Head of CNCAN: “The partnership with the USA will ensure a solid authorization process for small reactors in Romania”

The partnership with the US regulatory authority will ensure a solid authorization process for small modular reactors in Romania and a safe operation at the highest levels of nuclear safety, the president of the National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities (CNCAN), Cantemir Marian, said on Monday Ciurea-Ercău.

The President of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Christopher T. Hanson, visited the E2 Center of the Bucharest National University of Science and Technology Politehnica on Monday.

The center is the first of its kind in Europe and was installed within the Faculty of Energy, part of the US Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program, according to Agerpres.

“I was pleasantly surprised to observe the evolution over time of the capabilities of this faculty keeping pace with technology and also to note that at this moment the faculty benefits from a simulator for training future nuclear engineers for small modular reactors. (…) With the construction of small modular reactors, this partnership will strengthen even more. We are confident that the partnership with the regulatory authority in the United States will ensure a solid authorization process for small reactors in Romania and a safe operation at the highest levels of nuclear security”, said the president of CNCAN in a press conference that held at the Energy Faculty of the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest.

The chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Christopher T. Hanson, said that this technology is a safe one that has been used for a long time in the US.

Engineer crisis

According to the rector of the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Mihnea Costoiu, the crisis of engineers for the Cernavodă plant and for Nuclearelectrica is still very large.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to continue the dialogue with the American authorities in our university in the obvious context of the extraordinarily good collaboration in the Polytechnic, the American authorities, the American companies, Nuclearelectrica and the Romanian regulator CNCAN. (…) It is natural that, in the context of the major investment, we continue the training of specialists in this infrastructure, and it is all the more important that this dialogue be a constant one of substance with all partners, both economic and regulatory state. (…) What we set out to do is train people in this simulator in Romania. (…) We want this simulator to be used by us and our partners to train human resources for this region”, said Costoiu.

He said that at the Polytechnic there are both classic power plant simulators and the modular nuclear simulator.

“For now, what we have at the Polytechnic are teachers, who in turn have been trained on this technology and who do the training. (…) We have simulators. (…) We also have simulators for classic power plants. (…) It is an extremely important training for any kind of specialist who will then work on the existing technology at Cernavodă. (…) The crisis of engineers for Cernavodă and for Nuclearelectrica is very big and we continue to invest together in this partnership with Nuclearelectrica in preparing the necessary human resources for the coming years, regardless of whether the Doicesti project starts or not”, said Costoiu .

The visit takes place in the context of the strategic partnership between the USA and Romania in the field of nuclear energy and cooperation for the implementation of SMR technology.

Publisher: BP

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