The regulatory authorities in Romania and the United States are determined to support a partnership that ensures the authorization process of small modular reactors in our country. The heads of the two institutions declared their intentions during a visit that Christopher T. Hanson, the president of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is making to Romania. This visit is not aimed at establishing a common calendar regarding the approval of these reactors, the two dignitaries claimed.
The president of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Christopher T. Hanson, is on a visit to our country, focusing on the possibility of implementing the technology of small modular reactors, which would be supplied by the American company NuScale. The American dignitary visited, on Monday, the E2 Center within the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest. This 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.
“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 the training of future nuclear engineers for small modular reactors”, said Cantemir Marian Ciurea-Ercău , the president of the National Commission for the Control of Nuclear Activities (CNCAN), on Monday, during a press conference, at the Bucharest Polytechnic.
“On the occasion of the construction of the small modular reactors, this partnership will strengthen even more. We are confident that the partnership with the regulatory authority from 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”, the president of CNCAN wanted to specify. According to him, the visit of the American counterpart is “to exchange information and to be prepared for when the problem arises”.
In fact, the president of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Christopher T. Hanson, wanted to point out that the technology used by small modular reactors (SMR) is a safe one, used for a long time in the United States.
“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”, said Mircea Costoiu, rector of the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, on Monday, during the press conference.
“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”, said the rector. According to him, the simulator at the Faculty of Energy will be used for the training of engineers in the nuclear field, not only for the operation of SMRs. “We want this simulator to be used by us and our partners for the training of human resources for this region”, stated Mircea Costoiu.
Tomorrow, the president of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Christopher T. Hanson, will visit the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.
