Cyril Ramaphosa signs historic nuclear regulator amendment bill

President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Bill, which enhances nuclear safety oversight, covering areas from the decontamination of defence facilities to the safety of airline pilots.

Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the amendment bill amends the National Nuclear Regulator Act of 1999 to align it with current international regulatory best practices as determined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“This alignment is necessary because South Africa is one of the founding members of the IAEA and is a signatory to various international conventions governing nuclear safety, as promulgated by the IAEA.

“The law gives the national nuclear regulator additional functions and provides for the decontamination, decommissioning and closing of national defence force facilities, equipment, machinery and scrap for civilian use,” Magwenya said. 

He said the amendment bill inserts new definitions, amends certain definitions and removes obsolete definitions to align with IAEA international best practices.

“The law now empowers the regulator to exercise regulatory oversight to provide nuclear safety assurance that property of the SANDF designated for release for civilian use will not cause radiation harm.

“The bill signed by the president also empowers the regulator to exercise regulatory oversight over occupational exposure of aircrew to cosmic radiation flying below 49,000 feet,” he said. 

Mangwenya said the new law provides for the control and management of the affairs of the regulator, including the term of office the board and the establishment of board committees, and expands the scope of activities which cannot be undertaken without obtaining authorisation from the regulator.

He said the amended law excludes the application of the Defence Act of 2002 — which deals with permits for and inspection of naval vessels of a foreign state that are visiting South Africa — in view of the challenges of foreign forces disclosing details of naval vessels to host countries.

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