Korea in October 2012 and Dhaka, Bangladesh in May 2014. Mr Griffiths noted that the experience gained by the team in the previous peer reviews will be valuable in this current review.
Mr Griffiths then outlined the activities of the workshop. The final version of the agendas given in following pages.
Context for Nuclear Activities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
To give the participants context information for the peer review Dr Dien gave a presentation on the status of NPP projects and the new Research Reactor project in Vietnam.
Dr Dien gave an overview of VINATOM, which is organised into 9 major groups:
* Institute of Nuclear Science and Techniques (INST)
* Institute for Technology of Radioactive and Rare Elements (ITRRE)
* Center for non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE)
* Nuclear Training Centre (NTC)
* Hanoi Irradiation Centre (HIC)
* Nuclear Research Institute (NRI)
* Center for Application of Nuclear Techniques in Industry (CANTI)
* Center for Nuclear Techniques (CNT)
* Center for Radiation Technology (VINAGAMMA)
Of the 810 staff, 500 are university graduates, with a 130 having higher qualifications including 10 associate professors.
VINATOM's functions include;
*Research & development;
*Technical support & services;
*Personnel training;
*Technical consultancy for nuclear power and radiation applications;
*State management support (draft for nuclear policies and legal documents)
Dr Dien described Vietnam's strategy for the peaceful use of Atomic Energy up to 2020, which was based on the Prime Minister's decision of 2006. This culminated, following a feasibility study, in the decision to construct 2 x 1200 MWe reactors in co-operation with the Russian Federation in the Ninh Thuan Province (Ninh Thuan 1). Construction is expected to commence in 2017. Plans for a further 2 x 1000 MWe reactors, likely to be Japanese designs, are under consideration (Ninh Thuan 2).
Dr Dien described the project milestones and the human resource development, including educating students in both Russia and Japan.
Dr Dien also described the development of a new Center for Nuclear Energy Science and Technology (CNEST), which will provide both technical support to the Vietnamese nuclear power programme and support advanced research and education, centred around a new Research Reactor. Three sites are currently under consideration, with the feasibility study expected to begin in 2016.
Country Reports
Following previous suggestions, the approach in this workshop was to allow for more focus on developments in safety management systems. The participants from each country made a presentation giving an update of changes in their safety management. There was good discussion following the presentations and they were well received.
Special Presentations and Sessions
Following on from a suggestion at the Bangladesh workshop, Mr Satoshi Kurata gave his presentation on the objectives of the peer review process. This greatly assisted in defining the scope and role of the peer review and clarified the distinction between the peer review process and an audit. This was very useful for all participants, but particularly the new participants.
Feedback from the Previous Peer Review
An important step in the peer review process is the follow-up by the previous peer review host organisation on the comments and suggestions for potential improvements.
Mr Mohammad Mezbah Uddin, of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Dhaka, Bangladesh, presented the response to the 2014 peer review. It was clear that the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and the Reactor Operations and Maintenance Unit (ROMU) have undertaken a significant number of changes to reflect the recommendations of the peer review, these include:
*Enhancements to;
Human resource development
Safety Monitoring
Ageing Management Activity
*Establishment of a Quality Management Division within BAEC and a Document, Planning and Training Division under the Director for the Center for Research Reactor
*Submitted Annual Development Project to increase the operating life of the reactor by 15 to 20 years
*Established a Safety Management Program for Severe Natural Hazards (Earthquakes).
Whilst the extent of the improvements has been significant Mr Uddin stressed that many of the changes arising out of the peer review would take years to fully implement.
Self Assessment and Peer Review Process
The self-assessment tool is central to the review process and a sound understanding is important for users. Because there were new participants in the team, Mr Griffiths gave some training to ensure everyone was familiar before the DNRI peer review.
Workshop Summary and Conclusions
The workshop presentations from DNRI staff provided good understanding of the context for the peer review of reactor and associated facilities. The country reports were interesting and well received.
The initiative to make the country reports available prior to the meeting, allowing the context for nuclear applications and facilities available to new participants prior to the meeting, was trialed prior to this meeting. The aim would be to ensure that country presentations concentrate on SMS related issues, whilst still allowing participants to familiarise themselves with the nuclear framework of each country, this contributed to all participants ensuring that the workshop completed its work within the time allowed.
The participants were reminded that the project has one more year of funding and therefore the opportunity for one more country to volunteer to host a peer review workshop. Thailand has given an initial indication that they would be willing to host the next peer review and workshop.
Peer Review
The peer review of the DNRR reactor and its associated facilities was conducted from 10 to 12 June. Peer review team visited DNRI on 10 June.
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