UAE- FANR Board holds 4th session of 2016
Date
8/18/2016 8:45:06 AM
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI, 18th August, 2016 (WAM) -- The Board of Management of UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, FANR, held its fourth meeting of 2016 this week to review FANR's accomplishments and its strategic and operational plans.
Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Board, led the meeting, where senior FANR management provided updates on key FANR activities, including the status of its review of an Operating License Application for Units 1 and 2 at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, now under construction in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.
In addition, the board approved a revised FANR regulation on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Facilities in the UAE. The regulations outline the requirements that should be met to ensure that nuclear materials and facilities are protected from malicious or inadvertent security threats.
The board also discussed the nation's long-term radioactive waste management plans, which are required to be developed according to the UAE's Nuclear Law. Federal Law, by Decree No. 06 of 2009, calls upon the UAE cabinet to issue a policy regarding the long-term management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The law also requires the establishment of a Decommissioning Trust Fund to support the construction, operation and regulation of a radioactive waste management disposal facility in the UAE.
The board considered Memoranda of Understanding with key international stakeholders, including the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Such Memoranda are key components of FANR's commitment to cooperate with international agencies to ensure it can benefit from international best practices.
The board received a briefing on the recently published report from an International Atomic Energy Agency review of UAE's nuclear non-proliferation framework. The mission highlighted the UAE's robust implementation of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, and its final IAEA Safeguards Advisory Service Mission, ISSAS, report found many good practices and offered suggestions for further strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the UAE's nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards and nuclear export control arrangements.
WAM/AAMIR/Moran