Building nuclear power plants must put security and safety first.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung speaks at the meeting

After listening to Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung present the draft Law on Atomic Energy (amended) at the morning session of April 14, the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) gave its opinions on this issue. The opinions basically agreed with the necessity of promulgating the law, but noted that the project dossier is currently incomplete (there is no report summarizing the implementation of the law; no report assessing the impact of the policy), while these are extremely important bases.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung presented the report on the draft Law on Atomic Energy (amended)

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment proposed to clearly define the agency with sufficient authority, technical and management capacity; and to operate in compliance with the safety standards and nuclear security guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and relevant international treaties. This is also the opinion of Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh. Mr. Vu Hong Thanh proposed to continue reviewing and comparing the provisions of the draft law with relevant laws and international treaties such as the convention on nuclear safety, nuclear security and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Vietnam's commitments at the United Nations conferences on climate change, etc. Speaking afterwards, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung accepted this opinion and said that he would study and revise it.

Citing the abuse of antibiotics and their long-term consequences, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Committee Phan Van Mai suggested a way to raise the issue and resolve it closely, preventing risks from afar in the use of radiation. Agreeing with the principle of decentralization, Mr. Phan Van Mai expressed concerns about the authority of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister to decide on nuclear power projects.

“There must be a consensus on principles. To approve a project, all procedures and documents must be collected and completed; it cannot be faster to just hand it over to the Prime Minister,” commented the head of the Economic and Financial Committee. He also said that the effective date of this law on July 1 is unlikely, because it is certain that the guiding documents cannot be fully prepared.

Delegates attending the meeting

Responding, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung acknowledged that building a nuclear power plant is a new issue, and security and safety must be put first.

“It is true that the basis for proposing decentralization and delegation of power must be clarified. Personally, I think that the construction policy should be decided by the National Assembly; as for specific projects, the Prime Minister can be delegated to decide on small and medium-sized projects. Large-scale projects, for example over 2,000 MW like the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant, should still be decided by the National Assembly,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, adding that he would direct the drafting agency to explain more clearly, especially the impact assessment of this policy. He also expressed his hope that the National Assembly Standing Committee would support the passage of the law at the 9th session to have a basis for implementing the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, which is now on the “launch pad”.

MR. PHUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/xay-dung-nha-may-dien-hat-nhan-phai-dat-an-ninh-an-toan-len-cao-nhat-post790542.html