Institutional Building of Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ANRA)

The project consisted of six technical tasks as follows:

• Task A1 – Observation of a national emergency exercise This task reviewed the emergency procedures of ANRA and contributed to the development of complementary procedures. It also provided support to confirm the correct functioning of the procedures by participating in an emergency exercise.
• Task A2 – Development of an improved legal structure EU experts provided assistance to support Armenia in its undertaking to improve the national nuclear legislation completing the legal and regulatory framework with respect to nuclear security and physical protection covering both facilities and nuclear materials.
• Task A3 – Joint Convention on the safety of spent fuel management and the safety of radioactive waste management Task A3 provided support related to the structure and content of Armenia’s first Report to the Joint Convention and to the review of documents related to radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management with a focus on the existing Armenian waste characterization requirements in comparison with the best practice in EU member states.
• Task A4 – Operational safety Task A4 provided extensive support to update the regulatory requirements for the operational safety improvement of the ANPP with focus to enhance the current Armenian regulatory framework for the Ageing Management Program, Maintenance Effectiveness Monitoring and Equipment Qualification.
• Task A5 – Radon concentration regulation in dwellings Within Task A5, EU experts provided assistance during the preparation of a revised National programme on public exposure control and dose reduction due to naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). The review has been carried out on the national programme and the national policy, strategy, and action plan.
• Task A6 – Safety review and licensing Task A6 contributed to improving ANRA’s and NRSC’s safety review capacity in safety evaluations related to strength calculations of systems, structures and components (SSCs) and provided support to develop regulatory requirements for the PSA, format and contents of the SAR, and SSC strength calculations.

The final meeting of AR/RA/05-06 was held on the 13th and 14th of July 2016, in Yerevan. According to the evaluation presented at the final meeting, all project tasks were carried out as planned and the activities could be finished according to the original project schedule. The work carried out in the project helped the Beneficiary to strengthen the capabilities of ANRA and its TSO in establishing safety regulations and conducting risk analyses and safety evaluations for operating and new NPPs. The project introduced enhancements to the Armenian legal and regulatory infrastructure; strengthened the nuclear and radiation safety regulatory framework of Armenia; promoted an effective nuclear safety culture and realized a sustainable knowledge transfer.