WWER Regulators Forum

Forum of Nuclear Safety Authorities of the Countries Operating VVER Type Reactors

The purpose of the Forum is to contribute to improving safety and radiation protection in interested countries by leveraging collective expertise, sharing information and joining efforts of national regulators to address safety concerns and improve regulatory policies and practices.

Presently, the Forum members are chairpersons of the regulatory bodies of Armenia, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, India, Iran, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Representatives of Belarus, Germany and the IAEA attend the Forum as observers. In 2019, the Turkish regulatory authority was invited to take part in the VVER Forum as an observer; in 2020, a similar request was received from the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), a scientific and technical support organization of the French regulatory body.

The Forum operates under the Memorandum signed by the member countries in 1998 in Armenia.

The Forums convenes once a year and is hosted by the Forum member countries by turns. As a rule, the chairpersons of the member countries’ regulatory bodies take part in the annual meetings.

During the Forum meetings, the delegation leaders present information on issues of nuclear and radiation safety regulation in their countries and discuss safety significant events that have taken place at the VVER NPPs.

Under the Memorandum, the Forum establishes working groups to address issues chosen by the Forum.

As of now, the acting working groups are:

· Application of PSA methods in regulatory activities (led by Hungary);

· Working Group on Ageing (led by Russia);

· Working Group on Reactor Physics Analysis (led by Russia).