KOREA INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR SAFETY
2. CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
After the nuclear power programme was started in the Republic of Korea in the 1970s, the technical safety review for the first three reactors was undertaken by government officials and researchers. However, recognizing the depth and breadth of the technical expertise required in conducting the licensing process for the three reactors, the Government decided to set up a technical expert organization dedicated to nuclear safety. The Nuclear Safety Center (NSC) was created in 1981 as part of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).
The national nuclear technology localization programme, launched in the 1980s to minimize technical dependence on other countries, was an important motivation for setting up a more established regulatory expert organization, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), in 1990. During this period, KAERI became one of the most important engineering resources for this programme, and as a result the issue of regulatory independence gained increased focus. It is noteworthy that when KINS was established, the Government decided that all technical matters should be delegated, by law, to KINS, including safety review for licensing, inspection, rule making for safety regulation, regulatory competence training, relevant R&D, and international cooperation therewith.
This is the reason why KINS is often called a regulatory support organization (RSO) rather than a TSO. Since government officials in the Republic of Korea have to move from one post to another relatively frequently, technical expertise is difficult to build up and maintain, even if the licensing authority rests with the government official. In this sense, the government official has the final
TOPICAL ISSUE 1
responsibility for the decision, and the technical authority is given to the regulatory expert organization. This system has proved to be an excellent approach to achieving a very high level of regulatory capacity in a short period of time in the Republic of Korea.
The needed regulatory competence can be provided by the recruitment of personnel, a staff qualification system, training and education programmes, and continuous knowledge buildup through the execution of regulatory activities such as safety reviews and inspections.
KINS has been building up its technical capacity by conducting safety reviews, assessments, and pre-operational inspections for nuclear power plants under construction, and safety inspections for operating ones, for more than 20 reactors during the past two decades. In the early 2000s, KINS was selected as a regulatory consulting provider for nuclear power construction in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This was a very good opportunity to establish a systematic training programme not only for regulators from the DPRK but also for KINS staff. Thanks to the nuclear power plant standardization programme, resulting from the nuclear technology localization programme, KINS was able to accumulate the once-through technical competence necessary for regulatory decisions in design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants.
As the number of new staff members increased in the 1990s, the inspector qualification programme was put in place to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants. Once a staff member is recruited, he or she participates in a two year apprentice inspector training programme including classroom lectures and field experience. After this apprentice period, the inspector should maintain and develop his or her capability by receiving a refresher course every three years.
The training programmes are composed of three pillars: an in-house programme, international cooperation programmes and community partnership programmes. The in-house programme provides diverse training covering development of leadership at the managerial level, a common competency programme for interpersonal relationships and communication, and professional training programmes for different disciplines.
The R&D activities are also essential to knowledge buildup. The objectives of regulatory safety R&D programmes are to develop safety standards, address current and future safety challenges, find solutions for safety issues and improve the technical capability of the regulatory staff. Since the establishment of KINS in 1990, R&D activities have been integrated into the functions of KINS, and thus the technical competence of KINS can be attributed, to a large extent, to this R&D effort.
During the past three decades, the demand for regulatory activities has been
YOUN WON PARK et al.
38
deployment of the nuclear fleet. However, the supply of regulatory personnel could not fill the gap in proportion to this regulatory demand. This gap could be managed through the use of an effective and efficient knowledge management system supported by information technology. A comprehensive web based work management system, called MIDAS, was put place in 2008 to optimize the internal work process, including project management, job assignment, administrative control, etc. One of the most IT-elaborate systems is Atom-CARE, developed more than 15 years ago to manage emergency response and online monitoring of reactor status. Atom-CARE is indispensible to KINS and plays a key role in technical decision making in the case of an emergency, from safety parameter displays, mobile alarm systems and inventory estimation to evacuation strategy and communication with other stakeholders involved in the response to an emergency.
All knowledge should be shared with other organizations and disseminated to other stakeholders to maximize its value. Knowledge sharing activities are in place as an integrated part of regulatory activities. One example is the Nuclear Safety Information Conference, an annual event with more than a thousand participants from industry, universities and regulators. Extensive discussions take place during this conference on diverse safety issues and future safety challenges.
Knowledge sharing takes place not only at the national level but also with the international community. KINS concluded an arrangement with the IAEA in January 2008 to share its experience and knowledge with Member States in the early stages of constructing nuclear power plants. Since 2009, ten international training programmes, such as the Basic Professional Training Course, Regulatory Control and On the Job Training, have been available at the International Nuclear Safety School on a yearly basis. With the objective of educating safety leaders in new entrant countries, a new long term training programme, the KINS-KAIST International Nuclear Safety Master’s Degree Program, was launched in September 2009. Recently, to provide more effective support for new entrants in capacity building, an Integrated Regulatory Infrastructure Support Service (IRISS) was developed based on Ref. [3].
3. CONCLUSION
In order for the regulatory body to discharge its regulatory responsibilities, its decisions should be based on appropriate regulatory competence that is defined by the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to perform regulatory functions. The regulatory body should be entirely self-sufficient in all technical and functional areas. However, it is almost impossible for the regulatory body to have such self-sufficient regulatory competence, because a wide spectrum of
TOPICAL ISSUE 1
technical disciplines are involved in regulatory decision making. Accordingly, the regulatory body should seek technical support from TSOs. In some cases, the major part of technical authority and the associated responsibilities are delegated to an independent organization by law. In this case, it would be better to refer to the organization as an RSO. Whether it is a TSO or an RSO, the most important element for regulatory competence is to build the knowledge that enables the regulators to deal with safety issues in all circumstances.
As a model RSO, KINS was introduced to build the appropriate knowledge, and to manage and to share that knowledge. KINS was established as a regulatory expert organization in 1990 and was able to accumulate the technical competence necessary for regulatory decisions in design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance by carrying out regulatory activities for more than 20 nuclear power plants during the past two decades. The inspector qualification programme and training programmes are in place for newly recruited personnel and for in-house capacity building. R&D activities are also essential to knowledge buildup. An effective and efficient knowledge management system, enhanced with information technology, was developed and is in use. Knowledge sharing takes place not only at the national level but also with the international community.
In short, the RSO/TSO should address safety challenges through international cooperation between new entrants and countries with existing nuclear power programmes in the flattening world. Harmonized safety approaches for the different reactor generations help to ensure transparency in nuclear activities, which are therefore more open to the public.
REFERENCES
[1] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Governmental, Legal and Regulatory Framework for Safety, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 1, IAEA, Vienna (2010).
[2] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Training the Staff of the Regulatory Body for Nuclear Facilities: A Competency Framework, IAEA-TECDOC-1254, IAEA, Vienna (2001).
[3] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Establishing the Safety Infrastructure for a Nuclear Power Programme, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSG-16, IAEA, Vienna (2011).
.