On September 6, representatives of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) attended an event commemorating 10 years since the establishment of the National Agency for Regulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities (NARNRA) in Chisinau, Moldova. Attending the ceremony were Violeta Ivanov (Head of Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and European Integration and Former Minister of Environment) Liviu Volconovici (Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment), Ion Apostol (Director of NARNRA) and NARNRA staff, Lars van Dassen (Director, Office for International Relations, Swedish Radiation Safety Authority [SSM]) and SSM staff, representatives of regulatory authorities from Romania, Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan and other governmental and research organizations. David Skeen (Deputy Director, Office of International Programs, USNRC) described the NRC support provided to NARNRA. Sergey Katsenelenbogen of AdSTM recounted the accomplishments of RSRP activities in Moldova during 2007-2018.
On September 7, the NRC and AdSTM representatives participated in the meeting hosted by NARNRA, "Regional Challenges and Perspectives in Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning Issues in the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) Countries." This included a variety of presentations followed by discussions on potential issues and solutions for regaining control over nuclear and radioactive material from territories uncontrolled by state authorities.
The NRC RSRP visit concluded on September 8 with bi-lateral discussions regarding future support to NARNRA under the RSRP program. The NRC will review the request for support to determine the scope and to prioritize the activities. Upon completion of the evaluation, the NRC and AdSTM will develop an RSRP Master Plan to track the activities planned for the next 24 months in Moldova and other countries in the region.