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Safety reviews related to the consenting decisions identified safety factors. The PSR facilitates a cumulative
and safety monitoring during various stages are carried assessment of plant ageing, modifications, safety
out through multi-tier safety committees. The committees performance, advances in science and technology and
include experts in relevant fields including process feedback of operating experience. The PSR provides
design, control and instrumentation, thermal hydraulics, opportunities for identifying and implementing safety
structural analysis, reactor physics, seismology etc. upgrades/enhancements in the plants as well as the
relevant to nuclear and radiation safety. The higher regulatory programmes, as necessary. This regulatory
level committees include experts from academia, approach ensures that the safety levels of the plants are
national R&D institutes and government bodies. The maintained and enhanced to remain comparable with
multi-tiered system of safety review follows the principle the contemporary safety standards /practices throughout
of “management by exception”, following graded the operating life of the plant.
approach and is based on principles, requirements and
criteria specified by AERB in its regulatory documents. Review of Security Aspects

In this approach, the issues of greater significance AERB has also been entrusted with the responsibility
are given consideration at higher level committees of review and assessment of nuclear security aspects
for their satisfactory resolution. Recommendations (having impact on safety) for different types of nuclear
of these committees concerning various safety issues facilities in India. AERB has issued various regulatory
and consents are further considered by AERB for documents specifying nuclear security requirements in
arriving at regulatory decisions. This arrangement this regard. Depending on the project stage, security
ensures comprehensiveness of the reviews and effective aspects are reviewed against relevant regulatory
compliance with the specified requirements. Additionally, requirements. Multi-tier approach is adopted for review
AERB carries out periodic regulatory inspections to of security aspects also.
check conformance with regulatory requirements and
consenting conditions. The safety status of the nuclear facilities, significant
events and enforcement actions during the year 2019
The licence for operation of the facilities is are covered in the following sections.
given after ensuring its satisfactory construction and
commissioning as per the approved design, complying 1.2 NUCLEAR FACILITIES UNDER
with the quality requirements and the specified safety/ CONSTRUCTION
regulatory requirements. The licence for operation
is given with a specified validity period. Renewal of AERB has established an elaborate system for in-
licence for operation is considered based on separate depth safety review of Nuclear Power Projects (NPP) and
application along with a comprehensive safety review as Fuel Cycle Facilities (FCF) that are under construction.
per the laid down requirements and process. For this purpose, different stages of ‘regulatory consent’
have been identified as following:
In the case of operating NPPs, there is requirement
for carrying out a comprehensive periodic safety During year 2019, the status of various nuclear
review (PSR) once in ten years, as per the laid down power projects and fuel cycle facilities under siting,
requirements. The PSR involves a thorough assessment construction and commissioning are being reviewed by
of the safety of the plant in comparison with the current AERB are presented in Table 1.1 and 1.2 respectively.
safety requirements and practices, covering a number of

Siting Construction Commissioning

2 AERB Annual Report 2019