The PAAs delegation participated in the spring session of WENRA
09.04.2025
A delegation of the National Atomic Energy Agency took part in the spring session of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA). One of the topics discussed were issues related to the preparations for the evaluation of the licence application for the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant.
The Polish delegation was headed by the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency, Andrzej Głowacki, who presented, among other things, the challenges of the preparations of the Polish nuclear regulatory authority to assess the licence application for the construction of the first Polish nuclear power plant in the context of the possibility of using the experience of other countries.
- The National Atomic Energy Agency has been preparing for many years to ensure that the process of assessing the licence application to construct the first Polish nuclear power plant runs smoothly. Knowledge of the best practices used by other regulatory bodies helps in this,' said Andrzej Głowacki. The head of the Polish nuclear regulatory authority has emphasised that the PAA sees opportunities to use the experience and regulatory assessments that have been carried out by other countries. Hence, among other things it is so important to develop international cooperation between entities responsible for nuclear safety and radiation protection in other countries.
In the case of the first Polish nuclear power plant to be built in Pomerania, the reference object is unit no. 4 of the American Vogtle nuclear power plant . That is why the PAA has been cooperating with the US nuclear regulator (US NRC) for many years.
The possibility of using foreign regulatory assessments was also referred to by the delegations of Finland and the United Kingdom. Representatives of several WENRA countries, including Poland, have pledged to continue work aimed at identifying conditions that will enable the full use of the advantages of international cooperation in the regulatory assessment of a given technology.
The spring plenary session of WENRA also discussed issues related to the review of the legal framework in the context of the development of the so-called small modular reactor (SMR) technology, or nuclear safety and radiation protection in connection with the situation in Ukraine.
WENRA is the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association, bringing together regulatory authorities in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The main goal of the Association is to exchange experience.