The United States expressed its strong support to the Philippines’ plan to establish its first nuclear regulatory agency and modular nuclear facility by 2032.
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Christopher Hanson, who is in Manila for a two-day visit, said “this is the first NRC commission-level trip to the region in more than a decade.”
“I hope my presence here demonstrates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s commitment to supporting its Philippine counterparts, as well as the importance of nuclear regulation and associated nuclear safety and security capacity building as the Philippines considers its nuclear energy future,” Hanson said in a briefing.
Hanson met with a group of stakeholders and others representatives in the government, including the Department of Energy, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Makati Medical Center and the academe to discuss nuclear technology.
Hanson’s visit came after the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy or the 123 Agreement became effective on July 2, 2024. The agreement was signed by the United States and the Philippines in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2023.
“We’re helping support the Philippine regulator in the evaluation of the safety aspects of the kinds of services and technology that those companies are going to have on offer,” Hanson said.
“My focus and the reason I’m here is mostly on the regulatory and the safety front, but I know there are gonna be other companies and research bodies on both sides, in the Philippines and in the United States, who are gonna be looking for ways to fulfill this agreement and make it work,” Hanson said.
He said the US NRC would hold a top-level framework workshop about how the US nuclear power approaches could help the Philippines in its pursuit of the development of a regulatory body.
“I think we’re going to see a really increase in the tempo of engagement from the US on the nuclear safety aspects. On the other side, I think you’re going to see a real uptick in the amount of commercial interest and companies coming to the Philippines and wanting to explore with the government how they might deploy nuclear power, but I think we’ll see that perhaps later on,” he said.
Hanson said nuclear technology and nuclear energy had evolved rapidly in the last 10 years, and the US NRC had been working hard to stay on top of those technological developments.
He said the Philippines would need to have a really clear and transparent set of regulations as it establishes its first nuclear agency.
“The Philippine government already regulates the safety and security of radioactive materials for healthcare and agriculture and industry. They have the subcritical assembly for testing education and research facility where they educate students. There are well qualified and highly educated Philippine workers all over the world who i understand are ready to to come home and support a nuclear program like this,” he said.
He said the proposed nuclear regulatory agency should regulate everything from construction to decommissioning, including waste disposal.
Hanson said the United States safely manages over 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at reactor sites and other central storage sites.
