Vietnam's Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspectorate Accelerates Year-End Efforts: Surprise Inspections + 20 National Standards + Institutional Closure

Vietnam's Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ATBXHN) entered an accelerated implementation phase for key tasks in the final months of 2026, with work priorities including completing the annual inspection plan, strengthening surprise inspections of facilities showing signs of violations, strictly handling violations in accordance with the law, and promptly completing the legal framework for inspection, review, and supervision in the field of radiation protection and nuclear safety. Pham Xuan Linh, Chief Inspector of Nuclear Safety and Security of Vietnam, stated that the relevant inspections are not only aimed at detecting and handling violations but also at enhancing legal compliance awareness among organizations and individuals engaged in atomic energy activities, ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, and protecting public health and the environment.

According to the year-end work arrangements, the inspectorate will concentrate resources on completing the 2026 inspection plan on schedule, while strengthening monitoring and risk assessment, and promptly organizing surprise inspections of facilities showing signs of violations in the atomic energy sector. Compared with the previous approach that relied mainly on planned inspections, the current working method places greater emphasis on risk prevention and proactive governance, focusing on areas and facilities with relatively high potential safety risks, and striving to achieve early detection, early inspection, and early handling to prevent violations from expanding further.

Surprise inspections are regarded as an important means of enhancing the deterrent effect of law enforcement and reducing nuclear and radiation safety risks. This approach reflects a shift in regulatory thinking: not only investigating and punishing violations after the fact, but also reducing safety hazards in the use of radiation sources and atomic energy-related activities through early warning, supervision, and timely intervention. At the same time, the inspectorate will continue to provide professional guidance to local regulatory agencies, sharing experience in inspection, law enforcement, and violation handling, so as to improve the coordination capacity between central and local levels in risk identification and emergency response.

In addition to strengthening frontline inspections, institutional development is also a key focus of Vietnam's nuclear safety regulatory year-end work. The inspectorate is accelerating the completion of a draft circular on inspection, review, and supervision activities in radiation protection and nuclear safety, and submitting it to the Minister of Science and Technology for consideration and issuance. This document will help unify business processes, improve the effectiveness of state management, promote more consistent and transparent handling of relevant violations nationwide, and provide an institutional basis for local and regulatory agencies to carry out nuclear safety supervision simultaneously.

In terms of technical standard development, Vietnam's Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspectorate has taken the lead in developing and submitting 20 national standards in the field of nuclear safety and security to the Ministry of Science and Technology, covering terminology, site evaluation, design, construction, power supply systems, measurement and control systems, control rooms, nuclear material protection, seismic assessment, and safety design requirements for nuclear facilities. These standards will provide technical and legal support for Vietnam's development of the nuclear energy industry, and will also establish a more unified, modern, and internationally aligned basis for future inspection, review, and supervision work.