A recent IAEA assessment mission to a nuclear fuel plant in Romania, concluded that the country had implemented nuclear safety measures in line with the IAEA safety standards.
The Safety Evaluation of Fuel Cycle Facilities during Operation (SEDO) mission visited the plant in Pitesti, to assess management processes and procedures as well as technical measures to ensure nuclear safety.
“SEDO missions are an IAEA peer review service, to evaluate the operation safety of a nuclear fuel cycle facility based on IAEA safety standards,” said Amgad Shokr, Head of the Research Reactor Safety Section that is responsible for the activities on safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. He added: “This type of review mission assesses the host facility’s practices and procedures, and provides recommendations and suggestions for improvement.”
The nuclear fuel plant (NFP) is a branch of SN Nuclearelectrica, the nuclear power producer in Romania, and manufacturers uranium-based fuel for the operation of the national nuclear power plant at Cernavoda. It is located at the same site within the Institute for Nuclear Research, which operates a nuclear research reactor and radioactive waste treatment station.
The eight-day mission from 19 to 26 November was conducted at the request of the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Romanian Regulatory Body. The mission team was comprised of four experts from Argentina, Canada, France and the United Kingdom, as well as two IAEA officials. The team visited the fuel fabrication plant, reviewed documents, and held technical discussions with the facility’ management and operating personnel.
During this mission, the team observed that NFP had also implemented administrative and technical measures in line with the IAEA safety standards in several areas, including training of staff, nuclear criticality safety, maintenance, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, and emergency preparedness.
“The technical knowledge and competence of the facility management, technical staff, and operating personnel, as well as their openness and transparency and commitment to continuous improvement, was noted by the team and was vital for the work we engaged in,” said Shokr.
He further emphasised that the: “NFP has shown continued commitment to safety and established programmes and procedures in line with the IAEA safety standards. The continued observation of this practice in implementing operational safety activities, particularly those related to periodic safety review, will provide for safety enhancement; thus, strengthening the operational effectiveness and sustainability of the plant.”
The team also identified opportunities for safety enhancement, mainly related to the need to improve the functioning of the NFP nuclear safety committee in its advisory role, improve the ageing management programme by enlarging its scope to cover all plant systems and components important to safety, including buildings and structures, as well as enhancing safety demonstration measures.
“NFP puts a lot of efforts into ensuring safety and making continual improvements. We are pleased to see that noted by this review,” said Andrei Musetoiu, the NFP Director. “The SEDO mission provided us with valuable recommendations for further improvement, and we are committed to implementing them.”
The NFP plans to request a follow-up SEDO mission in 2026.
More information about SEDO missions can be found on the IAEA website.
What are nuclear fuel cycle facilities?
Nuclear fuel cycle facilities support the operation of nuclear plants and cover a diverse range of areas across the fuel cycle where nuclear and radioactive material are handled in various ways, such as in mining, fabrication of nuclear fuel, reprocessing and storage of spent nuclear fuel. They are of a variety of designs involving various amounts and types of nuclear materials and hazardous chemicals, therefore presenting different levels of potential radiological and also non-radiological hazards. There are over 300 nuclear fuel cycle facilities operating across 54 countries worldwide.
