Biznes Fakty
Maria will have an extra break
As announced by the Ministry of Industry, the Maria research reactor will enter an additional downtime period starting Friday, May 9, due to the ongoing process to secure an operational permit. This suspension will continue until the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency grants the necessary authorization.
At the end of April this year, the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) stated it would issue an operational permit for the reactor once the National Center for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) had provided the required documentation.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Industry, which oversees the nuclear sector, released a statement regarding the status of the Maria reactor. It noted that the technical break in the reactor’s operation, which began on April 1 and was connected to the permit renewal process, was set to conclude on May 8. The previous authorization expired on March 31, 2025.
Read also: The only reactor of its kind in Poland. It ceased operation >>>
Process for securing a permit
„At present, the administrative process for obtaining a license for the reactor’s operation is still in progress based on the Atomic Law and associated regulations, while also considering the suggestions outlined in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s guidelines on nuclear reactor safety,” the MP mentioned in a statement.
„Consequently, starting May 9, 2025, the Maria reactor will enter an additional interruption period, which will last until the necessary permit from the President of the National Atomic Energy Agency is obtained,” the ministry indicated.
It assured that the NCBJ team is engaging in thorough substantive discussions with PAA experts to implement the required modifications to the submitted documentation and to expedite the completion of the process. It was also emphasized that for certain thematic areas, NCBJ’s clarifications have already received approval from PAA.
Reactor Maria Piotr Nowak/PAP„Importantly, this interruption currently does not pose a risk to the availability of radiopharmaceuticals for domestic nuclear medicine facilities, as radioactive materials sourced from external suppliers have been utilized for their production since mid-April this year,” the MP reassured.
It was added that deliveries to local clients are prioritized, but „some adjustments to shipping schedules” may be necessary. For export production, changes to deliveries are individually discussed with each customer.
Application for a new permit
As the operator of the MARIA reactor, NCBJ submitted an application for a new operational permit in August 2024, which included 53 attachments totaling approximately 1,500 pages of documentation. Since then, the documentation has been revised multiple times.
NCBJ reports that during the proceedings, in response to PAA’s inquiries, it received nearly a thousand questions regarding the documentation provided. In reply, around 50 additional attachments were submitted. The latest round of inquiries from NCBJ covered over a hundred topics, and according to NCBJ, addressing these will require further analyses and are being provided promptly within the established timelines.
„The final deadline for responding to the current last series of inquiries, as set by the supervisory authority, is May 15, 2025,” the National Center for Nuclear Research announced at the end of April this year.
The license must be renewed every decade
At the beginning of April, Paweł Gajda, head of the Nuclear Energy Department at the Ministry of Industry, confirmed that efforts were intensively focused on supplementing the documentation required for the issuance of a permit for the operation of the Maria reactor. He reminded that the reactor’s license must be renewed every ten years.
In early April, Minister of Industry Marzena Czarnecka terminated the directorship of the National Centre for Nuclear Research, Prof. Krzysztof Kurek. She explained the decision by highlighting the necessity to enhance the functioning of the NCBJ, particularly to prioritize the operation of the Maria reactor.
„The production from the Maria reactor fulfills a significant portion of the global demand for iodine-131, which is utilized in thyroid treatment. Additionally, the reactor has implemented the technology for irradiating uranium targets to produce molybdenum, which is essential for obtaining technetium-99m – currently the most crucial nuclide for nuclear medicine,” the NCBJ stated on its website.
