Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation

Developing National Regulations in the United Arab Emirates

Barry Kaufer, Manager Regulations and Standards

Contents

• Establishing a Peaceful Energy Programme

• FANR - Background and Organisation

• Federal Law

• Regulated Activities

• Main objectives

• Identification of regulations to be developed

• Development of Regulatory Guides

• Integrated Management System (IMS)

• FANR and IMS

• CP.1 Core Process to Manage Regulatory Framework for

Ensuring Safeguards, Safety and Security

• External Stakeholder and Public Review Process

Regulations Subgroup

• Barry Kaufer, Senior Standards, Regulations and Inspection Guides

Specialist

• Development of Regulations and Regulatory Guides , Establishing Operational

Experience Feedback System

• Kirk Redwine, Regulation and Guides Specialist

• Focusing on development of Regulatory Guides

• Helal Al Khafili, Mechanical System Engineer

• Focusing on interactions with GIA and others in processing of external reviews and

resolution of comments

• Salem Hafidh Mohammed, Operational Experience Engineer (New member

of staff - started 11/07/2010)

• Focusing on establishment of OEF Systems (for internal FANR work and review of

ENEC systems)

Middle East Nuclear Power Plans

Establishing a Peaceful Energy Programme (1)

• The UAE Policy (White Paper) on the

Evaluation and Potential Development

of Peaceful Nuclear Energy committed

the UAE to complete operational

transparency and international

cooperation for any nuclear program

(Spring 2008).

• The UAE nuclear law (9/2009)

establishes FANR as the independent

federal regulatory authority charged

with regulation of all nuclear activities in

the state.

• The Abu Dhabi government

subsequently (12/2009) establishes the

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

(ENEC) as the Nuclear Energy

Program Implementation Organization

(NEPIO).

Establishing a Peaceful Energy Programme (2)

• The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation selected Korean APR 1400

Design late last year.

• 4 Units scheduled, with operation of first unit scheduled for 2017.

Following units in successive years (2018, 2019 and 2020).

• 2-Step Licensing Process: Construction and Operation

• 3 limited licenses issued to-date

– Site Characterisation

– Site Selection

– Limited Construction Licence – Allows manufacturing of major components

and site preparation (non-safety related)

• Full Construction Licence Application to be submitted by the end of

2010.

• The initial Korean APR1400 design and Standard Safety Analysis

Report (SSAR) for this design adhere closely to U.S. NRC guidance of

1996 -1997 vintage.

Site of first 4 NPPS in the UAE (Braaka) (approximately 400 km west of Abu Dhabi)

FANR Mission & Core Values

Mission

The Authority’s Mission is to protect the public, workers and the environment by

conducting nuclear regulatory programmes in safety, security, radiation

protection and safeguards by fulfilling the following key objectives:

• Licensing and inspection activities which are benchmarked against

international best practices

• Capacity-Building strategies to ensure sustainability

• Appropriate oversight of the obligations under the international treaties,

conventions and agreements in the Nuclear Sector entered into by the

UAE

• Administrative standards which support excellence in regulation

Core Values

● Awareness and Responsibility for Safety

● Independence

● Transparency

● Competence

FANR Background and Organisation

• The Law provides that the Authority shall be managed by a Board of

Management comprising not less than five members in addition to a

Chairman and deputy chairman. H.E. Dr. Ahmed Mubarek Al Mazrouei was

appointed Chairman and H. E. Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, Deputy Chairman.

• The FANR, as currently established has 2 divisions; operations and

administration. Within the operations division are four departments; radiation

safety, security, safeguards and nuclear safety.

• The FANR Staffing includes Expatriates from many countries and UAE

Nationals. FANR will also rely on TSOs as needed to support FANR in

specialised areas.

• The FANR has developed an innovative and effective education and training

programme to UAE staff. This includes initiatives such as

• Bachelors and Masters scholarship programmes at accredited universities in UAE

and abroad.

• Programmes providing practical experience (i.e., association with nuclear experts,

site visits, conferences etc.).

• Establishing exchange programmes with other National Regulators

• Etc.

FANR Organisation

Law by Decree No. 6 of 2009

• Article 4 established a public organisation under the name of “Federal Authority

for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), as a fully independent body with the objective to

regulate and develop the Nuclear Sector in the State towards peaceful purposes

(only) and to ensure Safety, Nuclear Security and Radiation Protection.”

• Article 6 states “The Authority shall be exclusively responsible for issuing all

Licenses to practice any of the Regulated Activities in the State and any other

licence stipulated in this Law by Decree, its implementing regulation or any

other regulation issued by the Authority or amending, suspending, revoking

such Licenses or refusing to grant it, provided that such refusal is reasoned.

The Authority may impose condition on Licenses pursuant to this Law by

Decree, its implementing regulation issued hereby.”

• Article 14 directs that the Board shall appoint a Director General to exercise the

functions specified in the Law by Decree. Dr. William Travers, former Executive

Director of Operations for the NRC, was appointed as the first Director General

of FANR.

11

Law by Decree No. 6 of 2009 (continued)

• Article 38 states:

• The Board shall issue the regulations specifying the

requirements which all Operators must comply with and

follow.

• The Authority shall prepare explanatory guidelines on how

to comply with the regulations

• In developing regulations and guidelines, the Authority

shall take into consideration comments from stakeholders,

information made available by experts and internationally

recognised standards and recommendations such as

IAEA Safety Standards.

12

From IAEA Safety Guide GS-G-1.4

• Regulations • The main purpose of regulations is to establish requirements

with which all operators must comply. Such regulations shall

provide a framework for more detailed conditions and

requirements to be incorporated into individual authorizations.

• Regulatory Guides • Guides, which are advisory in nature, should be established by

or under the authority of the regulatory body. Their purpose is

to provide detailed and specific information on acceptable

technical and administrative approaches to satisfying the

regulatory requirements established in the regulations

Regulated Activities (1)

• The Law by Decree No. 6 enumerates a number of regulated activities that

must be licensed by the Authority. FANR’s approach in developing national

regulations focuses on the following main objectives:

• conform with IAEA Safety Standards,

• be risk informed, performance based,

• capitalise on licensing by the vendor country of origin, and

• follow other internationally recognised practices.

• The intent is to produce high level regulations, which are not

prescriptive, focusing on the essential aspects of safety.

• The regulated activities as established in the Law by Decree were

benchmarked against those applied by other regulatory bodies and with

international standards and guidance material such as IAEA and WENRA.

Following this, specific regulations were identified. The initial result identified

20 potential regulations.

Regulated Activities

• As the focus shifted to development of regulations and the discussions evolved, the staff debated different possibilities regarding the issues of risk informed performance based and quality assurance and the integrated management approach. Two viewpoints emerged on the issues of Management Systems and Probabilistic Risk Assessment. Either of these issues could be handled within the different regulations as needed, or separate regulations could be written to cover the requirements. FANR decided on the latter option and has pioneered regulations specifically dealing with Management Systems and PRA.

Proposed FANR Regulations

Green = Approved Red = In Review Black = Under Development

FANR REG 06: Application for a Licensee to

(Restricted)

FANR REG 01: Management Systems for

Nuclear Facilities

FANR REG 02: Siting of Nuclear Facilities

FANR REG 03: Design of Nuclear Facilities

FANR REG 04: Radiation Dose Limits&

Optimistation of Radiation Protection for

Nuclear Facilities (Approved by BoM)

FANR REG 05: Probabilistic Risk

Assessment (PRA)

FANR REG 06: Application for a Licensee to

Construct a Nuclear Facility

FANR REG 07: Nuclear Facility

Construction

FANR REG 08: Nuclear Facility Security

(Restricted)

FANR REG 12: Emergency Preparedness for

FANR REG 13: Transportation of Radioactive

FANR REG 09: Import/Export Controls

FANR REG 10: Nuclear Safeguards and

Material Control and Accounting

FANR REG 11: Radiation Protection and

Predisposal Radioactive Waste Management

in Nuclear Facilities

FANR REG 12: Emergency Preparedness for

Nuclear Facilities

FANR REG 13: Transportation of Radioactive

Materials

FANR REG 14: Application for a Licensee to

Operate a Nuclear Facility

FANR REG 24: Basic Safety Standards for

the Conduct of Regulated Activities

w/Regulated Material

Additional FANR Regulations

Red = In Review Black = Under Development Grey = Later

Additional regulations may be proposed on the following:

FANR REG 15: Design Modifications during Operation

FANR REG 16: Operational Safety including Testing, Surveillance and

Reporting

FANR REG 17: Certification of Operations Personnel

FANR REG 18: Administrative Liabilities & Penalties

FANR REG 19: Criminal Penalties

FANR REG 20: Operating Licence Extension

FANR REG 21: Decommissioning

FANR REG 22: Decommissioning Trust Fund

FANR REG 23: Radioactive Sources

FANR Integrated Management Process (IMS)

• Prior to the passage of the UAE nuclear law, the initial FANR Staff

and a group of consultants starting setting up a management

process based on IAEA GS-R-3 including Management, Core and

General Processes and Procedures.

• Accordingly, regulations and regulatory guides are developed

following a Core Process within the FANR IMS. The process

covers 13 steps starting with identifying the need for a regulation,

through the drafting and internal/external reviews, resolution of

comments and final approval by the FANR Board of Management.

Each step of the process is clearly defined and documented and

where necessary added procedures are provided to give further

direction. The Manager for Regulations and Guides, in the Nuclear

Safety Department, works with the lead department to guide each

document through the process

FANR Regulatory Process (CP.1) Steps 1 to 5

• Need for REG or RG is

identified and agreed to

by Management.

• Schedule is developed.

• A first draft is produced in

accordance with UAE Law

and FANR MS using IAEA

standard or guidance as

basis.

• Draft regulation is

circulated for internal

review and comment

within the various FANR

Departments based on

the topic.

FANR Regulatory Process (CP.1) Steps 6 to 9

• REG or RG is revised based on

the internal comments received.

• 2nd Draft is circulated to

Management Team (MT) for initial

review. MT is composed of DDGs,

Chief Scientist and Director of

Departments

• Based on agreement of MT, 3rd

Draft is developed and presented

to DG for approval for external

review (at this point an advance

copy may be sent to the

Licensee).

FANR Regulatory Process (CP.1) Steps 10 to 13

• REG or RG is distributed for

external Stakeholder review

which includes other UAE

ministries and agencies,

licensees, etc.

• KINS is also sent a copy

45 day period

• Following resolution of external

comments and agreement by the

MT and DG, the proposed

regulation is submitted to the

Board of Management (BoM) for

Approval.

• RGs do not require BoM

approval.

Overview of CP.1Process (1)

• Starting point for the development of all regulations is the

IAEA Standards or Guides.

• If no standards or guides exist other international or national

sources are used.

• Laws are first developed in English and after receiving internal

approval, legal review and editing they are submitted for

translation into Arabic.

• The terminology is based on the IAEA Safety Glossary (English

and Arabic versions), expert review and legal opinions.

• Internal review process requires achieving consensus

among all involved technical departments and the approval

of the deputy director general and director general.

• Based on the timing and scheduling advance copies are

unofficially transmitted to key licensee(s) for their initial

review.

Overview of CP.1Process (2)

External Stakeholder Review and Approval

• Unless restricted for security concerns, all regulations and

regulatory guides are processed through a 2-step external

stakeholder review.

• The first step provides governmental ministries and

agencies a 30-day period to review these documents and

provide their comments.

• Following resolution of these comments, and based on the

recommendation of the Director General of the FANR and

agreement of the BoM, the document(s) are then posted on

the FANR web site for public comment for another 30 days.

• The final regulations are submitted to the BoM for approval

and then posted in the Gazette and the FANR website

(http://fanr.gov.ae). (Notet: Regulatory Guides do not require

approval of the BoM or posting in the Gazette.)

Regulatory Guides

• Regulatory Guides are issued to describe methods acceptable to the

Authority for meeting and implementing specific requirements in FANR

regulations. Regulatory guides are not substitutes for regulations, and

compliance with them is not required. Methods of complying with the

requirements in regulations different from the guidance set forth by the

regulatory guide can be acceptable if the alternatives provide

assurance that the requirements are met. – Risk importance of the requirement - Requirements that have high importance for

safety, security and safeguards will be prioritized over those that have lesser

significance

– Complexity of the requirement - Requirements that are complex, and where

several different approaches to compliance are available, will be prioritized over areas

where the requirement and the means for compliance are clear and less subject to

interpretation

– New submission by licence applicant vs. approved method adopted from

reference plant

– Urgency of need - Regulatory guides related to the most current licence phase will

be prioritized over those related to later licensing phases

Regulatory Guides - Philosophy Specific to UAE NPPs (2)

• Although FANR has regulatory responsibility for all nuclear activities in the UAE, for the

UAE nuclear power plant program technical reviews will leverage country of origin

information.

• The initial Korean APR1400 design and Standard Safety Analysis Report (SSAR) for this

design adhere closely to U.S. NRC guidance of 1996 -1997 vintage. It is clear

ENEC/KEPCO will rely heavily on these “NRC-centric” documents for their licence

application submittals.

• Due to the age of the guidance associated with the original APR 1400 SSAR that was

submitted to and approved by the Korean Regulators (KINS), and in light of the desire to

make use of best practices, FANR will take the following steps:

– Evaluate current NRC guidance to ensure only the most recent applicable Guides are

referenced, unless specifically excluded. This may require an update on the part of

the applicant/licensee but is not considered an unreasonable request.

– In cases where NRC guidance is lacking or known to not represent best practices,

then IAEA or other country guidance will be evaluated.

– Seek and consider licensee views. Through dialogue and input from the licensee

FANR will seek to develop regulatory guidance which provides the optimum level of

nuclear safety while taking into consideration licensee input related to Country of

Origin (CoO) guidance or other related issues.

– Require licensee/applicants to demonstrate how Operational Experience has been

considered in their applications

– Require all regulatory submittals to use the international system of units and derived

units (meter, kilogram, second, becquerel, sievert, etc).

Regulatory Guides

• Currently under Stakeholder Review

RG 001 (Construction Licence Application

RG 002 (Management Systems)

• Currently under Internal FANR Review:

PRA RG

Design Criteria RG

• Licence Application Review Teams are

determining other applicable RGs, mostly

from USNRC.

Sample Definitions

– The following are how some “key terms” are defined (in the “unofficial English

version” of the Law):

• Construction: The process of manufacturing and assembling the components of a

Facility, the carrying out of civil works, the installation of components and equipment

and the performance of associated tests.

• Nuclear Facility: A facility including associated buildings and equipment in which

nuclear material is produced, processed used, handled, stored or disposed of

including Radioactive Waste Repository.

• Limited Construction Licence: The limited licence for parts and stages of

construction of a nuclear facility issued by the authority granting authorisation to carry

out different parts and stages of construction of a nuclear facility prior to the issuance

of a construction licence.

• Safety Culture: The assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organisations and

individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, protection and safety

issues receive the attention warranted by their significance .

• Security Culture: Characteristics and attitude in organisations and of individuals

which establish that security issues receive the attention warranted by their

significance

Burj Khalifa