IAEA Highlights Turkey’s Commitment

IAEA highlights Turkey’s commitment as the country builds its first nuclear power plant. A 12-day mission, conducted at the request of the country, to review the legal and regulatory framework for nuclear safety is coming to an end. The report also makes a few recommendations.

Turkey committed to nuclear safety

The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team conducted a mission to assess the country’s compliance with international standards. The latter underlines Turkey’s constant commitment to nuclear safety.

The IRRS team conducted a series of interviews with the management and staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NDK). Meetings were held with the Vice Ministers of Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change.

Georg Schwarz, team leader, commented on the smooth running of the dialogue:

“All parties have communicated on their regulatory, technical and policy issues in a very open and transparent manner.”

The IAEA has already noted a significant commitment made by Turkey. Indeed, the country has taken up the challenge of overseeing the construction and regulating the safe operation of its nuclear power plant. This challenge was met by establishing the NDK as an independent regulatory body by presidential decree.

A new nuclear power plant

The country currently has two research reactors and one waste management facility. He also uses radiation sources in medicine and industry. The first Akkuyu nuclear power plant, a flagship project of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is scheduled to begin operation next year.

Four pressurized water reactors are under construction for this new plant located about 500 km south of the capital, Ankara. The latter intends to have a gross electrical capacity of 4,800 MW(e) in order to reduce the country’s energy dependence. In fact, even if the latter is seeking to diversify its sources of supply, Russia still provides 45% of its gas.

With this new nuclear power plant, Turkey also wants to train a qualified national workforce. As a result, the country has created a program of nuclear scholarships in foreign universities from which 132 students will benefit this year.

IAEA recommendations

While the IAEA has emphasized Turkey’s commitment to nuclear safety, the IRRS team does make some recommendations.

Therefore, it recommends updating the regulatory framework for emergency preparedness and response. The country must also ensure that regulatory skills are maintained when qualified personnel leave the organization.

Finally, the IAEA recommends an inspection program for the commissioning and operation of nuclear power plants.