PHARE projects archive
Phare 2001 Programming
RO 2001/01.10.01 Strengthening the regulatory regime in the field of nuclear safety.
The objective of the project was the technical strengthening of the capabilities of the Romanian nuclear safety regulatory authority, CNCAN, with regard to radioactive waste management, the mining and milling of naturally radioactive raw materials, nuclear safeguards, physical protection and nuclear safety. Project results: the development of CNCAN's internal working procedures in accordance with the European quality assurance standards (ISO 9000); an extensive programme of practical training for CNCAN staff.
RO 2001/01.10.02 Support to the national regulatory authority of Romania in the process of reviewing fire protection, overpressure protection of the primary circuit and nuclear safety aspects of the design of the main steam line at Unit 1 of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant.
The objective of the project was to support CNCAN in the process of assessing certain specific safety elements for the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. These included the fire protection programme, the overpressure protection of the primary circuit and of the special safety systems, as well as the assessment of the design aspects of the main steam line.
Phare 2003 Programming
RO 2003/5812.06.01 Emergency response centre of the regulatory body of Romania.
The objective of the project was the technical strengthening of the emergency preparedness capacity of the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN) of Romania. The project was divided into two components: technical assistance and supply of equipment.
The technical assistance component covers:
- Identifying and assessing the level of equipment of the emergency response centre
- Training of staff and provision of training materials for the staff designated to operate the centre
- Establishing a strategy for developing the TSO support provided to the response centre, covering both the future activity of CNCAN's TSO and that of other TSOs in Romania
The equipment supply component covered equipping the CNCAN Emergency Centre with the basic hardware identified in the first part of this project and with suitable software to bring the centre into operation, as well as the necessary communication links, such as high-speed Internet connections and connections to the governmental data transmission networks.
Phare 2004 Programming
RO 2004/016-815.02.01 Assistance provided to the nuclear regulatory authority of Romania for the procurement of specific computer codes for mechanical and structural analyses.
This project was carried out on the basis of the results of the Phare project RO 2001/01.10.02, in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Romania (CNCAN) and to develop its in-house capabilities to perform and assess the mechanical and structural analyses of the piping systems at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. Under this project, the aim was that, in addition to the delivery of the related computer codes (ANSYS/Mechanical and ANSYS/Structural and AUTOPIPE NUCLEAR), CNCAN staff should benefit from specific training courses and technical assistance in the use of the two codes for a minimum period of two years.
RO 2004/016-815.02.02 Technical assistance to the nuclear regulatory authority of Romania on managing the important aspects of the future commissioning activities of nuclear power plants.
The purpose of the project was to support the nuclear regulatory authority of Romania (CNCAN) in managing the commissioning activities, as part of the licensing process. The project provided technical assistance in the field of regulation and licensing and strengthened CNCAN's capacity to analyse and assess all the commissioning stages of Unit 2 of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. Through theoretical and practical training, the project contributed to strengthening the competence of CNCAN staff in nuclear regulatory activities. The main activities of the project were:
- Specific training courses based on EU experience in the field and knowledge transfer, in order to support CNCAN staff in carrying out the regulatory activities related to commissioning. Specific training courses in the field of quality assurance management systems during the commissioning and operation of the NPP, as well as in the field of regulatory activities concerning the assessment of the supporting documents for the operating licence and for other activities.
- EU support for the preparation of the requirements for all the commissioning phases (structure and responsibilities of the organization, content of the commissioning programme, acceptance criteria, approval by the regulatory body, etc.), and the requirements for the nuclear safety documentation to be submitted in support of licensing.
RO 2004/016-815.02.03 Technical assistance to the nuclear regulatory authority of Romania with a view to improving the management of high-activity sealed radioactive sources (SRS), including spent sealed radioactive sources (SSRS) and orphan sources.
The primary purpose of this project was to provide technical assistance to CNCAN with a view to improving the regulations in the field of the safe, long-term storage of long-lived high-activity sealed sources and of the recovery of orphan sources. The project also consisted in organizing training activities in specific areas, such as:
- Control and assurance of the safety of long-term storage facilities for high-activity sealed sources
- Safe recovery of orphan sources
- Financing mechanisms for the recovery and management of orphan sources
- Decommissioning of installations where orphan sources might be found
- Determining the equipment for intervention and for the recovery of orphan sources
Phare 2005 Programming
RO 2005/017-519.03.01 Support to the staff of the regulatory authority for improving its own capabilities in the field of probabilistic safety assessment.
The purpose of this project was to support the Romanian Authority for Regulation, Licensing and Control in the Nuclear Field (CNCAN) in the process of reviewing the Level 1 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA), internal and external events, of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. The main activities under the project included:
- Assistance for improving the regulatory framework by supporting CNCAN staff in:
— drawing up a procedure for the assessment of the PSA study
— technical assistance for the revision of the regulation - Norms on probabilistic safety assessments.
- Training and technical assistance in CNCAN's assessment of the PSA Study for Cernavodă NPP Unit 1.
RO 2005/017-519.03.02 Improving CNCAN's capabilities in the field of safety assessment for the Baita Bihor disposal facility.
The repository for institutional radioactive waste at Baita Bihor, Romania, is the subject of a safety assessment under the PHARE project entitled Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) for the Baita Bihor low-level radioactive waste repository. The aim of that project was to prepare the PSAR. On the basis of the PSAR, CNCAN will decide whether the repository can be licensed for operation and the conditions under which it will operate. This project was primarily aimed at supporting CNCAN in reviewing the PSAR. In addition, as the Baita Bihor repository has several features in common with the Richard repository in the Czech Republic, which handles the same category of radioactive waste, a comparison was made of the methodologies for establishing the safety assessment for the two repositories. In this context, a technical seminar was held, bringing together experts from the two facilities. This activity will contribute to improving CNCAN's level of experience in the field of safety assessment for repositories, based on concrete and similar cases.
RO 2005/017-519.03.03 Developing CNCAN's capabilities with regard to the regulatory aspects of activities involving naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM).
In Romania, NORM and TENORM are used and/or produced in various installations, such as chemical fertilizer plants, iron and steel works, porcelain factories, oil industry installations and other non-uranium mines and mining installations. This project provided support to CNCAN with a view to carrying out:
- a comprehensive study assessing the extent of the radiological consequences of the existence of a large quantity of NORM and TENORM on the territory of Romania.
- a review of the existing regulatory documents and the drafting of new regulatory documents based on the regulations in force in the EU countries that face the same problems.
- training for the CNCAN experts involved in the authorization of activities that generate NORM and TENORM.
RO 2005/017-519.03.04 Improving the CNCAN database for the operation of the national register of doses and radioactive sources.
At present, CNCAN uses a Microsoft Access database called EVNUC for recording occupational doses and managing the sealed radioactive sources - including spent sealed radioactive sources - that are used on the territory of Romania. The main objective of this project is to support CNCAN in designing and installing a new database that meets the new Romanian requirements. This database will cover the information infrastructure, the installations of interest, the management of sealed radioactive sources and associated equipment, authorizations, procedures, inspections, incidents and occupational exposures. It must also be designed so that it can easily integrate all the information contained in EVNUC and provide five levels of secure access (the CNCAN officers responsible for issuing regulations, including those responsible for waste management, administrators, users, technical services and the general public). The purpose of the project is to provide technical assistance in preparing a study on CNCAN's internal needs, preparing the technical documentation for the new database and procuring the database.