Intelligent operational system to safeguard nuclear facilities

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) on Tuesday launched the Intelligent Operational Nuclear Safety system (IONS) in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

The system aims to strengthen the safety and resilience of nuclear facilities against the potential impacts of climate change.

IONS is an environmental and climate monitoring system that will feature a real-time information surrounding the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant including monitoring of sea levels, land and sea surface temperature, vegetation health, air quality, earthquakes and others that occurred or are expected to occur, including their severity and location, as well as estimations of their potential effects on nuclear installations.

Equipped with artificial intelligence tools, the system will be able to create future models of expected climate change based on special algorithms.

IONS is a transformational project that is part of the performance agreements for 2023-2024, aiming to implement national priorities and achieve the requirements of the next phase of development in the UAE. It is aligned with the vision “We the UAE 2031” that aims to make the UAE ‘the most secure and safe country in the world’”.

Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director-General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, said, “Our collaboration with FANR to launch the Intelligent Operational Nuclear Safety reflects our commitment to contributing to the UAE’s goals in advanced technology and sustainability. The advanced technologies of MBRSC’s satellites allow us to collect accurate, real-time data on climate and environmental changes. This improves the system’s accuracy and provides more reliable forecasts that help make informed decisions to maintain the safety and security of the country’s nuclear facilities.”

Barakah Nuclear Power Plant

“The UAE government is committed to address the impact of climate change by taking the necessary measures to mitigate such consequences. In collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, we developed the innovative IONS that will play significant role in strengthening the oversight and resilience of nuclear facilities against the external events and climate change threats in the UAE, with the help of AI technologies to carry out our mandate to protect the community, workers and environment,” said Christer Viktorsson, FANR Director-General.

IONS is expected to support UAE efforts to achieve its net zero goals by ensuring the safe operation of nuclear facilities. It will help the operator and the regulator by providing a cutting-edge tool to monitor, predict and mange risks, especially those related to the climate change.

Recently, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) has announced the launch of its new transformational project, the National Programme for Qualifying Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Workers (TAHYAA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior.

The project aims to develop the Emirati capacity in the field of nuclear or radiological emergencies across all relevant sectors in the UAE. TAHYAA seeks to train almost 3,000 emergency workers from first responders such as the Civil Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence and others from the period of July 2024 until June 2025.

TAHYAA is based on the UAE National Qualification for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Workers, which was developed by FANR in collaboration with the National Qualification Centre (NQC) of the Ministry of Education. The qualification framework covers various topics such as radiation physics, radiation detection and radioactive decontamination among a host of technical topics. The programme provides the official qualification and certification to all workers involved in different areas of nuclear and radiological emergency response and management in the UAE.

TAHYAA is a transformational project that is part of the performance agreements for 2023-2024, aiming to implement national priorities and achieve the requirements of the next phase of development in the UAE. It is aligned with the vision “We the UAE 2031” that aims to make the UAE ‘the most secure and safe country in the world’.

WAM