Circular No. 19/2010/TT-BKHCN guiding specialized inspection on radiation safety and nuclear safety

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for specialized inspection on radiation safety and nuclear safety

Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Law dated June 3, 2008;
Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;
Pursuant to Decree No. 41/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Inspection Law;
Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 28, 2006 of the Government on the organization and operation of Science and Technology Inspectors;
The Minister of Science and Technology issues guidelines for specialized inspection on radiation safety and nuclear safety as follows:

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. These guidelines guide the inspection of compliance with laws and regulations on radiation safety, nuclear safety, and security measures for radioactive sources and nuclear materials carried out by organizations and individuals conducting activities in the field of atomic energy in Vietnam.

Article 2. These guidelines apply to heads of state management agencies, heads of inspection agencies, inspection teams, inspectors performing specialized inspection tasks on radiation safety and nuclear safety, and related organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Inspection Authority

Clause 1. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Inspectorate of the Ministry) shall perform specialized inspection tasks on radiation safety and nuclear safety within the scope of the Ministry of Science and Technology's state management.

Clause 2. The Inspectorate of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Inspectorate of the Agency) shall perform specialized inspection tasks on radiation safety and nuclear safety for organizations and individuals conducting activities in the field of atomic energy throughout the country.

Clause 3. The Inspectorates of Science and Technology Departments of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as the Inspectorates of Departments) shall perform specialized inspection tasks on radiation safety and nuclear safety for organizations and individuals conducting activities in the field of atomic energy within their respective provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as the province).

Article 4. Responsibilities for Organizing Inspections

Clause 1. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry shall be responsible for:

Point a) Developing the annual inspection program and plan for the Inspectorate of the Ministry, submitting it to the Minister of Science and Technology for approval, and organizing its implementation;

Point b) Developing plans to assign staff to join inspection teams of the Agency and Departments.

Clause 2. The Chief Inspector of the Agency shall be responsible for:

Point a) Developing the annual inspection program and plan for the Inspectorate of the Agency, compiling the inspection programs and plans of the Inspectorates of Departments, and sending the inspection plan to the Inspectorate of the Ministry before December 5 each year;

Point b) Submitting the inspection program and plan of the Inspectorate of the Agency for approval by the Director of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency after obtaining the agreement of the Chief Inspector of the Ministry and organizing its implementation;

Point c) Developing plans to assign staff to join inspection teams of the Ministry and Departments.

Clause 3. The Chief Inspector of the Department shall be responsible for:

Point a) Developing the annual inspection program and plan for the Inspectorate of the Department, sending the inspection plan to the Inspectorate of the Ministry, and simultaneously sending it to the Inspectorate of the Agency before November 20 each year;

Point b) Submitting the annual inspection program and plan for approval by the Department Director and organizing its implementation;

Point c) Assigning staff to join inspection teams of the Ministry and the Agency when notified or requested to do so;

Point d) Forming an inspection team and conducting inspections of organizations and individuals carrying out activities in the field of atomic energy within the province within five working days from the date of receiving information indicating violations of atomic energy laws through mass media or other sources;

Point đ) Sending copies of inspection records and conclusions to the Inspectorate of the Ministry, and simultaneously sending them to the Inspectorate of the Agency for serious violations of laws and regulations on atomic energy within two working days from the end of the inspection.

Article 5. Annual inspection programs and plans on radiation safety and nuclear safety must be developed based on:

Point a) Management requirements;

Point b) Guidance from higher-level inspection agencies and heads of agencies at the same level;

Point c) Results of annual inspections;

Point d) Ensuring inspection frequency for organizations and individuals conducting radiation work as stipulated in Article 8 of these guidelines.

Article 4. Inspection Decision

1. On the basis of the radiation safety and nuclear inspection program and plan approved by the Minister, Director General, or Department Director, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Inspector General of the Directorate, or Inspector General of the Department shall issue an inspection decision, establish an inspection team, and assign specialized inspectors to carry out the inspection tasks. In necessary cases, the Minister, Director General, or Department Director may issue an inspection decision and establish an inspection team.

2. The Inspector General of the Ministry, Inspector General of the Directorate, or Inspector General of the Department shall submit to the head of the managing agency at the same level for approval the decision on conducting specialized inspections. Within the latest three working days from the date of receipt of the proposal, the head of the managing agency shall be responsible for approving and notifying the Inspector General to organize the implementation.

Based on the approval decision of the head of the managing agency at the same level, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Inspector General of the Directorate, or Inspector General of the Department shall issue an inspection decision and establish an inspection team to conduct the sudden inspection. In necessary cases, the Minister, Director General, or Department Director may issue a sudden inspection decision and establish an inspection team.

3. In case of discovering violations of laws that need to be stopped immediately, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Inspector General of the Directorate, or Inspector General of the Department shall issue an inspection decision and report immediately to the head of the managing agency at the same level.

Chapter II
SPECIALIZED INSPECTION ACTIVITIES FOR RADIATION SAFETY AND NUCLEAR MATTERS

Article 5. Forms of specialized inspection for radiation safety and nuclear matters

1. Specialized inspection activities for radiation safety and nuclear matters are carried out in the form of planned and sudden inspections as prescribed in Article 45 of the Inspection Law.

2. Specialized inspection activities for radiation safety and nuclear matters are conducted either by a specialized inspection team or independently by a specialized inspector.

Article 6. Requirements for the inspection team

1. When a member of the inspection team is absent, a written opinion must be provided by the head of the agency sending the person to join the inspection team.

2. During the inspection process, actual measurements and evaluations must be conducted. The inspection team must include members with professional knowledge and skills in using measuring equipment.

3. In case a member of the inspection team is absent, the meeting between the inspection team and the inspected entity still takes place but must ensure that there are at least two members of the inspection team present, including the head of the inspection team.

Article 7. Inspection Procedures

1. Preparation for Inspection

a) Hold a meeting of the inspection team, assign tasks to the members of the inspection team, organize research and build a plan to conduct the inspection and a draft outline requiring the inspected entity to report. In cases where an inspector conducts an independent inspection, only the plan to conduct the inspection and a draft outline requiring the inspected entity to report need to be prepared.

b) The head of the inspection team is responsible for notifying the inspected entity in writing about the announcement of the inspection decision, the content of the report outline, files, documents, personnel, time, and location of work with the inspection team at least five days before announcing the inspection decision; notify the relevant agencies about the announcement of the inspection decision when necessary. This regulation does not apply to sudden inspections.

c) Request related agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide licensing file, inspection and supervision files on radiation safety and nuclear matters already conducted on the inspected entity, exchange letters between the management agency and the inspected entity, and other relevant documents.

d) Prepare equipment suitable for the inspection team's activities according to the purpose and inspected entity. Propose to the competent authority to allocate funds and transportation means to serve the inspection team's activities.

2. Conducting Inspection

a) Before conducting the inspection, the head of the inspection team announces the inspection decision to the inspected entity in accordance with Article 9 of Circular No. 02/2010/TT-TTCP dated March 2, 2010, issued by the Government Inspectorate on the procedures for conducting an inspection. The announcement of the inspection decision must be recorded in the inspection record.

b) The head of the inspection team coordinates the work schedule, requests representatives of the inspected entity to report according to the content announced by the head of the inspection team and provide necessary files and documents.

c) The inspection team conducts the inspection of compliance with atomic energy laws by the inspected entity according to the inspection plan established during the preparation stage. The inspection content for each type of radiation work is guided in Appendix I of this Circular. Data and results measured by the inspection team serve as the basis for evaluating the compliance with laws by the inspected entity.

d) The inspection team informs the inspection results, conclusions, and recommendations; listens to explanations from the inspected entity regarding the conclusions and recommendations of the inspection team.

đ) The head of the inspection team organizes a meeting of the team, prepares the inspection record. If the inspected entity has administrative violations that must be handled, the inspection team prepares an administrative violation record.

e) The inspection team announces the inspection record and the administrative violation record (if any); requests authorized representatives of the inspected entity to sign and stamp the records prepared by the inspection team before the head of the inspection team signs directly on each copy.

3. Completion of Inspection

Within the latest fifteen days from the end of the inspection at the facility, the head of the inspection team must report the inspection results in accordance with Article 42 of Decree No. 41/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2005, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Inspection Law. For inspection rounds consisting of multiple inspections, a consolidated report on the inspection results for the entire round can be made. The inspection result report includes the following contents:

a) General situation related to the implementation of the inspection, the contents that have been inspected;

b) Evaluate the implementation of atomic energy laws and regulations by the inspected entity according to the inspection contents;

c) Any violations (if any), the degree of violation, and measures for handling;

d) Inconsistencies in management mechanisms, policies, and laws discovered through inspection activities;

đ) Recommendations and suggestions to enhance management work for safety and security in atomic energy activities;

e) Different opinions between members of the inspection team and the head of the inspection team regarding the content of the inspection report (if any);

g) The inspected entity's non-consent with the content of the inspection record (if any).

Article 8. Inspection Frequency

1. The inspection frequency for each type of radiation work under the program and plan is specified in Appendix II of this Circular.

2. For organizations and individuals conducting multiple types of radiation work, the inspection frequency shall be calculated based on the type of radiation work with the highest inspection frequency.

3. For organizations and individuals conducting radiation work in different areas, using various radiation sources, simultaneously performing multiple types of radiation work, or conducting complex technological radiation work, multiple inspections may be conducted in one year but must ensure:

a) Not inspecting the same content more than once in a year for the same inspected entity, except in case of surprise inspections;

b) The content of each inspection in the year must be clearly defined in the inspection decision.

Article 9. Means and Equipment in Inspection Activities

1. The inspection agency and inspection team need to be equipped with working means and equipment including:

a) Laptop computers, printers;

b) Photography, audio, and video recording equipment;

c) Specialized measuring devices such as radiation dose measurement instruments, inspection equipment;

d) Personal radiation dose monitoring devices;

đ) Protective gear;

e) Other auxiliary equipment serving inspection activities.

2. Specialized measuring devices used in specialized radiation safety and nuclear inspection activities must be calibrated and verified in accordance with national technical standards.

Article 10. Inspection Files

1. All documents during the inspection process from preparation to completion must be recorded in files containing the contents stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article and must be stored, preserved, and utilized in accordance with legal provisions on information confidentiality and file storage.

2. The content of the inspection file includes: the inspection decision; the inspection implementation plan; notification and request documents issued by the inspection team; records prepared by the inspection team and inspectors; explanations provided by the inspected entity; the inspection report; the inspection conclusion; documents collected by the inspection team during the preparation phase; documents provided by the inspected entity; photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and electronic files obtained during the inspection process.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 11. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2011, and replaces Circular No. 10/2006/TT-BKHCN dated March 17, 2006, of the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding specialized radiation safety and control inspections.

2. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, please promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Science and Technology for clarification or consideration of amendments and supplements./.