Review and selection of the location of nuclear electricity factory have been one of important activities in the nuclear electricity development and have significant impacts on many important issues as building cost of the electricity factory, acceptance of local people as well the issue of nuclear safety assurance.
The purpose of this Workshop is to introduce requirements, methodology and criteria for ensuring the nuclear safety which have been established and recommended in IAEA’s safety standard set, legal regulations relating to permission granting in some nations of the developed nuclear industry. This is also the opportunity for nations in the region could share information and practical experience in their nations in the field of reviewing and selecting the location of nuclear electricity factories.
IAEA has established about 200 safety criteria for nuclear electricity factories and Vietnam is institutionalizing these criteria. The process of selecting to build Vietnam’s nuclear electricity factory was initiated from 1996 to 2000 and based on IAEA’s selection criteria. Accordingly, Vietnam selected two locations of Phước Dinh and Vĩnh Hải communes in Ninh Thuận province to build the first two nuclear electricity factories of Ninh Thuận 1 and Ninh Thuận 2. These two locations have favorable terrains and their areas are big enough to build the factories with 4 machine groups which have capacities from 1,000 MW or higher; have good geographical conditions, are located in the area of low earthquake frequency, and ensure the safety for the factories and low building costs. Moreover, these locations are near the sea, ensuring favorable conditions for building water cooling systems and transporting equipment of super fields and super weights. According to Vietnam’s nuclear electricity development plan by 2030, there would be 7 factories which would be built in Ninh Thuận and the Central region (unidentified locations) and start to put into operation from 2020.