National Atomic Energy Agency

Several dozen students from the Warsaw University of Technology, the University of Warsaw, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, and the Silesian, Gdańsk, Wrocław, and Poznań Universities of Technology are participating in the Nuclear Energy Summer School.  – This is a special time for gaining knowledge – emphasized Paweł Pytlarczyk, Vice President of the National Atomic Energy Agency, during the school's opening. – Poland is progressing through the next stages of implementing the Polish Nuclear Power Program. You, the students, have the opportunity to begin your professional career at the very beginning of the nuclear industry in Poland, which offers significant opportunities for professional development – the Vice President of the PAA pointed out.

At the end of March of this year, Polish Nuclear Power Plants submitted an application to the President of the PAA for a construction permit for the first nuclear power plant in Poland. Experts from the polish nuclear regulatory authority must now analyze the documentation, which runs to tens of thousands of pages, and assess whether the project meets nuclear safety and radiological protection requirements. Therefore, the PAA is one of the institutions that plays a key role in the entire process, Paweł Pytlarczyk explained. – However, it's worth debunking a myth: working at the PAA isn't just about analyzing documents from behind a desk. It also involves inspections at the construction site, and then during commissioning and operation of the nuclear power plant, as well as inspections of suppliers of key components – the Vice President of the PAA emphasized.

One of the first lectures at this year's edition of the school was delivered by Marcin Dąbrowski, Director of the Nuclear Safety and Security Department at the PAA. The Director outlined the main tasks of the polish nuclear regulatory authority, including the PAA's role in the fuel cycle itself. The President of the National Atomic Energy Agency issues permits for the operation of nuclear facilities, including nuclear power plants. Any modernization of such facilities must also be supervised by PAA inspectors. The agency also approves staff training plans. The PAA also issues permits for the operation of radioactive waste repositories and regularly inspects nuclear facilities.

The summer school also features lecturers from experts from the Warsaw University of Technology, as well as representatives of nuclear reactor technology suppliers from France, Canada and the United States. The summer school on nuclear energy is organized by the Ministry of Energy in cooperation with universities in Poland. The event runs from August 3rd to 7th, with theoretical classes held at the Warsaw University of Technology, and the final event for participants will be a visit to the Radioactive Waste Repository in Różan.