General Organizational Aspects of SRCEPES SAEPF activities

In accordance with the provisions approved by the Decree of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic No.

123 of February 20, 2012 and the Decree of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 817 of December 2, 2015, the SAEPF is responsible for ensuring radiation safety in the Kyrgyz Republic and for ensuring effective cooperation with the IAEA. The nuclear safety regulatory authority is entrusted with the task of ensuring the proper level of cooperation among relevant organizations. As part of the implementation of the functions for ensuring radiation safety in the country, on the part of the SAEPF, “The plan of measures

plan is aimed at effectively ensuring radiation safety of the population. Since 2017, SAEPF has paid off the debt on national participation and membership fees, launched six national projects, signed several

strategic documents aimed at effective cooperation and implemented 98% of national projects.

The Comprehensive Plan for Supporting Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Kyrgyz Republic for the Period 2019-2024 was developed and submitted for consideration by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. It was developed with the aim of ensuring environmental safety, protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of sources of ionizing radiation (SIR), and preventing malicious and unlawful actions in relation to SIR, strengthening control and response measures in relation to SIR during their transportation and storage on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, improving the material base of physical security of facilities and sites with an increased risk of the presence of vulnerable sources of ionizing radiation, increasing the capacity of the relevant state bodies. This result was ensured by the fact that the SAEPF has a high personnel potential with deep technical knowledge in the field of radioecology.

In SAEPF, regulatory functions were transferred to the SRCEPES. In 2019, there were 13 employees in the SRCEPES. All specialists regularly improve their qualifications in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.

Structurally, SRCEPES consists of two sectors: Radiation Safety, and Chemical and Biosafety (Figure 9).

Figure 9. SRCEPES SAEPF structure.

The main SRCEPES SAEPF functions are to:

 make proposals on the improvement and implementation of the state policy on integrated management of environmental protection and environmental management

 participate in capacity building (regulatory and institutional) in the field of environmental protection to ensure the environmental safety of the Kyrgyz Republic

 determine priority areas for action to ensure environmental safety Director

Head of Radiation Safety Sector

Head of Chemical and Biosafety Sector

Chief Specialist in Chemical and Biological

Safety

Specialist in Chemical and Biological Safety Chief Radiation Safety

Specialist Chief Radiation Safety

Specialist

Leading Radiation Safety Specialist

Leading Radiation Safety Specialist

Leading Radiation Safety Specialist

Leading Radiation Safety Specialist

 improve regulatory mechanisms in the field of environmental protection (including chemical, biological and radiation safety)

 participate in the development, adoption and implementation of national and regional programs in the field of environmental safety (including chemical, biological and radiation safety)

 carry out international cooperation in the field of ensuring chemical, biological, radiation safety and fulfillment of obligations under international treaties

 carry out technical cooperation with the IAEA

 participate in the coordination and monitoring of activities to ensure environmental safety

 participate in the development of proposals for a strategic approach to the safe management of radioactive, toxic and chemical substances

 organize the promotion and dissemination of knowledge about the environment, and conduct campaigns to raise awareness of the population and industry.

The main SRCEPES SAEPF tasks are:

 implementation of state regulation in the field of environmental protection and environmental safety, including chemical, biological and radiation safety; and

 coordination and implementation of international projects carried out at the Center.

Since the end of 2016, the SRCEPES SAEPF has conducted state regulation of nuclear and radiation safety of:

 radioactive waste storage/disposal facilities and radioactive waste management enterprises

 one specialized storage facility for radiation sources and waste

 temporary confinement sites for radiation sources

 uranium processing plants and uranium-thorium sites

 radioactive material transport through the Kyrgyz Republic

 use of radiation sources and radiation technologies, including their application in medicine, industry and research etc.

SRCEPES, within its functions established between 2010 to 2019, should perform the following actions:

 develops regulatory documents, rules and guidelines in the field of nuclear and radiation safety

 reviews and evaluates radiation and nuclear safety reports submitted by operators, observation reports and other notifications before issuing official permits (currently such reports are provided if the operator needs permission from the regulator or an expert opinion);

 carries out the issuance, change, suspension or cancellation of issued official permits

 ensures the adoption of corrective measures in case of detection of unsafe or potentially dangerous conditions when issuing permits and reviewing reports

 together with SIETS, conducts inspections for regulatory purposes, takes the necessary measures to apply sanctions in case of violation of safety requirements

 together with the Ministry of Economic Development and other state bodies, coordinates licenses for the import / export of radioactive sources and materials

 cooperates with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on the issues of harmonization of regulatory acts, providing the Government with information on the promotion of the Priority Action Plan in the field of radiation safety

 cooperates with the IAEA on issues of nominating employees of organizations to participate in the activities of the IAEA, on the promotion of national projects supported by the IAEA Technical Cooperation (TC) program, and on the accounting of nuclear and radioactive materials on IAEA inspections; and

 carries out (together with other departments of the SAEPF) reviews of projects and EIAs developed for radiation hazardous facilities.

SRCEPES SAEPF has recently developed a new regulation, in accordance with the requirements of the IAEA GSR Part-1 [5], on the structure and powers of the main regulatory body in the field of nuclear and radiation safety. The regulation is subject to approval by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The main factor that has hindered regulatory activities is the lack of requirements for licensing activities related to the management of any radioactive sources and materials in the country's legislative base. So far, only two types of licenses related to radiation are issued: license for management of toxic waste, including radioactive waste (license issued by SAEPF); and license for import and export of SIR that are included in the National Control List (license issued by the Ministry of Economic Development).

In order to fulfill Kyrgyzstan's international obligations, as well as harmonize legislation in the field of radiation safety in accordance with the requirements of the IAEA international standards, amendments have been made to the laws of the Kyrgyzstan "On the licensing system in the Kyrgyz Republic" and "On the radiation safety of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic".

Thus, the main tasks of the SRCEPES SAEPF on-going through 2019 and 2020 have included:

 to introduce amendments to the Law on licensing and permitting system (amended law submitted to Parliament)

 to introduce of amendments to the regulation on licensing conditions

 to approve by the Government of the new provision SRCEPES SAEPF, as the regulatory body in the field of nuclear and radiation safety

 to adjust of the Priority Action Plan in the field of radiation safety [6] considering amendments to the Law on the licensing system

 to create of a coordination council

 to make changes and amendments to existing laws, regulations and rules and regulatory guidelines in the field of radiation safety, which consider international requirements and recommendations, as well as the positive experience of various countries

 to develop a general procedure for planning and organizing regulatory inspections of facilities using SIR, including institutional control

 to develop a policy and make amendments to legislative acts on the responsibility of the executive bodies for non-compliance with regulatory requirements

 to address gaps and weaknesses in current regulations; and

 to develop a mechanism for improving the skills of civil servants.

The SRCEPES radiation safety strategy for the public and the environment in 2019-2021 includes the following intentions:

 modernization of nuclear medicine and improvement of the radiotherapy service

 supply and installation of new equipment for the National Oncology Center for the treatment of cancer, as well as the modernization of radionuclide diagnostics

 establishment of a network of radioecological monitoring at uranium legacy sites in the Kyrgyz Republic

 assessment of the radiological situation and exposure of the population living in the vicinity of former mining sites (legacy sites: Mailuu-Suu, Min-Kush, Kaji-Sai, Ak-Tyuz, Shekaftar, etc.) and mining complex OJSC "KGRK"; and

 development and improvement of the radioactive waste management system.

To ensure the implementation of the above work, the SRCEPES SAEPF communicates and consults with international organizations, advises the Government on the need to attract donor assistance, provides expert review of reports of the Ministry of Emergencies provided as part of the remediation of legacy sites, and organizes round table discussions of accumulated information and problems encountered.

Technical Support Organizations (TSOs) are currently not defined. The SAEPF’s own centers and

laboratories do not fully provide adequate analytical, scientific, expert, technical, engineering, information, consulting and methodological support to the regulatory body in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.

Therefore, the SRCEPES SAEPF is not currently a self-sufficient organization and there is a need either to develop the Center to achieve the desired capabilities or to connect a technical support body.

The public council, whose task is to supervise the activities of SRCEPES SAEPF, is currently absent.

However, it should be noted that public opinion is necessarily considered by the SAEPF at the level of decision-making during the state environmental review of planned projects of enterprises.

SRCEPES SAEPF does not currently issue annual reports on nuclear and radiation safety in the Kyrgyz Republic, so the public and third-party organizations receive information about the radiation safety activities of the state body only from social networks and the media. It should be noted that this applies to all state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic; there is very little information on the specific activities of these organizations on the websites of ministries, committees, centers, offices and departments. Usually, information is limited to contact information, organization structure, news from the spokesperson and the main regulatory and legal documents that are relevant to the activities of the state body. Thus, in the future, the main regulatory body will need to solve the following tasks:

 Create a proper regulatory framework and infrastructure according to the GSR part 1 [5].

 Develop a quality management system (conducting internal audits in the first place).

 Create a structure for more flexible public participation in the field of radiation safety.

 Develop an annual reporting system.

 Develop an informative internet site.

 Create a new or adjust an existing organization for the purposes of technical support of the regulatory body (TSO).

In document DSA Regulatory Support to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, 2017–2020 (sider 110-114)