Qualification of Non-Destructive Testing Personnel for the inspection of nuclear power plants

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of components, assemblies, and structures is required by the design codes of nuclear plants. It ensures the safety and reliability of the plant by detecting, characterizing, and evaluating the defects that can cause catastrophic failures, moreover; NDT is essential for the plant’s life assessment programs. IAEA has been promoting NDT technology in the Member States through national and regional Technical Cooperation projects. The efforts of the IAEA have considerably contributed to the harmonization of training and certification of NDT personnel to standardize the human factor. However, the standardization has not specifically addressed the training of personnel who perform NDT in the nuclear sector constructions, nor those who perform, administrate or analyze in-service NDT for plant’s maintenance and life management. This paper reviews the current strategies of the NDT personnel qualification for the inspection of nuclear-grade constructions and discusses the importance of collaboration among them. Moreover, the paper discusses the need for dedicated and systematic schemes to qualify personnel for the NDT applications to the in-service inspection and Plant’s Life Management