NUCLEAR SAFETY

PNRA regulates all civilian nuclear installations, nuclear safety class equipment manufacturers and nuclear service providers in the country under the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2001. Nuclear installations in Pakistan include Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), Research reactors and Molybdenum production facility. Currently, there are eight operational nuclear installations in Pakistan which include five nuclear power plants, two research reactors and one molybdenum production facility. Two nuclear power plants are under construction at Karachi. Furthermore, two manufacturers of nuclear sfety related structures & nuclear safety class equipment are also licensed by PNRA. A summary of these is presented in the tables below:

Table-1: Nuclear Installations

S.No	Installation	Status	Type	Capacity	Start of Operation
1	Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-1 (K-1)	De Commissioning	Pressurized heavy water reactor	137 MWe	1972
2	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-1 (C-1)	In operation	Pressurized light water reactor	325 MWe	2000
3	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (C-2)	In operation	Pressurized light water reactor	340 MWe	2011
4	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 (C-3)	In operation	Pressurized light water reactor	340 MWe	2016
5	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-4 (C-4)	In operation	Pressurized light water reactor	340 MWe	2017
6	Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2)	In Operation	Pressurized light water reactor	1100 MWe	2021
7	Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 (K-3)	Under Construction	Pressurized light water reactor	1100 MWe	2022 (expected)
8	Pakistan Research Reactor–1 (PARR-1)	In operation	Swimming Pool Type Reactor	10 MWt	1965
9	Pakistan Research Reactor–2 (PARR-2)	In operation	Tank-in-Pool Type Reactor	30 KWt	1991
10	Molybdenum Production Facility (MPF)	In operation	Isotope Production	100 Ci per batch	2014
11	PINSTECH Pre-disposal Radioactive Waste Management Facility (PPRWMF)	In operation	Pre-disposal in trenches and pads	N/A	Before inception of PNRA. Licensed in 2016
12	KANUPP Spent Nuclear Fuel Dry Storage Facility (KSNFDS)	In operation	Spent Fuel Storage in Certified Casks	2 Buildings (168 Cask each)	2019
13	CNPGS Spent Nuclear Fuel Dry Storage Facility (PDS)	Under Construction	Spent Fuel Storage in Certified Casks	3 Buildings (120+132+132 Casks)	N/A

Table-2: Designers, Manufacturers and Service Providers

S.No		Remarks	Issuance of license / Authorization
1	Heavy Mechnical Complex-3 (HMC-3)	Authorized as Nuclear safety class equipment manufacturer	2005
2	Novel Engineering Works (NEW-2)	Authorized as  Nuclear safety class equipment manufacturer	2018
3	National Centre for Non-Destructive Testing (NCNDT)	Authorized to perform Non-Destructive Examination at NPPs	2015
4	Works and Services Organization (WASO)	Authorized as Designer of Safety Class structure	2021
5	Heavy Mechnical Complex-3 (HMC-3)	Authorized as Designer of Safety Class mechanical equipment	2021

The PNRA regulatory processes ensure that the nuclear installations strictly comply with PNRA regulations and the conditions attached to the license throughout their life-time i.e. from siting to decommissioning and until the site is removed from regulatory control. The authorizations and licenses issued during various stages of nuclear installations include site registration, construction license, permission for commissioning, permission to introduce nuclear material into the installation, operating license, decommissioning license and removal of the site from regulatory control. In addition, the licensees are required to get permission from PNRA to make the reactor critical after every refueling outage. All authorizations and licenses are issued by PNRA after comprehensive review & assessment of licensing submissions and verification that all regulatory requirements are fulfilled.

PNRA also awards licenses to the operating personnel responsible to operate the nuclear power plants and research reactors. Under the obligations of PNRA regulations, no nuclear installation in the country can be operated unless it is staffed with the adequate number of licensed operating personnel.

In order to ensure that the licensees maintain an acceptable level of safety, PNRA conducts regulatory inspections (planned as well as reactive) of nuclear installations to verify compliance of PNRA regulations and other regulatory requirements. The inspections are performed by PNRA authorized inspectors as per approved inspection plan. The results of the inspections are documented in the form of inspection reports and form the basis for any subsequent enforcement actions.