INSC exploratory mission to Vietnam March 2010 Expert I

An initiative to extend cooperation under INSC beyond TACIS countries was started by the EC in 2007. To identify the needs of countries which expressed an interest in cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, a Task Force was formed comprising experts from EU nuclear regulatory authorities.

In 2008 and 2009 two regions were targeted on the basis of geographical proximity and political criteria: Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and Machrek (Jordan, Egypt, Emirates).

Other regions/countries are also considered, depending on the status of development of their nuclear programmes and of specific problems which may arise according to criteria approved by the Commission after consultation with the INSC Committee.

An exploratory mission to Vietnam was carried out by the EC in February 2009.

Following this mission an Action Fiche (a technical description and justification) of a proposed project was prepared and the project was programmed in the INSC 2009 programme (project VN3.01/09).

The key organizations in Vietnam are as follows: the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and the three Vietnamese nuclear organisations which are directly involved in the Master Plan on Power Development, namely: VARANS, VAEC and EVN.

The situation in Vietnam at the time of the 2009 exploratory mission was as follows: MOIT has been designed as the leading organisation for the planning and construction of the NPP (Atomic Energy Law Art.45). A high level Committee headed by the Vice Prime Minister is following any progress of the Master Plan for Power Development N°6. Two leading organisations will be responsible for the safety aspects of the NPP programme in Vietnam: MOIT and VARANS, the Regulatory Authority. The governmental milestones concerning the first NPP: operation by 2020, Preliminary Review Studies completed and the First Safety appraisal is under progress. There are bilateral cooperation with Argentina, Japan, France, Russia and South Korea.

In 2009, the following project proposals were presented by VARANS:

This summary provides a general explanation of the results of the mission in 2010 to Vietnam applicable to senior expert 2 and the other senior expert (contract number 231660).

The main objectives of the mission were:

• to prepare the Technical Project Description Sheet (TPDS) (a detailed technical description of the work to be performed under the project which forms the basis of the project Terms of Reference) for INSC Project VN3.01/09 and
• to discuss the Financing Agreement: contents, timetable and procedure to obtain its signature by Authorities of Vietnam.

The Technical Mission to Vietnam was carried out from 3-5 March 2010. The mission continued the co-operation started during the "exploratory mission" from 16 to 18 February 2009 in Vietnam.

The main part of the mission was devoted to the joint elaboration - task by task - of the Technical Project Description Sheet (TPDS) for INSC Project VN3.01/09. This work was based on the detailed proposal prepared in advance by VARANS, and in line with the Action Fiche. The main outputs of the meeting were the table with proposed activities and a final draft TPDS, accepted by the project partners involved. In addition, a rough estimate of project task resources was carried out to check their feasibility.

In parallel discussions between the Director General of VARANS and the representative of EC AIDCO were held, attention was devoted to the Financing Agreement: contents, timetable and procedure to obtain its signature by Authorities of Vietnam.

The other points of the agenda were discussed: international cooperation of VARANS and future possibilities for new or follow up projects.

On proposal of the Director General the EU representatives visited also the two TSO centers of VARANS: the Division of Nuclear Safety and the Technical Support Center for Radiation Safety and Emergency Response. Discussions were held about their needs in view of present or future INSC projects. These visits allowed to identify some specific needs in both centers, in particular i) computer programs for radiation and nuclear safety, and ii) organisational issues regarding emergency preparedness.