The Nuclear Regulatory Authority in Russia – Rostekhnadzor

Comments about the legislative status of Rostekhnadzor

One of the main regulatory agencies in the field of nuclear and radiation safety in Russia is the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of the Russian Federation (Rostekhnadzor of the Russian Federation).
Up to May 2008, Rostekhnadzor was the governmental agency that regulated safety at nuclear energy use and was specially authorized governmental agency in the flied of environmental review for the established area of activities. Rostekhnadzor was subordinate directly to the Russian Federation Government. The Chairman of Rostekhnadzor was appointed directly by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. Rostekhnadzor exercised regulatory control authorities in the field of nuclear energy use.

Currently the specified authorities have been removed, and Rostekhnadzor is under the supervision of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, to which all authorities on adoption of legislative instruments in the established area of activities have been transferred.
The said Ministry develops and approves:
• federal norms and rules in the field of nuclear energy use in compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation;
• procedure for issuance of licenses to carry out activities in the field of nuclear energy use to the persons employed at the nuclear facilities in compliance with the list of job positions, approved by the Russian Federation Government;
• requirements to the complement and content of documents related to ensuring safety of nuclear installations, radiation sources, nuclear materials and radioactive substance storage sites, radioactive waste storage sites and/or conducted activities in the field of nuclear energy use, required for licensing of activities in this field;
• procedures for examination of the said documents; procedure for arrangement and execution of supervision of the systems of uniform state control and account system of nuclear materials;
• requirements to the registration of facilities in state register of hazardous facility and requirements to maintaining this register.

One of the substantial functions of Rostekhnadzor is licensing of certain types of activities. It should be noted that the function of licensing of all operations on nuclear energy use is pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Law On the Use of Nuclear Energy. The list of types of activities in the field of nuclear energy use, for which the license is required, the procedure for issuance and termination of permissions (licenses) is established by the Russian Federation Government (Article 26 of the Federal Law On the Use of Nuclear Energy). Regulation on licensing of activities in the field of nuclear energy use was adopted by the Resolution No.865 issued by the Russian Federation Government dated of July 14, 1997. The provisions of the Federal Law No.32-ФЗ On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities dated of August 08, 2001, according to the par. 2 Article 1 of the same law do not apply to the field of nuclear energy use.

Regulations on the licensing of radioactive material use activity while conducting operations on the use of nuclear energy for defense purpose, adopted by the Resolution No.471 issued by the Russian Federation Government dated of June 20, 2000, are also currently effective. These Regulations determine the procedure for licensing of activity carried out by legal entities in the field of radioactive material use (nuclear materials and radioactive substance) when conducting works related to the use of nuclear energy for defense purpose, including development, manufacture, testing, transportation, operation, storage, waste disposal and recycling of nuclear weapon and military-oriented nuclear power installations. Licensing of radioactive material use activities while conducting operations on the use of nuclear energy for defense purpose is currently exercised by Rosatom, Nuclear Energy State Corporation, according to the established list. The said Regulations on licensing do not apply to activity on use of radioactive material while operating nuclear weapon and military-oriented nuclear power installations by military units of the Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation.

Thus, at the current stage, Rostekhnadzor performs the following functions in the sphere of nuclear and radiation safety:
1. Carries out control and supervision:
1.1. On observance of norms and rules in the field of nuclear energy use, on conditions of permissions (licenses) to carry out the activities in the field of nuclear energy use;
1.2. On nuclear, radiation, technical, and fire safety (at nuclear facilities);
1.3. On physical protection of nuclear installations, radiation sources, nuclear materials and radioactive substance storage sites, on systems of uniform state control and account of nuclear materials, radioactive substances and radioactive wastes;
1.4. On fulfillment of international obligations of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear energy use safety ensuring;
1.5. On observance, within the scope of its authorities, of the requirements of the laws of Russian Federation in the sphere of radioactive waste handling;
2. Issues permissions to carry out activity in the field of nuclear energy use to the persons employed at the nuclear facilities;
3. Carries out checks (inspections) for observance by legal entities and natural persons of the requirements of laws of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts, standards and rules in the established area of activities;
4. Reconciles job evaluation catalogs of managerial staff and specialists (officers), which define qualifying requirements to the officers who obtain right to carry out activity in the field of nuclear energy use.
5. Arranges and ensures the functioning of nuclear facilities control system when emergency conditions occur (emergency response);
6. Creates, develops and maintains functioning of computer-aided system of research and information service, particularly but not exclusively for the purposes of uniform state automated control system of radiological environment in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Some functions of ensuring nuclear and radiation safety are performed by Rosatom, State Corporation. In a view of adoption of the Federal Law On Rosatom Nuclear Energy State Corporation, this state corporation performs: 1) functions on operating nuclear installations, radiation sources, nuclear materials and radioactive substance storage sites; 2) functions of state management in the field of nuclear energy use. Besides, according to the provision of the Article 4 of the Federal Law On Rosatom Nuclear Energy State Corporation, Rosatom State Corporation is established with the aim to ensure nuclear and radiation safety (3).

Andrey Talevlin
Chairperson of the public fund “For Nature”,
Chelyabinsk, Russia