Nuclear safety infrastructure in Argentina: The regulatory perspective

By means of a Decree dated August 30, 1994, the regulatory branch of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) became an independent organization: the National Board of Nuclear Regulation. The Board was entrusted with all the regulatory functions that were previously assigned to CNEA: radiological and nuclear safety, safeguards and physical protection, as well as the participation in non-proliferation activities that were performed by CNEA. Six Directors appointed by the Executive, one of them acting as its Chairman, headed the Board. The personnel, laboratories and equipment formerly in possession of the CNEA regulatory branch were transferred to the Regulatory Authority and its structures was adapted to that of a matrix-type organization. The various regulatory works were approached as 'activities' (i.e., inspections and assessments, the issue of licenses and authorizations, etc.) and 'projects' (i.e., the national report of the Convention on Nuclear Safety, software reliability, radiological and nuclear accident phenomenology, etc.), the corresponding team leaders being responsible for their implementation. At the same time (August 1994), the branch of CNEA in charge of nuclear power plant operation as well as an organization acting as the architect-engineer, were re-organized as a State-owned company, independent of CNEA. The governmental goal is to privatise the activities performed by the company. On the basis of the legal framework, this privatization process needed to be previously authorized by the Congress. The new CNEA remains within the public sector. Its present activities are related to research and development, to the fuel cycle, to radioisotopes and radiation sources, and to specialized training in nuclear subjects. Another Government's goal is also privatising CNEA's neatly productive activities (such as the radioisotopes production for medical and industrial uses). Some of these activities were already privatised by CNEA some years ago. (i.e., the fabrication of fuel elements for the domestic PHWR nuclear power plants) and even recently (such as the fabrication of 60 cobalt sealed sources, including its commercial aspects). (author)