THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

PARLIAMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE

26 NOVEMBER 2003

CONTENT

1.Background

2.Status on new Legislative Imperatives

3.Challenges

NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATORY AUTHORITY

• The National Nuclear Regulator Act ( Act No 47 of 1999) (NNRA) established the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). It repeals the Nuclear Energy Act (NEA) ( Act No 131 of 1993) which was applicable to the erstwhile Council for Nuclear Safety (CNS).

• The NNRA came into force on 24 February 2000.

• The previous NEA legislated activities of both the Atomic Energy Corporation of South Africa and the CNS. The promulgation of the NNRA, which deals exclusively with the regulation of the nuclear industry, provides for the separation of the promotional and Regulatory functions in the nuclear industry in South Africa.

• The promotional aspects of nuclear activities in South Africa are legislated by the Nuclear Energy Act (Act No 46 of 1999)

• The establishment, objects and functions of the NNR are clearly encapsulated in Chapter 2 of the NNR Act. The mandate and authority of the NNR are conferred through section 5 and 7 of the NNRA.

THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

• As a public entity, the NNR also has the duty to

be responsive to the national transformation agenda particularly in regard to:

• Human resource development

• Economic growth

• Implementation of preferential procurement policies that are aligned with broad-based Black economic empowerment

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANISATION

STRUCTURE OF NNR

MinisterMinerals and Energy

NNR Board of Directors

NNR CEO

Power Reactors -

PRD

Nuclear Tech. Natural SourcesNTNS

Regulatory Strategy

DevelopmentRSD

Corporate Support services

CSS

Assess-ment Group

AG

The Power Reactor Division- has two departments that are responsible for licensing activities related to nuclear power reactors. Our Koeberg programme has regulatory officers at site office who exercise regulatory oversight in respect of the Koeberg nuclear power station. The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) Programme manages the NNR’s process of reviewing the nuclear installation licence application that ESKOM has submitted for the PBMR reactor design.

The Nuclear Technology and Natural Sources Division (NTNS) has a programme responsible for approximately 80 authorisations in the mining and mineral processing industry -the Regulation of Natural Sources (RENS) programme - as well as a programme on Nuclear Technology and Waste Projects (NTWP). Regulation of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) and the Vaalputs waste repositry are the focus of the NTWP programme.

Two of the five main areas are responsible for direct regulatory control of nuclear installations and other actions involving radioactive material:

The Power Reactor Division- responsible for licensing activities related to power reactors – two units operating Koeberg NPS– one new reactor design under review-PBMR

The Nuclear Technology and Natural Sources- NTNS responsible for approximately 80 authorisations in the mining and mineral processing industries, nuclear facilities of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) and projects dealing with radioactive waste managements as well as scrap yards

NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

The NNR is structured in accordance with its five main functional areas:

Both these groups utilise their resources on implementing

regulatory practices and processes towards granting,

refusing and amending authorizations. They also implement

a compliance assurance system based on inspection

programmes and initiate enforcement measures as required

The third division is the Assessment Group which is

responsible for providing safety assessment technical

support to the Power Reactor and NTWP divisions. The

Assessment Group is also the technical focal point for

organisation-wide capacity building, including the

identification of the appropriate skills coverage,

implementation of relevant skills development programmes,

and the maintenance of appropriate skills levels.

NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

Regulatory Strategy Development is the fourth division and is

responsible for: regulatory research and development;

development of safety standards and regulatory guidelines; a

radiochemistry laboratory; strategic business management of the

organisation; legal services; and public liaison and communication

The fifth division is Corporate Support Services. This division provides services relating to human resources, staff development and training, finance management, information technology, documentation control, library services, and general services.

The staff complement of the organization is currently 80. About 60 NNR staff are scientists and engineers with background in various technical disciplines.

NATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATOR

Background

AUTHORISATION HOLDERS

AREAS/TECHNOLOGY REGULATED BY THE NNR

Nuclear Power Reactors

Eskom Koeberg Nuclear Power Station twin 900MWe Power – Operational Since 1984

PBMR – NNR licensing process for the PBMR demonstration plant is in progress. No nuclear licence issued yet.

South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA)

Pelindaba Site

Vaalputs National Waste Repository

Mining and Minerals Processing

Currently 63 authorisations issued

Users of small quantities of Radioactive materials Currently 24 authorisations issued

As can be seen the NNR regulates a wide range of

activities/technologies ranging from Nuclear Power to users of small

quantities of Radioactive Materials

AREAS/TEHCNOLOGY REGULATED BY THE NNR

STATUS

NEW LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

Public Participation

Required by section 21 of the NNRA

Public representations related to health, safety and environmental issues were received from stakeholders with respect to applications for : PBMR plant, PBMR fuel plant & transportation, & Smelter

Public submissions were processed according to internal procedures and plans are progressing to hold public hearings with respect to these applications.

Cooperative Governance

Section 6 of the NNRA

To give effect to the principles of co-operative governance and

inter governmental relations, in respect of monitoring and

controls of radioactive material, all organs of state must

cooperate with one another.

- The relevant Regulations were published by Minister

- Processes were initiated resulting in draft agreements signed with at least 5 organs of State out of the total of 8 initially identified in the regulation

- Other drafts are being prepared at working group levels

Section 26 (4) Public Safety information forums

- Relevant Regulation was published

Following forums identified

- Vaalputs Communication Forum

- Pelindaba Communication Forum

- Koeberg Liaison Forum

PUBLIC INFORMATION FORUMS

Promotion of Access to information held by the NNR

- Section 14 of Public Information Act

- Manual submitted end of August 2003

- Processes to satisfy all the requirements of the Act are progressing including the translation of manual into 3 official languages

PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION

In Section 15(6)(e) the NNR Act provides for the accountability of the NNR and requires that the Chief Executive Officer must, after consultation with the Board and with the approval of the Minister, publish and distribute a plan of action for the activities of the Regulator each financial year. Accountability of the NNR is also governed by the Public Finance Management Act which makes, among other provisions, requires the annual review and submission of a three-year strategic plan to the Minister within prescribed time frames.

The NNR maintains focus on compliance with these and other legislative and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Planning

NNR Strategic PlanLegislative requirements NNR

Act and other national legislation

NNR Business Definition/Analysis •Mission•Vision

•Critical Processes, products and services

Strategic Analysis•SWOT elements

•NNR stakeholders

Strategic Objectives•NNR Score Board

•4 areas for performance measure•Three yearly Strategic Objectives

Yearly Divisional Strategic and Operational Focus

Yearly detailed Operational Plans

Reporting and monitoring

Three-year Organisation Strategic Objectives are set e.g from the last strategic session covering financial year 2003/4 to 2005/6 in each of the four area of the scoreboard

From these three-year Strategic Objectives, yearly Strategic and operational focus, such as for 2003/2004, for each Division are set

Based on these, more detailed yearly Operational Plans for each Department of each Division are set

Reporting on status of Departmental objectives are done at MANCO

(bi-weekly)

Monitoring and reporting of yearly strategic objectives, quarterly at EXCO

Yearly reporting in terms of legislative requirements-Annual Report

Strategic Objectives -Process

EFFECTCORE

BUSINESS --Effectual

- Execution

STAKEHOLDER Satisfaction

INTERNAL BUSINESS

PROCESSES- Efficient-Effective

HUMAN RESOURCE FACTORS

- Competent-Adequate

CAUSE

STRATEGIC FOCUSBased on Balanced Scorecard approach

Measuring strategic performance through balancing act

Effective execution of Core Business will result in stakeholder (external) satisfaction and requires best HR

practices and excellent internal business process

CHALLENGES

CHALLENGES FACING THE NNR

Limited National Pool of expertise results in Regulator and authorisation holders competing for the same human resources

Increased mandate of the regulator …. And financial resources are limited

Retaining appropriate expertise (corporate memory) in the face of “ageing” regulatory staff

Capacity building/training/development and expertise to ensure adequate continuity in all aspect of regulatory mandate.

Challenge

CAPACITY BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT 

•Attracting the appropriate level of skills and expertise has proven to be difficult and where they are found the NNR is unable to attract and retain them.

•Engineering skills, in particular, are critical for effective regulation of nuclear safety and it is considered a priority to ensure that the Regulator has adequate capacity in this regard.  

•There are several capacity building and development projects that the NNR has identified in an effort to address the problem identified above:

Challenge

EXPOSURE OF NEW STAFF TO OVERSEAS FACILITIES 

In order to accelerate skills acquisition for inexperienced scientists and engineers, the NNR needs to expose them to nuclear regulators and facilities locally and externally in order to gain experiential opportunities. This project will require funding

SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT 

In order for the NNR to replace its existing technical staff, a number of whom are due for retirement within the next 5 years, a mentoring programme has been developed as a strategy to ensure transfer of skills to inexperienced staff. Accelerated training entails: intensified traveling to nuclear installations and facilities; and attendance of technical development programmes both nationally and internationally.

Challenge

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 

The NNR has developed an internship programme for science and engineering graduates. This programme provides experiential learning opportunities in the field of nuclear safety regulation. The primary outcome of the programme is to provide the NNR and the technical environment in South Africa with an employable pool of science and engineering skills. To sustain such a programme will require funding

Challenge

BURSARY SCHEMES 

The NNR funds at least five bursars in science and engineering fields per financial year. This is a significantly small effort and in order to address the shortage identified earlier it is necessary to support at least 10 science and engineering students.  

Challenge

 SECURITY 

Security in relation to regulatory control over radioactive materials as well as physical security at nuclear facilities has increasingly become a priority nationally and internationally. Specialised skills will be required to enable the NNR to carry out its responsibilities in this area.

Challenge

REGULATORY INVESTIGATIONS Research relating to regulatory standards and practices is a crucial focus for the NNR.

In light of the licensing processes relating to new nuclear technology, the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) and PBMR fuel plant and potential implications for the licensing of such technology internationally, there is an urgent need to enhance the NNR’s capacity to review - taking into account international experience - and revise its regulatory processes.  

Challenge

POST RETIREMENT MEDICAL AID LIABILITY 

The NNR is required to make a provision for a liability it has in respect of post retirement medical benefits for certain categories of staff. In order to comply with the requirements of AC116 (Accounting Circular on Employee Benefits), the provision has to be made in full and in a prescribed manner, this has resulted in a situation where the liabilities technically exceed the assets. 

Challenge

FUNDING IS KEY TO THE LIST OF CHALLENGES FACING THE NNR

The NNR is funded from state funds to the tune of approx. 17% of its budget.The remainder is covered from holders of authorisation through a fee recovering system imposed by the NNRA.

BASELINE FIGURES:

The NNR has sustained its activities with the current level of funding.

It is clear that it will not be easy to sustain all efforts in human resource

development (capacity building, succession planning, internship programme,

bursary scheme and security capacity), without the acquisition of additional

funds.

FUNDING