KARACHI, Aug 4: Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) has decided to support universities and research organizations for research and development in nuclear safety.

The areas identified include corrosion resistant materials, material ageing, determination of acceptable risk to the society, fire safety, environmental impact assessment, etc.

To coordinate these efforts, the PNRA has established an advisory committee on research and development. The ACRD will maintain a liaison with universities and research organizations, prepare comprehensive description of research problems, invite and evaluate detailed project proposals and make appropriate recommendations to the PNRA.

It may also identify additional areas of research and development and award research contracts. The national nuclear regulations, issued by the PNRA, are mostly based on IAEA safety standards.

In addition, there are certain international regulations that become mandatory once these are finalized and approved by the respective UN Agency. At that stage, UN member states generally have no other option but to implement these in the form issued even though they may face severe difficulties in implementation.

It is, therefore, essential to review such regulations at draft stage. This is a multi-disciplinary work and needs diverse and extensive experience. To review drafts of such international safety standard or regulation in nuclear safety, the PNRA has established another committee, called advisory committee on draft international safety standards (ACISS).

Both the committees comprise senior scientists who had been holding senior positions in universities and research organizations and are not employees of the PNRA. - PPI