Lok Sabha Question No. 1767 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Inspection of Nuclear Facilities
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Satya Pal Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1767

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## Inspection of Nuclear Facilities

1767.  DR. SATYAPAL SINGH:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- a) whether  the  Government  conducts  regular  regulatory  inspection  of  nuclear, industrial and radiation facilities;
- b) if so, the details thereof and the number of inspections carried out by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) during the last three years and the current year, year-wise;
- c) the number of diagnostic laboratories hospitals which have been found to be violating the provisions of the regulatory provision/licensing requirements, Statewise and year-wise; and
- d) the steps taken by the Government to further strengthen regulatory requirements?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

- (a) Yes, Sir.
- (b) Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) conducts Regulatory Inspections (RI) of  Nuclear,  Industrial  and  Radiation  Facilities  to  ensure  that  the  activities performed  by  the  Licensee  during  all the phases  viz. siting, design, construction,  commissioning,  operation,  decommissioning,  and  release  from regulatory control of the life cycle of the Facilities are executed in compliance with  the  conditions  of  the  License  and  relevant  safety  requirements.  The number of inspections carried out by AERB during the last three years and the current year, year-wise are given below:

| Type of Facilities              |   2020 |   2021 |   2022 |   2023 |
|---------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Nuclear & Industrial Facilities |     74 |     96 |    124 |    126 |
| Radiation Facilities            |    440 |    758 |    912 |    771 |

- (c) 853 diagnostic laboratories hospitals were inspected during the period 20202023.    495  facilities  were  found  to  be  deviating  from  certain  regulatory provisions  or  licensing  requirements.  AERB  follows  a  graded  approach  in determining  the  safety  significance  of  the  deviations  observed  during  the regulatory  inspections  of  nuclear  and  radiation  facilities.  There  were  no deviations of high safety significance observed during these inspections. Statewise and year-wise number of such facilities which have been found deviating from certain provisions of the regulatory or licensing requirements is placed at Annexure-I.
- (d) AERB develops and lays down safety requirements and guidance for utilities and  users  in  form  of  Regulatory  Safety  Documents.  Regulatory  safety documents are issued under provisions of Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004. The regulatory safety documents are developed with a view to cover the entire spectrum of regulated nuclear and radiation facilities and activities, as applicable, with graded approach.

New regulatory  safety  documents  are  developed  or  existing  documents  are revised on the basis of technological advances, changes in international state of art, research and development work, relevant operational lessons learned and institutional knowledge. AERB has an established process for development, review, revision and publication of regulatory safety documents. AERB  has  developed  safety  codes,  safety  standards  and  safety  guides covering facilities and activities under its purview. The development of a safety code  for  radiation  sources,  equipment  and  installation  and  practice-specific safety guides are under taken as a step towards developing harmonized set of regulatory requirements and guidance.

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## Annexure -I

No. of Diagnostic laboratories hospitals which were been found to be deviating from certain provisions of regulatory or licensing requirements (State-wise and Year-wise)

| State             | 2020   | 2021   | 2022   | 2023   |   Grand Total |
|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|---------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |        | 10     | 4      | 6      |            20 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |        |        |        | 1      |             1 |
| Assam             | 1      | 3      | 7      | 3      |            14 |
| Bihar             | 1      | 4      | 7      | 4      |            16 |
| Chandigarh        | 1      |        | 1      | 2      |             4 |
| Chhattisgarh      | 2      |        |        | 7      |             9 |
| Delhi             | 18     | 8      | 2      | 6      |            34 |
| Goa               | 1      |        |        |        |             1 |
| Gujarat           |        | 4      | 13     | 3      |            20 |
| Haryana           | 3      | 2      | 5      | 12     |            22 |
| Jammu and Kashmir |        | 2      |        |        |             2 |
| Jharkhand         | 1      | 2      | 1      | 3      |             7 |
| Karnataka         | 6      | 2      | 11     | 12     |            31 |
| Kerala            |        | 4      | 8      |        |            12 |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 1      | 3      | 10     | 3      |            17 |
| Maharashtra       | 10     | 14     | 19     | 18     |            61 |
| Manipur           |        | 2      |        |        |             2 |
| Meghalaya         |        |        | 1      | 1      |             2 |
| Mizoram           |        | 1      |        |        |             1 |
| Nagaland          |        | 1      | 1      |        |             2 |
| Orissa            |        | 6      | 6      | 8      |            20 |
| Pondicherry       |        | 1      |        |        |             1 |
| Punjab            | 3      | 5      | 5      | 8      |            21 |
| Rajasthan         | 4      | 7      |        | 3      |            14 |
| Sikkim            |        | 1      |        |        |             1 |
| Tamil Nadu        | 3      | 12     | 14     | 15     |            44 |
| Telangana         | 1      | 13     | 3      | 3      |            20 |
| Tripura           | 1      |        |        |        |             1 |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 19     | 8      | 11     | 13     |            51 |
| Uttarakhand       |        |        | 1      | 1      |             2 |
| West Bengal       |        | 9      | 18     | 15     |            42 |
| Grand Total       | 76     | 124    | 148    | 147    |           495 |