The operating organization as well as the regulatory body would require extensive technical support in a number of areas for efficient operation and effective safety regulation of the NPP. Such support would be needed to tackle problems that may arise during operation as also to obtain a proper understanding and assessment of the ageing-related degradation of systems, structures and components and to find appropriate solutions for their longer-term management. Also further analysis and experimental work may become necessary in the light of new information from research or operat­ing experience. In addition, over a period of time the safety standards may get revised, leading to the need for implementation of safety upgrades that might need substantial engineering development. To cater to these needs requisite laboratories and engineering development facilities should be established and expertise generated for their effective functioning. Some examples of the facilities required are metallurgical laboratories for carry­ing out failure analysis of radioactive as well as non-radioactive compo­nents, assessment of the extent of irradiation-induced embrittlement in materials and post-irradiation examination of reactor fuel. Examples of facilities for engineering development are those required for testing of tools and procedures for complex repair and inspection jobs, environmental qualification and endurance testing of components and development of remotely operated tools.

Capabilities are also needed to carry out various studies and analyses such as on atmospheric dispersion of radioactivity under different weather conditions, analysis of ageing structures to check on their continued capac­ity to withstand design loads, and periodic updating of the probabilistic safety analysis for a quantitative assessment of the current safety status of the NPP. There are other areas also in reactor physics, reactor chemistry, control and instrumentation and computer-based systems where the techni­cal support organizations will have to play a strong role in support of the NPP operation and regulatory effort.

Experience shows that total dependence on the reactor vendor for tech­nical support over an extended time is neither feasible nor desirable. It is therefore necessary to establish technical support organizations in the country well before the start of NPP construction and to staff them with personnel who have received advanced training in specific fields. Facilities for analysis and engineering development should be set up and progres­sively augmented for effective functioning of the technical support organi­zations. Expertise available in the various academic and professional institutions in the country should also be utilized such as by awarding research projects to these institutions for specific development jobs and by inducting their experts in advisory committees and in development of national safety standards.