Regulatory aspects of nuclear power program in India

Abstract

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is the regulatory body in India for ensuring that the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy does not cause undue risk to the health of workers, members of the public and to the environment. AERB is responsible for prescribing and enforcing of rules, regulations and requirements pertaining to safety of nuclear and radiation facilities and radiological safety. This paper describes the regulatory process followed by AERB for ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs) during their construction as well as operation. The regulatory process for nuclear and radiation safety in the country had evolved organically, over a long period since the beginning of the nuclear program in the country, addressing the requirements and situations of the applications of the technology in the country. Some of the recent initiatives taken by AERB in this direction are brought out. In the coming days AERB is expected to face new challenges such as coping with the demands of a fast growing nuclear power program, simultaneous review of a large number of new projects of diverse designs and long term operation of the existing NPPs. The paper also gives some insights into how AERB is preparing itself to address these future challenges.