EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR SAFETY REGIME IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

In Pakistan a gradual evolution and development of nuclear safety regime, starting from its very early stage to a full-fledged independent authority has taken place. The evolution process took more than four decades and has been completed in six different stages, i.e. (i) with no legal basis (April 1956 – December 1965), (ii) under Atomic Energy Act of 1965 (December 1965 – January 1984), (iii) under the Nuclear Safety Act of 1984 (January 1984 – September 1990), (iv) with support of 1990 regulations (September 1990 – October 1994), (v) with a quasi independent regulatory board (October 1994 – January 2001) and (vi) with fully independent regulatory authority (January 2001 – Onward). This included the issuance of executive order(s) and Pakistan Nuclear Safety Committee (PNSC) era with Nuclear Safety and Licensed Division (NSLD) as the secretariat to the establishment of formal legal entities i.e. Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (DNSRP), Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (PNRB), and Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA). Today, Pakistan can rightly claim to have full-grown independent and viable nuclear safety organization and legal system for enforcing national regulations and standards on nuclear safety.