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A five-member delegation of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) led by Commissioner Mr. Jeffrey S. Merrifield visited the Indian atomic energy Regulatory Board (AERB) from 7 to 11 February, 2005. This visit is part of the on-going nuclear safety co-operation between the two regulatory authorities. Extensive discussions in the form of a workshop were held during this visit on safety and regulatory matters related to Nuclear Power Plants. The technical workshop was inaugurated by Commissioner Merrifield.
Nuclear safety co-operation between AERB and NRC was resumed in February 2003 when a USNRC delegation led by the then NRC Chairman Dr. Richard A. Meserve visited India in February 2003. During 2003-04 four meetings, two in India and two in the US were held between experts of the two regulatory bodies. The present workshop is the fifth in the series where the topics of Safety of New Reactor Designs, Seismic Issues and Emergency Core Cooling Systems in nuclear power plants were discussed. In view of the recent tsunami in India the two sides also discussed regulatory requirements related to tsunami and flooding hazards at nuclear plant sites. The Indian side also shared their experience of construction and commissioning of new reactors.
The discussions were found to be extremely useful by both sides and provided deeper insights into the regulatory process in the two countries. The US at present has 103 operational nuclear power reactors while India has 14 nuclear power plants in operation and 9 under construction.
The USNRC delegation visited the Dhruva reactor and some of the engineering R&D facilities at BARC. They also visited the Tarapur site where two Boiling Water Reactor units of US design are operational and two units of 540 MWe each of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) of indigenous design are under construction. Commissioner Mr. Merrifield also visited the Rawatbhata site where 4 PHWR units are operating and two are under construction.
The two sides also discussed the possibility of expanding the scope of the ongoing co-operation. The USNRC offered to host one or two of AERB staff to provide exposure to the US regulatory process. As part of continuing co-operation programme, three more meetings during 2005-06 are planned. The next meeting is scheduled to take place during August-September, 2005 in the US.
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UM/SPS/SB
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