Convention on Nuclear Safety 7 th Review Meeting 2017

Transcription

1 Convention on Nuclear Safety 7 th Review Meeting 2017 International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, Vienna Country Review Report for GHANA Drafted by Country Group 3 Bangladesh, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Latvia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of Moldova, Romania and Turkey Rapporteur: Mr. John Pule Version: Final DISCLAIMER: Per INFCIRC 571, Revision 7, Para and Annex IV, Contracting Parties were invited to comment on the implementation of the CNS reporting guidance. Contracting Parties were also encouraged to submit proposed Good Practices, Challenges, and Suggestions prior to the Review Meeting. The draft Country Review Report documents the preliminary observations identified by the Contracting Parties. The Country Review Report is the result of the CNS Review Process and was agreed by consensus by the Country Group.

2 Glossary The Glossary provides here the definitions of Challenges, Suggestion and Good Practice according to Annex IV of INFCIRC/571/Rev. 7. The definition of Area of Good Performance was agreed upon by the Officers of the 7 th CNS Review Meeting at the CNS Officers Meeting on 3-4 October A Challenge is a difficult issue for the Contracting Party and may be a demanding undertaking (beyond the day-to-day activities); or a weakness that needs to be remediated. A Suggestion is an area for improvement. It is an action needed to improve the implementation of the obligations of the CNS. A Good Practice is a new or revised practice, policy or programme that makes a significant contribution to nuclear safety. A Good Practice is one that has been tried and proven by at least one Contracting Party but has not been widely implemented by other Contracting Parties; and is applicable to other Contracting Parties with similar programmes. An Area of Good Performance is a practice, policy or programme that is worthwhile to commend and has been undertaken and implemented effectively. An Area of Good Performance is a significant accomplishment for the particular CP although it may have been implemented by other CPs.

3 Executive Summary Republic of Ghana has no nuclear power reactor but has voluntarily reported on its research reactor. Ghana is considering embarking on a nuclear power programme. The type of nuclear reactor and number of nuclear power plants that will be constructed is not specified in the country report. The government of Ghana has signed a MOU and MOA with Russian Federation and a MOU with China on cooperation on Ghana Nuclear Power Programme. 1 out of 3 Challenges and 1 out of 1 Suggestions from the 6 th Review Meeting have been closed The Country Group highlights the following measures to improve safety in Ghana s national nuclear programme: The Nuclear Regulatory Authority Act; 2015 (Act 895) has established the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) as the regulatory body for nuclear regulation in Ghana. Long term program to develop the regulatory framework up to Several draft regulations to ensure nuclear safety are being developed. Development of human resources at NRA through recruitment and training programme. NRA Management System is being set up to meet the requirements in GSR-Part 2. The NRA continues to collaborate with IAEA, FNRBA, and has support through bilateral engagements, inter alia for training and acquisition of equipment. The Country Group highlights the following results of international peer review missions of Ghana: Ghana has hosted Phase 1 of INIR Mission in January 2017, an action plan has been developed to implement the recommendations and suggestions of the mission. The Country Group identified the following Challenges for Ghana. Challenge 1: NRA needs to recruit additional qualified staff including capacity building of staff for regulatory activities. Challenge 2: NRA to develop the required regulations to enable review of site application and to issue a site licence. Challenge 3: NRA to provide for training on Human Factors Engineering and Suspect Items identification. In addition the country group identified 4 Areas of Good Performance. The Country Group concluded that Ghana; Submitted a National Report, and therefore complies with Article 5 and in time following Rule 39 of INFCIRC/573 Rev P a g e

4 Attended the 7th CNS Review Meeting, and therefore complies with Article Held a national presentation and answered questions, and therefore complies with Article P a g e

5 1. Basic Information on Ghana s Nuclear Programme Republic of Ghana has no nuclear power reactor but has voluntarily reported on its research reactor. Ghana is considering embarking on a nuclear power programme. The type of nuclear reactor and number of nuclear power plants that will be constructed is not specified in the country report. The government of Ghana has signed a MOU and MOA with Russian Federation and a MOU with China on cooperation on Ghana Nuclear Power Programme. 5 P a g e

6 2. Follow-Up from previous CNS Review Meeting 2.1 Challenges The Country Group identified 3 challenges for Ghana at the 6 th Review meeting. Challenge 1: Making the Radiation Protection Board an independent regulatory body. Ghana addressed this Challenge by; establishing an independent regulatory body namely the Nuclear Regulatory Authority in terms of the Nuclear Regulatory Act of Follow up status: Closed Challenge 2: Establish the general infrastructure for embarking countries as described in the IAEA Safety Standards. Follow up status: Open Challenge 3: Adequate development, staffing and training for the RPB. Ghana addressed this challenge by: Developing the Human Resources Development Strategy which outlines the human resources needs of both the regulatory body and the owner/operator organisation. Staff of the regulatory body continuing to participate in the IAEA training, workshops, fellowships, technical meetings to build their competence. The government of Ghana continuing to host the IAEA Regional training for Post Graduate Education on Radiation, Transport, and Waste safety at University of Ghana which continues to provide a great opportunity for the training of the regulatory staff. Follow up status: Open 2.2 Suggestions Ghana received one suggestion during the 6 th CNS Review Meeting. Suggestion 1: Invite the IAEA INIR Mission Ghana has addressed the suggestion by requesting the IAEA to conduct an INIR mission for Phase 1 of the development of the nuclear power program. Phase 1 of INIR mission was hosted from January Ghana is implementing the recommendations and suggestions of the mission. Follow up status: Closed 6 P a g e

7 3. Measures to improve safety 3.1 Changes to the regulatory framework and the national nuclear programme Since the last Review Meeting, the Country Group took note of the following reported changes to the regulatory framework and the national nuclear programme; An independent regulatory body namely the Nuclear Regulatory Authority was established in terms of the Nuclear Regulatory Act of The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) Act 895, was promulgated in 2015 by the Government to establish and maintain a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework to govern the safety of nuclear installations, provide for a system of licensing, regulatory inspection and assessment of nuclear installations and to ascertain compliance and enforcement of safety related regulations. Effective ageing management programme is required during the operational life of the nuclear facility. A suite of regulations under NRA Act is under development for nuclear installations and they include siting of nuclear installations, licensing of nuclear installations, Emergency preparedness, safety and security, operation of a nuclear radioactive waste management facility, nuclear installation construction, Radiation protection, operational limits and conditions. Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organization (GNPPO) was formed following the recommendation of the IAEA and has been mandated to coordinate the activities of all stakeholder institutions involved in the planning and implementation of Ghana s nuclear power programme. GNPPO has developed a management system document that encompasses established integrated management system approach to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient management of radioactive material and their application for nuclear power. The document was developed based on IAEA safety standards; the management systems for nuclear facilities and activities (GS-R-3), Fundamental safety principles (SF-1), and ASME NQA-1 publications. Siting assessment studies are currently ongoing to select a preferred site for Ghana s first nuclear power plant. o o The selection of a suitable site for Ghana s nuclear power plant includes various studies on the following thematic areas, geology and seismology, water availability and quality, meteorology and atmospheric dispersion, population and exclusion, human induced event, emergency planning, flooding, wildlife, archaeology and cultural preservation, land use, and community impact. Siting Charter has been developed by GNPPO to serve as a comprehensive activity guide in addressing the criteria identified. Among others, the document provides detailed activities required to adequately assess the geological, seismological and geotechnical characteristics of proposed sites. 7 P a g e Ghana has developed the Human Resources Development Strategy which outlines the human resources needs of both the regulatory body and the owner/operator organisation. Staff of the regulatory body continually participate in the IAEA training, workshops, fellowships, technical meeting to build their competence.

8 The government of Ghana hosts the IAEA Regional training for Post Graduate Education on Radiation, Transport, and Waste safety which continues to provide a great opportunity for the training of the regulatory staff. 3.2 Safety improvements for existing nuclear power plants Ghana has no nuclear power reactor unit; but has reported on the safety improvements that are being implemented at the Ghana research reactor-1 (GHARR) which is currently using High Enriched Uranium. The Country Group took note of the following implemented and planned safety measures for existing research reactor: Ghana is undertaking steps to convert the research reactor core from High Enriched Uranium (HEU) to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). Ghana Atomic Energy Commission collaborates with the IAEA, Republic of China and the United States of America Department of Energy and other vendors in the nuclear industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Ghana collaborates with other regulatory bodies on the activities related to core conversion. 3.3 Response to international peer review missions Ghana has hosted Phase 1 of INIR Mission from January Ghana has developed an implementation plan and is addressing the recommendations and suggestions of the mission. 8 P a g e

9 4. Implementation of the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety (VDNS) On 9 February 2015, the Contracting Parties adopted INFCIRC 872, Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety, which is a commitment to certain principles to guide them in the implementation of the CNS objective to prevent accidents and mitigate their radiological consequences, should they occur. The Contracting Parties agreed to discuss the principles of the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety in their National Reports and in the subsequent Review Meetings. Ghana has no nuclear installations and the plans for construction of a nuclear power plant are at early stages. The CP provided information on the implementation of the VDNS and received a question from other contracting parties in relation to VDNS. 4.1 Implementation of the VDNS s principle on new nuclear power plants The first principle of the VDNS is: New nuclear power plants are to be designed, sited, and constructed, consistent with the objective of preventing accidents in the commissioning and operation and, should an accident occur, mitigating possible releases of radionuclides causing long-term off site contamination and avoiding early radioactive releases or radioactive releases large enough to require long-term protective measures and actions. The Country Group made the following observation: At this stage, Ghana is incorporating the principles of the VDNS in the development of the regulations and this is still ongoing. 9 P a g e

10 4.2 Implementation of the VDNS s principle on existing nuclear power plants The second principle of the VDNS is: Comprehensive and systematic safety assessments are to be carried out periodically and regularly for existing installations throughout their lifetime in order to identify safety improvements that are oriented to meet the above objective. Reasonably practicable or achievable safety improvements are to be implemented in a timely manner. Ghana has no NPPs, hence this section is not applicable. 4.3 Taking into account IAEA Safety Standards and other international Good Practices in the national requirements and regulations addressing the VDNS principles The third principle of the VDNS is: National requirements and regulations for addressing this objective throughout the lifetime of nuclear power plants are to take into account the relevant IAEA Safety Standards and, as appropriate, other good practices as identified inter alia in the Review Meetings of the CNS. The Country Group made the following observation: Ghana indicates that the IAEA Safety Standards have formed the basis for drafting of regulations and guidelines, drawing from the vast experiences of other CPs 4.4 Issues faced by Ghana in the implementation of the VDNS Ghana is faced with an issue with regard to building capacity of staff to efficiently draft the required regulations to meet international standards. 10 P a g e

11 5. Results of the Review 5.1 General Quality of the National Report Contracting Parties and officers were invited to provide general comments on the Ghana implementation of the obligations of the CNS (e.g., report submitted on time), addressed all articles, addressed the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety, and addressed all Challenges and Fukushima lessons learned, the general quality of its National Report, transparency issues, and the compliance with the CNS guidance documents and special peer review topics identified in the previous CNS Review Meeting or specified by the President of the CNS (use of the templates for articles 17 and 18 and reporting on the management of spent fuel on site and radioactive waste on site - especially for CPs not signatories of the Joint Convention). With regards to the general quality of the National Report and transparency issues, the members of the Country Group made the following observations: Ghana did not make voluntary use of the National Report template for Articles 17 and 18. With regards to the compliance with the requirements of the CNS and its Guidelines, the members of the Country Group made the following observations: The Report was submitted before the deadline of 15 August The Report will be made publicly available. 5.2 Participation in the Review Process With regards to Ghana s participation in the Review process, the members of the Country Group made the following observations. Ghana posted questions to Contracting Parties. delivered answers to the questions of Contracting Parties on time. delivered its national presentation. 11 P a g e

12 5.3 Challenges The Country Group identified the following Challenge(s) for Ghana. Challenge 1: NRA needs to recruit additional qualified staff including capacity building of staff for regulatory activities. Challenge 2: NRA to develop the required regulations to enable review of site application and to issue a site licence. Challenge 3: NRA to provide for training on Human Factors Engineering and Suspect Items identification. 5.4 Suggestions There are no Suggestions identified for Ghana 5.5 Good Practices and Area of Good Performance During the peer review of Ghana s National Report, the Contracting Parties were invited to recommend Good Practices and to highlight Area of Good Performance. The following Areas of Good Performance of Ghana were commended by the Country Group: Area of Good Performance 1: The establishment of NRA as an independent regulatory authority. Area of Good Performance 2: Training Programme has been formulated following HRD Workshop held with support from IAEA in November Area of Good Performance 3: IAEA Safety Standards have formed the basis for drafting of regulations and guidelines, and also considered best practices and experience of other CPs. Area of Good Performance 4: An Action Plan based on Act 895 has been developed to prepare and promulgate the required regulations, guidelines and procedures and they are categorized into short, medium and long-term activities. 6 Fulfilment of CNS Review Requirements The Country Group concluded that Ghana: Submitted a National Report, and therefore complies with Article 5 and in time following Rule 39 of INFCIRC/573 Rev. 6. Attended the 7 th CNS Review Meeting, and therefore complies with Article Held a national presentation and answered questions, and therefore complies with Article P a g e