Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
Encyclopedia
The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), is the Pakistan's federal government
agency which is based in Islamabad
, Pakistan
. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority was established to ensure safe operation of nuclear facilities and to protect radiation workers, general public and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation by formulating and implementing effective regulations and building a relationship of trust with the licensees and maintain transparency in its actions and decisions.
In 1994, Pakistan signed the International Convention on Nuclear Safety. As part of the convention, the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection became part of the Government of Pakistan
's federal agency. It was to establish an independent nuclear regulatory body entrusted with the implementation of the legislative and regulatory framework governing nuclear power
and radiation use in the country, and further to separate the regulatory functions from the promotional aspects of the nuclear programme
.
In 1995,(immediately after signing Nuclear Convention 1994) The Atomic Energy Agency
(PAEC) had itself established the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (PNRB) within PAEC. PNRB was established to oversee the regulatory affairs. Complete separation of promotion and regulatory functions and responsibilities was achieved in 2001 , when the President of Pakistan
promulgated the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance No.III of 2001. Consequently, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) was created, dissolving the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board and Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection. The first chairman of PNRA was Jamshed Azim Hashmi who headed the authority till 2009. In 2009, the chairmanship was transferred to Anwar Habib.
(IAEA) for departure formalities.
ICD also liaise with other governmental departments regarding visits of experts coming to PNRA from the International Atomic Energy Agency and through bilateral agreements, from other regulatory bodies. It coordinates with Pakistani Embassies abroad for visas, concerned government departments for security matters, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and IAEA.
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
agency which is based in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority was established to ensure safe operation of nuclear facilities and to protect radiation workers, general public and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation by formulating and implementing effective regulations and building a relationship of trust with the licensees and maintain transparency in its actions and decisions.
History
The nuclear regulatory infrastructure has been in place since 1965, when the Pakistan Research Reactor was commissioned in 1965. Founded and established first by the Pakistani scientists, the nuclear regulatory regime was significantly improved when, in 1971, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned. Since then, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission had established the nuclear safety and licensing division at PAEC Headquarters, Islamabad as the de facto regulatory. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority was upgraded to Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection" (DNSRP) after the promulgation of Pakistan Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Ordinance 1984 by the Presidential Order.In 1994, Pakistan signed the International Convention on Nuclear Safety. As part of the convention, the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection became part of the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
's federal agency. It was to establish an independent nuclear regulatory body entrusted with the implementation of the legislative and regulatory framework governing nuclear power
Nuclear power in Pakistan
As of 2009, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 3 licensed-commercial nuclear power plants. Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission , the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely...
and radiation use in the country, and further to separate the regulatory functions from the promotional aspects of the nuclear programme
Nuclear power in Pakistan
As of 2009, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 3 licensed-commercial nuclear power plants. Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission , the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely...
.
In 1995,(immediately after signing Nuclear Convention 1994) The Atomic Energy Agency
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC) had itself established the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (PNRB) within PAEC. PNRB was established to oversee the regulatory affairs. Complete separation of promotion and regulatory functions and responsibilities was achieved in 2001 , when the President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
promulgated the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance No.III of 2001. Consequently, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) was created, dissolving the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board and Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection. The first chairman of PNRA was Jamshed Azim Hashmi who headed the authority till 2009. In 2009, the chairmanship was transferred to Anwar Habib.
International Cooperation
The Nuclear Regulatory Authority's Directorate of International Cooperation (ICD) is responsible for arranging international training and international cooperation. The ICD facilitates completion of all formalities regarding training or visits (official), abroad of PNRA officials. The ICD takes care of passport and visa issues of the PNRA officials, clearances from the government departments and departure formalities, and liaison with the International Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
(IAEA) for departure formalities.
ICD also liaise with other governmental departments regarding visits of experts coming to PNRA from the International Atomic Energy Agency and through bilateral agreements, from other regulatory bodies. It coordinates with Pakistani Embassies abroad for visas, concerned government departments for security matters, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and IAEA.
Following is the list of PNRA chairmen
| Numbers | Name | Term Start | Term End | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamshed Azim Hashmi | 2001 | 2009 | Nuclear Engineering Nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics... |
| 2 | Anwar Habib | 2009 | Present | Nuclear Engineering Nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics... |
Facilities under Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
| Nuclear power reactos | Type | Location | Construction started | Commercial operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARR-I | MRT Materials Test Reactor A materials test reactor is a high power research reactor. Examples are located at the Idaho National Laboratory in the United States, the PINSTECH National Laboratory in Pakistan and in Petten in the Netherlands. Another, the Jules Horowitz Reactor is being built at the Cadarache nuclear... /SPR |
Nilore, Islamabad Capital Territory Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is one of the two federal territories of Pakistan. It includes Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and covers an area of 1,165.5 km² of which 906 km² is Islamabad proper... |
December 21, 1965 | June 22, 1966 |
| PARR-II | MNSR Miniature neutron source reactor The Chinese built Miniature Neutron Source reactor is a small and compact research reactor copied from a Canadian SLOWPOKE reactor design.... /Slowpoke SLOWPOKE reactor The SLOWPOKE is a low-energy, pool-type nuclear research reactor designed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in the late 1960s. John W. Hilborn is the scientist most closely associated with its design... |
Nilore, Islamabad Capital Territory Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is one of the two federal territories of Pakistan. It includes Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and covers an area of 1,165.5 km² of which 906 km² is Islamabad proper... |
January 21, 1974 | June, 26 1974 |
| PIEAS-I Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences , formerly known as the Center for Nuclear Studies , is a public and co-educational research university located in the Islamabad Capital Territory, near the remote town of Nilore. It was established by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission... |
NS Neutron source A Neutron source is a device that emits neutrons. There is a wide variety of different sources, ranging from hand-held radioactive sources to neutron research facilities operating research reactors and spallation sources... /SPR |
Nilore, Islamabad Capital Territory Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is one of the two federal territories of Pakistan. It includes Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and covers an area of 1,165.5 km² of which 906 km² is Islamabad proper... |
December 21, 1967 | June 22, 1968 |
| KANUPP-I | PHWR | Paradise point, Sindh Province | 1 August, 1966 | December 7, 1972 |
| KANUPP-II Karachi Nuclear Power Complex Karachi Nuclear Power Complex or KNPC is located in Paradise Point, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It consists of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant and CIAL KARACHI. A new governmental power project "KANUPP-2" which is under construction is also included in this complex... |
PHWR | Paradise point, Sindh Province | April 17, 2009 | N/A |
| CHASNUPP-I | PWR | Chashma city, Punjab Province | 1st August, 1993 | September 15, 2000 |
| CHASNUPP-II | PWR | Chashma city, Punjab Province | December 28, 2005 | August 31, 2011 |
| CHASNUPP-III Chashma Nuclear Power Complex The Chashma Nuclear Power Complex near Chashma city, Punjab, Pakistan, is a commercial nuclear power generation complex, consisting of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-I and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-II with CHASNUPP-III and CHASNUPP-IV are in the planning stages... |
PWR | Chashma city, Punjab Province | April 28, 2009 | N/A |
| CHASNUPP-IV Chashma Nuclear Power Complex The Chashma Nuclear Power Complex near Chashma city, Punjab, Pakistan, is a commercial nuclear power generation complex, consisting of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-I and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-II with CHASNUPP-III and CHASNUPP-IV are in the planning stages... |
PWR | Chashma city, Punjab Province | N/A | N/A |
| NPFC-I Pakistan Nuclear Power Fuel Complex The Pakistan Nuclear Power Fuel Complex , also known as Chemical Reprocessing Plant , is a nuclear energy and reprocessing industrial complex for the PWR-type reactors. The NPFC-I is a dual purpose nuclear power plant, with a net capacity of 1000MWe, located 175 km south of Islamabad... |
NR Nuclear reprocessing Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing... |
Islamabad Islamabad Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011... , Islamabad Capital Territory Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is one of the two federal territories of Pakistan. It includes Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and covers an area of 1,165.5 km² of which 906 km² is Islamabad proper... |
10 December, 2010 | 1st January, 2011 |