ArmInfo. Armenia and the United States are expanding cooperation on the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety in the field of the use of atomic energy. On February 9, at a government meeting, the Armenian government approved the proposal to sign an agreement "On the exchange of technical information and cooperation on nuclear safety issues between the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee of the Republic of Armenia and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States of America".
As stated in the explanation to the document, the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee of the Republic of Armenia has been cooperating with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States of America since 1995. On September 30, 1997, an Agreement was signed between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the United States of America and the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Armenia on technical cooperation in matters of nuclear safety. The agreement was re-signed in 2007 and 2017.
Within the framework of the abovementioned Agreement, Armenia received support in the following areas: training and education of personnel (thermal-hydraulic, neutron-physical and emergency calculations of NPPs using modern computer codes, development of regulatory requirements presented in the NPP SAR, physical protection of NPPs and nuclear materials, seismic safety of NPPs ); expert support (assessments and analyzes of NPP safety, development of regulatory and technical documents); safety assessment and licensing of NPP SNF dry storage, probabilistic NPP safety analysis; provision of modern instruments and equipment; inventory, registration and development, maintenance, safety assessment and licensing of the national register of sources of ionizing radiation in Armenia; development of regulatory documents on the safety and physical protection of ionizing radiation sources, etc. The current Agreement expired on March 29, 2022.
In December 2021, the Committee received a proposal from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and received a proposal to conclude a new Agreement, which, in addition to the directions established by previous agreements, expands cooperation on the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety in the field of the use of atomic energy.
The contract consists of 4 sections (with its subsections) and one application. The new Agreement will promote the exchange of best practices and knowledge on security issues, the introduction of new technologies.
The scientific and technical assistance received under the agreement will contribute to physical protection, the implementation of guarantees for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, the safety of radioactive materials and waste, the implementation of environmental monitoring, and the development of regulatory documents on safety.
The conclusion of the agreement is expedient for the further development of the sector of the use of atomic energy in Armenia>, the document reads.
