The United Arab Emirates’ regulator is in the final stages of issuing a license to the operator of the Barakah nuclear power plant now being built but cannot yet give a date for when it will be granted, Christer Viktorrson, who is the director-general of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), has said.
Operator Nawah Energy Company said in May that Barakah should start up between the end of 2019 and early 2020. It will be the UAE’s first nuclear plant and the world’s largest when complete, with four reactors and 5,600 megawatts (MW) capacity.
“We are not yet ready to issue the operating license, we are in the final stages,” Viktorrson told reporters in Abu Dhabi, saying it was “very hard” to say when it would be issued.
Barakah, which will be operated by Nawah and owned by Emirates Nuclear Energy Company, is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
Viktorrson said the UAE was working with government entities on a strategy to provide education and training in radiation protection to those involved in the project.
He also said concrete voids detected by the contractor in the construction of two units of the plant had been repaired and he said this issue “is not part of the delay.”
Asked about environmental concerns, Viktorrson said the nuclear regulator was conforming to the “highest international standards” of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for safety and security.
FANR’s management board has reviewed the 2020 Operational Plan blueprint that details key activities supporting the Authority's mission to regulate the nuclear industry in the UAE.
The Board learned about latest updates of the ongoing review of the Operating License Application for Units 1 and 2 at the Barakah plant as well as all relevant inspection activities to ensure implementation of FANR’s safety, security and safeguards requirements.
The review is a key priority for FANR’s board to ensure that it meets all regulatory requirements.
Members of the board also approved the newly drafted Regulation 27 on Disposal of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste, which is based on the UAE Nuclear Law that stipulates the need for regulations addressing spent fuel and radioactive waste to protect the public from any radiation hazards.
It also approved a License for the Operation of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material, NORM, Facilities submitted by the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company, Takreer, for the NORM Waste Treatment Facility and Norm Waste Disposal Facility. NORM is referred to the natural radioactive elements that are present in very low concentrations in Earth's crust, and are brought to the surface through human activities such as oil and gas exploration or mining.
