Diversification of Services Offered by Nuclear Regulatory Organizations Through the Use of Technical Support Organizations: Lessons Learnt from South Africa

There is an emerging need in the nuclear industry for regulatory bodies to process applications for licenses/permits in order to allow nuclear license applicants to prepare a nuclear site by undertaking early construction activities before the issuance of a construction permit by the regulatory organization or the selection of a specific facility design. This is proving to be a challenge as most regulators have no experience in dealing with this issue. Furthermore, there are no explicit IAEA guidelines addressing the issue. Some countries such as Canada, UK and USA have established local practices based on current projects they are engaged in. However, such practices are both country and project specific. This challenge presents increased opportunities for TSOs to participate in licensing activities for which regulatory bodies are not routinely structured to undertake. It also presents an opportunity for regulatory bodies to diversify their organizational structures in order to meet increasing industry demands and expectations. The aim of this paper is to disseminate information on the process currently being followed by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) of South Africa to address the challenge highlighted above in a country and project specific context. The paper presents the operational model chosen by the NNR to address the issue, provides a summary of the project deliverables accomplished so far in order to formalize their acceptance and closure, highlights lessons learnt, outlines the strategic objectives for future deliverables. Major risks for mitigation are also outlined to ensure that subsequent phases of the project remain on track. The successful completion of the phases of the project completed so far, despite some challenges, serves as an important demonstration that similar projects can be planned and completed with products that have direct use by other regulatory bodies. (author)