VietNamNet Bridge – 2014 witnessed many outstanding activities in the atomic energy sector, carried out by Vietnam both domestically and overseas.

Vietnam prepares for the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant

1. The Vietnamese government delegation headed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended the Hague Nuclear Security Summit held in March 2014.

The conference, with representatives from 53 countries and four international organizations, was described as a great success with the leadership’s commitment to prevent nuclear terrorism.

2. The US-Vietnam agreement on civilian nuclear energy was signed in Hanoi on May 6, 2014 and entered into force October 3, 2014.

The agreement establishes the terms for commercial nuclear trade, research and technology exchanges between the two countries as provided under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act.

The signing of the agreement makes an important step forward in the cooperation relationship between Vietnam and the US in nuclear energy use for civilian purposes.

3. Vietnam completed the chairmanship of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors in the 2013-2014 term, during which many important results of the agency occurred.

The success helped heighten Vietnam’s position at IAEA and the international tribune, thus creating favorable conditions for Vietnam to court the IAEA’s support for its nuclear energy development.

4. Vietnam won three out of 23 awards presented by IAEA for its achievements in releasing mutant plant varieties and contributions to increased food security and sustainable development.

The outstanding achievement award was granted to the Vietnam Agricultural Genetics Institute, which worked with IAEA and domestic research institutions to create a number of flood-proof and high-yield rice varieties since the 1980s.

5. The IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) and Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan (INSSP) missions came to Vietnam and had working sessions here to consider the preparatory works made by Vietnam for implementing nuclear power projects.

6. Vietnam assisted Laos to build up a legal framework for the utilization of atomic energy and helped conduct a research work on environmental radioactivity in Vientiane, which helped discover and recollect radioactivity out of control.

7. The construction of a system on providing electricity to serve the execution of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant kicked off on December 12, 2014.

8. The Vietnam Atomic Energy Association’s Conference took place in 2014 which selected a new steering committee in charge of pushing up the activities of utilizing nuclear energy and ensuring nuclear and radiation safety in Vietnam.

9. The Prime Minister released Decision No 45 in August 2014, stipulating preferences to be offered to the Ministry of Science and Technology’s workers in the atomic energy sector.

10. The HCM City-based Apave Asia - Pacific Co. Ltd. on September 12 discovered that  a device containing Iridium-192 radioactive was missing. Luckily, the device was later found.

Kham Pha