"Uzbekistan's Nuclear Dream Takes a Step Forward: IAEA Experts Uncover Safe Site for Historic Reactor Commission"

IAEA safety review team members and Uzatom experts inspect the meteorological station near the selected nuclear power plant site (Image: Neil Harman, Jacobs

Uzbekistan is on the brink of a historic moment as it seeks to commission two VVER-1200 pressurized water reactors, scheduled for 2028 and 2030. The journey to build the country's first nuclear power plant has been a thorough one, with UzAtom, the state agency for nuclear energy, leaving no stone unturned in ensuring the project meets the highest international standards of safety.

In January 2023, an IAEA SEED mission team made a trip to Uzbekistan to review the country's safety processes for evaluating the site of the plant. The team of experts from France, Turkey, the UK and the IAEA, conducted interviews and made a visit to the selected site near Lake Tuzkan, in the Farishsky district.

The SEED mission found that Uzbekistan has carried out an objective and safety-oriented site characterisation process that puts the safety of workers, the public and the environment first. The IAEA team provided recommendations to support the optimisation of the site evaluation process.

The IAEA recommended that UzAtom collect the necessary data, according to guidelines provided in

SSR-1, and implement a management system that covers all aspects of site evaluation. It also recommended that UzAtom identify and select feasible engineering measures to provide plant cooling and site protection from external events, and finalize the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report.

Uzbekistan's journey to commission its first nuclear power plant is a testament to the country's commitment to meeting the highest international standards of safety. The IAEA's recommendations will ensure that these standards are literally implemented from the ground up in the siting and construction of the plant. The final mission report will be delivered to the government of Uzbekistan within three months, marking the next step in this exciting journey.

Steps in siting a nuclear plant:

Site selection and assessment

Data collection on seismological, hydrological, meteorological and environmental parameters

Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission

SEED Review Service mission

Review of site data collection methods

Identification of external hazards

Reorganizing existing data and collection of additional data

Implementation of a management system covering site evaluation

Selection of feasible engineering measures for plant cooling and site protection

Finalization of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report

Consideration of all recently collected site-specific data

Well-informed decision making related to construction licensing, investments and safety assessment phases.

Source :(worldnuclearnews)

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