Armenia, US are expanding cooperation in field of atomic energy use

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.